Music professors Erik Anderson and Jon Rumney developed the "Dakota Chamber Music Scholars" project to expand Dakota Chamber Music's impact.
Funded by the Great Plains Center for Community Research and Service, one Minot State University student string quartet received training in performance and presentation. These Dakota Chamber Scholars will travel and share their love of chamber music in an "informance" format: an informative, outreach performance for young musicians in area schools.
"Along with learning to be good musicians and artists, it is critical that students' entrepreneurial spirits be developed," Erik Anderson said. "That the students gain experience advocating for their art in the eyes of the public, especially among those populations which have little or no experience with classical music.
"Live music shared with passion and proficiency speaks across barriers," he added. "This is a fundamental goal of the grant project."
Generally, chamber music includes any music performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part. The word "chamber" implicates music performed in a small room, often a private salon with an intimate atmosphere. However, by definition, it usually does not include solo instrument performances.
Performances are scheduled for music classes in Devils Lake and in Minot at the Ramstad Middle School orchestra class. DCM Scholars will travel to high schools and middle schools with string programs and guide younger musicians into a deeper understanding of chamber music. The MSU students will perform excerpts and lead discussions to expand public school students' musical experience. If schools with music programs want DCM Scholars to visit, they should call Rumney at 858-3304 for more information.
Since June 1996, Dakota Chamber Music, a weeklong institute, has annually brought professional musicians together with 40-50 talented and motivated students and adults for intensive performance and study. Luminus, MSU's resident trio of Erik and Dianna Anderson and Rumney, forms the core of the DCM faculty. DCM and DCM Scholars are coordinated by the MSU Division of Music.
For further information, contact Erik Anderson at 858-3576 or erik.anderson@minotstateu.edu