The Bloom Workshops for Piano and Chamber Music

Upcoming Workshops: 
 
7-day Piano and Chamber Music Workshop this Summer
Led by Joe Bloom and colleagues

Dates:  Sunday August 8 - Sunday August 15 (with Thursday August 12th off)

Times:  Each day 9 AM - 5 PM

Cost:  $560

Location:  Dominican College in San Rafael.

Please see below for workshop descriptions and details.  Workshops are open not only to pianists but to instrumentalists and vocalists interested in musical coaching and chamber music.  Workshops include approximately two private lessons plus group lessons each day, practice periods, group musical activities including theory, analysis and ear training (but the specifics being determined by the needs of the individuals in the group).

For additional information please contact josephbloom@saber.net or call 415 389 8366

The Joseph Bloom Workshops are a special environment in which sudden and dramatic musical growth can occur for students at all levels.  Breakthroughs are common as are solutions to both technical and musical problems that have been resisting or defying solution.  A unique facilitator Joseph Bloom is spontaneous, nurturing, definitely different, joyful, insightful and musically demanding.

"His ability to get results with students at all levels is truly amazing.  He inspires confidence and seeks an approach that will help each individual to make a break through.  He is universally loved and respected by students." (N. Derby, Dean, Bennington College, Vermont).

At Workshops, students are engaged with understanding and respect.  They are acknowledged for the special gifts that every student has in some area or another.  These gifts are then put into the service of allowing for growth in other areas that have been more resistant to development.

"The (workshop) experience was out of the ordinary, almost magical, definitely transformational." (C. Koepf., Workshop Participant)

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Biography

Bloom's experience with music began in early childhood when his father, Julius Bloom, became Director of Carnegie Hall in New York, a position he held for over twenty years until his death.  Joseph, a widely respected concert pianist, has been teaching since he was eighteen years old (he is now 53), and has been leading these extraordinary workshops now for several decades.  He has been in California only for the past several years.  Most of his life was spent in New York City where he was also widely known as a classical music radio personality. 

"A truly cultured and sensitive artist" (Henryk Szeyrng, violin virtuoso)." 

"A first rate pianist" (The New York Times).

For more biographical information see Introduction.

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Problem Solving:

With rare insight for understanding each student, with subtle diagnostic abilities, and using specialized yet highly varied methods tailored to the individual, he is able to get to the heart of the specific set of obstacles faced by that musician.  He does not adhere to any one method as much as he generates many new and often unusual methods that deal directly and effectively with these obstacles.

"His breadth and depth of music and performance skills is phenomenal.  His patient persistence brings out the best in us - gives us confidence where there may be too little, and stretches our limits.  He never settles for less when he knows he can get more, doing it gently, and with kindness".  (Dr. M. Harrington, Workshop Participant). 

"Joe gets dramatic results from students of any technical level, due to his unique and wonderfully efficient methods.  He knows just what to say to connect and click (on both mental and musical levels) with any student.  He has broad understanding of how great music is put together coupled with an ability to communicate imaginatively.  He has truly breathed new life into our chamber music program.  As an accompanist he is inspired and as a teacher he is inspiring."  (Owen Dalby, age 16, Associate Concertmaster, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra). 

"Mr. Bloom is an incredible musician, and has a lot to offer to anyone interested in music. I have learned and grown as a musician largely because of my experience with him, and I strongly feel he has made a huge impact on my life.  He is one of a kind, and has an unstoppable passion for music, and anyone who works with him takes a piece of that home with them." (Samantha LaValley (clarinetist and pianist).

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Who Comes to Workshops:

Workshops are designed for pianists and instrumentalists thirteen years of age and older including adults, teachers and professionals.  The workshops have always benefited from a rich mixture of age and levels of experience.  A tone is set in which players respect each other as participants  in a common cause.  Joe creates a special environment, informal enough to allow people to feel uninhibited and to do their best, yet formal enough to set an expectation for work on the highest level.  Most participants are late-intermediate through highly advanced, but exceptions are always made when it is clear that a particular individual will benefit from being in the Workshop.

"A wonderful workshop equivalent to a month of good, healthy,  therapy".  (L. Lefer, MSFCC.)

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How a Workshop Usually Begins:

Each workshop begins as participants introduce themselves to the group, and guidelines are set that create a safe environment in which to receive and offer feedback.  No participant is asked to do anything that feels uncomfortable.  One is free to play or not play, to ask for feedback or not receive feedback.  If, however, Joe senses that someone is undecided or needs encouragement, he helps that participant to take chances, asking what he and the group can do to offer the greatest support to that person.  Performance anxiety is a frequent subject in Workshops.

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Why Teachers Send Their Pupils To Joe’s Workshops:

Teachers send their students to the Workshops for a variety of reasons, including:

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What Teachers Have Said:

"I have found Joe Bloom's Master Classes for my students to be extremely inspiring, enriching and helpful, without being invasive to my style of teaching.  He is validating and encouraging and zeroes in on each student's strengths and weaknesses."  (Posie Anderson, MTA Member).  

"I have sent students to Mr. Bloom for the past few years.  I have had more winners in the Marin Music Chest competition than any other teacher for the past three years, and I attribute a large part of this success to Joe Bloom.  He is a wonderful addition to my studio.  He is a fine pianist and a master musician/teacher for students of all instruments and ages."  (Steve Bergman, Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor, San Anselmo).

"He has won me over.  With his fabulous background and experience, he has applied his skills as a terrific pianist and coach to our class.  The kids love working with him.  They have learned so much and are truly inspired.  What shines through is a spirit, honesty and caring that makes a lasting impression on young musicians."  (Julie Feldman, director of the advanced Chamber Music program at the Marin Academy, San Rafael). 

"I have the highest respect and admiration for his musicality and his ability to communicate his ideas to colleagues and students.  Thoroughly professional, and yet kind and encouraging."  (Lady Elise (Mrs. Simon) Rattle).

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General Content:

The content of a workshop varies depending on the duration and format.  6- Day  Workshops (held only during the summer) include individual practice sessions, group and individual lessons, theory, ear training, and other group subjects.  All-Day and Two-Day Workshops include individual practice sessions, group and individual lessons.  Part-Day Workshops feature mostly a group or master class environment.  Participants are always encouraged to offer feedback, which, under the guidance and direction of Mr. Bloom, develop the student’s ability to hear critically, create a vocabulary for expressing what they hear, and to define for themselves those characteristics they most want to emulate.