Still more degree program updates

I've been adding more schools to the list of Degree Programs in Collaborative Piano as I continue to troll the vast number of pages on the internet that deal with university admissions. The total now stands at 61 institutions with the latest additions being:

• University of Tennessee
• Middle Tennessee State University
• Howard Payne University
• California State University-Fullerton
• University of Nevada-Las Vegas
• Catholic University of America

The degree programs list is only a starting point for those that are seeking higher education in this great field. I don't list the degree names and levels (ie. B. Mus., M.A., etc), nomenclature of the degrees (ie. accompanying vs. collaborative piano), I don't promote some programs above others (although those of you who know me in real life will know how fiercely partisan I am regarding this subject), nor do I post links to the information (the web documentation is of varying quality, ranging from wonderfully informative to vague to browser-crasher).

When looking into a collaborative program, don't just look at the web documentation, but send away for a real catalogue, as well as do some research into the school, especially the faculty that run the program and do the teaching.

There have got to be many more programs of this sort, especially in Europe and Asia. You've heard this request, but I'll say it again:

If you teach at, are a graduate of, or a student of a degree or diploma program in collaborative piano that is not on the degree programs list, write a comment either on this posting or the degree programs posting and I will be glad to add it to the list, provided that there is adequate documentation of the program.

Remember, the prime season for university recruitment is only a few months away and it would be worthwhile to have your program mentioned on what is probably the most comprehensive and accessible list of this type that exists.

South African Carmen Film

From CBC.ca, an article by Richard Poplak on Mark Dornford-May's U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, a film version of Bizet's Carmen set in a township outside Cape Town.

Link
U-Carmen site
Dimpho Di Kopane film and theatre company

Piano Monster Concert in Toronto

This concert would have been something to see--10 pianos and presumably at least that many pianists in a Piano Monster Concert at Nathan Philips Square yesterday presented by Toyich International Projects.

Wait a minute....they're doing it again on August 15 at Mel Lastman Square in North York? A definite must-see.

(Via My Other Life, in the audience, with camera)
(Via Help! I'm a Postmodernist! at one of the 10 pianos)
(Other piano monster concerts in various places)

Talent vs. hard work

In the July 24th Scientific American, an article by Philip E. Ross examines the abilities of chess players and how they are able to visualize not only quantities of possible moves but the quality of them as well. Discussing Herbert A. Simon and William Chase' Chunking Theory, or how the brain creates meaningful patterns out of data, Ross examines questions of how this ability is created, both in chess and music. In the world of prodigies, Ross concludes that it is hard work rather than innate talent that determines the success of beginners:

Although nobody has yet been able to predict who will become a great expert in any field, a notable experiment has shown the possibility of deliberately creating one. László Polgár, an educator in Hungary, homeschooled his three daughters in chess, assigning as much as six hours of work a day, producing one international master and two grandmasters--the strongest chess-playing siblings in history. The youngest Polgár, 30-year-old Judit, is now ranked 14th in the world.

Ross' conclusion:

Thus, motivation appears to be a more important factor than innate ability in the development of expertise. It is no accident that in music, chess and sports--all domains in which expertise is defined by competitive performance rather than academic credentialing--professionalism has been emerging at ever younger ages, under the ministrations of increasingly dedicated parents and even extended families.

Well, not just motivation. Motivation merely causes an atmosphere where a lot of hard work can take place. To get to that state, good teaching and good parenting are factors that can create a fully supportive and motivating atmosphere for learning, whether at chess, music, sports, or core subjects such as math and language.

(Via Arts & Letters Daily)

-----

Personally, I've never been a great believer in talent. The t-word gets bandied about rather indiscriminately in the musical field, especially with the poor kids who get branded very early on as either having or not having it. One distinct memory I have after auditioning for a teacher when I was around 15 was that their first words, spoken rather nonchalantly, were: "There is....some talent", as if I were a stock that had some intrinsic value based on some intangibles known only to the very few. Needless to say, I didn't end up studying with that person. I digress. Oh, and did I mention that the teacher quoted above is now a colleague of mine at the RCM?

Furthermore, after teaching at the collegiate level for 12 years now, former students of mine that have gone on to work in the profession are often not the ones who were the official superstars in their university years, but usually the ones who decided to bear down and do the work, get along with those around them, and knock on the most doors after graduation.

Music Critics' Blog on ArtsJournal

ArtsJournal is currently hosting a blog/debate entitled Classical Music: best of times? worst of times? in partnership with the Aspen Music Festival Critics' Symposium. The participants include:

• Peter Dobrin--Philadelphia Inquirer
• Andrew Druckenbrod--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Janelle Gefland--Cincinnati Enquirer
• Klaus Heyman--Naxos
• Barbara Jepson--Wall Street Journal
• Josh Kosman--San Francisco Chronicle
• Allan Kozinn--The New York Times
• Lowell Noteboom--St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
• Frank J. Oteri--NewMusicBox

Some posts I particularly like include Peter Dobrin's Healthy But Strained, Douglas McLennan's Taking Temperature, Andrew Druckenbrod's Change: It's always been the name of the game, and Janelle Gelfand's Simulcasting the concert and podcasting the review.

Too much.....work

Should art be easy? Frank Furedi discusses the issue in today's Telegraph:

Today, the policy of inclusion makes no attempt to cultivate and elevate the public taste. On the contrary, it regards the taste of the public as something to flatter and celebrate. Official cultural politics is not merely populist, it is also philistine.

Link (Via ArtsJournal)

There's certainly a lot of artistic work in what I'm doing today: practicing, rehearsing, four hours of master classes, and then Beethoven and Brahms violin/piano sonatas and a Prokofiev violin concerto reduction at tonight's concert.

Then again, I find nothing objectionable with expending a tremendous amount of energy and time so that others can enjoy what we do in their leisure time.

Summer Festival Mania

Chris Pasles writes in the July 9 Los Angeles Times about the rapidly growing summer music festival phenomenon:

The classical music summer, in short, is hot.

Exact figures are hard to come by, but in the last five years alone, summer festivals and workshops in America have doubled, from about 100 in 2001 to more than 200 this year, according to Chamber Music America, a national service organization.

There are some fascinating views into the summer lives of performing artists, and interviews include pianists Jon Kimura Parker and Anton Nel.

It's good to see some press on this rapidly expanding staple of the classical music season. What Chris Pasles neglects to mention is the importance of the business that these festivals bring into the communities that house them and what the rapidly growing arts sector can bring to these communities.

Link to article

Link to a previous post on Hill Strategies Research's findings of higher than normal growth rates of the arts sector in Canadian cities.

Question for readers: Do any of you know of statistics that exist on the size and growth rates of the arts industry in the US?

Bathroom Divas Audition Blogger from Vancouver

From the Bullfrog Blog, a first-person account from one of the singers who auditioned for Bathroom Divas in Vancouver.

Link (8/14 update: link no longer valid)