“I should like to write a violin concerto for you next winter. One in E minor runs through my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace.” – Felix Mendelssohn
Composed in the early 1840’s Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, replete with a haunting melody that gave the composer ‘no peace,’ “easily conjures up the drama of misty heaths featured in contemporary novels by Sir Walter Scott and the Brönte sisters,” in the words of one critic.
As we write this in early February 2022, we, like the rest of the world, are planning a summer Institute that will largely be held in-person here on our beautiful campus of Mary Baldwin University. But we will also retain an online option for students who may not be able to travel here to Staunton, Virginia in our still-pandemic-plagued times.
And over the last two years, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to create a great experience for online learning – and performing! The hybrid Heifetz 2021 program featured both in-person and online study with the outstanding lineup of Heifetz faculty, and students also had the opportunity to give both live and virtual performances as part of our annual summertime Festival of Concerts. Check out this Mendelssohn performance from our final Virtual Stars of Tomorrow concert which features not only 12-year old Eunice’s technical mastery, but also her ability to play with ease and comfort a piano collaborator half a world away. The precocious Mendelssohn, a child prodigy himself, would doubtless by impressed!