Community String Project Summer Ensemble Classes

• The Community String Project Summer Ensembles are open to students entering Grade 6 through Adults. The eight-week program will run on Thursday evenings, beginning June 16 through August 4 at the First Congregational Church on High Street in Bristol. The cost for the program is $80.00. Students who qualify for free/reduced lunch pay the subsidized cost of $20.00 which includes the cost of the instrument for the session.

The String Ensemble will rehearse from 5:30-7:30pm. This group is comprised of musicians who have played violin, viola, cello or bass. The String Ensemble will perform two concerts during the summer. The Summer String Ensemble will be under the direction of Christine Harrington.

The Beginner class will be offered on Thursdays from 6:30-8:00pm Please check the website cspri.org for a list of music stores renting string instruments. . The CSP offers instruments rentals at a reduced rate for students in Grades 3-12 who live in Bristol and Warren.

The Yearling class which also meets on Thursdays from 6:30-8:00 pm is for musicians who need more rigorous instruction than beginners, but not quite ready to perform with the String Ensemble. This class will comprise of musicians who have recently started to play, or who haven’t played for a long time and need a refresher course.

To register, download the registration form from www.cspri.org and mail it with a check payable to CSP, Box 513, Bristol, RI 02809. For further information, contact Robert Arsenault, President Community String Project at 254-5980 x 3165 or rjta15@gmail.com or info@cspri.org

• The Community String Project announces new Summer String Ensemble Director, Christine Harrington

Christine Harrington is a cellist and orchestra director in the Cranston, RI public schools. Christine is a past president of the Rhode Island Music Educators Association and of the Rhode Island String Teachers Association, which is the state affiliate of the American String Teachers Association. She is a founding member of the former International Association of Jazz Educators String Caucus whose primary focus was to promote improvising strings. Christine has presented many workshops on new music for improvising strings throughout the country. Christine is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music, and Wesleyan University. She has studied jazz improvisation with renowned jazz musician, Hal Crook. Christine Harrington has performed symphonic and chamber music, as well as Celtic and contemporary jazz. She performed regularly with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony for 20 years and is the cellist on Grammy nominated jazz piano and cello CD, “Sandbox” with the pianist and composer Joe Parillo and the “Celtic Fiddle Fest-Rendesvous” with Johnny Cunningham and Kevin Burke. Christine is the cellist with the Rhode Island based Gypsy ensemble, The Bohemian Quartet, which recently released its CD, “Beyond Tradition”.