Percussionists from five countries and 36 colleges and universities converged at Vanderbilt for the debut Nashville Marimba Sessions, hosted at Blair May 24-31. Spearheaded by Blair School of Music Associate Professor of Percussion Ji Hye Jung, the summer intensive featured a week of presentations, lessons, and performances.
“My vision of the Nashville Marimba Sessions is to create a place where students can share, collaborate, and learn, not compete with each other,” said Jung.
Joining her as guest instructors were Michael Burritt, professor of percussion at the Eastman School of Music, Eriko Daimo, instructor at Juilliard’s Pre-College and New York University, and Marta Klimasara, professor at Germany’s Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart.
Participants highlighted the opportunity to work closely with four world-renowned instructors as one of the most rewarding parts of the week. Each student took private lessons with two faculty members and received group lessons from all four, in addition to other direct interactions in chamber music coachings and masterclasses.
For Sho Bakura, a student at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, it was an “otherworldly experience.” “I idolize these people so much through the internet,” said Bakura, “and I’ve read so many stories about them, articles, books published by them, songs and pieces written up by them. And now I’m standing in front of them, learning from them.”
Collaboration was a central theme of the week, as the 52 participants shared their individual skills, knowledge, and interests with each other. “Being around so many people with so many different ideas about music and percussion playing, it inspires me to take in as much as I can,” said Kiran Steele, a master’s student at Canada’s University of Western Ontario.
Sarang Shravan, a rising senior at Blair, described the joy of connecting with like-minded musicians at Blair. “I learn just as much from the students as I do the faculty,” he said. “We all just want to play and have fun. It’s easy to do that when everybody’s got the same passions and goals,”
For Professor Jung, this collaborative environment was confirmation of the success of the festival. “This really was about creating community for the next generation,” said Jung. “I would love to see them create their own community after this festival, to go back home and share this passion and love in their schools, their hometowns, and their communities.”
