My experience: violist-composer Amani Sloley, Cremona International Music Academy and Festival

I first heard about the Cremona Festival from my professor at Lakehead University, and was lucky to receive a scholarship to go. I’d never travelled abroad before and it was my first festival experience, so it was exciting to see the other side of the music world. This past year I got to go again with a full scholarship, as both a violist and a composer.

It was definitely a shock the first time: the amount of work and the level that everyone was at was amazing. At first I felt a little bit out of my element, but everyone was so kind, open and accepting. It was great to be able to build a network.

It’s a very busy festival. The days are packed from 8am to 11pm with a variety of masterclasses, private lessons, studio classes and orchestra rehearsals. This year they divided us up into senior and junior orchestras, and we did two concerts. You’re also put into chamber groups, so there are those rehearsals too, and at the end of the day there’s either a student or a faculty concert. One of my favourite experiences at this year’s festival was writing a string quartet in six days, and having it premiered by some really amazing students!

Cremona is such a beautiful city, and it really comes to life at night. After the festival activities I loved being able to hang out with the other participants. There’s a wide variety of ages that attend, from really young students all the way up to university age. I loved making friends, and I’ve realised that even though we come from all these different places, we’re all just really big music nerds!

Subscribers to The Strad receive the 2025 String Courses supplement free with their copy of the January 2025 issue

Playing

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.

Teaching

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.

Calendars

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.