At Pretorio, we feel that a small environment greatly enhances the overall experience for the individual student. Our students will be given the opportunity to be hand-placed into small chamber groups, no larger than four people, with an experienced coach who will guide these groups on their path towards having fun, playing music and finding joy in playing and studying with others.

There are things to be learned in any environment of study, though at Pretorio, we feel that in comparison to an orchestra setting, students will have more of an interpersonal connection with not only their fellow musicians, but with the music itself. We believe this to be greatly beneficial, perhaps preferential to a larger orchestral environment that focuses more on the overall objective, rather than the experience, training and journey of the individual player.

Like we said, there is something to be learned from any study, chamber and orchestral, and we believe students should study both aspects. However, there are unique opportunities within chamber found nowhere else. Students will have a true hands-on feel, especially regarding the relationship between teacher and student, music and student, and their individual group. The reason being is that chamber music assigns each part of the score to one specific player, whereas orchestral music is characterized by having the same part played by a larger group of players.

We feel that this approach will give students the opportunity to dive deeper into the music, deeper into themselves, and make friends of similar like-mindedness with their comrades. In a small environment, everyone has the opportunity to really get to know one another, grow together, learn together, and make friends. If we can use this approach to better help our students on their journey, we believe that this will help them in all walks of life, especially for one on the path of becoming a talented musician. It is, in our belief, the student that makes the teacher, and the individuals that ultimately make the group. So, let’s focus on them one at a time, and have some fun along the way, shall we?