4th « Roland Dyens in the skaï » international Guitar workshop: October 18, 19 and 20, 2024, in Montreuil, France.
Under the banner of the music of guitarist and composer Roland Dyens, this three-day professional workshop, part of the Roland Dyens in the skaï Guitar Festival, will take place on October 18, 19 and 20, 2024 at Comme Vous Émoi cultural center in Montreuil. It is organized by the Association La Locomotive des Arts, in partnership with the Roland Dyens in the skaï Association, and will be led by guitarists Gaëlle Solal (Belgium) and Orestis Kalampalikis (Greece).
THE PROGRAMME:
- Group practice on an arrangement for guitar ensemble by Roland Dyens.
- Lessons: individual, duo, trio or by section.
- Improvisation workshops.
- Technique workshops.
ONE CONCERT PER DAY:
Three concerts are scheduled during the workshop, which takes place as part of the Roland Dyens in the skaï Guitar Festival:
- Friday, October 18 at 8:30pm: Gaëlle Solal.
- Saturday, October 19 at 8:30pm: Orestis Kalampalikis and Sotiris Athanasiou.
- Sunday, October 20 at 4pm: closing concert.
TEACHING TEAM:
Gaëlle Solal
Gaëlle Solal started playing the guitar at the age of 5 and joined the Conservatory of Marseille. At 16, she entered the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris and won a First Prize in guitar. In 1998, she became the first Frenchwoman to win the Alessandria competition. Teaching in Andalusia in the 2000s, she resumed her solo career in 2006, won second prize at the Guitar Foundation of America, and has performed in over forty countries.
In 2009, a trip to Brazil marked a new turning point in her career. She dedicated herself to the stage, alternating between solo recitals and the clownish duo Crazy Nails with Boris Gaquere. Founder of Guitar’Elles, she advocates for the visibility of women guitarists. Her 2020 album « Tuhu » (Eudora Records) was widely acclaimed by both the press and the public.
Orestis Kalampalikis
After studying at the National Conservatory of Athens, Orestis Kalampalikis joined the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris in 2005. There, he studied with Roland Dyens and attended master classes with Zoran Dukic, Oscar Ghiglia, and David Russell. He also trained in composition with Bernard Cavanna and in conducting with Henri-Claude Fantapié. In 2021, he earned a Master’s degree in Musical and Sound Creation from Paris-VIII University, under José Manuel Lopez Lopez. He has won numerous international competitions both as a performer and as a composer. He collaborates with various artists, including guitarist Elena Papandreou, and conducts international workshops on the music of Roland Dyens.
His works are published by Productions d’Oz, Editions Lemoine, and Papagrigoriou-Nakas. In his ongoing quest for forms of expression, he continues to perform and introduce new techniques and methods of playing the guitar.
WORKSHOP CONTENT:
1. COLLECTIVE PRACTICE
Students will work on Roland Dyens’ adaptation for guitar ensemble of the Aria from Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras N°5.
Adaptation for guitar ensemble by ROLAND DYENS (1993)
Editions Henri Lemoine.
Dedicated to Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Duration: 7 mn.
Level 4.
« Aria, extracted from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by H. Villa-Lobos. Exactly the opposite approach of Ville d’Avril here, with this sumptuous Aria, extracted from Villa-Lobos’s series of nine Bachianas Brasileiras (and a true Brazilian anthem), because it was first through a complete transcription of the original work that my work began, and not the other way around. And while this transcription was relatively easy to realize, I must confess how difficult it was later to write its demanding adaptation for solo guitar. Needless to enumerate, I believe, the reasons for the magnitude of the task are contained solely in the challenge assigned, a bit crazy I admit. But for an instrument like the guitar, the art of arrangement (or adaptation) often bordering on a form of ‘sacrifice,’ may I at least wish that the present version of this mythical aria never evokes for you the sacrifice of art. » Roland Dyens
ANECDOTE: What did Roland Dyens say about ensemble music?
« I was a bit skeptical about ensemble music for guitar because what I had heard of it didn’t suit me, didn’t convince me, didn’t seduce me, because it was about approximate transcription. And then I got into the game and I said to myself: if with a guitar ensemble we don’t stop and we don’t focus on colors, timbres, and sound planes, then we’re really missing something. And that’s when I got into the game {…} of ensemble music because it’s not just about the sound, it’s about the human experience. I love it. I’m going to be confronted with guitarists and it’s going to be an adventure, a journey together, we’re going to build it together. »
DVD Anyway (GHA)
2. THE CLASSES
The participants will be able to work on music of their choice (to be specified during registration) with their teachers during their individual lesson or in chamber music formation.
If the participants choose to work in chamber music, we can connect them with each other before the workshop based on their levels and preferences expressed on the registration form.
3. IMPROVISATION WORSHOPS
With Orestis Kalampalikis
“Improvisation is a barometer to measure the atmosphere, the acoustics. I cannot avoid it, it’s the best way to open up, to enter into a recital. » Roland DyenS
These workshops aim primarily to introduce participants to improvisation, focusing on given and simple forms, while emphasizing work on the fundamentals of music: intention, gesture, phrase, repetition, and variation. With his training under Roland Dyens, Orestis Kalampalikis will skillfully guide you through this exercise.
4. TECHNICAL WORKSHOPS
With Gaëlle Solal
Workshop 1: right-hand work
- Arpeggios: planting technique. Objective: emerge with a regular arpeggio and tools to speed it up. The tremolo will follow on its own.
- Work on sound power.
Workshop 2: continuation of right-hand work
- Voice control: tools for achieving independence of each finger on the right hand.
- Work on touch and color.
Workshop 3: focus on the left hand
- Fingering fundamentals: practical exercises and basic rules.
- Work on legato and jumping movements (Carlevaro technique).
OUR OBJECTIVES:
Developing the necessary tools for collective guitar practice by:
- Listening, intonation, transitions, relays, breaths, and observation.
- Work on sound, colors, timbres, dynamics.
- Accentuation and control of attacks.
- Collective reflection around a common project.
- Performing in public
The training will culminate in the performance by the participants in front of a « real audience » on Sunday, October 20th at 4:00 PM at the Montreuil Departmental Conservatory.
REQUIRED LEVEL:
This workshop is aimed at professional guitarists or students at the end of cycle 2 or beginning of cycle 3 minimum, or non-professionals at the same level. Minimum age: 18 years old (unless special exemption – please contact us if the case). Acceptance of the participant will be confirmed after examination of their registration file by the teachers.
RATES AND PAYMENT METHODS:
The course fee is €295 + €15 La Locomotive des Arts membership.
(Accommodation and meals not included)
After pre-registering for the course (button below), students will receive a Hello Asso link to pay by bank transfer.
Trainees who do not wish to pay via the Hello Asso link can send a cheque made payable to La Locomotive des Arts to the following address:
Comme Vous Émoi – 5, rue de la Révolution – 93100 Montreuil – France
WORKSHOP LOCATION:
Association Comme Vous Émoi
5 rue de la Révolution – 93100 Montreuil (France)
Croix de Chavaux metro station (line 9 – towards Mairie de Montreuil).
CONTACT:
Laura Dyens-Taar
Mail : lalocomotive5@orange.fr
Facebook page: La locomotive des arts
Instagram account: @lalocomotivedesarts
A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS:
La Locomotive des Arts 
