Artist of the Week

Two of Kent’s Best Travel to Pursue Their Art

by Adam Straub, courtesy of Kent News

Emily Bredemeyer ’10 and Michelle Park ’11 are considered two of the best violinists at Kent. During one dinner last May, the pair performed duets to raise money to help ease the struggling in the aftermath of the giant cyclone in Myanmar. Together, they raised over $250 in donations from teachers and students in just a couple of hours.  Not only talented, but generous as well, the two use their skills for the common good.

Emily started playing the violin when she was just three-and-a-half years old. She has played in the Kent School Orchestra since her third form year and took up the clarinet in her fourth form year. But just this summer, Emily went to Encore/Coda in Sweden, Maine, a specialty music program, for three-and-a-half weeks. There she honed her violin skills and frequently played at concerts where she performed the duty of concertmaster. Emily was also in the ‘conservatory program’ as part of the camp’s group of advanced students. When she wasn’t playing her violin, she was enjoying herself kayaking and swimming. Emily says, “What I enjoyed the most during my camp experience at Encore/Coda was the option of playing my violin as much as possible while also being able to enjoy outdoor summer camp activities, such as swimming and boating.”

Michelle, a good friend of Emily’s, went to Dinant, a city in Southern Belgium, to the International Music Academy. She chose the program in Belgium because she was born there and wanted to go back. Though the program was only one week long, Michelle spent that time intensively practicing her violin. Michelle said of her experience, “It was a really unique experience because although I have played the violin for more than ten years, I didn’t really have a chance to practice it that much at a time. I could concentrate only on my violin and music for that week, and it was a really tough but great program.”

Though many people would not even consider giving up a minute of their own time for this kind of work during the summer, Emily and Michelle have spent countless hours working to better their skills. As difficult as the camps may have been, the two stuck it out and have come back to school even better than they left.

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