EP 5 Bethany Beach Cellofest: Improve, Not Prove

In this special short episode of the Cello Museum Podcast, Dr. Brenda Neece is joined by her friend and colleague Erica Lessie for a behind-the-scenes conversation about the Bethany Beach Cellofest.

The Bethany Beach Cellofest is a supportive, non-competitive summer retreat for adult cellists. In this conversation, Brenda and Erica talk about why they created the Cellofest, why it takes place in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and the kind of experience they are building: serious cello study, time by the sea, and a welcoming community where participants can improve without having to prove themselves.

This episode explores:

• The origins of the Bethany Beach Cellofest
• The influence of Cellomania and Martha Gerschefski
• Why the retreat is designed for adult learners
• The “improve, not prove” philosophy
• What participants can expect during the week
• Classes on Bach’s First Cello Suite and Matz’s Lights and Shadows
• Technique, ensemble playing, private lessons, and a masterclass
• Wellness sessions on the beach
• Building community through music

Bethany Beach Cellofest 2026 runs August 9–16 in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Faculty include Jennifer Kloetzel, Erica Lessie, and Dr. Brenda Neece.

Details and registration:
https://cellomuseum.org/2026-bethany-beach-cellofest/

Public events and more information:
https://cellomuseum.org/2026-bethany-beach-cellofest/

Full show notes:
https://cellomuseum.org/the-bethany-beach-cellofest-improve-not-prove/

With thanks to our community partners and supporters: the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, St. Martha’s Episcopal Church, the Town of Bethany Beach, Stephanie Tsantes, and the donors, volunteers, and community members who help make the Bethany Beach Cellofest possible. 

The Cello Museum Podcast is the official podcast of the Cello Museum.

Explore articles, exhibitions, and upcoming events at: https://cellomuseum.org 

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and share this episode with fellow cellists and music lovers.

If this conversation inspires you to explore unaccompanied cello repertoire, join us in Delaware this summer at the Bethany Beach Cellofest (9–16 August). Find details here. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Welcome to the Cello Museum Podcast. I'm Dr. Brenda Nice, curator of the Cello Museum. In this episode, I'm joined by my friend and colleague Erica Lesey to talk about the Bethany Beach Cello Fest, a supportive, non-competitive summer retreat for adult cellists. This is a behind-the-scenes conversation about why we created the cello fest, why it's in Bethany Beach, and the kind of experience we are creating. Serious cello study, time at the beach, and a welcoming community where you can improve yourself without having to prove yourself. Today I wanted to talk about our Bethany Beach Cello Fest that we conceived in 2023.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Well, that you conceived in 2023.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

We both put it together and held it for the first time in 2024. And so this year, 2026, makes our third annual Bethany Beach Cello Fest. It's happening this year in August. For those who haven't heard about the cello fest before, we have one week where participants come and take classes and lessons and a masterclass, and there is a performance. We have wellness classes on the beach.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Which is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

I love it. People often say, Oh, I don't want to bring and play my cello on the beach, and no one's playing cellos on the beach. Don't worry about that. The cellos are away from the sand, the cellos are indoors. You're welcome to, I'm not gonna do it. It's all indoors in an air-conditioned place, and it's beautiful at St. Martha's Episcopal Church and what is it? Two blocks from the beach.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

I think it's two blocks, right? So that on lunch break you can run and go play in the water.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, you can just walk up there and we have ample lunch breaks so that you have time to practice and eat lunch. We also have a performance aspect of this festival. So we also we came up with the idea of the Cello Fest, and then we talked to our friend Jennifer Kletzel, and she said, Oh, I want to come too. The idea for this festival came from Cello Mania. So tell us all about Cello Mania.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

So the lovely Martha Gashewski hosts a cello camp, and you have to get up early in the morning and go exercise, and then you come in and you read Bach together. I think my favorite was maybe Mystery Piece, where you're given what 20 minutes to learn a piece and then you have to come back and play it. And then all the technique that you learn through that was fabulous.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

It was so much fun. And Martha taught us some of her smooth and easies. With Martha, people were very high-level players, and I wanted to take Martha's ideas of excellence, but then make it so that adults who haven't made the cello their entire world and profession could still participate. So they could have serious studies, and it's not something that's dumbed down. It's a good program, but it's not competitive. You're there to improve, not prove yourself. So there are no auditions. Any levels welcome. There is no first chair, second chair, you're not doing seating auditions or anything like that. But how would that work? Well, if we were having to do lots of performances together, then it would be a problem of not having auditions and making sure that the levels lined up. But since we're doing technical classes, it's almost more like martial arts classes that I have participated in. And that's what gave me the idea of combining Cello Mania with a martial arts retreat where we meet you at your level. And so that way it's not about auditions or who's better and you're only as good as your last audition. No, that's not where we are.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Also, don't worry, you don't have to do martial arts.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

So this is not the right one if you want to audition and you want to be first chair. That's not going to happen. The nice thing about the martial arts programs that I've been to, and one in particular that I love in Ireland is that it welcomes absolute beginners all the way through quite advanced practitioners. And the main teacher breaks everything down step by step. And the ensemble pieces we're doing, everyone gets the music ahead of time. All the music is out for people who have registered, and it's geared towards working on sound production and playing in an ensemble, and it's gorgeous music, but that is not about being virtuosic necessarily. That is we're working so everyone can play together and yet work on sound.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

The main schedule is adjusted so that in the morning, those who want to meet me on the beach. Right. So the larks in the crowd rather than the owls. We meet on the beach and we do some breathing exercises and some meditation, and we go through things that can help with nerves if you get nervous when you perform, or if you go back home and have auditions, or anything like that. These breathing and meditation and stretching exercises can really help your cello playing in terms of your mental state. And then we also do stretching that help your shoulders, especially and your arms. I've put together a series of stretches and exercises and bits of forms that are good, especially for cellists. The thing about martial arts and why it goes so well with cello is that martial arts are arts. And the part I do are mainly the forms and the stretching and the things that help with life. And music, that's an art. And neither practice you will ever finish. You will never be done with music.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Well, this is true, but this week it's not about deadlines.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

No, it is not at all. This one, we don't give you deadlines, and in fact, it's optional whether you participate in the student performance at the end of the week. Right. So if you don't want to put all, that's fine. But if you do want the practice with friendly people who are helping you get feedback, now's a great low pressure opportunity to do that. And also in the middle of the week, we have a master class. The morning we have the stretching and the breathing to help contribute to your wellness and playing the cello. Then there's a break for breakfast, coffee, walk on the beach, and then we start classes about 10 o'clock. And then we go till lunchtime.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

We have a very long lunch. And we're doing technique classes in there and we're working on some cello solo cello suites. Right. Our theme is sweets by the sea.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

So I'm teaching the first Bach cello suite. Doing Motz. Yes. The lights and shadows. We have classes on those two suites, and we're going to cover the entire suites, but we're also doing technique, and then we have a rehearsal every day for our ensemble. And then on Saturday, we have the recital. And then Sunday morning is the coffee concert. That's at the church, and that's between the two church services. Then the faculty will be performing at the church service too. And we may, as an ensemble, play a piece in the service too. We'll have to see where we are this year. The focus is on the sweets and on technique.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Technique.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

And we will have two lessons during the week. So if you come, you're going to get private lessons. So there'll be a half-hour lesson at the beginning of the week to get started. And then one towards the end of the week so you can check in and then make a plan for going forward for after Cello Fest. What are you going to do? What are your goals and how are you going to get there? We have a few spots left. We're keeping the numbers really small. Over 12, right? 12 is our cap for this year. In the future, we have some plans to get bigger, but right now we're trying to keep the student-teacher ratio at a nice level. And we want to keep it intimate so that everybody gets attention. We want it so that it's we can build a sense of community and you can really get to know everyone.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

And then there's time to reflect and walk on the beach and meditate or go running or take a nap or practice your cello or hang out with your family.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

You could be a cello of any level for this, right? Pretty much. Yes. If you could be an intermediate, advanced.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

This is for beginners, intermediates, advanced. So this is really designed for the people who have tried to play the Bach First Suite or have played it but would like to play it better and learn more about it. And if you're interested in learning the Mott Suite lights and shadows, if you would like to work on making your arpeggios better.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

I think I'm going to do the third position ones because no matter what level you are, if you've made it to third position, even if you're advanced, it's a problem. So we'll do the third position ones. Across all four strings.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

The reason I wanted to start this was that the same year I started the cello, my parents got a place in Bethany Beach.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Bethany Beach is pretty awesome. I think it's a good vibe. It's a good place to be.

unknown 9:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Bethany Beach is just a beautiful little town. And the year I started cello, I started going to Bethany Beach. And as a young cellist, I kept looking around and trying to find cellos and cello music, and I didn't see any. And then we became friends with my cello teacher and her husband. So my parents invited them to come and they joined us for a weekend at the beach. So I remember that was the main time there was another cellist at the beach. Mrs. Kidd came to the beach, it was amazing. I have really fond memories of that. And I've always wanted to bring more music to the area. I didn't see it happening, and I thought, let's make it happen. So we did.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

So this is a good time to hang out together, too.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

It is, and that's what we want. The nice thing is to build communities.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

This is for adults who just want to come and hang out with other adults and have a community, and you don't have to be advanced and just have fun and learn some things.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Our goal is that you learn a tremendous amount. So in my time teaching at different places, I think, especially at Duke, my favorite thing was to trick the students into learning. They would be enjoying themselves so much that they wouldn't realize quite how much they had learned. In my mind, can learn a lot more when you're enjoying it and you're not feeling pressure. And that's the atmosphere that we work very hard to create. And also the relaxing nature of Bethany Beach is just perfect. That sets up the environment for that. And by starting the day with the wellness classes, that gets the body moving and that gets you breathing, and you're there at the beach not long after sunrise.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

I don't know if they're dolphins or porpoises.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

I think they're dolphins.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

We often see the dolphins, and it's a beautiful place.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Bethany Beach Cello Fest 2026 runs August 9th through 16th in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Faculty include Jennifer Kletzel, Erica Lesey, and me, Brenda Nies. The week includes classes, private lessons, ensemble playing, a masterclass, wellness sessions, optional social activities, and free public events. Spaces are limited and details and registration are available at cello museum.org. Thank you for listening to the Cello Museum Podcast. If this sounds like the kind of cello week you've been looking for, we'd love to see you in Bethany Beach this summer.