Nadia Maudhoo finished the solo, lowered her bow and took a breath.
Renowned violinist Sandy Cameron smiled.
“That was very good, but I’m going to try and take this out of the box a little bit,” Cameron said, moving on to suggestions about developing musical expression, and pointing out ways to think differently about forming the harmonies — going beyond the technical aspects of the piece.
Cameron asked Maudhoo to play the piece again. This time, Maudhoo received enthusiastic applause as she formed the last note. Her fellow string students clearly noticed something different in her performance.
“Bravo! That’s how we take Bach out of the box — he’s not boring,” Cameron said. “We’re made to think that he was very strict and we are taught to revere him, which we should, but not to the point of sticking him in a box and thinking it can only be this way, it must be this way. Bach was sending a message through his music. The challenge for us when we play Bach is to think outside of the melody. What are we bringing to these different moments of the piece.”
The interaction between Maudhoo, a doctoral student in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Glenn Korff School of Music and Cameron, who is a featured soloist in “Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton,” was made possible by the Lied Center for Performing Arts, which hosted and organized master classes for students with Cameron, Third Coast Percussion, and Elfman himself throughout the week — which was dubbed “Danny Elfman Week” on campus.
“That was amazing,” Maudhoo said. “I’ve done master classes before, and sometimes with the amount of time we have, we don’t get a lot done. But instead of doing specifics, she went into ideas, which is really cool. That’s what I really wanted from a master class because she just said one thing, and I was able to kind of understand what she wanted.
“That was a life-changing experience for me.”
Iain Thomas, a junior music major, was also selected to work with Cameron during the master class. Cameron helped him hone in on his breathing to control his nervousness, and on thinking more broadly about the sound of his instrument.
Following the individualized lessons, with all strings students watching, Cameron was game for a Q&A, where she was asked about tips for warming up, preparing for a performance and how to approach daily practice.
Cameron has led master classes before, and with a limited amount of time with the students, she said her “biggest hope is that they walk out at the end feeling like they’ve learned something or experienced something new.”
“I want them to walk away with an experience that means something to them, whether it’s with the music, or just as a human being,” Cameron said. “It’s a special experience for me, too. I’ve realized when I do a master class, I’m not just learning about how a particular student plays, I’m also learning about how some of these students think of music, and maybe they’ve thought of it in a way I didn’t, and that’s valuable to me. I could be learning something about myself. I could be inspired.”
Master classes like the ones held Oct. 4-7 are common at Nebraska U, but rare at colleges across the United States, said Sasha Dobson, outreach coordinator for the Lied. The Lied Center is unique as a world-class performing arts center on a college campus. Most are not part of a college or university.
“The first word in our mission statement is to educate, and with almost all of our artists, in the contract phase, we propose student engagement, or some type of engagement with the community,” Dobson said. “I’d say 90 to 95% or our artists do outreach events with us while they’re here.”
In the past, students have had the opportunity to work with Yo-yo Ma, Susan Werner, the cast of “Something Rotten!,” Paul Shaffer, Harry Connick, Jr., and more. On Oct. 6, Elfman led a music composition master class with a small group of students, and participated in a Q&A during music convocation.
Elfman interacted with the campus community during IGNITE Oct. 7, in the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. This special double-feature of IGNITE included Jesse Fleming, assistant professor in Emerging Media Arts, and the creative team behind “The Wilds.”
Limited tickets are available for Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton,” Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lied. Cameron is also performing with the UNL Orchestra in “Danny Elfman’s Violin Concerto,” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 in Kimball Hall.
