2012 SpringBoard Meeting

2012 NCVS SpringBoard Meeting & Reading

Monday May 21 in Daly City we are holding our first board meeting of 2012, and we're opening things up a bit; if you'd like to get involved in the 5pm meeting and/or the 6:30pm reading party & potluck, shoot an email over to norcalviola@gmail.com to RSVP and get the exact location.

We know this is last-minute; space is limited and only a few spots remain for this event. Don't worry though, if you're reading this way late - there will be other opportunites to get involved throughout the rest of the year. Watch this space!

VoaR 3 for 3: the recap

Photos from the May 29th VoaR in Santa Rosa - our most successful workshop project yet!

We think this collage of photos from the May 22, 2011 VoaR at UC Davis pretty well represents the spirit of the event and the enthusiasm of the people who joined us for the long day.

Soon to come: some Videos recapping the whole project, a little of each event... for now - how about starting with some Jobim from Santa Rosa?

To find out more about bringing Violas on a Roll to your school or community, email us at norcalviola@blogspot.com today!

Violas on a Roll - Two down, One to go!

Thanks to all who came out to UC Davis yesterday, May 22 2011 for the second of three Violas on a Roll workshops presented by the NCVS, funded in part by the ACF-SF Bay Area Chapter. A great group of players of all ages joined Katie and Ethan for some group warm-ups, a masterclass with Ethan, a Blues workshop with Katie, an open rehearsal of the new work "Violas on a Roll" that Katie wrote for this project, a delicious potluck dinner provided by a little of all of us including some very generous local parents, and the final concert which began with a string of Viola Jokes that had been submitted in our Viola Joke Box throughout the day. The winning pair of jokes (tied for provoking the heartiest audience laughter) won some free stuff for their tellers.

Here are some shots from the day's activities, which ran from about 1pm till the end of our concert just after 8pm.

We have plenty of room for more violists in next week's workshop at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Rosa, May 29th from 1-8pm. Sign up today with our online registration form (click the tab at the top of this page) to let us know you're coming!

Violas on a Roll 2011 - One down, Two to go!

Congratulations to Ethan, Katie and Tom from the NCVS and to Andrea and the folks at the SLO Symphony who helped make the inaugural Violas on a Roll workshop a wonderful, fun success yesterday in Los Osos.

Two more workshops coming up later this month - register today! Click on the Register! tab above to fill out the form and let us know you're interested... Meanwhile, check out this little slideshow of photos from Violas on a Roll - Los Osos!

Get parts for Violas on a Roll

Attention Violas on a Roll participants, teachers, players, and viola fans!

If anyone would like parts for "Violas on a Roll" (the big group piece we'll be doing on the concerts for VIOLAS ON A ROLL), send me an email at: vlazville@earthlink.net to get a PDF by return email.

Also for teachers, if you'd like a chart for the regular or the very simple version of the tune we'll be learning for the "My Goldfish Died-blues for violas" workshop, I can send those, too. This is appropriate for students who can play most of a one-octave D major scale, so if you have some young beginners, they could show up for just this part and then attend the concert.

1. Register Today for Violas on a Roll with our handy online registration form

2. Take a look at our Potluck sign-up sheet and let us know if you can bring anything to share for dinner

Three "Violas on a Roll" dates & locations confirmed for May 2011

Los Osos on May 1st; UC Davis on May 22nd; Santa Rosa on May 29th

The Northern California Viola Society is heading out on the road with its message of viola love, learning and celebration to three fantastic venues in May 2011, presenting Violas on a Roll in Los Osos on May 1st, at UC Davis on May 22nd and in Santa Rosa on May 29th.

Click Here to Complete the quick Online Registration Form

On May 1st 2011 the NorCal Viola Society will partner with the San Luis Obispo Symphony to bring the inaugural Violas on a Roll workshop & concert to Los Osos. Running from about 1-8pm, VoaR will feature the World Premiere of a new work for multiple violas composed by Katrina Wreede, commissioned by the Northern California Viola Society and funded in part by a grant from the American Composers Forum (San Francisco Bay Area Chapter).

Planning to eventually bring Violas on a Roll to many other communities throughout Northern California, the NCVS is excited to have SLO/Los Osos serve as our official jumping-off point for the project.

At UC Davis on May 22nd we'll take over a handful of rooms in the Department of Music from 12-8pm to bring this travelling viola celebration to the Central Valley.

On May 29th Katrina Wreede and Ethan Filner will drive up to Santa Rosa for the third VoaR Workshop, this time at the First Presbyterian Church. Along with a Master Class and a Blues Workshop, participants will have the opportunity to break into ad-hoc groups to freelance/sight-read multiple-viola chamber music, and to work together in an open rehearsal of Katie's commissioned work.

The precise start time varies slightly at each location but each workshop's schedule will go something like this:

12:30 Welcome/Check-in
1:00 Master Class with Ethan
2:15 "My Goldfish Died" Blues Workshop with Katie
3:30 Open Rehearsal on "Violas on a Roll" (the new work by Katie, commissioned by the NCVS with funding from the American Composers Forum)
4:45 Mulitple-viola chamber music Freelancing
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Public Recital featuring performances by Ethan, Katie, local violists and everybody together on "Violas on a Roll"

Interested violists of all ages are encouraged to contact us to find out more and to register for the workshop ahead of time: norcalviola@blogspot.com... Meanwhile, tell a friend, bring your stand-partner, drag your kids along... All registrants will be invited to prepare some solo work for the Master Class (first-come, first-serve, time permitting); a few will be selected to perform in the evening public recital.

It is also worth noting that we are working on the design for a Violas on a Roll T-shirt we will be selling at all future workshops, but if you are feeling creative and inspired to try your hand at your own design, we are soliciting design proposals and sketches from the general public... if yours is selected for the final design you will receive special recognition on VoaR publicity materials... and our deepest thanks for your enthusiastic involvement! Send all proposed designs in hi-resolution .pdf format to norcalviola@gmail.com.

Flyers for these workshops are available for download (.jpg format) under the Resources tab at the top of this page.

Violas on a Roll 2011 - Initial Press Release

Northern California Viola Society presents

VIOLAS ON A ROLL

What: Violas on a Roll, from the Northern California Viola Society—

A FREE workshop/master class/chamber music/public concert event for everyone who loves the viola

Who: Violists of any age and ability are welcome to come, listen, learn, and play—Evening concert is FREE to the public

Where: Trinity United Methodist Church

490 Los Osos Valley Rd.

Los Osos, 93402

(805) 528-1649

When: May 1^st, 2011, 1PM-8PM

Workshops from 1-6PM. FREE Public Concert from 7-8PM, featuring Ethan Filner, Katrina Wreede and participants performing works for viola, including the world premiere of a multiple viola work commissioned for this event

OTHER DATES & LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE NORCAL REGION TBA

How much: FREE to participants and audience. Donations to or memberships in Northern California Viola Society welcomed

Specifics: The Northern California Viola Society, with NCVS President Ethan Filner, Cypress Quartet violist, and composer/violist Katrina Wreede, is bringing Violas on a Roll to locations around Northern and Central California to create opportunities for violists of every age and ability to meet, have fun, and play together. Violas on a Roll days include a master class with Filner for violists of any ability, a blues workshop with Wreede, group rehearsal of the new commissioned piece, chamber music reading session of viola ensemble music, and an informal concert presenting Filner, Wreede, SLO area violists, plus all the participants together to premiere the piece: “Violas on a Roll”.

ViolaMania, NCVS’s first big event in Berkeley, CA (Sept. 2010), attracted over 400 people, with 130+ violists from beginners to world-class professionals performing the Telemann Viola Concerto all together. Violas on a Roll will extend the viola community around the state.

More info or

To Register: norcalviola@gmail.com | 415-779-NCVS (6287)