To what extent were the above-mentioned wishes and objectives met?

I was pleased to discover that the students seemed motivated to get stuck in and work on the music in great detail. The lessons never or rarely ground to a halt; the students were both keen and professional. Incidentally, I never felt the need to correct anything they did.

After a few lessons they realised that there was not enough time for everyone, so instead they had only two people perform each time. This allowed them to go into more depth, something they were clearly satisfied with.

Communication between the students was not optimal in the beginning, but it was with great satisfaction that I saw them slowly “getting it together”. Tacit corrections were made to approaches and ways of speaking/teaching. The atmosphere was nothing other than positive for the duration of the project.

During the year I encouraged each of them to take turns to run a whole lesson – to hold a masterclass for the other two. It was interesting to see how personality plays a part in how much they enjoyed being in that position. The differences were clear to see. But all of them felt at home in the everyday group dynamic.

At the evaluation meeting before Christmas the students expressed delight at being offered the opportunity to take part in the project. Phrases such as “development, confidence, communication, professional skills, realising one’s potential, having more to give” were used frequently during the meeting. I would say that this form of tuition is of great value – for several reasons:

• The students become more aware of their own playing and intentions.
• They gain an insight into the thoughts and perspectives of others.
• Such processes make the students more independent in terms of which artistic choices to make.
• Giving and receiving feedback becomes a natural part of the process – without any underlying uncertainty or fear – exactly because they learn to develop a fundamental respect for each other. Only then can they fully trust their own convictions.