Michaela's Music House

Masterclasses in Ireland and Switzerland 2015

Gwendolyn returned to the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin in January to give a day of masterclasses to students of the institution. February will see the second course of two-day masterclasses at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre and in March, Gwendolyn teaches in Geneva once again for the pre-college students. Spring 2015 will see her revisit Schule Zollikon in Zurich for the second installment of her “Music in the Classroom” outreach programmes.

Dates for Your Diary:

January 30th 2015
Masterclasses at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, Ireland.

February 21st – 22nd 2015
Masterclasses at Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre, Geneva, Switzerland.

March 28th 2015
Masterclasses at Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre, Geneva, Switzerland.

Masterclasses in France, Spain and Switzerland 2014

A return invitation to give a week-long masterclass in the Centro Superior de Ensenanza Musical in Madrid included a major chamber music concert with Gwendolyn’s partners István Várdai (cello) and Bálint Zsoldos (piano) in the Palacio de Cibeles in early July. Later that month Gwendolyn enjoyed a ten-day residency at Musica Alta in the Alsace.
Two days in November were spent with students of the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre, and in December Gwendolyn embarked on her “Music in the Classroom” adventures, performing for children of primary schools and engaging them in stories about the violin and music.

Dates for Your Diary:

July 4th — 10th 2014
Masterclasses and concerts in Madrid, Spain.

July 29th — August 7th 2014
Masterclasses at Musica Alta, Alsace, France.

November 22nd — 23rd 2014
Masterclasses at Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre, Geneva, Switzerland.

December 9th 2014
“Music in the Classroom – Back to the Beginning” at Schule Zollikon, Zurich, Switzerland.

Masterclasses in Belgium, France, Portugal, and México, 2013

Returning to Lisbon's National Conservatory for the second time, Gwendolyn Masin taught masterclasses to third-level students following a lecture recital in Portugal’s capital in February. Spring brought “Festival International Rivage musicale” in Brussels, where students learned violin, viola and chamber music, and played concerts alongside the faculty. Summer had further Iberian flavour with a week-long masterclass in the Centro Superior de Ensenanza Musical in Madrid. Accompanying the premier performance of John Buckley’s violin concerto dedicated to her with the Savannah Philharmonic which opened that orchestra’s season, Gwendolyn was invited to lecture in the state of Georgia, USA, in September. This was followed by the fifth successive invitation to “The String Academy International Masterclasses” in France.

The dates were:

February 6th - 10th 2013
Masterclasses at the National Conservatory, Lisbon, Portugal.

April 6th - 13th 2013
Masterclasses as part of "Festival International Rivage musicale" in Brussels, Belgium.

July 19th - 30th 2013
Masterclasses in Cuernavaca, Morelos, and México City, México.

September 29th - October 6th 2013
Masterclasses as part of "The String Academy International Masterclasses" in Bourgogne, France.

Ivry Gitlis and Michaela

Gwendolyn Masin and Ivry Gitlis both taught masterclasses at Keshet Eilon in December 2012. No sooner had they met when Michaela burst in to take all the attention...

"Happiness is a melody you never get enough of!" - Ivry Gitlis on meeting Michaela.

Review of Michaela's Music House on Tutorpages

"I recommend using the wonderful book by Gwendolyn Masin, 'Michaela's Music House', for approaches to teaching younger beginners the violin."

Read the full review here.

Games and Exercises

Isobel and Luke demonstrate multitasking tricks, and preliminary games and exercises from "Michaeala's Music House". View the videos here.

New Year in México and Other Adventures, 2012

The turn of the year found Gwendolyn Masin performing and teaching in México City and Cuernavaca at the Eternal Spring Chamber Music Festival. In Europe, she continued the season with three days of masterclasses at the University of Music, Saar. Winter also saw a one-week return to "The String Academy International Masterclasses" in Davos in late January. She presented her talk "The 10th Muse – Inspired Teaching in Music. Dialogues with Gwendolyn Masin" at Trinity College, Dublin, in March. By the spring, Gwendolyn Masin was in Lisbon lecturing and teaching at the National Conservatory. During seminars, she introduced ideas from "Michaela's Music House" to help guide young teachers through the wonders of early learning. In May she returned to México City for a day of masterclasses after having given concerts there. Invited for the fourth time in succession to "The String Academy International Masterclasses" she taught violin, viola and chamber music in Bourgogne, France. During autumn she gave masterclasses at the Tóth Aladár Zeneiskola, one of Budapest's foremost schools for talented students. This was closely followed by an invitation to lecture at the 40th International European String Teachers' Association Conference in Porec, Croatia. In winter, she gave a workshop in the west of Ireland, two days of masterclasses at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, a presentation of "Michaela's Music House" at Brody House in Budapest, and completed an exciting season with masterclasses both at Keshet Eilon Music Centre and the Jerusalem Music Centre in Israel.

The dates were:

December 28th 2011 - 10th January 2012
Concerts and Masterclasses in Cuernavaca, Morelos, and México City, México.

January 24th - 26th 2012
Masterclasses in Saarbrücken, Germany.

January 29th - 5th February 2012
Masterclasses in Davos, Switzerland.

March 29th 2012
A Talk: "The 10th Muse – Inspired Teaching in Music. Dialogues with Gwendolyn Masin" at Trinity College, Dublin.

April 12th - 16th 2012
Masterclasses, Lectures and Seminars in Lisbon, Portugal.

May 7th 2012
Masterclasses at Teatro Regina, México City, México.

September 23rd - 30th 2012
Masterclasses as part of "The String Academy International Masterclasses" Bourgogne, France.

October 4th - 6th 2012
Masterclasses and Workshops at the Tóth Aladár Zeneiskola, Budapest, Hungary.

October 19th 2012
"Michaela's Music House - Unlocking the Imagination of Musicians" lecture at the 40th International European String Teachers' Association Conference in Poreč, Croatia.

November 11th 2012
Workshop in Gort, Ireland.

November 12th - 13th 2012
Masterclasses at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, Ireland.

November 23rd 2012
Introduction to "Michaela's Music House, The Magic of the Violin" at Brody House, Budapest, Hungary.

December 20th - 22nd 2012
Masterclasses at Keshet Eilon Music Centre's Winter Seminar, Israel.

December 25th 2012
Masterclasses at Jerusalem Music Centre, Israel.

Masterclasses at Davos, Esslingen and Utrecht, 2011

Gwendolyn Masin gave masterclasses in Davos twice in 2011, both at the Winter and Autumn String Academies. She also fulfilled her role as guest artist at the Podium Festival in Esslingen during a series of masterclasses and seminars for students and teachers, as well as appearances as soloist with the Podium Festival Strings Chamber Orchestra and at chamber music performances. She enjoyed masterclasses with the third-level students of Het Utrechts Conservatorium March. As part of her GAIA Chamber Music Festival, Gwendolyn Masin once again called GAIA Masters into being. Here, she performed with and taught masterclasses alongside violinists Shmuel Ashkenasi and Philippe Graffin, the violist Gérard Caussé, and cellists Gavriel Lipkind and Philippe Muller.

The dates were:

January 30th — 6th February 2011
Masterclasses in Davos, Switzerland.

March 27th and 29th 2011
Masterclasses at Utrecht Conservatory, the Netherlands.

April 27th — 2nd May 2011
Residency at the Podium Festival in Esslingen, Germany.

May 5th — 8th 2011
Masterclasses at GAIA in Thun, Switzerland.

September 4th — 11th 2011
Masterclasses in Davos, Switzerland.

Residencies in Izmir and Lisbon, 2010

Gwendolyn Masin was a guest artist in Izmir and Lisbon during the spring months of 2010. At masterclasses, seminars and lectures, she explained and demonstrated her approach and methodology, working with both teachers and pupils towards uncovering the secrets of exciting teaching and learning.

The dates were:

March 4th — 8th 2010
Residency at Izmir Dokuz Eylúl University State Conservatory in Turkey.

May 22nd — 25th 2010
Residency at the Metropolitano de Musica de Lisboa in Portugal.

Michaela, Daimee, Quartetto Gli Uccellini, Luke and David on RTÉ 2, January 19th 2010

On News2Day, Raidió Teilifís Éireann's news programme designed specifically for a young audience, Michaela's Music House, its author and some of the students that appear in the book were filmed at work and play.

Gwendolyn Masin on BBC Radio Ulster, January 9th 2010

In an interview given to John Toal on BBC Radio Ulster's "The Saturday Magazine", Gwendolyn discussed the benefit of story-telling in teaching, described the moment when a student takes ownership of that which they have learned, and explained the advantages of being able to call on the Patience Fairy for assistance...

Download an MP3 of the interview here
To save the file to your computer, right click and choose "Save As".

Gwendolyn Masin on Newstalk, January 7th 2010

In this excerpt from Newstalk's "Culture Shock", Gwendolyn was interviewed by Fionn Davenport about the relevance of a modern, fresh approach to learning music such as the one described in "Michaela's Music House", the recognition of musical potential in young students, the art of practising, and how eating ice-cream can possibly become a chore...

Download an MP3 of the interview here
To save the file to your computer, right click and choose "Save As".

And the Winner is...

On November 6th 2009, Michaela's Music House was nominated for and won the IDEA Awards 2009 in the Literature category.

Moreover, ahead of objects of desire presented by some of Ireland's most prestigious companies and institutions, the book received the Grand Prix on awards ceremony night. The judging panel were unanimous in their decision, describing Michaela's Music House as an exceptional accomplishment that works both practically and visually as an engaging tutor for children and adults. This overall prize is not given every year and is only offered to outstanding and innovative achievements.

In Gwendolyn Masin's absence due to performance commitments, the design team behind Michaela's Music House were in attendance to revel in the celebrations.

Left: Roger Jupp (Chair of IDEA judging panel), Rocky Grennell (designworks), Nick Cloake (Chairman of Design Business Ireland), Katy Judge (designworks)

Right: Martin Gaffney (founder of designworks), Katy Judge (graphic designer, Michaela's Music House), Amanda Dalton (project management, Michaela's Music House)

Gwendolyn Masin in the Irish Independent

Above: Nick Cloake, Chairman of Design Business Ireland, announcing the award