GAIA Masters, 5th–8th May 2011

GAIA is devoted to the continuation of outstanding string-teaching. Thus, 2011 sees the expansion of the GAIA Masterclasses. Over four days, internationally-renowned performers and teachers will listen to and coach gifted young instrumentalists, leading to a concert featuring this next generation of musicians on May 7th.

GAIA’s illustrious faculty will perform a chamber music concert at the culmination of this long weekend of music-making.

Taking place at various locations in Wimmis, the picturesque village at the foot of the Niesen, the structure of the Masterclasses allows the public to move between stylistically and culturally diverse approaches to playing, and students to benefit from not one, but six pedagogues’ individual methods.

Violin

Shmuel Ashkenasi
Philippe Graffin
Gwendolyn Masin

Viola

Gérard Caussé

Violoncello

Gavriel Lipkind
Philippe Muller

Pianists Stefka Perifanova, Mihaela Stefanova, and Stella Timenova will accompany the Masterclasses.

All Masterclasses are open to the public. Admission is free.

The deadline for applications is 18th March 2011.

For more information and seat reservations,please contact:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wimmis – the Village at the Foot of the Niesen

Wimmis

The Latin origin of the name – Vindemias (vintage) – indicates that Wimmis was already a place of importance during Roman times. A small vineyard at the nearby Moossee lake, bearing witness to its origins as a winemaking settlement, can still be visited. The village and its church, endowed by Queen Bertha, were first documented in 994. In the 12th century, the dukes of Strättligen built their castle in Wimmis, and gave town privileges to the settlement. The church and castle have maintained their predominant position above the village at the entrance to the valley of Simmental to this day. Its advantageous geographical location between the Bernese Alps and the Lake of Thun, as well as its excellent public transport services – motorway connection, train, bus – make Wimmis an attractive place to live or spend leisure time in.

Summa summarum, an ideal setting for GAIA’s new generation of young musicians to exceed the limits of their own expectations.

View Wimmis on Google Maps