The Collaborative Piano Blog

Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit

2012-05-26T20:30:00.000-04:00

Hearing Benjamin Grosvenor's magnificent recording of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit was a pleasure indeed, and comes via the Facebook feed of Robert Silverman. Grosvenor's recent recording for Decca features Gaspard, as well as several Chopin and Liszt works.

Help Ensemble Meme Record the Piano Chamber Works of Gabriela Lena Frank

2012-05-24T21:12:00.000-04:00

A Kickstarter project from Ensemble Meme aims to record several works for piano and chamber ensemble by Gabriela Lena:

We are trying to complete our recording of a fabulous CD which features world-premiere, never recorded chamber music works by the brilliant composer Gabriela Lena Frank. So far we have recorded a portion of the disc, thanks to generous contributions from the Copland Recording Grant and our donors. However, we need your help in order to complete this CD! Please watch our video, where you will see Molly and Gabi in person, and sample a little bit of the beautiful music on this disc, performed by Barry and Molly live.

Our story began with Molly, our pianist, who met Gabi, a wonderful composer at the John Harbison/Dawn Upshaw Workshop at Carnegie Hall in 2004. They bonded both musically and on their views of life and living over rehearsals and meals shared during those weeks. A strong friendship ensued. And during a sushi meal in Berkeley a few years back, this recording project was born.

The works on this CD include: Tres Homenajes: Compadrazgo (For Piano Quintet), Sueños de Chambi: Snapshots for an Andean Album (For Flute and Piano), Canto de Harawi: “Amadeoso” (For Flute, Clarinet, and Piano), Sonata Andina (For Solo Piano), and a brand new work for piano four hands that Gabi will join in with Molly!

Molly Morkoski talks with Gabriela about their collaborative process so far:

The deadline for contributions is June 15 and the recording is already 27% funded as of this evening. Lots of promotions await those who donate, including dedication rights, house concerts, coachings, instruments,CDs and digital downloads.

Christina Perri's A Thousand Years, Arranged as a Piano/Cello Cover by the Piano Guys

2012-05-11T22:03:00.001-04:00

Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson of The Piano Guys are back, this time in the Utah woods with Christina Perri's A Thousand Years arranged for cello and piano. Listen closely and you'll hear a cleverly disguised Bridal Chorus quote. Look closely and you might see a lizard or two:

Tim Fain and Peiyao Wang Play Aaron Jay Kernis' Air

2012-05-11T21:42:00.003-04:00

You might need to turn up the audio a bit, but you'll be glad you did in this elegant and moving 2010 Poisson Rouge performance with violinist Tim Fain and pianist Pei-Yao Wang:

Pasek and Paul's Do You Remember

2012-05-03T19:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a hidden gem that one of my students introduced to me earlier this year: Do You Remember by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, from a projected and as yet uncompleted Peter Pan sequel. The ageless Peter Pan (sung here by Gavin Creel) meets an aging Wendy:

This performance is with Tampa-based pianist Robert Jarosh and ~~a very talented, though unnamed singer~~ David Michael Bevis (thanks Robert!):

You can purchase the sheet music on the Pasek and Paul website. It's well worth the $8.99 price tag, and the piano part is very well written.

(Thanks, Stevie!)

Ask the Readers: Which Classical Music/Music Ed Blogs Are Worth Reading?

2012-05-02T06:40:00.000-04:00

I've always prided myself on staying up to date with the goings-on of the classical music blogosphere. However, with over two months spent moving house, I fear I may have lost touch with some of the best blog reads while setting up the ultimate music studio.

Collaborative Piano Blog readers are known to be some of the most discerning of musicians, so the call goes out: which classical music and music education blogs are worth reading?

Leave a comment below.

SongFusion Presents States of Mind on May 8 in NYC

2012-04-30T11:19:00.000-04:00

If you're in the New York City area, head on over to the DiMenna Center for Classical Music on May 8 for States of Mind, a recital of new American art song presented by SongFusion featuring visual artist Kevork Mourad. About the project:

"States of Mind" uses as its point of departure the Baroque Doctrine of Affections. Over the course of three mini narratives held together thematically and visually, SongFusion explores opposing pairings of affections - love/hate, joy/sorrow, wonder/desire to create a joint multidisciplinary artwork with projections of visual art. Mourad, who has a deep musical understanding and has worked with the leading musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, has a highly individual artistic style in which he provides his response to the poetry and music. “States of Mind” aspires to be a modern look at everyday states of being. In America. Today.

This concert will feature sopranos Mary McKenzie and Victoria Bowers, baritone Michael Kelly, flutist Henrik Heide, and violist Ed Klorman, with Liza Stepanova and Kathleen Tagg on piano. Tickets are $15 advance/$20 at the door.

Singers: What To Put in an Audition Binder

2012-04-30T09:05:00.001-04:00

The Young Person's Guide to the Opera Audition has an informative guide on what to put in your audition binder. Included are sections on head shots, resumes, rep sheets, audition instructions, directions, as well as the all-important sheet music:

Audition Music - The preparation of the audition music is a whole other post, but it’s good to remember to make sure it turns well in a three-hole punch binder. The easier it is for the pianist to turn the more a pianist can play and not have to worry about page turns. It’s also a good idea to put the piece you want to sing first as the first selection in the binder. You would think this is assumed, but sometimes, in the rush of getting everything ready, little things are forgotten.

To which I would add the following:

Arias for the current audition need to be at the front of the binder.
Each aria needs to have its own flag for easy discovery by the pianist
Mark in start points for each aria if it's not at the beginning.
Mark in all cuts as obviously as possible. Use tape, blank paper, and highlighter and assume that pianists won't get it unless you're as obvious as possible.
Mark in ritardando and accelerando points with arrows, squiggly lines, large letters, or whatever will get a pianist's attention. Rehearsal time is a luxury and you might not even get time to talk about the aria with the pianist.
Use double-sided pages and make sure that all pages are securely in the binder.
Don't put photocopy paper in laminated sleeve pages - they tend to reflect light in the most unfortunate way possible when the pianist is backlit. You want them to see the music, don't you?

There's an unwritten code among pianists that if a singer shows up to an audition with a completely organized binder (including marked start points, cuts, and tempo indications), it's automatically assumed that the singer will be in contention. In other words, if I see a well-organized binder, I damn well better play at my absolute best for this person.

Pianists: what are your suggestions on what to put in an audition binder? How do you like music presented? Leave a comment with your ideas.

[Update] Thanks for the great comments, everyone. It's also worth checking out the discussion on the CPB Facebook Page.

Opera Cheats: La Voix Humaine and Bluebeard's Castle

2012-04-29T21:12:00.001-04:00

These two irreverent mini-synopses are from Opera Five, a Toronto-based collective founded by Rachel Krehm and Aria Umezawa. You can check out Opera Five's Bluebeard's Castle on May 15, 16, and 18 at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto.

Boromir on Sight Reading

2012-04-29T14:53:00.000-04:00

For those of you who missed it on the Collaborative Piano Blog Facebook Page the first time around...

This meme comes in response to a student of mine who wished to put off practicing sight reading until closer to their exam...

Peter Longworth's New Website

2012-04-29T14:45:00.002-04:00

If you frequent the Toronto musical scene, chances are that you've come across the fine playing of Peter Longworth, a colleague of mine at the Royal Conservatory whose projects over the next few months include appearances with the Tokai, Silver Birch, and Annex String Quartets, Talisker Chamber Players, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (featuring a rare performance of the John Ireland Piano Concerto). Peter's got a new website (courtesy of the design awesomeness of Elizabeth Bowman) and Facebook Page, so you know where to look up his projects for the coming season.

Peter is joined by cellist Amanda Forsyth in this performance of Malcolm Forsyth's Song of Light:

(Thanks, Elizabeth!)

Man Playing Cat Organ

2012-04-29T11:12:00.000-04:00

One can only wonder what original compositions might be commissioned for such an instrument...

(Via Jason Robert Brown)

Remembering Kelly Archer

2012-04-28T22:09:00.000-04:00

It's always humbling to read about the lives of collaborative pianists who have passed away, how they moved people, how they impacted communities. A lovely article in the Columbia Daily Tribune covers a celebration of the life and work of Kelly Archer in Columbia, Missouri, both at the University of Missouri at Columbia and Stephens College. Here are some comments about how people remembered her:

"She made choreography a delight for me. She had been a dancer herself and knew exactly what I was doing every moment."

"When I was a terrified 18-year-old with an unexpected solo in a Rep musical, her calm and seemingly unshakeable confidence in me basically enabled that solo to happen."

"There is a chord missing from all the harmonies in her absence."

"She gave piano lessons to Jack LaZebnik and gently advised him not to punch the music into the piano but to pull it out."

Jarrod Radnich Plays Pirates of the Caribbean

2012-04-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

Say what you will about popular piano arrangements, I credit many of these artists and their work with inspiring young pianists to keep exploring new repertoire and continue playing, when boredom with traditional classical repertoire might have otherwise caused them to quit.

Here's Jarrod Radnich (filmed by the Piano Guys) playing his own arrangement of Klaus Badelt's Pirates of the Caribbean theme. It's worth checking out the sheet music for the arrangement, whose Lisztian virtuosity sounds rather flashy, but isn't as difficult as it looks.

One of my students is performing this arrangement next month, and I'm glad to say that this arrangement inspired him to work fiendishly hard in order to master some difficult piano writing that would have been beyond his abilities a few months ago.

Vocal Coach Position at Texas Tech University

2012-04-28T06:20:00.002-04:00

A new vocal coach position was just announced at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Here is the complete listing:

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

College of Visual & Performing Arts

School of Music

Staff Vacancy Announcement

VOCAL COACH

POSITION: Vocal Coach. A full-time staff position.

QUALIFICATIONS: MM in collaborative piano required, DMA in collaborative piano preferred, or experience commensurate with the DMA. Intimate knowledge of English (British and American), Italian, French, and German diction. Experience with Spanish, Russian, and Czech preferred. Secure knowledge of standard song repertoire and opera literature. Experience in coaching singers at the college level or higher, in recital preparation, audition preparation (arias), and opera role preparation.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Coach music students in preparation of degree recitals. Coach students in music theatre/opera productions. Assist in the coordination of student accompanists for TTU Music Theatre. Assist in diction and song literature courses per expertise.

APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE: August 1, 2012.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY: Founded in 1923, Texas Tech is located in Lubbock, TX. It has the distinction of being the largest comprehensive institution of higher education in West Texas, with an enrollment of over 32,000 students. The School of Music, with a full-time faculty of 52, enrolls more than 440 majors and offers the following degrees: Bachelor of Music (performance, composition, theory, teacher certification), Bachelor of Arts, Master of Music (performance, conducting, composition, string pedagogy, piano pedagogy, theory, musicology), Master of Music Education (including a three-summer completion program), Doctor of Musical Arts (performance, conducting, composition, piano pedagogy), and Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts—Music. The School of Music is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music and is a unit of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, one of the university’s eleven colleges.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Applications are to be completed online at http://jobs.texastech.edu. Refer to job posting and requisition number: 85873 (a two-step procedure). 1) Attach the following materials to your online application: a) letter of application, b) curriculum vita. If you are having trouble with the online application, contact TTU at 806-742-3851 ext. 238. 2) Send the following items to the address listed below: a) three current letters of recommendation (or placement file), b) minimum of three additional reference names with telephone and email contact information, c) audio recordings representative of recent collaborative performances (live recording only). Send these materials to: Kris Medrano; School of Music; Texas Tech University; Box 42033; Lubbock, TX 79409-2033. Completed file should be received by June 1, 2012, but screening will continue until the position is filled.

Additional School of Music contact information: kristen.medrano [at] ttu.edu 806-742-2270 ext. 227.

Texas Tech University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity. The university welcomes applications from minorities, women, veterans, persons with disabilities, and dual-career couples.

(Thanks, Quinn!)

Children's Arts Activity Tax Credits in Canada: What You Need To Know

2012-04-27T11:46:00.002-04:00

If you're a resident of Canada, it's important at this time of year to know that there are several available tax credits available to claim if your children are enrolled in music lessons.

First of all, the Line 370 Children's Arts Amount. From the CRA website:

You can claim to a maximum of $500 per child the fees paid in 2011 relating to the cost of registration or membership of your or your spouse's or common-law partner's child in a prescribed program of artistic, cultural, recreational, or developmental activity.

You can find out more from this video:

If you live in Ontario, music lessons are one of the eligible activities that can also be submitted for a the 2011 Ontario tax credit in addition to the separate federal arts amount. Here's how it works:

If you have a child enrolled in activities, such as painting classes, soccer, hockey or music lessons, you can claim up to $509 in eligible expenses and get up to $50.90 back for each child under 16 for 2011. You can receive up to $101.80 back for a child with a disability who is under 18. These amounts will be adjusted for inflation each subsequent year.

Its only a measly $50.90, but every dollar counts at this miserable time of the year.

Best of luck preparing your taxes as we get into the crunch time before the April 30 deadline. If you know of any provincial arts credits for provinces other than Ontario, please leave a comment w/links.

Continuum Plays Brian Current's Strata

2012-04-27T10:53:00.000-04:00

From a February 2012 Continuum recital at the Music Gallery in Toronto - the performers are Anne Thompson (flute), Max Christie (clarinet), Carol Lynn Fujino (violin), Paul Widner (cello), Laurent Philippe (piano), and Ryan Scott (percussion), conducted by Brian Current.

Our New House

2012-04-26T22:05:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, Wendy and I bought a house. Not just any house, but a large one. Of course, our primary consideration in selecting one for our needs was the size, location, and layout of a potential studio space, since my previous home studio, although it suited my needs at the time very well, ended up being little on the small side. The property we finally found was only 1.5km from our townhouse in Oakville (perfect for business, since none of my current students would be inconvenienced), featuring an open-concept living room that would be ideal for enclosure into a sizable studio space.

Here's what my new studio looks like, thanks too the awesomeness of Michael Corridor and Nicolas Groenewegen in the quick but efficient renovation process:

One of the coolest things about my new studio is that the ceilings are 14 feet high! Needless to say, it's a very singer-friendly room. In addition, my 70's-vintage Yamaha U1, feeling the arm weight of the years, needed a refurbishing rather badly. Paul Clement was able to replace the original Yamaha hammers with a new set of German Abel hammers, completely changing the sound. It's now mellower than before (having lost the original Yamaha brightness), but with a much wider dynamic range. In fact, any smaller room than this probably wouldn't do justice to the instrument and the size of tone it can produce. And yes, it's only a U1. Paul also did a lot of work on the action, which resulted in a much more responsive touch. For those of you who are interested in Paul's modifications, take a look at his project summary w/photos.

So, the inordinate amount of time required to put an offer on the house, arrange financing, put our townhouse on the market (thankfully, it sold in two days for just under the asking price), pack all our belongings, supervise the renovations, move in late March, and unpack everything (and did I mention that March is the busiest time of the year?), meant that blogging has taken a back seat to what was hopefully the last move ~~we'll do in a long time~~ ever. I finally have a studio large enough to hold master classes and small house concerts. When the time comes, I'll easily be able to fit a grand of any size into the room.

And as of this afternoon, my taxes were completed. Back to blogging...

Practicing Just Got Social: Three Services To Help Both Students and Teachers

2012-03-13T06:53:00.000-04:00

Remember the days when practicing an instrument required enforced seclusion from everybody else in your life? My early years of practice were rich and rewarding, but I tended to keep all my observations entirely to myself. With a new crop of online services, the inner life of practicing is quickly becoming a highly socialized activity, subtly intertwined with their teacher's agenda, the educational aims of software, and the game-like activity of watching one's own practicing in relation to what others are doing with theirs.

Three services in particular stand out in this niche, each with their own take on the relationship of teacher to student, their take on the pedagogical process, and the degree of social interaction between students.

Music Teacher's Helper

The most mature of the programs in this space, Music Teacher's Helper has been on the scene for several years now and has had time to branch out from a studio management, marketing, and invoicing service to one that embraces pedagogical tools as well. MTH's practice logging features can be accessed by both the student and teacher, as this tutorial video shows:

I particularly like the bar graph and how it shows consistency (or lack thereof). On the other hand, students' recording of practice on the service is limited to interaction between them and their teacher, and although it gives teachers a clear top-down view of how students are practicing, there isn't yet a way for students to see the practice habits of other students in the studio, nor to interact with them through MTH.

iScore

A brand-new service by one of North America's most venerable musical institutions, iScore is the brainchild of a partnership between the Royal Conservatory, Queen's University, and Concordia University, growing out of the ePearl educational suite as an implementation tailored towards music students. iScore's practice-tracking process is a largely student-driven one, which utilizes the specific stages in learning a work to encourage students to both reflect on their practice and share it with others using an array of multimedia tools. Here's a short video about iScore:

iScore is a standalone pedagogical tool, without the other scheduling, marketing, and financial studio management tools that can be found in Music Teacher's Helper. From my initial look at the program a few weeks ago, it looks like teachers on iScore function more in an observational role - the onus is on the students to do both the practicing and spend the time learning the program so that they can engage with its numerous features. Because of its funding and development model, iScore is only available in Canada at present, and once the service gets going, it might provide ample reason for American music teachers to move north of the border.

Compound Time

Another new entry in this space is Michael Haddad's Compound Time (thanks for the heads-up, Erica), which is much closer to the spirit of an open social network such as Facebook. The Compound Time process emphasizes setting time goals and choosing repertoire, then setting a timer as you work on each work. Other users you have friended will also be able to see what you're practicing. Although Compound Time has by far the sparsest feature set of the three, it does have something dear to so many social networkers which the others do not - status updates, with the option to pull your Twitter feed into your profile. You can also use the service as a teacher, invite your students and then track their progress.

Depending on your agenda as a teacher, each of these services can fill a specific need in the potentially lonely life of the practicing student. The difficulty with any of them is that, in addition to motivating your students to practice, you have to make a case that they need to spend additional time logged in to a computer reflecting on their work and/or interacting with others. As the toolkits of these programs become more complex and integrated with the learning process, they require more time to both learn the program and put it into practice so that they can work their magic.

Music teachers: do you use any of these programs or others to track practicing? What rewards have you discovered? What challenges?

Music students: do you use an online service to track your practicing? Do you find it helpful for your process? Do the social aspects help to motivate you?

(Disclaimer: I'm on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory, one of the institutions behind the development of iScore. I have a Music Teacher's Helper-enabled website, and have also been a member of the MTH blogging team for several years. I'm a member of MTH's affiliate program, and although you'll see affiliate links throughout this site, there are none in this article. I have a Compound Time teacher's account, but am not affiliated with the company in any way.)

What You Can Do to Bring Jesse Blumberg and Martin Katz to the 2012 Collaborative Works Festival in Chicago

2012-03-11T20:51:00.002-04:00

How would you like to see baritone Jesse Blumberg and pianist Martin Katz perform Franz Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin on March 29th in Chicago? How would you like to see them perform Winterreise only two days later? This is the goal of a Kickstarter project brought to you by the brains and brawn behind the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (covered here previously).

Katz and Blumberg's appearance will also consist of a master class and coachings for students enrolled at the CAIC. The funding objective for CAIC's Kickstarter project is to cover artist fees, accomodations, and production costs. Using Kickstarter is a brilliant and innovative way to raise money for an arts project, and for those who are able to contribute $5k or more, here's what's in store for you:

acknowledgement in the CAIC festival program
a poster signed by the artists
commemorative festival mug
two tickets to both concerts
invitation to a VIP-only reception
a private in-house art song concert featuring Nicholas Phan, Shannon McGinnis, and Nicholas Hutchinson for up to 20 (!!!)

Best of luck to the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago in the pursuit of their funding goal. In case you're interested in donating to this project, you only have 12 days left as of today...

Sight-reading and Memorization Skills of the Professional Pianist: A Survey

2012-03-07T14:44:00.003-05:00

Are professional pianists who have uncanny sight-reading or memorization skills gifted individuals, or did they get that way from years of diligent practice?

Jaime Castellanos, a graduate student in Piano Pedagogy and Performance at the Unviersity of Nebraska - Lincoln is conducting a survey about the sight reading and memorization skills of professional and pre-professional pianists. If you feel strongly about your development of these skills in your own training, are 19 or older, and are currently working either in the musical profession or are in a music program, go to the link below and spend around 10 minutes or so filling out Jaime's survey:

Sight-Reading and Memorization Skills of the Professional Pianist

Lecture Recital for Kingsway Women's Club

2012-03-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I gave a lecture recital for the Kingsway Women's Club in Toronto. Many people have asked for a script of the lecture, so here it is.

-------

(Play Faure Impromptu No. 2, Op. 31)

That was the Impromptu No. 2 written by Gabriel Faure in 1883. All told, it took approximately 10 hours to prepare that piece for performance today, over half of which was spent practicing slowly with the metronome.

Most people don't understand the hours of hard work that go into the making of a musician. One often hears about musicians having "God-given talent", but the reality is that if you want to learn an instrument and be able to play it at any level of expertise, you'll need to practice daily. Those musicians who are able to develop their playing to an advanced level have spent years of practicing their instrument. Therefore, it is no surprise to learn that many musicians consider their instrument a part of them.

Good afternoon, my name is Chris Foley and I'm a pianist, educator, and writer. A large part of what I do is think of interesting ways to convince people of the value of music as way to improve one's cultural education, learning processes, brain function, emotional well-being, and eventual path to success.

Before I go on about the things that I currently do, I'd like to talk a bit about how I got here.

Although I was born in Toronto, I grew up in North Delta, a suburb south-east of Vancouver. When I was younger, I played the piano, viola, and flute, wrote adolescent compositions, and knew I wanted to go into music, but didn't have a clear idea of exactly what I wanted to do.

When I was given the opportunity in Grade 11 to play piano for the musicals in my high school, I naturally jumped at the chance. Working in the theatre was one of my first truly fun and exhilarating musical experiences, and proved to be a miraculous cure for the stage fright that had plagued me up to that point.

When I entered the University of British Columbia, I majored in composition for the first year. I hated it. I intensely disliked the process of writing music, although paradoxically, I developed a lifelong love and passion for contemporary music which continues to this day. I switched to a piano concentration in my second year partially to work with singers, and partially to play contemporary music.

After my years at UBC, I went to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where I majored in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music. I spent five years studying with Jean Barr, a wonderful and brilliant teacher and mentor, who has taught me so much about music, careers, and life.

After five years in graduate school at Eastman, I graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and was unleashed upon the musical world. I chose to work in Vancouver, where I became a faculty member of both the Vancouver Academy of Music and the University of British Columbia.

But the organization that provided me with some of the best musical opportunities was Vancouver New Music, and I was a member of their ensemble for six years. In the Vancouver New Music Ensemble, I played over a hundred contemporary works, many of them Candian compositions receiving their first performance. The works I played ranged from masterpieces to works that were best termed forgettable. But in the process, I chanced upon a large number of works that I would never have discovered otherwise.

The next piece I would like to play for you is the first of four Nigerian Dances by Joshua Uzoigwe, a composer who spent most of his professional life in Nigeria. I played the Canadian premiere of this piece in a March 2000 Vancouver New Music concert entitled The Wanderer: Chamber Music of Africa.

(Play Nigerian Dance #1)

It was in Vancouver that I also met Wendy Hatala, the woman whom I met in 1994 married four years later. After eight years in Vancouver, we grew restless, and realized that the professional advancement that we craved could not be found in Vancouver. And so in 2002, Wendy and I moved to Toronto, specifically Oakville, where we have lived ever since.

The move to Toronto proved most profitable, as soon after we moved here, I was hired by Tapestry New Opera Works to rehearse and perform in productions of new operatic works. A year later, I was hired by the Royal Conservatory of Music to coach singers both in the Glenn Gould School and the Community School (now renamed the Conservatory School).

Does everybody know what the Royal Conservatory of Music is? Founded in 1886, the Royal Conservatory now encompasses a huge variety of musical activities. The Royal Conservatory houses not one, but two schools: The Glenn Gould School, which is a professional program for first-rate students wishing to make music a career, and the Conservatory School, which provides musical instruction for a much wider range of students of every ability and musical style. RCM Examinations is a program which sets and supports musical standards across Canada and the United States. Did you know that RCM Examinations and Carnegie Hall recently began a partnership to hold examinations across the United States? This is called The Achievement Program, and is expanding extremely rapidly. Frederick Harris Music is the publishing arm of the organization, and many of the books from the RCM curriculum you see music students carrying around are published by Frederick Harris.

In addition, Learning Through the Arts is an educational program that aims to give public school teachers the tools to put an arts-driven curriculum at the core of their educational activities.

In 1991, the Royal Conservatory initiated an ambitious plan to renovate their property at 273 Bloor, eventually becoming the Telus Centre for the Performing Arts, featuring one of the greatest mid-size concert halls in the world today, Koerner Hall. Through the Performing Arts Division, the RCM is now one of Toronto's premier performance, convention, and wedding venues.

It was at the Royal Conservatory that my career both advanced and branched out. Although many people found the growth pains of 2004-2008 a difficult time at the Conservatory, I thrived. In 2005, I was recruited by then-head of the Keyboard Department Karen Quinton to teach piano. I proposed and taught a Collaborative Piano class for advanced pianists. I was also asked to serve on the Executive of the RCM Faculty Association, where I now serve as the organization's Treasurer. Pete Zarins recruited me to become an examiner for RCM Examinations. In fact, much of my musical development in the last 10 years has been shaped by my experiences and growth at the Royal Conservatory.

These days, one of the recurring themes throughout my musical work is the importance of technology and how we can utilize it as performers, students, and teachers of music. In 2005, I started the Collaborative Piano Blog, which has gone on to become the top classical music blog in Canada, and one of the top piano blogs in the world. Writing a well-known blog has opened up a world of opportunities and has resulted in many doors opening for me in the last few years.

I also think a lot about how I can use technology in the teaching studio. Most of my students spend their days glued to their smartphones (get out phone). A few years ago I realized that the musical activities that I was promoting were often in direct competition with the hours that my students were spending with their electronic devices. I came to an important resolution: rather than fight the march of progress, I needed to find ways to help bring electronic devices into a student's daily musical life rather than compete with it.

One of the easiest ways to do this is with something familiar to all those who have studied music - lesson notes. At every lesson, a teacher needs to write lesson notes for their students so they and their parents will know what the week's assignments and expectations are. Why not deliver the lesson notes to the students directly to them on their cellphones? The answer was very simple - email students and their parents their lesson notes every week. This simple solution has helped my students keep in touch with my expectations, practice daily, AND spend time with their smartphone.

There are other neat solutions as well. (demonstrate metronome on the iPad). The simple metronome, which terrorized so many of us in our early years, can now be cheaply downloaded onto any phone or tablet device. And that's not all you can do with technology.

(Get audience member to try out drum kit on GarageBand with iPad)

I will now perform Debussy's Clair de Lune, reading the music on my iPad using a program called forScore.

(Play Clair de lune)

How many of you have taken exams with the Royal Conservatory? (show of hands)

Do you remember the fear you experienced when walking into the examination room? As an examiner, it's my job to understand that fear and put musicians at ease as they begin their exams. You might be interested to know that I examine many adult beginners, and adults are much more scared than children when playing exams. One of my intermediate students started piano when she was 68 years old. When she played her Grade 1 exam a year and a half later, she had never experienced such terror as the first moments of her exam, even though she had meticulously prepared all of ther pieces, studies, and scales. Fortunately, the examiner was very kind and put her at ease immediately.

I travel a lot as an examiner. In the last few years, I've been to Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, London, Sarnia, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Toronto East, and Hamilton in Canada and Boston, central New Jersey, upstate New York, Cinncinnati, and Huntsville, Alabama in the United States.

I hear a wide variety of playing from many young pianists. A large part of my job is to listen to a performance, comment on it, and give it a mark according to the standards of RCM Examinations. One of the most amazing things about RCM Exams is the uniformity of musical standards that their corps of examiners are trained to recognize. I can tell you with a great deal of confidence that a performance receiving a mark of 85 in downtown Toronto will be of the same standard as a performance receiving a mark of 85 in Alabama or the Yukon.

I want to give you an idea of what it's like to be an examiner, and how one is able to listen to a performance and be able to discern what its standard is and why. I'm going to play Petzold's Minuet in G major from the Grade 3 Repertoire Book at 4 different standards, and I want you to listen to these performances as if you were an examiner who had to assess them. The first performance of this piece is a dreadful performance that would certainly receive a failing grade.

(Play dreadful, failing performance of Minuet in G)

Mercifully, I didn't make it to the end of the piece.

Next I would like to play a performance of the same piece at an Honors Level. The notes are more clearly learned and the piece has its moments, but the tempo is a little slow and inconsistent, and the ornaments are disrupting the flow of the piece. In addition, the balance needs a bit of work.

(Play mid-70's performance of Minuet in G)

Now I would like to play a performance of the same piece at a First Class Honors Level. The tempo is much more consistent and the ornaments are working well, but there could still be more dynamic contrast between phrases. Nevertheless, this would be a pretty well prepared performance.

(Play mid-80's performance of Minuet in G)

Finally, here is a performance that would receive a mark well over 90, at the First Class Honors with Distinction level. The phrases are nicely contrasted, and there is a sense of lift with the articulations that adds much humor and nuance throughout. In addition, there is that difficult-to-pin-down element called artistry that genuinely makes a performance come alive.

(Play mid-90's performance of Minuet in G)

But the main satisfaction I get from examining is from observing personal triumphs, helping to create positive musical experiences, and pointing out areas where students are excelling, but perhaps unaware of. In Ontario last summer, I was midway through the afternoon examining a young student whose Grade 7 piano exam thus far was average, but not terribly compelling. And then she played Stephen Chatman's Katherine with such beauty, such refinement that I had never, ever heard in a student performance of that piece before.

(Play Katherine by Stephen Chatman)

I was moved to tears by this young pianist's playing. In addition to giving her a perfect mark for the piece, it was my duty as an educator to write in her examination report that this was an absolutely first-rate performance of the piece and she should by all means continue learning more Canadian piano works if she was able to play them at such an astonishing standard. I hope I hear her again one day.

Last month in Alberta, I examined a boy with Asperger's Syndrome, a variety of autism which manifests itself as difficulty in understanding social interaction. This student had had problems in exams before because he allegedly couldn't focus in an exam situation. Since I had recently been teaching autistic students at the Royal Conservatory, I knew just a little about how they function. Children with Asperger's sometimes tend to be a bit verbose, but can be learners and thinkers in ways that we don't usually suspect. It has often been pointed out that many of the world's ground-breaking scientific breakthroughs were accomplished by people with autism.

Knowing this, when the student entered the examination room (the sanctuary of a large church in downtown Lethbridge), I immediately started talking to him about the architectural details of the room in a rapid, clipped manner. Leading him to the piano, we excitedly discussed some characteristics of churches and pianos. Upon reaching the piano, he exclaimed "I have to go to the bathroom!" and left the room. Two minutes later he returned and played a truly exceptional exam with a high level of stylistic awareness rare for a pianist of his age. I don't like to boast, but I would like to think that my very small knowledge of autism helped me to create conditions where this young man could finally excel in a competitive situation and use that positive experience to bolster his future work.

After two weeks examining in Alberta last month, I flew back to Toronto, where I lead a busy life these days. Next week I'm playing piano in the orchestra for Fern Hill School's production of The Music Man, featuring students enrolled in Grades 5 through 8. In March Wendy and I (and our two daughters) will be moving into a new house in Oakville, where I'll finally have a much larger studio space with a 12-foot ceiling. In April, I'll be adjudicating senior piano classes at the Davenport Music Festival right here in Etobicoke. My examining routes should be interesting this spring, as I'm flying out to Halifax in mid-April, followed by a trip to northern Alberta and British Columbia in June, with stops in Grimsby, Grande Prairie, and Dawson Creek. I'll be rounding out the season as an adjudicator for the Ontario Registered Music Teacher's Association Provincial Convention in Burlington.

With all these busy professional commitments, people often ask me "What do you play for fun?" For the last 10 years, I've been developing an interest in playing ragtime piano music and it is with this style that I'll finish up this afternoon. This is the New Era Rag by American composer James Scott. Thank you for your attention, and have a wonderful afternoon.

(Play New Era Rag)

(Question and answer session)

Meme of the Day

2012-03-05T07:52:00.000-05:00

If you need to have the above statement explained, there's a chance it might be you depicted in the picture. Better yet, take a look at this video to see how it's done correctly.

Galop Marche Played by ALL the Winners of the Dublin International Piano Competition

2012-03-04T20:25:00.001-05:00

This performance of the Albert Lavignac Galop Marche is from the Piano Spectacular event of the Dublin International Piano Competition, featuring all seven winners since 1988:

Philippe Cassard (1988)
Pavel Nersessian (1991)
Davide Franceschetti (1994)
Max Levinson (1997)
Alexei Nabioulin (2000)
Antti Siirala (2003)
Romaine Descharmes (2006)

The seven are joined by John O'Conor, artistic director of the competition. My goodness, sixteen hands at two keyboards must make a lot of sound. BTW the next running of the Dublin International starts on May 4 - you can find the 2012 competitors here.

(Thanks, Sheila!)

What I've Been Up To Lately

2012-03-01T22:34:00.001-05:00

A view of the -34C weather in Edmonton from the
26th floor of the Coast Edmonton House

This has been one of the busiest years on record for me. With over 50 students, my schedule (including two classes this year at the RCM) has been a lot tighter than in previous years. Here are some of the things I've been doing, with a huge announcement appearing last:

In January, I spent two weeks examining in Alberta, with stops in Edmonton, Calgary, and Lethbridge. In April I'm off to Halifax, with another week and a half in northern Alberta and BC in mid-June.
I've been appointed to the Faculty Association table team for collective bargaining negotiations at the RCM this spring. You almost certainly won't be hearing any progress reports on this front until we reach a deal for the faculty's next collective agreement.
A few weeks ago, I gave a lecture recital about some of the musical activities I've been up to lately. I'll post the speech in the next few days.
This is the biggest news: Wendy and I bought a house! Just a short drive away from where we live now, I'll be able to continue teaching my entire Oakville studio in a much larger studio space, featuring a 12-foot ceiling. In addition, I just discovered a monumental coincidence a few evenings ago: my next-door neighbor will be none other than Oakville piano teacher Melodie Hewer as well as her son, composer (and long-time CPB reader) Trevor Hewer. Yes, the two busiest piano teachers in Oakville will be living next door to each other.

I'm not the only one who's had a busy schedule - here's my student Tiffany in a performance a few days ago at the Toronto Kiwanis Festival, playing the first movement of the Dussek Sonatina in E flat major:

Chocolate Cake vs. Ice Cream: Rethinking Balance at the Keyboard

2012-02-13T11:34:00.003-05:00

Image by ralph and jenny

When you're creating your sound at the piano, one of the most important concepts is foreground vs. background. Melody vs. accompaniment. However, many pianists erroneously equate the idea of balance at the keyboard as the need to play all voices at the same level. As you play multiple voices, sameness of tone between the hands can often result in a bland sound with a melody that is much too soft and an overbearing accompaniment.

As pianists, we need to think like recording engineers. What is most important in a musical texture? What do you want the audience to hear? What technical decisions do you need to make in order to be able to bring out these differences? More often than not, performances that we dislike tend to be ones that all sound the same.

Here is some terminology that I've been developing over the last while in order to better explain this concept in lessons and classes:

Foreground	Background

Depth of tone	Lightness of tone
Superhero	Sidekick
Batman	Robin
$2.3 million star forward	$500,000 rookie defenseman
Mercedes	Honda Civic
Chocolate cake	Ice cream
Gwen Stefani	The rest of No Doubt
Sting	Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland
Bianca Castafiore	Igor Wagner
Bruce Springsteen	E Street Band
Business class	Economy class

When we listen to music, we need to hear its components in a hierarchy. Simply put, effective balancing decisions result in an attractive overall sound. Many apologies to The Police, No Doubt, and the E Street Band, all of whose music I admire and whose work is in no way demeaned by their inclusion in this chart. In fact, I admire the playing of Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland so much precisely because of the way that they put Sting's singing into such effective relief, and in a way that I feel has never been surpassed in his post-Police solo work.

A note for collaborative pianists: the concept of accompaniment is also by no means demeaning to the role of a pianist in an ensemble. Working with another musician is a prime opportunity to make decisions about foreground vs. background in the piano part in the ensemble. In string sonatas and chamber music, the melody is often in the piano and the rest of the ensemble needs to keep down. Even in songs and arias where the melody is exclusively in the vocal part, the pianist still needs to delineate between important and not-so-important elements of the score.

Do you use any other language or imagery to explain balance? If so, feel free to leave a comment and tell us about it.

The Art Song Recital is Alive and Well: Sparks and Wiry Cries Relaunches as an Ezine

2012-01-25T00:28:00.000-05:00

Calling all champions of the art song genre: Sparks and Wiry Cries, the brainchild of Erika Switzer and Martha Guth which previously had its debut as a podcast, has now relaunched as ~~a blog~~ an ezine. Here is just a sample of some of the articles that you'll be able to find on the new SWC format:

Sparks and Wiry Cries also has a Facebook page, which you're obligated to join if you're an avid CPB reader. Fans of the original SWC podcast will be glad to know that all the previous podcast archives are still prominently featured on the site.

Best of luck to Erika and Martha as they embark on the next stage of their podcasting/blogging/ezining journey!

(Thanks, Liz!)

10 Things Every Collaborative Pianist Should Have

2012-01-24T09:05:00.000-05:00

Today's guest post is written by Nancy Harder, who speaks to musicians about being entrepreneurial and tossing out the status quo on her blog, The Composed Musician. She's an active collaborative pianist, teacher, and writer. She's also on the faculty at Virginia Tech's Department of Music. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter on The Composed Musician for inspiration and news.

These are the things I've needed time and again as a collaborative pianist. Some of them have taken me a while to learn about and implement, but they've all made a big difference in my career as an entrepreneurial collaborator.

The list, of course, doesn’t include the indefinables - the gifts, talents, character set, and mindsets that are needed to be a musician.

But, these are the 10 simple things that will make a big difference in the marketing and success of yourself and your talents as a collaborative pianist, whether you’re a professional, amateur or something in between.

1. Website

If I could get all musicians in the world to do one thing for their business, this would be it. Have a website. Have a website. Have a website.

It’s best to have a dedicated domain (a la youname/brand.com), but using a free host like Wordpress, Blogspot, and Musicteachershelper also works well.

Make sure the site’s clean & organized. Simple = classy.

Think of your website as your portfolio, a one-stop preview of who you are and what you do.

What could you include to give people the full picture of what you do, what you’ve done, and what you’d like to do in the future?

2. Great Bio

Have a carefully crafted bio at the ready. Don’t be shy about what you’ve done and who you've worked with.

Take note of bios you like and assimilate what you’ve liked best from other people’s bios.

This is important: have both a long and short version. The long version’s for your website, marketing materials, etc. The short version is a good blurb for certain programs, newsletters, etc.

This is not the same thing as a CV/resume. Though, you should have one of those at the ready too.

3. Cocktail Line

What do you do?

Does hearing this question in social situations make you break out into a sweat?

Having a great cocktail line may seem insignificant, but it’s not about small talk. It’s about a quick, authentic round-up of what lights you up in the world presented with confidence.

And you never know who you could next be standing in front of.

4. Professional Photos

Have a good headshot and/or professional photos. The investment will be worth it, I promise.

You can use the photos on your website, promo material, business cards, programs, facebook profile/page, twitter profile, linkedin, etc.

Think about the image you want to get across. If you’d like a range of pics, work with the photographer and be detailed about what you’d like to convey and for what purpose.

Whatever you do, avoid photos that look like they were snapped by a friend at a party or were taken by yourself.

If it's been more than 10 years since your last photo shoot, it's time to update. You don't want to be unrecognizable in your professional photos. It's distracting and reads as lazy.

5. Business Card

It never fails; the day you forget to carry business cards will be the day a prospective collaborator/event manager/etc…will come up and ask you for one.

And it just doesn’t feel as elegant to have to grab a scrap of paper to put your info on.

Get some cards printed up cheaply at an online printing service, like Vistaprint.com. (Again, simple is better.)

And if you’re into arty flair, Moo.com is great for specialty products and cards.

6. Respectable E-mail Address

Avoid monikers like greeneyedpianoplaya@aol.com.

Your name (e.g. janedoe@gmail.com) is better, a dedicated e-mail is best (e.g. jane@janedoe.com).

Get on the Gmail train if you still hear “you’ve got mail” when you check your e-mail.

7. Attire

Don’t add stress to your life and wait until the last minute to find the right outfit for performances.

Let's face it. As collaborators our concert wardrobe is predominately black, but due to the variety of concert settings we need all kinds of black (Sunday matinee, evening, white tie, etc….) as well as more colorful concert attire.

Make sure you have a pair of shoes you’re comfortable performing in and are scuffed up to prevent slipping on newly polished stage floors.

Ladies - have flattering make-up and hair styles practiced and ready to go. Watch out for too-high heels that are difficult to maneuver on the piano pedals.

8. Set rates + availability

Know EXACTLY what your rates are and EXACTLY when you’re available.

Don’t wait until a request comes to set a rate or figure out your calendar. This is when the risk of overbooking at too little money becomes very high.

Being very clear about your rates & availability is a form of service and respect to yourself and others.

I say this all the time on my blog: It's our job as musicians to teach the world the value of what we do.

Want others to respect your role as collaborative pianists? It's up to you to teach others the value of what you do and proactively set what you're worth.

9. Proactive responses

Don’t waste time crafting responses to requests every time one comes in. This is reactive and a big energy waster. Be proactive and have set responses to requests.

For example, create a “Yes, I’m interested. Take a look at more of my info on my website…” e-mail and a “I’m honored you thought of me. However, I’m unavailable/my rate is ___. Here are people I recommend…”

Of course, the e-mail is personalized, but the structure and language of the response is already done and is effortlessly courteous and professional.

10. Have it in writing

Have everything in writing, whether contract, agreement, dates, price, etc…

It not only protects you legally, but you’ll find people step up their commitment when it becomes official.

Rob Ford, The Opera Premieres on January 22nd at the University of Toronto

2012-01-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

Image by sniderscion

As part of its Student Composer Collective, the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto will be presenting one performance of Rob Ford, The Opera on Sunday, January 22nd at 2:30pm in the Macmillan Theatre. Admission will be free. The concept and libretto (based on Toronto's colorful and controversial mayor) are the brainchild of U of T Resident Stage Director (and Tapestry LibLab dramaturg/animateur) Michael Albano. From the U of T press release:

To celebrate the 15th successful year of the Student Composer Collective, the Faculty of Music will present Rob Ford, the Opera. The concept and libretto is by the Opera Division’s Resident Stage Director, Michael Patrick Albano with musical contributions by four of the Faculty’s gifted student composers: Massimo Guido, Anna Hostman, Adam Scime and Saman Shah.

In 1997, the Opera Division inaugurated a workshop at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music to allow student composers to gain experience writing opera, following a process of composition, dramaturgy, orchestration and staged public performance. The concept proved so successful that the workshop was ultimately introduced as a formal course in composition at the graduate level.

The opera [approximately an hour in length] is a surrealist fantasy based loosely upon the personality of Toronto’s current and much discussed Mayor. In describing the piece, the librettist writes “I have long been puzzled that one of the most important dramatic movements of the twentieth century, The Theatre of the Absurd - skilfully pioneered by Apollinaire, Ionesco, and Samuel Beckett - has, curiously, not made substantial inroads into opera. Rob Ford, the Opera, corrects that omission and jaunts joyously into the no-holds-barred ring of the ridiculous”

In addition to the GamUT ensemble, Rob Ford, the Opera features singers from the Faculty of Music’s distinguished Opera Division, including Andrew Haji as Rob Ford and Rosanna Murphy as Margaret Atwood. The opera will be conducted by Raphael Luz and directed by Erik Thor.

There is no word yet regarding whether or not Mayor Ford will be making a cameo appearance in the opera. I presume that there will be no comment from the Mayor's office. My vote for Most Predictable Line in the libretto: "I'm Rob F***ing Ford!"

Meme of the Day

2012-01-03T08:22:00.000-05:00