
Cavatina Duo Outreach at UTSA on January 26, 2019
The Cavatina Duo outreach took the form of two simultaneous masterclasses at the UTSA Department of Music on Saturday afternoon, January 26, 2019.
The flute masterclass conducted by flutist Eugenia Moliner began with group exercises for the ten students from the studio of UTSA flute professor Rita Linard. She positioned them in a semi-circle and worked with them on the art of breathing- air flow and control. Rapport was quickly established between Eugenia and the students: she spoke to them in Spanish to help clarify certain points, after discovering that most of them spoke Spanish at home. Then individual students played their prepared solo pieces, after which Eugenia gave each one constructive


The guitar masterclass had about twenty attendees, some of whom came from out-of-town. Guitarist Denis Azabagic worked with five students from the studio of Matt Dunne, director of the Guitar Program at UTSA. Similar to the format of the flute masterclass – each of these five students performed a solo piece and then had a discussion with Denis about the fine points of tone production, how to get different colors out of the instrument, phrasing, pacing, and subtle variations in how the fingers can make contact with the strings. Denis had these one-on-one sessions videotaped


Both Eugenia and Denis emphasized the paramount importance of listening: not just to music for one’s own instrument, but to all forms of music – instrumental, and vocal. Students were encouraged to attend as many concerts as they possibly can, and to never stop learning – “look to the masters for guidance and inspiration”. The masterclasses went on for almost three hours, and by the
Submitted by Pauline Glickman