String Masterclass

Bancroft’s held a String Masterclass on Thursday 16 June with Rachel Roberts, one of the country’s finest viola players. Four of our young music scholars participated: Emily Jackson (violin), Alex Yan (viola), Martha Grimsell (cello) & Matteo Mariano (viola). Rachel Roberts also played a solo: Fantasie by Hummel.

Our four soloists were asked searching questions about how they were trying to communicate their playing to the audience. After some discussion on matters such as bowing technique and stylistic interpretation, it was remarkable to see in such a short time how their playing was lifted to the highest possible level. The masterclass certainly demonstrated the value of working with a professional string player and we congratulate the four soloists for doing so well at such an advanced level.