Welcome to Copper & Cow
In association with
Berliner Paukenwerkstatt Hardtke
This website is very much under construction!!
So, it turns out that building a website is even trickier than I feared...
I will get it done, but this will have to do for now. The important thing is to get all the necessary information out there so you can get a good idea of what Copper & Cow is all about, and decide whether you would like to apply to be part of it.
Tom Greenleaves, Leipzig
What is Copper & Cow?
Copper & Cow is the realisation of my wish to bring the emerging generation of timpanists together with some of those players who have been living the dream a little longer, for a week’s journey to who knows where?
What's the plan?
You and I will gather at Colditz Castle in Germany, and, as a group, learn from each other and discover alongside each other – I no less than you.
The 15 of you and I will welcome two of the timpani world’s finest musicians - Rainer Seegers and Markus Rhoten - out of whom we will squeeze as much knowledge, insight and inspiration as humanly possible.
Everything we do will be supported and complemented by the unique Lilian Genn, with her unparalleled insight into how we use our bodies to perform and communicate the music that is inside us.
We will learn and intensify the vital skills of lapping and caring for calf skins from a player who in this field is second to none, my Gewandhaus colleague, Marek Stefula.
The course will culminate in a mock audition with piano accompaniment, assessed by Rainer Seegers and all of us.
Who is Copper & Cow aimed at?
Anyone, of a minimum age of 18, who is determined to leave their comfort zone and feels they, in a highly demanding and concentrated, yet deeply collaborative and supportive environment, can’t miss out on the opportunities this week in Colditz offers.
How will we learn?
The heart of the course will be the eleven sessions we spend working together with the timpani as a group. I will lead five; Rainer Seegers and Markus Rhoten will lead three each. We will dive into the depths of whatever repertoire, whatever issues, whatever questions, whatever frustrations, whatever aspirations, whatever fears YOU bring with you to Colditz – no limits. I will do my very best to push your perceived boundaries and broaden your horizons on every level and in every area of playing this instrument and of life as an orchestral timpanist.
Lilian Genn will actively accompany each session, observing how each of us applies our body and mind to making music with our instrument. She will help us, both individually and collectively, to exploit our physical capabilities to the full, allowing us to develop a more holistic approach to playing the timpani.
Lilian will also lead short daily group sessions in which we will develop our physical awareness away from the timpani.
In his first session, Marek Stefula will demonstrate the entire process of lapping calf heads, explaining how to cope with the diverse weather conditions the changing seasons inflict upon us. Two days later, Marek will examine the nearly dry skins with us and demonstrate the adjustments which need to be made at that point to ensure they turn out as well as possible.
Whoever wishes to can take part in the mock audition on the final afternoon. Rainer, all the course participants and I will then offer our feedback on each performance.
All our activities can take place in English or German, to best suit the individual currently in focus and the group as a whole.
In our downtime we will no doubt continue to learn from one another and nurture the future of the wonderful, intimate timpani community.
When and where will Copper & Cow take place?
We will gather at Colditz Castle in Saxony, Germany, on the afternoon of Sunday 24th March 2024. After five doubtless exhausting but hopefully inspiring days, we will stagger off home after breakfast on Saturday 30th.
Instruments?
I am delighted to be launching Copper and Cow in association with Berliner Paukenwerkstatt Hardtke, who will be providing two sets of their magnificent timpani with (obviously) calf skins. One set will be German set-up, the other international.
Facilities?
Colditz Castle is the home of the Saxon State Music Academy, the centre for amateur music making in Saxony. The Academy affords us perfect facilities for all our activities, in a very special, historic location.
Accommodation?
Colditz Castle houses a modern and well-furnished youth hostel where we will also take all our meals. The six-bed rooms (each with a bathroom with shower) will each be occupied by up to four
course participants.
Price?
The cost of the course, accommodation and all meals is €1,200, payable by 15 February 2024.
How do I apply?
There are a few things I would like to find out about you. Please make a short video (in English or German) in which you tell me about yourself, your musical path to date, your aims and aspirations, what you hope to get from Copper & Cow, and anything else you think relevant.
Please apply with a WeTransfer link to your video at info@copperandcow.com.
Closing date for applications is 30 November 2023.
I will notify all applicants by 15 December 2023 as to whether I have been able to accept them or not.
Lilian Genn
Lecturer, Musik and Arts University of the City of Vienna
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Rainer Seegers
former Principal Timpanist,
Berliner Philharmoniker
Markus Rhoten
Principal Timpanist, New York Philharmonic
Me, Tom Greenleaves
Principal Timpanist, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Colditz Castle
Our hall
