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The Spring concert held by the Department of Music has come to an end on April 19th. Frank Brakkee the violist was invited as solo artist. His master class took place at the music hall of NTNU on April 21st.  

Frank Brakkee is the lead of viola in the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and often plays at Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He sometimes performs at Amsterdam Sinfonietta as a guest violist. Brakkee has attended the unique and influential Nieuw Ensemble since 1993 and in 2002, he joined the St. Francis Quartet. That’s why he is familiar with all kinds of pieces for viola in different styles and format. 

The master classes includes analysis of Baroque and modern viola compositions, how to interpret and play contemporary works, talk with Tsai Ping Chang, and the superb performances in ten viola. In addition to teaching the music works, Brakkee also showed students the special sound from the instrument with a small clip attached to the strings. He even taught them to mimic the sounds of sewing and door opening by hitting the strings. One students said that by continuous effort of trying can one find the right tune they want to show a better version of music. Another student said that when perfuming, it’s easy to be caught in one’s limitation and one should explore more to find out the possibility of performance. 

Frank Brakkee is highly experienced in performing contemporary works. Associate Professor Chao Ching Wen organized the master class with an aim for students to know more contemporary works and hope to inspire their passion for music. Brakkee said that most Taiwanese students are modest and are willing to accept other’s opinions, which is great in music learning. He encourages students to be open to music in different genre, which can enrich our life but also add spice to out personality in performing.