On January 12, students in the Chamber Music Class performed in the Elizabeth Wachsman Concert Hall as part of the The Winter Chamber Music Showcase.
The performance was the culmination of the hard work of the students, which brought to life the music of the previous centuries through performing the works of classical musicians such as Robert and Clara Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Gordon Jacob, Debussy.
At the beginning of the year, Director of Music Thomas Bergeron and other Chamber Music coaches organized the students into groups to study and eventually perform their assigned repertoire. Throughout the year, the Chamber Music students had opportunities to share their progress with the other students, such as during their fall midterm and final classes, where they performed sections of their repertoire and received valuable feedback. The winter concert, however, allowed them to display their polished pieces for the entire Deerfield community.
Julie Yan ’26, who performed the cello part of Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, thought the performance went well because “although each of us did have individual mistakes, the overall group performance was wonderful.” Daphne Huang ’25 echoed the sentiment, remarking how proud she was of the group and how much they grew throughout the year.
Other student musicians commented on how the performance made up for all the hours spent practicing. Arvin Mou ’25, who played the violin in Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, spoke about a particular moment in the piece: “It was the time when Robbie [Hua ’24] and I had our ‘happy dialogue’ [a point during the piece] that made a couple people laugh in the audience. There’s this part where Robbie and I have alternating parts, like an echo, which is cool. It was really fun.”
One of Mou’s group members, Peggy Huang ’27, had similar thoughts sharing, “A moment that I found was very worth it is actually right after we performed. Even though it was over, we talked together, and realized we actually did a lot this entire term and a half. ”
All of the Chamber Music students, with the exemption of the pianists, are also part of the Deerfield Orchestra. However, the experience is quite different, as Chamber musicians do not play with a conductor. Yan explained these differences, saying, “I think not having a conductor allows the Chamber musicians to feel more connected with each other. Especially in a small group of musicians, each person is a leader in their own way and brings a lot to the group.”
Lukenine Suphakarn ’25 also said, “We all had to put in effort into cultivating a good group dynamic. Whether it was through making sure we knew everyone else’s parts in the piece or proactively communicating with each other while playing, we all had to put in our fair share.” Suphakarn explained that Chamber music is not just a performing experience, but a learning experience as well. She said, “We learned more about each other’s instruments throughout the term, which helped us better understand the nature of the piece as well as how to improve the balance in various parts of the piece.”
In navigating the process of learning and interpreting their pieces, the students were not alone. Deerfield Academy’s Chamber Music program includes a variety of experienced coaches. Each of the groups worked with a rotating list of coaches who listened to them play, gave them feedback, and helped them practice and improve their music.
Robbie Hua ’24 shared his group’s appreciation for the coaches, saying, “The coaches are great because they give you a different perspective. At the end of the day, they give you the creative freedom and liberty to end up doing what you want when you perform, but they’re like a guide for you.”
Daphne Huang ’25 also shared her appreciation for a variety of perspectives from her violin coach specifically. “The thing I liked most about having different coaches is definitely the fact that they play different instruments. Because, when I play the violin, violin teachers might say, ‘I realize it’s really hard, but I think you’re doing a pretty good job.’ It felt nice to have somebody who would give us a perspective that was not sugar coated.”
The musicians mutually shared that Chamber Music is not about being technically perfect, but about performers incorporating everything they learned and felt throughout their musical process. Hua shared, “I think our main goal was not perfection, but peak musical expression, so the audience could feel and understand what we were feeling. I think that all of us collectively decided as a group that we had to really show what the piece meant, particularly with the limited structure of the Classical Period.”