Master class coaching by guest artists has been part of Hoff-Barthelson’s curriculum since the School’s founding in 1944. This distinguished tradition continues this season with a roster of world-class musicians and educators. Master classes are an enlightening experience for students and audiences alike. After months of careful preparation, students perform for and then receive feedback and guidance from a master teacher who challenges the student to think in new and critical ways about the piece they’ve prepared. The results are inspiring and serve as a catalyst for students to reach new heights in their own musical explorations. Yet the learning isn’t limited just to the students who perform. In point of fact, any student—regardless of their level of development or whether or not they even play the same instrument—can learn a great deal.

Master Classes are open to the public to observe free of charge, but reservations are required. RSVP here.

2024-25 Master Class Teaching Artists

David Madsen, guitar
Saturday, November 16, 2024
3:00-5:00 pm
Hoff-Barthelson Music School

David Madsen founded the Suzuki Guitar Program at The Hartt School Community Division (HCD) in 1991 and currently serves as its Suzuki Guitar Coordinator. He earned a Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Connecticut, studying with David McLellan and Ed Flower, and continued his studies with renowned guitarists David Leisner and Pepe Romero. His Suzuki training was with Bill Kossler and Frank Longay. In 2000, Madsen became the third registered Suzuki Teacher Trainer in guitar with the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and has led training courses across North and South America. He also trained in Suzuki Early Childhood Education in 2016 and serves on the SAA Teacher Development Advisory Committee and Guitar Committee.

Madsen’s teaching philosophy is rooted in Shinichi Suzuki’s belief that “Every Child Can.” He guides families in creating environments that nurture success not only in learning guitar but in developing critical life skills. His goal is to help children become confident learners by teaching them how to problem-solve, communicate, and collaborate. He believes that every child has the potential to succeed and is dedicated to helping families support their children on that journey.

Chelsea Knox, flute
Sunday, February 9, 2025
1:00-3:15 pm

Chelsea Knox is the principal flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. A sought-after performer, Ms. Knox has held positions as assistant principal flute of the Baltimore Symphony and principal Flute of the New Haven and Princeton Symphonies. She has been hailed by the New York Times for her warmth, precision, and clarity, as well as by the New York Classical Review for her “expressive life and full tone.”

An active orchestral and chamber musician, Ms. Knox has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, All-Star Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and IRIS Orchestra.  As a soloist, Ms. Knox has performed concertos with the Baltimore Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Manchester Symphony, Juilliard Lab Orchestra, and Connecticut Youth Symphony. She has won competitions including the New York Flute Club Young Artists Competition and the Hartford Symphony Young Artists Competition.

Ms. Knox earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City as a student of Jeffrey Khaner. A native of Litchfield, CT, she received her early training at the Hartt School of Music, where she studied with Greig Shearer. In her spare time she is an active visual artist and her work has been displayed in galleries in New York and Connecticut.

Compose Yourself! Project
Nils Vigeland, composer
Matt Browne, composer
Saturday, March 8, 2025
1:00 – 5:00 pm

Nils Vigeland, born in Buffalo, NY in 1950, is a pianist and composer. He made his professional debut in 1969 with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under Lukas Foss. Vigeland studied composition with Foss at Harvard (B.A., 1972) and later earned a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo, studying with Morton Feldman and Yvar Mikhashoff.

Vigeland’s first orchestral piece was performed by Foss and the Buffalo Philharmonic in 1970. His works have since been performed by renowned groups such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Oslo Radio Orchestra. Notable compositions include *Piano Concerto* (1984) and *False Love/True Love* (1992), premiered by the English National Opera.

He has recorded collaborations with artists like Jenny Q Chai, Daniel Lippel, and John Popham, and his recent work, *Pale Fire*, a 90-minute solo piano piece, premiered in 2023. Vigeland toured extensively with Morton Feldman as part of “Morton Feldman and Soloists” and directed The Bowery Ensemble (1980-1989), premiering numerous contemporary works.

A long-time educator, Vigeland taught at the Manhattan School of Music for thirty years, retiring as Chair of the Composition Department in 2013. His music appears on labels like Mode, Naxos, and Lovely Music, and his choral works are published by Boosey and Hawkes. To learn more, visit nilsvigeland.com

Colorado-based composer Matt Browne (b. 1988) strives to create music that meets Sergei Diaghilev’s famous challenge to Jean Cocteau: “Astonish me!”, through incorporating such eclectic influences as the timbral imagination and playfulness of György Ligeti, the shocking and humorous polystylism of Alfred Schnittke, and the relentless rhythmic energy of Igor Stravinsky.  His music has been praised for its “unbridled humor” (New Music Box) and described as “witty” (The Strad) and “beautifully crafted and considered” (What’s On London).

Dr. Browne has had the honor to collaborate with such ensembles as the Minnesota Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, PRISM Quartet, Albany Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. His music has received honors such as the ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers award, and a BMI Student Composer award.

He received his DMA from the University of Michigan. Previous teachers include Michael Daugherty and Carter Pann.

Paul Watkins, cello
Saturday, March 8, 2025
1:00-3:15 pm

Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as concerto soloist, chamber musician and conductor. He is the Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit (since 2014), the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet (2013-2023) and Visiting Professor of Cello at Yale School of Music (since 2018). He took first prize in the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition, and has held the positions of Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra.

As a cellist, Watkins has given regular concerto performances with prestigious orchestras across the globe. Also, a dedicated chamber musician, Watkins was a member of the Nash Ensemble (1997-2013) and the Emerson String Quartet (2013-2023). After 44 successful seasons, the Quartet has decided to retire, and undertaken an extensive series farewell tours, culminating in their final performances in New York Lincoln Center in October 2023, where the concert is being filmed for a planned documentary by filmmaker Tristan Cook, and the release of their final recording of Berg, Chausson, Schoenberg and Hindemith with prestigious guests soprano Barbara Hannigan and pianist Bertrand Chamayou.

As a conductor, Watkins has conducted all the major British orchestras, and a wide range of international orchestras. In 2006 he made his opera debut conducting a critically praised new production of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine for Opera North.

Almita Vamos, violin
Sunday, April 6, 2025
1:00-3:15 pm

Additional information coming soon.

Master Classes are open to the public to observe free of charge, but reservations are required. RSVP here.