I retired in my early 60s and decided I wanted to learn an instrument, but I didn’t want to learn all by myself, so I joined the East London Late Starters Orchestra. Through that I heard about Strings in Greece. I’ve been every year for ten years, and there are quite a lot of others who never miss it either.
We stay in Kapsáli, which is a small village on Kythira. It’s a small island and there’s no mass tourism there at all! We play as a string orchestra and do about six hours of practice: the first rehearsal is in the morning and the second in the late afternoon. The afternoons and evenings are free for the holiday aspect; because you’re on a Greek island, you want to be able to enjoy that. So people swim in the sea, sunbathe, read books and dine together.
It’s a mixed-ability group, and four fantastic professional musicians come and tutor us. When you’re an amateur, one of the things you want from a teacher is for them to help you turn the notes into music. Sometimes when we start playing a piece it doesn’t sound expressive, but after a week of playing it’s transformed the music into something that is wonderful to hear. We rehearse outdoors in a shaded mini-amphitheatre right by the sea. It’s incredibly beautiful.
Most participants are British, but we have some who come regularly from Germany, Norway and elsewhere in Europe. We try to do things that the local community will enjoy; for instance, the concert that we give at the end is always free.
Subscribers to The Strad receive the 2025 String Courses supplement free with their copy of the January 2025 issue
In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.
The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.
The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.
