Virtual virtuosity: Online encore for Block String Camp

When the coronavirus drove the decision to turn last summer’s annual Mike Block String Camp and Vero Beach International Music Festival into a virtual experience, Block had optimistically secured the date at the First Presbyterian Church to hold the 2021 camp and concerts in person.

However, as vaccines were only just being rolled out when planning began, the decision was made to take this summer’s camp online once again.

“We almost pivoted when we got the updated CDC guidelines, but it was just coming up too quickly and there were too many plans to change for too many people,” says Block.

The 2021 Mike Block String Camp will take place via Zoom from July 5-10. The schedule will again feature a mix of classes, online jam sessions and an Open Mic Night for students only.

The general public can enjoy a live-stream performance by the award-winning Americana, Bluegrass, Brazilian, Celtic, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Rock and World Music faculty musicians via the Mike Block String Camp Facebook and YouTube accounts, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday July 7. The Faculty Concert is free, but contributions are appreciated to support camp scholarships for local students.

“The good news is that, at the very least, we’ve done the online experience before, so we feel a lot more confident as to how we can maximize the experience and really make sure it’s as meaningful as possible,” says Block.

“We were pleasantly surprised with how great it felt last year. And even though things are beginning to open up more, the online experience is particularly helpful for people who don’t live in Vero. We’re able to get participants truly from across the world that, under normal circumstances, don’t have the funds to join us.”

This year’s top-notch faculty, most of whom are educators in their own right, include:

• Mike Block, a multi-style cellist, singer and composer, described by Yo-Yo Ma as the “ideal musician of the 21st Century.”
• Casey Driessen, described as a “mad scientist with a five-string fiddle.”
• Mazz Swift, a violin, vocalist, freestyle composition artist, whose “MazzMuse” style incorporates her “signature weaving of song, melody and improvisation.”
• Rushad Eggleston, self-described “Ambassador of Sneth and Wild Cello Goblin,” who improvises with fiddle styles on the cello.
• Natalie Haas, a skilled cellist who continues to “resurrect and reinvent the cello’s historic role in Scottish music.”
• Joe Walsh, an acclaimed Bluegrass mandolin player and songwriter who crafts new music from traditional American Bluegrass roots.
• Hanneke Cassel, Block’s wife, a cutting-edge fiddler and composer, whose playing has been described as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow both wild and innocent.”
• Darol Anger, described as “exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth.”
• Joe Troop, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter working in a style dubbed “latingrass.”
• Taylor Morris, who blurs the line between violin and fiddle while pursuing musical projects in various genres.
• Zach Brock, an acclaimed fiddler/violinist, “heralded as the great bright hope for jazz violin,” who embraces jazz, classical, world and popular music.
• Collin Cotter, proficient in Finnish and Scottish fiddling, violin and guitar, he “bridges the gaps between American and Celtic folk and rock.”
• Arun Ramamurthy, a versatile violinist, fiddler and composer who “has become one of the country’s leading Indian classical and crossover musicians.”
• Trina Basu, a violinist/fiddler whose “music draws from Western and Indian classical, jazz and creative improvisation traditions.”
• Lauren Rioux, whose expertise in violin, viola and fiddle has fostered a global, online learning community.

Joe Troop is the only brand-new faculty member, and Block said he’s excited to get to know him better. Raised in North Carolina, Troop has Argentinean roots. In 2010 he moved to Buenos Aires and formed Che Apalache, a four-man string band that combines Bluegrass with Latin American styles.

“So, he’s a really interesting, globally-influenced musician,” says Block. “We’re really excited to have him bringing in, particularly, the Latin American perspective.”

This past April, Block and Cassel brought their 2-year-old daughter Eilidh to Vero for a month-long visit, delighting fans with a rousing concert at First Presbyterian Church.

“It was really amazing for us to get to come back for the April concert. It was actually my first indoor performance since the pandemic began; I haven’t had that opportunity up north at all,” says Block, who lives in Boston, where he teaches at the Berklee College of Music. “It was really great to see so many friendly faces and have that experience.”

Block and Cassel were joined on stage by Trevor Klutz, who grew up in Vero Beach and was a participant in the first camp here. Block says that Klutz progressed up through the advanced camp programs and now performs as a professional musician.

“It’s been really cool to see these people we met as kids, now get to a point where we can actually invite them on stage as colleagues and collaborate with them,” says Block. “Another thing that was special for us, is two years ago we were gifted an anonymous donation of a Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin.”

Block explains that the violin was gifted in memory of Daniel Pearl, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal who was murdered in 2002 by terrorists while on assignment in Pakistan. According to all accounts, music was a big part of Pearl’s life; a classically trained violinist, he also played fiddle and mandolin.

“It was a brand-new violin that was built by a living maker for us, with the purpose of supporting young, promising musicians by allowing them to play on a particularly nice instrument,” says Block. “So, each year now, we’re going to be awarding it to a different student from the camp, and they’ll get to play on it for a whole year. Then the following year we hand it off to the next person.”

The first recipient of the violin was Emily McCain, a camp alumna currently studying music education at the Frost School of Music in Miami. Klutz, the second recipient, played the special instrument at the April concert. The announcement naming the new recipient will be made during this year’s camp.

“That’s one of the ways that we are able to recognize some of these students who we have known for many years, and who are now dedicating their life to music and education,” says Block. “We’re trying to maintain what elements of tradition we can, even though we’re not together.”

Also joining them onstage that April evening were Jada Powell and Tatiana Wallace, members of the Vero Beach High School Orchestra and the Gifford Youth Orchestra.

“We’ve known them and their families for a number of years as well,” says Block. “We get to know certain students and get to work with them year after year. We knew that they’re continuing to practice and take music seriously year-round. So, we wanted to connect to them and let them have that experience, to show what they’re up to.”

While in town, Block also gave workshops, funded by the Indian River Symphonic Association, at all three Vero Beach High School Orchestra classes.

“One reason why it’s been so great to be able to visit the high schools in the spring is to not only see students that we’ve had in camp, but also to connect to new students and have something to offer to the general population, even people that can’t come to camp,” says Block.

“We like feeling connected to the broader community. We obviously hope that many of the kids are able to join us at camp, but there are kids that I’ve seen year after year at the high school that have not actually ever come to camp. But, somehow, we still managed to become Facebook friends and stay connected.”

Enrollment in this year’s MBSC is still active, and Block estimates participation will be roughly 200, similar to last year.

For more information, or for links to the July 7 Faculty Concert, visit MikeBlockStringCamp.com.

Photos by Brenda Ahearn