Campfire!

Tonight was (surprise!) another hot and exceptionally humid night - the "perfect" night for a bonfire! We had a good time making smores, singing, and playing with lighted frisbees, especially after a hard day's work. Tomorrow should be an exciting day - the official announcement of Credo winning the Pepsi Challenge, and service day concerts and work projects over a huge radius.
It's hard to believe that our time here is coming to an end - each day is so full, yet the time has flown by. We know that the community that binds us together here will stay vivid even with our coming departure. We look forward to taking Credo with us inside and keeping the flame burning at home. And of course, getting together again at Credo Days, at Credo 2011 (and beyond!) at college auditions, etc. - and making another bonfire (although this one may be more figurative!)

The Final Concerts:

Below you will find a list of who is playing on each of the two final concerts. If you have any questions, please contact our office: office@credochambermusic.org

Friday, July 23rd at 7:00pm (this will be a long one, probably close to 4 hours)

Mozart Oboe Quartet, 1st mvt. (Beckwith, Steinkamp, Doyle, Gardner)
Bartok Arabian Dance (Leman, Oh, E. Ting, Sullivan, Poglitsch, Sun)
Mozart Viola Quinetet K 515, 3rd mvt. (H. Harder, Baker, Claflin, Tomas, H. Kim)
Beethoven Piano Trio, 1st mvt. (Koscho, M. Harder, Pawlak)
Mozart Piano Quartet, 1st mvt. (Kurzbauer, Poesnecker, Stoddard, Granner)
Brahms Viola Quintet, 3rd mvt. (Howerton, Fidler, Miller, Cottrell, D. Ting)
Mozart Clarinet Quintet, 1st mvt. (Stuneck, Grieve, Price, Kevin, Taylor)
Mendelssohn Octet, last mvt. (Camp, Wei, Niekamp, Gieser, Ha, Bice, Carlier, Tsao)
Beethoven Quartet op. 18 no. 1, 1st and last mvts. (Stenzel, Poreh, Stockwell, Wiebe)
Ravel Quartet, 1st and 4th mvts. (O. Cottrell, Engen, Pereboom, Klopfenstein)
Beethoven Quartet op. 18 no.5, 1st mvt. (Yu, Ginn, A. Cottrell, Reed)
Grieg Quartet, 1st mvt . (Rowan, Sonnenberg, Denton, Hymel)
Schubert Cello Quintet, last mvt. (Rinderknecht, Brooks, Andrews, Quanbeck, Hammes)


Saturday, July 24th at 1:30pm

Piano 6 hands (Dean, Granner, Pawlak)
Beethoven Quartet op. 59 no. 1, 1st mvt. (Wang, Bates, Borth, Sauvey)
Debussy Quartet, 1st mvt. (Bauman, Emery, McKay Lodge, Dannelly)
Beethoven Quartet op. 59 no. 3, 3rd and 4th mvts. (O. Cottrell, Klopfenstein, Pereboom, E. Lee)
Brahms C Minor Quartet, 1st mvt. (Mitsuhashi, Johnson, Ness, Vanhoozer)

Intermission

Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 Gustav Mahler
Sarah Baldessari, harp

Simple Symphony Benjamin Britten
Boisterous Bouree
Playful Pizzicato
Sentimental Saraband
Frolicsome Finale

Credo Large Ensemble, Peter Slowik, conductor

Speeding Up!

As we accelerate toward a fabulous weekend of concerts, it is amazing to see what this group of students is accomplishing.
Every year at Credo, groups that finish a whole piece in 3 weeks get to play it on "whole piece" informal concerts Thursday night.
Typically about half of the groups achieve this. This year - nearly all of the groups are prepared to join in the fun of performing a whole work for each other! Primed by this experience, and their performances at service projects Thursday, we look forward to (having you here for?) a wonderful weekend of concerts!

Sunday . . . a day of rest . . . and activity!

Sunday morning afforded our students a variety of options for rest and refreshment. "Camp mom" Vicky Slowik brought homemade muffins to the dorm at 7:30 for early risers. Credo students volunteered to play in worship at 5 area churches, while others took the morning to rest. After special Sunday Brunch at Stevenson Hall, our intrepid students split into two groups: One group played an outreach concert in Akron, supporting the establishment of a music program at a local inner city church (ask your kids about "brother Howard!"), while another group went to Linwood Park on the shores of Lake Erie to swim and play an evening concert. Everyone came "home" with a great sense of accomplishment, refreshed and ready for the final push of learning this week.

Wonderful concerts!

Even at 9 AM yesterday, you could feel it was going to be a special day.  Everyone associated with the camp could feel the "buzz" as the students - motivated and inspired by the faculty performance Friday - couldn't wait to show the results of their hard work.  The afternoon performance was astonishing not only for its quality, but also for its quantity - nearly 3 hrs of chamber music prepared in just a week!  The evening concert was more tightly focused time-wise (at about 100 minutes) - was it because an ice cream party was waiting in the "Sky Lounge" in the new Kohl Building of Oberlin Conservatory?  Before singing "grace" at this event, festival director Peter Slowik spoke to the students about the grace they have shown dealing with unusual heat, a water main break,m and  the security incident.  The students have grown and prospered in spite of these sometimes challenging conditions, making great music, forging a tight-knit community, and sharing the Credo spirit with everyone they encounter.

Industry and Inspiration

Inspiration - it comes in many forms at Credo: faculty coachings, fellow students playing a phrase beautifully, applause, a great (or really challenging) lesson..... One of the most obvious sources of inspiration is hearing the faculty perform. Friday night the students were treated to a great display of virtuosity, communication, and control by the Credo Trio, who performed Paart, Wheeler, and Brahms.

Here's something that inspires the faculty - the students' display of industry. Every year at Credo the end of the second week signals the students taking over in terms of pushing their limits. Suddenly the 3 hrs of group rehearsal time a day is not enough, and they are asking us "can we put in an extra hour of rehearsal" here or there. 3 hrs of solo practice is not enough, and students make the trek across campus at 6:45 to practice before breakfast. It's wonderful to see this kind of initiative - it keeps the cycle of inspiration going!

Two Student Concerts this Saturday!

Saturday, July 18th, 2 PM

Beethoven Quartet, Op. 18 No. 1
Wichtl Violin Trio in C
Mozart Oboe Quartet
Schumann Abendleid and Beethoven Scherzo
Oswald Violin Trio
Beethoven Piano Trio
Mendelssohn Octet
Beethoven Quartet, Op. 59 No. 1
Mozart Viola Quintet
Brahms Viola Quintet
Mozart Clarinet Quintet
Grieg Quartet


July 18th, 8 PM
Beethoven Quartet Op. 18 No. 5
Ravel Quartet
Mozart G Minor Piano Quartet
Brahms C Major Piano Quartet
Schubert Cello Quintet
Debussy Quartet
Beethoven Op. 59 No. 3

Midweek - and ready for concerts today!

Service day today - and yesterday we got ready for our performances with a good day of coaching and rehearsal.
We enjoyed an afternoon class on music criticism and the opportunity to walk through the middle of one of the great concert organs at Oberlin.

Is it Tuesday already?

Where did Monday go? It was a flurry of learning as we attacked new movements, enjoying different coaches and some changes of group alignments. The early afternoon saw one of the annual highlights of Credo - "Faculty Firesides" where the faculty members talk about their journey as musicians, spouses, parents, and children of God.... wonderful open discussion with the students - great questions! And the session was only the beginning of opening mentoring relationships between faculty and students.

Tuesday had an open rehearsal of the Credo Trio, chamber music Master Classes by Bryan Dumm and Kangwon Kim, an enthusiastic and productive large ensemble rehearsal, and bowling night! Everyone is really enjoying their work, and each other. And we have water back! The water main has been fixed. We are appreciative for the gift of water, and all the gifts we experience here at Credo.

A marvelous display of talent and achievement!

Today (Sunday) we're recovering from a great week of work that resulted in spirited and inspiring concerts yesterday. Credo students played marvelous chamber music concerts at 2 and 8:30 PM. In between, at 7 PM they delighted a good-sized crowd of concert-goers on Tappan Square by playing favorites ranging from Pachabel to Sousa to the Beatles.
The spirit and focus of this group of campers is admirable. Last week they dealt with the East Coast's record-breaking heat wave. Late yesterday we had a new wrinkle added - a water main broke near Oberlin, and we can only consume bottled water for the next few days! The college staff has been very helpful to us, and all the students are responding well to this additional challenge - nothing will deter them from learning great music and having fun!

4 concerts in 25 hours!

That's what Credo is about this weekend. On Friday night the students were treated to marvelous performances by the faculty - music of Mozart, Martinu, and Dvorak. Today it's their turn, starting off with a concert in Kulas Recital Hall at 2PM. Credo "hits the big time" - the Tappan Square bandstand at 7 PM tonight as the students join forces to present light classical favorites. And at 8:30 the day will conclude with another concert in Kulas. It's amazing to see how much is learned in a week here at Credo!

Credo Student Concerts: Saturday, July 10th

On Saturday, July 10th, there will be two student concerts. Here is a list of the student groups for each concert:


Saturday at 2:00pm in Kulas Recital Hall:

• Mozart Oboe Quartet (Steinkamp, Doyle, Gardner, Beckwith)
• BacewiczViolin Quartet (E. Ting, Oh, H. Sullivan, Poglitsch)
• Mozart Viola Quintet (H. Harder, Baker, Claflin, Tomas, H. Kim)
• Brahms Viola Quinet (Howerton, Fidler, Miller, A. Cottrell, D. Ting)
• Schubert Cello Quintet (Rinderknecht, Brooks, Andrews, Hammes, Quanbeck)
• Mendelssohn Octet (Camp, Wei, Gieser, Niekamp, Ha, Bice, M. Carlier, Tsao)

Intermission

• Beethoven Quartet op. 59 no. 1 (A. Wang, Bates, Borth, C. Klopfenstein)
• Beethoven Piano Trio (Koscho, M. Harder, Pawlak)
• Mozart Piano Quartet (Kurzbauer, Poesnecker, Stoddard, Granner)
• Brahms Piano Quartet (Engen, Johnson, Ness, Vanhoozer)

Saturday at 8:00pm in Kulas Recital Hall:

• Beethoven Quartet op. 18 no. 1 (Stenzel, Poreh, Stockwell, Wiebe)
• Beethoven Quartet op. 18 no. 5 (Yu, Ginn, A. Cottrell, Reed)
• Glass Company Quartet (Grieve, Price, Kevin, Taylor)
• Grieg String Quartet (Rowan, Sonnenberg, Denton, Hymel)

Intermission

• Ravel String Quartet (Engen, O. Cottrell, Pereboom, Sauvey)
• Beethoven Quartet op. 59 no. 3 (O. Cottrell, K. Klopfenstein, Pereboom, E. Lee)
• Debussy (Bauman, Emery, McKay Lodge, Dannelly)

We hope to see you there!

What a day!

The service day is always a thrilling test of endurance, organization, and the groups' performing abilities! Today we played 2 concerts - at Welcome Nursing Home, Joyful Noise Music Program. We also played for diners at restaurants (showcasing an upcoming Credo concert to benefit an inner-city Akron music program), and at a Red Cross Blood drive in Cleveland City Hall. The students taught at Joyful Noise, picked up trash for Adopt-a-highway, and pulled weeds for lorain county metroparks. We survived the heat, and are looking ahead to a few cooler nights! Tomorrow - one more day of focus/preparation for concerts! It's flying by!

Day Three!

Day three of Credo - reaping the benefits of two great days of musical work, the groups are rounding into form - most are performing tomorrow on our service day!  In addition to the normal array of coaching, lessons, and rehearsals, we had sessions of eurhythmics, more chamber music reading (the exciting Beethoven Op. 59 Quartets!) and a thoughtful session on "what makes a piece of music sacred?" led by local pastor David Hill.  We are thrilled to see temperatures in the 60's at night in the coming forecast!  It's been a hot week!

.... a very busy second day of Credo has us writing this post at 10 PM!

We were previewed in a wonderful article online at www.Clevelandclasical.com - Be sure to follow the link off the stub of the article on the main page!

Lots of hard work today! After getting the main points of their pieces on Monday, Tuesday is a good day to roll up the sleeves and get busy with the nitty-gritty!
All the groups made a lot of progress, and we look forward to performing in just 48 hours! The afternoon was filled with tours of the Oberlin Library and a Conservatory scavenger hunt for new students, and chamber music reading for old students. Tonight we prepared for Saturday's outdoor concert, and the students proved their versatility by playing the Beatles and Stars and Stripes Forever! A full day - no time to feel the heat!

... and they're off!

One of several fireworks last night!

Hot weather could not slow down the first day of Credo (thankfully, the conservatory is nicely air conditioned!) The hard work that everyone did before Credo really was in evidence, as some groups were excitingly cohesive to begin their work together. Other groups had a harder time getting started, but the word of the day all around the conservatory was - progress! In each group students were learning new bow strokes, adjusting to the strengths and weaknesses of their new partners, learning valuable ensemble skills, and decoding the mysteries of complex, great music. A special treat was to hear these talented musicians filling Fairchild Chapel with their beautiful voices - Morning Sing will be a fabulous time of inspirational messages (today Peter Slowik spoke on RefreshEverything, with reference to Matthew 11:28, John 4:13-14, and Phil. 4:13) and uplifting music-making!