Young musician studies pan at prestigious US academy

Dimitri Lal, a talented young musician from Trinidad and Tobago studied for two weeks at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin.

A media release said Lal, a student at Trinity College (East), was among 11 other musicians from throughout the United States to attend the percussion and steelband session at the academy. The academy’s unique mission is to provide intensive, performance-based instruction to promising young musicians by immersing them in a professional, mentoring environment, the release said.

“It’s a different setting from Trinidad, where a person normally teaches you and you have to memorise it. But now I’m sight reading more, and learning about the theory aspect of music, and it’s nice,” Lal said in the release.

Birch Creek celebrates its 47th concert season this year and continues to support a student-to-faculty ratio of approximately two to one. This provides students with an abundance of personal attention from their faculty mentors, who represent top music educators and performers from around the US. Students are given the opportunity to hone their technical skills and learn all the aspects of life as a professional musician first-hand, the release said.

During their two-week residency, students attending the percussion and steelband session performed seven concerts alongside their teachers in front of paying concertgoers.

Dr Dan Moore is the programme director of the percussion and steelband programme and this year marks his seventh year as programme director and 24th year as percussion faculty for Birch Creek. He is the percussion professor and director of the award-winning percussion programme at the University of Iowa. Moore is an internationally-known musician, composer, and educator.

Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, is a residential summer music academy for advanced young musicians. With a performance emphasis, students are taught by nationally known performers and educators during the day, and perform in concerts alongside them at night. Four sessions focus on percussion and steelband, symphony, and big band jazz.