As part of CAIS’s commitment to enhance our performing arts programming and find new and exciting ways to increase access to the Arts for our students, we are thrilled to announce a new pilot opportunity: the Middle School Chamber Ensembles. Our goal is to organize one to two chamber groups for the fall semester (September to December) and provide interested students with the requisite musical skill level with a unique and rewarding musical experience. We hope this will be just one of several different types of new offerings under the performing arts umbrella.
Keep an eye out for details on performances by these newly formed ensembles later this fall!
About Our Conductor
Middle School Chamber Ensembles will be conducted by Brite Zhou (Zhou Laoshi). Zhou Laoshi currently teaches Preschool – 3rd grade music. He studied piano performance and had the wonderful opportunity to play in a variety of chamber groups. He was coached by Fred Lifsitz of Alexander String Quartet, which taught him the importance of collaborative musicianship. He is excited to bring this experience to our students and help them discover the joy of making music together.
What Is Chamber Music
Chamber music is classical music for a small group of instruments, typically with one musician per part. This differs from a large ensemble like a band or orchestra by requiring a high level of collaborative listening and teamwork, helping students grow as both musicians and collaborators. These pilot MS Chamber Ensemble(s) will likely be composed of trios, quartets, or possibly quintets.
See also this video for a more detailed explanation.
