Art and Humanity in the Midst of War: The Story of the Sarajevo String Quartet with Dr. Dijana Ihas2/26/2016
“Front lines, Broken Schools, Broken Churches, Broken Hospitals.
WE NEVER SAID NO. Everywhere people needed a sense that they were still human beings we played.” Dr. Dijana Ihas
The above quote is from a presentation I hosted last February by Dr. Dijana Ihas titled Art and Humanity in the Midst of War: The Story of the Sarajevo String Quartet. Dijana shared a first hand account of her experience performing 206 concerts as a violist with the Sarajevo String Quartet during the infamous siege of Sarajevo from April 5, 1992 – February 29, 1996.
Her story is miraculous, hauntingly recent and not well known. Sharing this story feels like one of the most important things I have ever done with my life. Since the Music for Young Violinists group has grown so much since I posted a year ago I felt it would be valuable to share this information again. Videos of the presentation are posted on youtube (click on the titles to be re-directed) in 5 parts as follows: PART 1/5 - "What Does it Mean to be Besieged?" PART 2/5 - “When everything is taken away from you, humans are so intelligent they find a way to survive.” PART 3/5 - A Glimpse Into One of the Performances PART 4/5 - Years later, a need to understand: “Why Did I Do That?” PART 5/5 - Why Arts? Why Music? Why Strings?
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Woo-Hoo, another prize!!! There is a special $15 Gift Certificate Prize to the Music for Young Violinists STORE for the first person who can help me identify the piano composition this excerpt comes from.
I used to hear it being practiced next door decades ago when I was in music school but I never knew the composer. I only know it is *fantastically fun for teaching young violinists how to master their low and high 2nd fingers. Nothing replaces good old fashioned 2 octave G Major scales but in my experience most students need a little more support in their curriculum. The worksheet pictured below is a part of the Winer 2016 Music packet which is one of the many free perks of being on the Music for Young Violinists newsletter list. I give away an entire packet of music to my list every season. I love hearing from you and even if you can not tell me who composed this piano piece please let me know your feedback about the Winter 2016 Music Packet:
*If you are like me you may have wondered if this is a real word. I thought I was just making this up but learned something new today and according the Merriam-Webster this word actually exists. The definition of fantastically is 1 : in a fantastic manner. 2 : to a fantastic degree : extremely Ha! That was exactly the word I was looking for to describe this small etude I use to help students with their 2nd fingers. Winner, Winner - We Have a Winner!!! Now, Share Your Wishlist for the Next Giveaway Contest2/9/2016 Dear Music for Young Violinists Friends, Thank you so much for your enthusiastic entries in my second giveaway contest and congratulations to Laura for winning the 5 StringVision Bow Grips! It was fantastic hearing from all of you and I especially appreciated the conversations about the pros and cons of this particular bow hold product. Everyone who entered got a little musical gift from me in their email inbox - a sample of my new collection, a rousing fiddle tune arranged for 3 violins and a coupon to the store. Your excited entries got my mind thinking about hosting more contests and I would love to hear from you about what you want to see offered in the future. Please let me know in the comments below. I can not make any promises but I will do my best to continue this fun tradition that Music for Young Violinists has started. Here is a short video of me choosing the winner. I have seen other websites do raffles with computer programs but I thought pulling a name out of a bowl would be so much more fun. Happy music making and bye for now, Heather |
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AuthorHi! It's me, Heather. I absolutely love working on the Music for Young Violinists project and all the many facets: blogging, website, music, teaching materials, freebies, videos, newsletter and giveaway contests. The best part is connecting with you so feel free to drop me a line. You can learn more about me on the "ABOUT" page. Thanks! |