Nadia Maudhoo finished the solo, lowered her bow and took a breath.

Famous violinist Sandy Cameron smiled.

“That was great, but I’m going to try to take that out of the box a bit,” Cameron said, moving on to suggestions on developing musical expression and pointing out ways to think differently about forming harmonies — go beyond the technical aspects of the piece.

Cameron asked Maudhoo to play the track again. This time, Maudhoo received enthusiastic applause as she formed the final note. Her classmates clearly noticed something different in her performance.

“Bravo! That’s how we take Bach out of the box – he’s not boring,” Cameron said. “We’re made to think he was very strict and we’re taught to revere him, which we should , but not to the point of putting it in a box and thinking it can only be like this, it has to be like this. Bach sent a message through his music. The challenge for us when playing Bach is to think outside of the melody. What do we bring to these different moments in the play?

The interaction between Maudhoo, a doctoral student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Glenn Korff School of Music, and Cameron, who is featured soloist in “Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton”, was made possible by the Lied Center for Performing Arts, which hosted and hosted master classes for students with Cameron, Third Coast Percussion and Elfman himself throughout the week – which has been dubbed “Danny Elfman Week” on campus.

“It was amazing,” Maudhoo said. “I’ve done master classes before, and sometimes, with the time we have, we can’t do much. But instead of going into specifics, she went into ideas, which is really cool. That’s what I really wanted from a masterclass because she only said one thing, and I was able to kind of figure out what she wanted.

“It was an experience that changed my life.”

Iain Thomas, a junior music student, was also selected to work with Cameron during the masterclass. Cameron helped him refine his breathing to control his nervousness and think more broadly about the sound of his instrument.

After the one-on-one lessons, with all the string students watching, Cameron was up for a Questions and answerswhere she was asked about tips for warming up, preparing for a performance and how to approach daily practice.

Cameron has led masterclasses before, and with limited time with students, she said her “biggest hope is that they come out at the end feeling like they’ve learned something or lived. something new”.

“I want them to come away with an experience that means something to them, whether it’s with the music or just as a human being,” Cameron said. “It’s a special experience for me too. I realized that when I do a masterclass, I don’t just learn how a particular student plays, I also learn how some of those students think about music, and maybe they’ve thought about it. ‘somehow I didn’t, and that’s precious to me. I could learn something about myself. I could be inspired.

Masterclasses like those held Oct. 4-7 are common at Nebraska U but rare at colleges across the United States, said Sasha Dobson, outreach coordinator for the Lied. The Lied Center is unique as a world-class performing arts center on a college campus. Most are not part of a college or university.

“The first word in our mission statement is to educate, and with almost all of our artists, in the contract phase, we offer student engagement, or some type of community engagement,” Dobson said. “I would say 90-95% or our artists do outreach events with us while they’re here.”

In the past, students have had the opportunity to work with Yo-yo Ma, Susan Werner, the cast of “Something Rotten!”, Paul Shaffer, Harry Connick, Jr., and more. On October 6, Elfman led a music composition masterclass with a small group of students and participated in a Questions and answers during the musical call.

Elfman will interact with the campus community during IGNITE, at 12:30 p.m. on October 7, at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. This dual feature of IGNITE will also include Jesse Fleming, Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts, and the creative team behind “The Wilds.”

Limited tickets are available for Danny Elfman’s Music from Tim Burton Films,” Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Lied. Cameron also performs with the ONE Orchestra in “Danny Elfman’s Violin Concerto,” 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Kimball Hall.