Musical day camp in Aargau
During a summer vacation week, young people from the region made music, composed and painted in the Seon Reformed Church. Fränzi Frick was responsible for the organization and management.
Musical development projects are particularly important in Aargau, as there is no music academy in the Mittelland. The Künstlerhaus Boswil plays an important role here with its two youth orchestras and diverse course offerings, while the Argovia Philharmonic Orchestra provides valuable services in collaboration with schools.
A high-profile and committed initiative has recently been launched in Seon: the organizers of the Seetal Classics concert series, which was launched in 2020/21, have now also held their first musical summer academy for young people. The reformed parish of Seon makes it all possible: concerts and the academy take place in the acoustically outstanding church, where the pastor Martin Fiedler, who passed away a few years ago, once regularly organized solo evenings.
The Seetal Classics association can now build on this ecclesiastical classical tradition. Artistic Director Benjamin Nyffenegger, who comes from Aargau and is principal cellist in the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, is himself a committed chamber musician. The board is chaired by Andres Joho, a busy musician and organist in Seon. The launch of the new concert series coincided with the inauguration of the music-loving pastor Jürgen Will; the close collaboration between church and concert organizer thus continues.
"Such a diverse program"
From July 18 to 25, 32 music-loving children and young people aged between 7 and 20 from the region, but also from Zurich and further afield, came together to make music, compose, paint, learn music theory and even music history in a fun way. "I've already helped organize several youth music camps," says instructor Kateryna Timokhina, who runs the Swiss Violin Studio in Winterthur. "But I've never experienced such a varied program: with quizzes on music history, individual lessons, duo and ensemble playing. The children compose themselves and draw to music that they listen to together. And despite this dense program, everyone is focused, they simply enjoy it."
Unlike other music camps, Seon is a day camp, the accommodation is private, the children from the region go home, others from further afield have been given accommodation in the village. The academy was opened with a concert by the teachers: the two violinists Fränzi Frick and Kateryna Timokhina, the violist Anna Brugger, the cellist Daniel Schärer and the composer Stephanie Haensler.
"Can you tell?"
A rehearsal visit on Friday confirms the concentrated work in the children's orchestra. The lush sound of Carl Maria von Weber's Hunters' choir unfolds in the church, the ensemble has been rehearsing the piece all week. Fränzi Frick leads the small group of string players on her violin, and does so with dedicated physical commitment: "Play this part as if you were saying 'Nei! Nooo! Nei!' - all together: Nei!-Nei!-Nei! - Yes, just like that!" Then she turns to the boy on the children's double bass: "You're the tractor, you have to pull the orchestra."
Two seven-year-olds, a girl and a boy, sit at the back desks. The way they play along and always know where to start again is quite remarkable. At eleven o'clock it's the turn of the older ensemble, they swing into the Valse Tzigane by Filippo Marchetti. "We're all sitting there tall and proud," Fränz Frick calls out to the group, the young people's posture noticeably tense. "Can you see that? All the spreads are too slow, let's try again."
"Insect fight in the wild grass"
Composing is the order of the day in an adjoining room; Stephanie Haensler is leading the group. It's Friday and the last class of the week. The young people present the pieces they have written in pairs or threes. It's the turn of two boys, with cello and violin: "Our piece is called In the forestWe wanted to do a scary play" - and they are already playing a dark duo that is gradually feeling its way forward.
Then three girls come forward with their violins, who have set a postcard to music: Insect fight in the wild grassAccordingly, they play the piece "wildly". Two other girls, again with cello and violin, explain to the small crowd of listeners that they simply went for it for their piece, the name Luminoso only occurred to them at the end. The result is a surprisingly well thought-out, intimate duo.
"I liked it"
The final concerts were held on Saturday, first the children's concert and then the young people's performance. The promotional concert on October 23 is particularly valuable for the young music enthusiasts. Here, selected soloists and ensembles from the academy can perform in public, again in the Seon Reformed Church of course - a great opportunity at this age.
How did the young people like this strenuous week? "I'm from Zurich," says one boy, "and I liked it, I'd like to take part in the next academy again." Another says: "I'm here with my colleague, we're playing as a duo, it's fun." And a little girl says that her mother heard about the academy and asked her if she would like to take part. "I was allowed to decide for myself," she says proudly, "I wanted to go."
And what is Fränz Frick's assessment? "The huge demand surprised us, over thirty children signed up. It was a wonderful week, all these 'music-hungry' children, their curiosity, their concentration and their joy in taking part. Friendships were forged and the teenagers took great care of the little ones." The enthusiastic and committed violinist wants to continue: The next summer academy in Seetal is sure to come.
