This is a story about "Camp Nirvana", a two-week intensive string quartet summer camp for advanced teenaged string players. Held near Seattle, the camp is directed by Karen Iglitzin, former 1st violinist of the Philadelphia String Quartet. The faculty includes violinist Irwin Eisenberg, a founder of the Philadelphia String Quartet and former member of the Philadelphia Orchestra and St.Louis Symphony. Camp Nirvana also features the teaching of Leslie Marckx, dynamic cellist, formerly on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University.
Accepting only 20 students from around the country, the students are grouped together to form 5 string quartets. Camp Nirvana features an amazing faculty to student ratio, with the 3 faculty, an activity director, all there full time to teach, inspire and guide the 20 students.
Karen Iglitzin's chamber music programs and camp began in 1983 at the Olympic Music Festival, and in 2001, moved to the campus of Bastyr University, on the shores of beautiful Lake Washington near Seattle.
The camp is presented by "Chamber Music Madness", founded and directed by Ms.Iglitzin, is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to the musical and personal development of young people through chamber music.
Karen Iglitzin's philosophy is very distinctive, as it focuses on each individual's personal and musical growth. There is a great emphasis on how to increase expression and a sense of confidence. She also has a high priority for the 'camp group bonding', to that end, lots of carefully planned activities to help the students get to know and trust one another. By setting a safe environment and an atmosphere of mutual support, it is easier to foster increased musical expression. She and her staff are dedicated to guiding the students to take creative risks.
Though string quartet study forms the center of the students activity, the camp also has a strong emphasis on folk dance and fiddling, improvisation, and the like. The relationshop between dance and music is explored and enjoyed.
This camp has been a transformative experience for many young people, and a number of graduates have gone on to major music schools such as Juilliard, the Cleveland Institute, Peabody, etc. But equally important is Karen's philosophy that every young person, whatever their future career path, will continue to play chamber music as a joyful, lifelong pursuit.
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