String Strategies and Tackling your Fears with Kira Omelchenko

My guest today Dr. Kira Omelchenko will be sharing with us her tips of working with strings. When you work with an orchestral ensemble, no matter a chamber orchestra, a full symphonic orchestra, or even just a few musicians at your church’s Christmas service, you are very likely working with string players, and perhaps quite some of them. After all, string makes up the largest body in an orchestra, and because of the nature of having multiple players per part, knowing how to work with strings will really help your rehearsal process and to achieve better performances.Of course, we all have different backgrounds and trainings and it could be intimidating to work with strings for the first time, or the first few times when you are less experienced. There is also this immediate problem of matching the bowings across the string sections that needs to be addressed. Dr. Kira Omelchenko is currently the conductor of the Wilfrid Laurier University Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada. Previously, she served as string director for the International Opera Performing ExperienceFestival in Mercatello sul Metauro in Italy and artist in residence and guest conductor with the University of Aveiro Orchestra in Portugal. Her upcoming engagements include conducting at the Vienna Opera Academy and Orlando All-County Festival Orchestra. All About Chaowen Ting