We are going to have a fantastic brass-course at Aurora in Sweden this summer, August 8-19th!!

You will play for Dvorak symphonie no 9, Tschaikovsky symphonie no 5 – great fun for the brass-section))) together with other great orchestra repertoire.

Apart from the SOLO MASTERCLASSES on your individual instrument, we will also focus on CHAMBER MUSIC – that all of you will perform at the festivals public concerts!!

For example: Since it is 300 anniversary of the death of GABRIELI you will for sure study & perform this incredibly beautiful music under our direction.
Also, you will study & perform BRASSQUINTETT; suggested repertoire from the following:

Malcolm ARNOLD, POULENC(trio), possibly the swedish composer Anders HILLBORG, SUSATO, HANDELl Firework music, Fanfare for the common man by Aaron COPLAND, Samuel BARBER, Mutations by Bach…..and a lot more.))

See you in Auroraland is the summer!!

Very best wishes,

Jonas Bylund, trombone professor Hannover
Urban Agnas, trumpet professor Köln
Michael Thompson, horn professor London

You might come to Aurora because you saw a famous Professor’s name for your instruments, just like I did. BUT there are far more you are gonna win there.
Go to all other instrument’s lessons if you wanna rest a bis after practicing.
Chamber music lessons with Per, oh you mustn’t miss it.
Check concerts program well, endless source of inspiration!
So the best Tip I can give you is:
Open your eyes, ears, and your heart! And experience Aurora Festival!

hope to see you at Aurora
love.hug.
Yukari

P.S. Dear Per & Ola, I got Job 2 days ago @ Deutsche Oper Berlin! ))

I am looking forward to a fun time, being a student again – and to hang around with many good musicians and friends.

So, hope to see you guys in Auroraland in August!! /Andreas.”

- Cecilie Løken

We expect many applications to arrive within the next few days before deadline on May 15th, and we are very happy to help you find your way through the website and the application process.

There is 3 different courses that you can choose based on your interest & nationality:

1. If you are a EU citizen you can apply for the European Master Classes, which has NO COURSE FEE. You will receive 7,5 ECTS credits.
2. If you are NOT an EU citizen you can apply for exactly same course and content as above. This alternative course has a course fee, and the application process is different. You find all the information you need here.
3. We also have the Aurora Solo Masterclasses. This is open for all nationalities and consist of 4 solo masterclasses under a shorter period of time. This course has no chamber music & orchestra. For this option, click here.
Please click on the link Master Classes in the top menu and navigate from there for all the information you need.

Here below you can see some of the pictures taken during the spring edition of Aurora Master Classes – April 2012 (or you can check our facebook page for more!)
Hope to meet you in Trollhättan this summer!

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Efter konserten slutat är hon lite mer förberedd att berätta mer för mig. Hon gillade faktiskt allting och kunde inte ens tänka att någon av låtarna var mindre rolig än andra. Vi skojar lite över ett notblad som flög iväg medan cellisten Béla Beer spelade Schumann’s piano quartet, sista delen av konserten. Det blev lite spännande att han kunde spela ändå. Tyra tycker att det beror säkert på att han har övat jättemycket på just denna musiklåt.
Kommer hon att besöka Aurora festivalen igen? ”Kanske på sommarfestivalen i Trollhättan”

Vi ses Tyra!

”Var just och lyssnade till pianoprofessor Fabio Bidinis lektion där ungdomarna spelade Schnittke, ett mycket allvarligt stycke musik som skakar om på djupet. Anknytningar till det mörka 40 talet.” Anna berättar ”Musiken var i bland ”splittrad” men senare också enande och allvarlig. Professorn var bra på att beskriva både musikens djup men också hur anpassa speltekniken för att uppnå detta.
Allt var oerhört inspirerande och fantastiskt att se hur ungdomarna och musiken utvecklade sig på bara fåtal minuter. Det är just detta kanske som är det mest spännande med ”master classes” säger Anna med glansen i ögat ”att se själva utvecklingen bland de unga artisterna.
Extra spännande blir det förstås sedan att höra musiken/artisterna, man just hört på master classes, på festivalens konserter. Då är det ju på riktigt.”

Eszter Major is one of these students. She is Hungarian but she leaves and study in Switzerland.
I meet her a few minutes after her class with Philippe Graffin, a violin teacher. ”It has been an intense lesson. Definitely not the typical master classes lesson where the teacher gets away with giving you a couple of good tricks. In less than an hour I had the feeling of building a relation with the teacher. He took the time to understand my way of playing, he really listened to me and what I was doing and came up with very good suggestions for improving.” Aurora’s artists are always chosen carefully and are some of the best musicians in the world. Eszter continues ”There is something about Aurora. The atmosphere is really familiar and relaxed, and you feel at home with friends. The schedule is tough sometimes, but it is such a good opportunity to be here!”
Yes, the schedule is though indeed, especially for Eszter who have been asked in the last minute to jump in a quintet due to a late cancellation of one of her fellow students. ”When Per told me whether I wanted to play the C Franck piano quintet I was hesitant because I already have many pieces to play. But I decided to step in anyway and help the rest of the group out of this situation”

Thank you Eszter! This is the right spirit at Aurora Chamber Music.

Click to enlarge or read here

I have experienced a lot in life–actually, if I even remotely had a trace of talent for writing I could compose quite an entertaining book–but this Aurora festival, specifically Per and Ola, who by the way seem quite delightfully naughty and imaginatively ambitious, have managed to entice me into two new activities: to write a blog ( mind you, I don’t even have a website) and to finally devote some of my time to young singers. I’m really looking forward to working with a few select motivated singers this summer. And the fact that the Aurora festival offers the unique opportunity for vocal chamber music with participating instrumentalists, makes this summer’s festival even more exciting. Of course, the ambitious professionally geared singers will wonder what good this is, considering chamber music is neither a widespread phenomenon nor does it pay. But, I tell you this, it is a fantastic opportunity to indulge and explore in music making and fine-tune one’s artistry–besides being sheer fun! Naturally, we’ll also be exploring the great opera arias and lovely art-songs from around the world

Apply now, dear young singers! The application deadline is quickly approaching, so hurry. If You can’t, then spread the word! Because it’s going to be fun!

I’ll soon be back with more rambling thoughts and what not.
Over and out from Lotta in the sky

(want to know more about the vocal solo & chamber music course? Click here. Application deadline for all Aurora courses held in August 2012, is May 15th)