When your campus is across the street from the city's symphony, it might start to seem normal for a world-renowned musician to drop in for a masterclass, but students were still enthralled by violinist Augustin Hadelich's November visit to SFCM. 

Hadelich, in town to perform Dvořák's Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony, delivered an inspiring masterclass to students, peppered with advice like "Find the wailing in the song" and "A beautiful harmony is like sinking into a pillow."

Augustin Hadelich and Sofia Malvinni.

"It's always inspiring to learn from the best players," Sofia Malvinni, a sophomore studying with Simon James, said. "Standing in close proximity while he was demonstrating allowed me to experience the subtlety and precision of his technical abilities. It was exciting and inspiring to be on stage with a world-famous soloist who performs nearly every night with a different orchestra, and following his career is now more meaningful for me."

Augustin Hadelich and Daniel Tan.

For Daniel Tan, studying with Cordula Merks, "witnessing the way Hadelich draws sound out of his instrument and sculpts it without forcing was an instructive and rare privilege." Tan was also struck by the violinist's "deep knowledge of the musical score and its related context" that informed where he took his performance and teaching.

Augustin Hadelich's violin masterclass.

"He was such a down-to-earth person," Tan added. "He shared quite candidly about passages he finds challenging or uncomfortable and it was reassuring to know that a violinist of his caliber often feels the way we do when having to perform this repertoire."

At one point, describing a passage, Hadelich said, "It's supposed to have a shivering effect." It seems safe to say his visit had the same impact.

Learn more about studying violin or strings at SFCM.