In the strings section, members of the Berwang Holiday Music Course are given the opportunity to play in ensembles ranging from trios to sextets and octets, and are organised as far as possible according to ability.  The above photograph shows the 2001 cohort.  Works studied cover string and piano trios through to the Brahms sextets, Mozart quintets and Mendelssohn octet.  The main focus, though, is on the string quartet repertoire, with its enormous variety.  In recent years, works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Dvořák and Shostakovich have all been studied and, in some cases, performed at the informal concerts. 

Individual members are allocated into groups, but any arriving as a ready-formed ensemble are most welcome.  In 2000 and 2001, we have been most fortunate to have with us two groups of visiting musicians from the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts; the fact that they have already been playing together in ensemble has given the strings course an enormous boost.  We have in other years been delighted to have students of the Royal Academy of Music, Cambridge University and elsewhere join the course.

Although the strings section and the wind group have separate sessions for most of the time, there are many opportunities to explore the wonderful repertoire for mixed string and wind instruments; not only for strings plus single wind instruments but also the real masterpieces, such as the Schubert Octet; Beethoven Septet; Spohr Nonet; etc.  The photograph above shows the two sections together in 2002.  On many occasions, we read through or work on a symphony, a concerto or some lighter, Viennese pieces.  We also work and perform as a string orchestra, playing the serenades of Elgar and Dvořák; Mendelssohn symphonies; and the earlier genre of Bach, Handel and Boyce.  We combine with the wind and singing sections during the formal concerts in Berwang church and the Hotel Singer.

Rehearsals take place in various venues, depending on the size of the ensemble, including rooms in the priest's house.  A normal music day comprises two sessions in the morning, separated by a coffee break, mid-morning, probably at the Café Sprenger.  After lunch, there is time to relax until the third session from 4-6.30, leaving time for a pre-dinner aperitif.