Here’s a Frugal Fun idea I hadn’t thought about until this past Monday, when I had the amazing privilege of sitting in on a master class with superstar cellist Yo Yo Ma, coaching three different teenage chamber groups.

My 16-year-old son, who plays violin and oboe and is very serious about both, was one of eight students chosen to participate. And all the parents got to come, too.

Ma is warm, gracious, funny, and has no ego hangups. He greeted each musician personally and asked their names. He also shook hands with all the parents. His musical advice was extremely perceptive, and focused not on technique but on how to feel the piece. He even had one of the players “channel” the composer and talk about “his” feelings while writing it. And he joked a lot; he clearly didn’t want the students to get awestruck and tense, and made a point of coming across as a regular person with some skills, insights, and enthusiasm to share.

As a non-musician, I felt I got a whole lot out of the session. And that’s when I decided that master classes would make a good topic in this newsletter, because you don’t have to be a serious student or even in the genre to get a lot out of watching (save actual participation for those who are serious, and just watch). OK, so you may not get too many chances to sit in when one of the top classical musicians in the world is teaching—but plenty of people, in all the arts, do master classes. Musicians, actors, painters, and dancers often come to colleges to deliver a lecture, and a lot of the time, offer an advanced-level training while they’re in the neighborhood. I’ve seen a number of these events listed in calendars of local newspapers and entertainment weeklies, open to the public. Many of them have no fee. Even for those who do charge, it’s worth asking if you can audit and not participate, for free.

I googled “master class” plus the name of a nearby town and found master classes have been offered locally by

• The a cappela singing group The Bobs
• Separate offerings by a dance troupe and a choreographer
• Actress Vanessa Redgrave
• A professional film scorer

That was just Page 1. There were more than 3000 others. Try it for your town.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Frugal Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.