Past Seminars

This page lists topics and presenters from past seasons of the Conference Seminar Series.

2024 Seminars
2023 Seminars
2022 Seminars
2021 Seminars
2020 Seminars
2019 Seminars
2018 Seminars
2017 Seminars
2016 Seminars
2015 Seminars
2014 Seminars
2013 Seminars
2012 Seminars
2011 Seminars
2010 Seminars
2009 Seminars
2008 Seminars
2007 Seminars
2006 Seminars
2005 Seminars
2004 Seminars

2024 Seminars

There was no public Seminar Series at the 2024 Conference.


2023 Seminars

There was no public Seminar Series at the 2023 Conference.


2022 Seminars

There was no public Seminar Series at the 2022 Conference.


2021 Seminars

There was no Seminar Series at the 2021 Conference.


2020 Seminars

There was no Conference in 2020.


2019 Seminars

THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019, 7:30 PM

Brahms, Art Collector of Fantasy and Surrealism

Styra Avins

This seminar was made possible by the generous support of the Barbara and Jerry Hulka Fund.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019, 7:30 PM

Playing with Time Through Time: Examining the changing role of rubato in historical recordings of chamber music performance

Alex Fortes


THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019, 7:30 PM

How to Accomplish at Least 30% More in Each Practice Session

Jacqueline Leclair

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2018 Seminars

THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018, 7:30 PM

Pulse and Breath

Jo-Ann Sternberg

This seminar was made possible by the generous support of the Barbara and Jerry Hulka Fund.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2018, 7:30 PM

An Exploration of Béla Bartók's String Quartet #6

Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Stephen Reid, cello


THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018, 7:30 PM

If By Your Art: A Conversation with Paul Moravec

Frank Daykin

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2017 Seminars

THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017, 7:30 PM

Music for Social Impact

Claire Bryant


THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2017, 7:30 PM

Beethoven: String Quartet in c-sharp minor, Op. 131

Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2017, 7:30 PM

Composing String Quartets

Donald Crockett


FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017, 7:30 PM

Breaking Down Hierarchies in Chamber Music Interactions

Robert Merfeld

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2016 Seminars

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016, 7:30 PM

A Passion for Music from the Inside Out

James Buswell


FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016, 7:30 PM

Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 132

Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016, 7:30 PM

Beyond the 3 B's: Broadening Your Chamber Music Repertoire

James Wilson

This seminar was made possible by the generous support of the Barbara and Jerry Hulka Fund.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2016, 7:30 PM

The (Cine)shape of Contemporary Chamber Music: A Conversation with Amy Williams

Frank Daykin

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2015 Seminars

THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015, 7:30 PM

Lonely Prince of a Realm of Spirits:
An exploration of Beethoven's String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127

Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015, 7:30 PM

César Franck's Second Act: A Preview of the Piano Quintet

Phillip Bush, Music Director, Bennington Chamber Music Conference

This seminar was made possible by the generous support of the Barbara and Jerry Hulka Fund.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015, 7:30 PM

Movie Night:
The Rolston Sessions: The Candidates of the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition

Riddle Films, 2013; Liam Romalis & Jason Charters, directors; 75 minutes

Filmed in the beautiful Rolston Recital Hall of the Banff Centre, a great Canadian institution dedicated to arts, culture and education, The Rolston Sessions goes backstage at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition. Breathtaking performances and intimate interviews with ten of the best emerging quartets from all over the world.

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2014 Seminars

THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2014

The Op. 130, Op. 131, and Op. 132 Late Quartets by Beethoven — Plus the Grosse Fuge
Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014

Dual Narrative: Music and Photography
George Enescu's Impressions d'enfance presented with 26 images by Peter Laytin
Co-presentation with Art New England

Shem Guibbory, violin
Phillip Bush, piano


THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

Movie Night:
Delmar, a film by Matthew Dine
Speak the Music: Robert Mann and the Mysteries of Chamber Music, a film by Allan Miller


THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Fish Tales, or The One That Didn't Get Away: A Schubert Exploration

Frank Daykin, pianist/musicologist
Susanna Eyton-Jones, soprano

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2013 Seminars

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

The Sublime in Beethoven: Slow Movements in the Quartets and the Hammerklavier Sonata
Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello
Phillip Bush, piano


THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013

Brahms in the Home: Domestic Music-Making in the Late 19th-Century
Styra Avins, musicologist

Talk followed with open readings by participants of works by Walter Rabl and Robert Kahn and Theodor Kirchner's arrangement for piano trio of Brahms's Sextet, Op. 36.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Beethoven's Diabelli Variations
Stephen Manes, piano

Brief talk about this landmark of Beethoven's late period, the keyboard corollary to the late quartets, followed by a complete performance.

This presentation is made possible by the generous support of Jerry and Barbara Hulka.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2013

Movie Night: A Time There Was

Screening of Tony Palmer's acclaimed 1980 documentary about composer Benjamin Britten, exploring his life and works by combining interviews, rehearsal footage, and fully-staged scenes from operas such as Peter Grimes. Presented as part of the Conference's season-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Britten's birth.

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2012 Seminars

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

A Closer Look At Bartók's Fourth String Quartet
Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2012

Einstein on the Road
Albert Einstein's travels 1922-33 and the role of music in his life

Dr. Josef Eisinger, Professor Emeritus, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and author, Einstein on the Road


THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Pierrot Lunaire and The Rite of Spring at 100
Schoenberg and Stravinsky's legacy through the twentieth century and beyond

Dr. Elizabeth Seitz, Professor of Music History, Boston Conservatory

This lecture is made possible by the generous support of Jerry and Barbara Hulka.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

Antonín and Johannes: Influence Without Anxiety
Examining complex connections between the music of Dvořák and Brahms

Frank Daykin, pianist/musicologist

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2011 Seminars

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2011

A Closer Look at Bartók's Second String Quartet
Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011

Building an Opera From the Ground Up
A look into the process of transforming an idea into a 21st-century multidisciplinary chamber opera

Donald Crockett, CMC Senior Composer-in-Residence
Kate Vincent, Firebird Ensemble (Producer)


THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2011

Vocal Chamber Music
An overview from Schubert to Shostakovich

Dr. Lynn Kompass, University of South Carolina

This lecture is made possible by the generous support of Jerry and Barbara Hulka.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011

Cueing and Body Language in Chamber Music
A Workshop for All Instruments

Jacqueline Leclair and Daniel Grabois (with assisting CMC faculty)

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2010 Seminar Series

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010

A Closer Look at Bartók's Third String Quartet
Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010

Schumann the Critic: The Music That Mattered

Phillip Bush, Music Director, Chamber Music Conference


THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2010

Inside The Letter: The New Opera by Paul Moravec

Paul Moravec, Composer-in-Residence


THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2010

Much Madness Is ... (Re-imaging Schumann)

Frank Daykin, pianist/musicologist

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2009 Seminar Series

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert: Where Influence Meets Inspiration
Lecture-Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, July 30, 2009

Changing Clothes: How Composers Dress Their Music

Styra Avins, musicologist/cellist


THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009

Good Music for a Free People: Concert Life in 19th-Century America

Dr. Nancy Newman, Assistant Professor, University at Albany (SUNY)

This lecturer is made possible by the generous support of the Hulka family.


THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2009

Do You Hear what I Hear?: Psychoacoustic Auditory Demonstrations

Fan Tao, Director of Research and Development, D'Addario Co., Inc.

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2008 Seminar Series

THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2008

Beethoven's Quartet Op. 59, No. 2
A Lecture/Performance led by Joel Berman


THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2008

Playing (Less) Hurt - An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians

Janet Horvath, Associate Principal Cellist, Minnesota Orchestra


THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008

Quartet for All Time: Messiaen at 100

Frank Daykin, musicologist

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2007 Seminar Series

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2007

Bartók's Sixth String Quartet
A Lecture/Performance led by Joel Berman

Joel Berman, violin
Mayuki Fukuhara, violin
Alice Berman, viola
Steve Reid, cello


THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007

Johannes Kreisler:
How a Fictional Character Influenced Brahms, Schumann, and Other Composers

Styra Avins, musicologist/cellist


THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2007

Música Mestiza: One Composer's Perspective

Gabriela Lena Frank, composer/pianist


TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2007

Elgar: Beyond the Enigma
Exploration of Elgar's Piano Quintet, Violin Sonata, and String Quartet

Frank Daykin, musicologist


THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2007

The Omnivorous Musician: An Hour with Robert Dick

Robert Dick, composer/flutist

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2006 Seminar Series

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2006

Why Beethoven Wrote the Great Fugue:
The Mystery Unraveled

Joel Berman


THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006

The Sound of Paintings in 20th Century Art

Lutz Rath


THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2006

Cultivating Artistry

John Steinmetz


THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006

Frank Talk About Shostakovich:
The Secret Signs and The Impenetrable Wall
(Did Shostakovich write secret messages in his music?)

Musicologist Frank Daykin, Resident Composer Gabriela Lena Frank, and the Festival Faculty

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2005 Seminar Series

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2005

And you thought Brahms was old-fashioned:
Schoenberg's view of Brahms

Musicologist/Cellist Styra Avins and the Conference Faculty


THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2005

Eye-openers for the ear:
Schubert on paper vs. Schubert in sound

Musicologist David Montgomery


THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2005

And you thought you knew Beethoven

Musicologist/Pianist Frank Daykin

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2004 Seminar Series

THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2004

Music is Alive, Well & All Over the Map!

John Steinmetz, Donald Crockett, and the Festival Faculty


THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2004

Inspiration, Text and Music – Part I

Stephen Hartke, Carol Meyer, and the Festival Faculty


THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2004

Inspiration, Text and Music – Part II

Shem Guibbory, Cynthia Adler, Susanna Eyton-Jones, and the Festival Faculty


THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004

The 4-Handed Musician

Abba Bogin and David Oei

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The Chamber Music Conference and Composers’ Forum of the East, Inc.
Tobias Werner, Music Director
Donald Crockett, Senior Composer-in-Residence
Susie Ikeda, Executive Director

617-447-1808 | cmceast@cmceast.org
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