17.02.2026. Seminar #11 comes to a close. For two intensive weeks, starting on February 04th, our students rehearsed, performed, and recorded as part of two vastly distinct courses: From Studio to Stage with Daniel Rowland, and Finding the Groove with Tim Redmond and Douglas Marriner.
Welcome to our Seminar 11 Overview, where we cover each seminar’s activity: Day by Day.
04.02.2026. We welcome ‘From Studio to Stage’ Mentor and Violinist Daniel Rowland to the FAME’S Institute facilities. Starting in earnest after a welcoming speech, our participants had two Tutti Rehearsals and began preparing themselves for an intensive program, covering Musica dolorosa by Pēteris Vasks, Metamorphosen by Richard Straus, and The American Four Seasons by Philip Glass.
05.02.2026. Alongside their usual rehearsals, participants attended a lecture on the fundamentals of studio working, aptly titled “Inside the Control Room”. Here, they learned the ins-and-outs, the do’s and dont’s, and the very foundational basics of how sound translates from their studio playing to a professional recording booth.
06–09.02.2026. Students continue their rehearsals and begin the first of their four official recording days with Daniel Rowland, going over their program’s pieces and continuously revising their playing between the studio and the control room. After an extended set of practice and rehearsal, alongside a Chamber Music Evening, our participants finalized the last day before the concert with a lecture on what it means to be Musician Today, a roundtable discussion on Music, Challenges, and Opportunities in today’s musical scene.
10.02.2026. Closing the first week of rehearsals and the “From Studio to Stage” course was the big night at the National Macedonian Philharmonic, where in the Chamber Hall, Daniel and our orchestra played their recorded repertoire in a deeply-felt performance of Musica dolorosa, Metamorphosen, and The American Four Seasons.
12.02.2026. It’s time to find the groove! We welcomed Tim Redmond and Douglas Marriner for their course on fusing classical strings with a rhythm section, in a hybrid classical-jazz hybrid covering a wide and diverse repertoire.
13.02.2026. Our participants had their first day of official video recording, practicing, rehearsing and improvizing from a repertoire including Tico-Tico no Fubá, Just Friends, Anthropology, April in Paris, Embracable You as well as Summertime.
14.02.2026. The FAME’S Orchestra visits the local bar and creative space Laboratorium for an Improv Jazz Session! Alongside our jazz participants, the night involved a rotation of string players jumping up on stage, each taking a turn adding their own musical flavor to the improvized pieces.
15.02.2026. And only two days before closing off the course with their Philharmonic concert, we have a lovely night of karaoke! To play their pieces, our participants had a few hours where they got to actually sing them, culminating the night in a set of songs belched into the night.
17.02.2026. Finally, rounding back, the FAME’S Institute Orchestra, helmed by Tim Redmond and Douglas Marriner, performed their ‘Finding the Groove’ concert on the 17th at the National Philharmonic, closing off Seminar 11 with a bang.
We offer a huge round of applause and personal thank you for each and every student, mentor, and organize that made Seminar 11 the roaring (and wildly entertaining) success it ended up becoming! Now, we patiently await the same for Seminar #12, approaching rapidly this April.
Co-funded by the European Union and Creative Europe.
