The Florida Orchestra’s Concermaster Jeff Multer taught a master class for undergrads at the Universidad de las Artes in Cuba during his week long visit to the island. All three of them play the violin and are aspiring soloists.
Multer is a violin pro but even he had something to learn during the music lesson.
“What I always take away from this is how to be a more effective teacher,” he said.
In the sweltering heat, the back-and-forth between teacher and student fostered a bond between two very different cultures.
The campus was also a fitting setting for this historic effort. Prior to the Revolution of 1959, it was the Havana Country Club. Then in 1962, it was turned into a national school of the arts. It’s one of the most prestigious in the country.
But prestige doesn’t mean things are perfect inside the classroom.
“There are no good strings here and it makes it very hard,” freshman Javier Cantillo said.
Quality instruments are hard to come by in Cuba. That’s why in 2011, the Florida Orchestra’s wind quintet brought music accessories to a conservatory in Havana. Thousands of dollars’ worth of instruments have been donated since.
That Cuba visit kicked off the Florida Orchestra’s cultural exchange with the communist island.
The young musicians at the Univeridad de las Artes welcome the collaboration.
“I want this exchange to continue," Cantillo said. "We learn a lot from it."