Music Teacher's Helper Now Offers Google Calendar Sync

Music Teacher's Helper, the most comprehensive way to manage your home music studio, just got a lot better. One of MTH's strongest features was the ability to connect a teacher's website to full studio management for both teacher and students, with the studio calendar fully integrated with invoicing and student accounts.

Until now, a teacher's schedule has been only viewable within the walled garden of the MTH site. That's about to change with the introduction of Google Calendar Sync for MTH accounts.

What does this mean?

When you schedule your studio events (ie. lessons, rehearsals, recitals) from within Music Teacher's Helper, that data can now sync to a Google Calendar, so your teaching schedule can be exported and used with many of Google Calendar's many uses and incarnations, including:

• using separate Google Calendars to link up the various parts of your full schedule, ie. studio schedule, personal schedule, to-do items, or national holidays.
• viewing your studio schedule on a Netvibes or iGoogle browser start page.
• viewing your schedule on the go via iPod, Android, or Blackberry device.
• sharing your schedule via either embedding it on your MTH website or sending the url to students.
• customizing reminders to be sent to you via email or SMS.

But most important of all, this feature now allows you to view your MTH studio schedule offline via Google Gears, Microsoft Outlook, iCal, or Sunbird. This is sure to be a huge time-saver for many teachers who need to schedule lessons quickly and without the constant need for an internet connection.

The sync feature is still in beta, so expect a bit of bumpiness at the outset while the kinks are sorted out. Technically, this is not a true two-way sync, since it can only export your studio events to Google Calendar (the events still need to be created within the functionality of MTH). According to Brandon Pearce's blog post yesterday, one of the projected features slated for future development is the ability to create events from within Google Calendar and import updates to your own studio calendar (and presumably types of events, locations, and dollar amounts) back on MTH. Stay tuned for more developments...

Susan Tsagkaris Sings Puccini's In Questa Reggia

Puccini
Download now or listen on posterous

Puccini.mp3 (6128 KB)

Every once in a while I make a recording with someone that is really memorable for me. Here's one of them - a demo recording I did in June with soprano Susan Tsagkaris. I hope you agree that she really excels at this difficult dramatic soprano aria. Full info:

In questa reggia from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini

Susan Tsagkaris, soprano

Chris Foley, piano

Recorded by Timothy Minthorn in Donway United Church, Toronto.

More recordings to come from this session in the next few weeks...

Posted via email from Chris Foley's Posterous

Collaborative Piano Studies at California State University, Fullerton

The Department of Music at California State University, Fullerton offers a Bachelor of Music degree in Accompanying as one of two tracks in the curriculum of its Undergraduate Keyboard Concentration. About the program:

The Bachelor of Music, Keyboard Concentration is designed to train the highly gifted student who shows the capability and promise of becoming a professional performer. Students may audition for one of two concentrations: solo performance (piano, organ, or harpsichord) or accompanying

Here are more CSU Fullerton links:

Areas of study

Undergraduate admission requirements

Audition information

For more information, contact musicinfo [at] fullerton dot edu.

-------

Complete list of Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano

Arnold Schoenberg's Opus 11....Played by Cats

I've always had a strange feeling that cats have the lowdown on hexachordal combinatoriality - a huge congrats to Cory Arcangel for creating an audio/video mashup of Arnold Schoenberg's Drei Klavierstuecke Op. 11, as played on fragments of 170 separate videos of cats. Here's how he did it:

So, I probably made this video the most backwards and bone headed way possible, but I am a hacker in the traditional definition of someone who glues together ugly code and not a programmer. For this project I used some programs to help me save time in finding the right cats. Anyway, first I downloaded every video of a cat playing piano I could find on Youtube. I ended up with about 170 videos. Then I extracted the audio from each, pasted these files end to end, and then pasted this huge file onto the end of an audio file of Glenn Gould playing op11. I loaded this file into Comparisonics. Comparisonics, a strange free program I found while surfing one night, allows users to highlight a section of audio, and responds by finding "similar" sounding areas in rest of the audio file. Using Comparisioncs I went through every "note" (sometimes I also did clusters of notes) in the Gould, then selected my favorite "similar" section Comparisonics suggested and wrote it in the score. After going though the 1000's of "notes", the completed scores were turned into a video by some perl scripts I wrote...

Opus 11 #1:



#2:



#3:



(Via kottke.org)

More feline performances on the Collaborative Piano Blog:

Nora the Cat in Piano Catcerto

Piano Kitty

Piano Kitty - The Sequel

Finally, don't forget to check out the Hello Kitty Piano.

Custom-painted Piano

Some like their pianos tie-dyed.

(Via werekanga's photostream on Flickr)

Elizabeth Harcombe on Page Turning

Northwest Reverb recently published an interview with pianist and page turner Elizabeth Harcombe about the ups and downs of page turning at Chamber Music Northwest. An excerpt from her interview with James Bash:

JB: Is there a rule of thumb regarding how far you sit away from the piano and the pianists to turn pages?

EH: My philosophy, in the job of the page turner, is to provide a sense of calm in what is typically a high-pressure situation. I don’t know how nervous our artists get, but I would gather that there are some nerves on stage. The last thing I need to do is heighten the nervous energy. I want to stay as calm as possible. I try to stay back as far as I can.

I really have to pay attention regarding what is coming up. Are there low bass notes coming up? I have to be careful if I reach over to turn a page when they are coming down the keyboard or we might have a collision. I have long arms, so that helps. So the fun comes in anticipating the turn. A slow movement or a fast movement will help you determine when you are going to stand. You don’t want to stand too early during an adagio passage and then have to hold that position. So I want to find the most appropriate time to stand, and I don’t want to draw attention to myself.

Elizabeth Harcombe talks about the art of page turning

Nora the Cat in Piano Catcerto

Nora teh kat performin wif teh orchestra - show dem how iz dun, kitteh!*



*This concerto w/Nora the Cat video mashup was written by conductor and composer Mindaugas Piecaitis and performed by the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra. You can find more Nora here and here.

(Via awesome anonymous tip)

Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of California, Irvine

The University of California at Irvine's Department of Music offers a Master of Fine Arts in Collaborative Piano. Here is the required coursework for the program:

1. Bibliography (M200), 4 units
2. Analysis (M201A & B), 8 units
3. Graduate Performance (M211), max. 24 units (Note: taken every quarter in residence)
4. Seminar (selected from M220, M230, M235), 4 units
5. Diction (M158A–B–C), 6 units (Note: this requirement is waived for students who demonstrate competence in this area by passing a diagnostic exam, in which case these 6 units are taken as electives.)
6. Song Literature (M156A–B–[C]), 6 units
7. Chamber Ensembles (M176), 6 units
8. Graduate Recitals (M211R), 0 units (NB: one instrumental and one vocal recital)

In addition, reading knowledge of one non-English language is required (either French, German, Italian, or Spanish), as well as a comprehensive examination.

More useful links:

General graduate program information
Graduate handbook
Recital information

For more detailed information, contact the Department of Music at UC Irvine.

--------

The complete list: Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano

16 Mile Creek, Oakville

I took these photos on a walk earlier this evening. This part of 16 Mile Creek is less than a kilometer north of Glen Abbey Golf Club, where the 2009 Canadian Open is being held next week.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

 

View Larger Map

Posted via email from Chris Foley's Posterous

Thx #followfriday

A huge thanks to @pianogeek, @eusebius24, @rachelvelarde, @gracepiano, @pkpiano, @arsaureum, @docudramaqueen, @DinaPianoStudio, and @TexasDutchie (whose hilarious self-correction appears on the image on the left) for the kind #followfriday wishes on Twitter. In case you're new to the social media phenomenon Twitter, be sure to follow everyone on the above list if you're interested in networking with some awesome people in the arts. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter as well.

The Accompanists' Guild of South Australia on Best Billing Practices

Nobody likes to get hosed. The Accompanists' Guild of South Australia has an excellent primer on billing best practices in their Guidelines for the Payment of Accompanists. An excerpt:

The Committee urges all accompanists to make their fees clear before undertaking accompanying work. It is recommended accompanists provide a written form outlining their fees and conditions before rehearsals commence and issue a written invoice. It is suggested that payment be made after each rehearsal or 50% in advance if a series is arranged.

In this Register, accompanists describe themselves as Professional, Semi-professional or Amateur. This is not necessarily an indication of the standard of their work. It is more likely to reflect a) their tertiary qualifications or b) their experience or c) the percentage of work they currently undertake as accompanists...

...It must be realised that the accompanists should also be paid for performances after the series of rehearsals. Some accompanists may charge for time spent in transit or waiting for performances or may simply ask for a minimum fee regardless of time spent accompanying.

Some accompanists may prefer to arrange a “package”, e.g. $600.00 for as many rehearsals and performances as needed.

Take a look at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Accompanists Facebook group (FB ID req'd) for a litany of woe from pianists with all sorts of payment horror stories. A clear billing policy upfront will alleviate these risks and result in a higher chance that everyone leaving the engagement will have had a positive experience.

What billing practices would you recommend to others?

Aestival Blogosphere Reads

My latest post for Music Teacher's Helper: 13 Aestival Music Education Reads from the Blogosphere, featuring links to articles by John Mannos, Jason Heath, Gretchen Saathoff, Joseph Pisano, Jonathan West, Patty Mitchell, Billy Whittaker, Dan Starr, Susan Eichhorn Young, Gerrit Theule, and Natalie Wickham. The classical music/music ed blog scene is such an awesome place these days.

Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara

The Music Department at the University of California at Santa Barbara offers several degrees in collaborative piano:

• an Accompanying Emphasis in the Bachelor of Music program
• an Accompanying Emphasis in the Master of Music program
• a Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano

The Bachelor of Music in Piano Accompanying has little information online aside from the course requirements. The Master of Music in Piano Accompanying has more substantial information, including the following audition requirements:

PIANO SOLO: A complete sonata or major virtuosic work from any historical period.
ART SONG: Four contrasting songs from different historical periods, or a major song cycle.
CHAMBER MUSIC: One complete instrumental sonata or other major work from any historical period.
SIGHT READING

Little online information is available regarding the Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano except for a short mention on the entrance auditions page, on which the audition requirements are listed as consisting of a program comparable to a full-length recital.

For more information on these programs, please be sure to fill out the graduate programs information request form.

-----

Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano

Spotted in Machynlleth

(Via Jacob Whittaker's photostream on Flickr)

Light-Painted Piano Player

This light-painted piano performance mashup set against the San Diego skyline was created by Ryan Cashman:

Light-Paint Piano Player from Ryan Cashman on Vimeo.

How Ryan did it:

To answer a few questions, I wrote the music and recorded it first. The frames were photographed with a Canon Rebel using 20-30 second exposure time. I used a small green LED keychain light to draw each frame. Once all the positions were photographed they were strung together and synchronized to the music in After Effects.

Collaborative Piano Studies at the California Institute of the Arts

The Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts offers a Master of Fine Arts in Collaborative Keyboard. On the Collaborative Keyboard program:

This specialization prepares advanced students for careers in various collaborative keyboard disciplines through a course of study that concentrates on multiple aspects of collaborative performance, including work in vocal and instrumental chamber music, conducted ensembles and opera, while also refining repertoire knowledge and language facility.

On the program's audition and application requirements:

Either present a live audition or submit recordings of your performance of three works in contrasting styles or from different historical periods. Live auditions are strongly recommended. The audition or recording must clearly demonstrate your level of performance and range of repertoire. In a live audition, expect to demonstrate your abilities in sight singing/sight reading and the identification by ear of various intervals, chords, scales and rhythmic patterns. When a live audition is not possible, you should submit evidence of ability in these musicianship skills. This evidence may take the form of letters from major teachers and/or transcripts of prior musical courses or private training.

For more information, contact the Herb Alpert School of Music.

For more programs, consult the complete list of Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano.

Win a Free CD of Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall

The moment has arrived, and I have two CDs ready to send out to Collaborative Piano Blog readers. But before I announce the rules and skill-testing question, I would like to thank Sony Music for making these two copies of Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall-The Private Collection: Mussorgsky & Liszt available to readers of the Collaborative Piano Blog. This is an astonishing recording of Horowitz as you've never heard him and I'm pleased to be able to give away these CDs.

Here we go...

Contest Rules and Regulations

1. In order to win one of two free CDs of Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - The Private Collection: Mossorgsky and Liszt, answer the following question correctly:

On what date (month, day, year) did Vladimir Horowitz make his Carnegie Hall debut?

2. Send your answer to me at collaborative piano [at] gmail dot com. The first two people to send me the correct date will each win one of the CDs. As soon as I have two winners, I'll update this post announcing who they are.

3. There is no deadline for the contest, and it will remain open until winners have been chosen.

4. After the winners have been determined, I will send the CDs to their home or work address. Please don't send me your address until you know that you are one of the two winners.

Good luck!

Update 12:21pm:

Joshua W of St. Paul, Minnesota is the first winner! One more to go...

Update 12:32pm:

Anne Lee of Toronto, Ontario is the second and final winner!

This contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone for competing and stay tuned, as Sony has expressed an interest in running this contest again for the 2nd and 3rd CDs in the Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - Private Collection series.

Christopher Aaron Smith and Terry Decima Perform Tom Cipullo's Desire

More people need to perform the songs of Tom Cipullo--here is a wonderful video of tenor Christopher Aaron Smith with pianist Terry Decima performing Desire from Cipullo's Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House at the New England Conservatory in March 2009:

Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - The Private Collection

When I was younger, one of the things I always wished when listening to some of the late recordings of Vladimir Horowitz was to be able to hear more recordings of him in his prime than were available then, with a level of sound quality that would give a more complete picture of his playing, and be able to fill in the many mysterious gaps in his decades-long development as a pianist.

That moment has come.

Sony has recently announced three collections of recently unearthed recordings of Horowitz, the first of which is entitled Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall-The Private Collection: Mussorgsky & Liszt.

Some interesting tidbits about the lost recordings and their reappearance from Sony's press release:

This release features performances of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, from April 2, 1948, and the Liszt Sonata, from March 21, 1949, both at Carnegie Hall. Two more Private Collection releases are scheduled for the fall and early 2010; they include music by Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Haydn, and Beethoven.

In 1988, a year before his death, Horowitz donated to Yale University a treasure trove of original recordings composed of Carnegie Hall concerts and performances he gave during the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. Horowitz had employed an engineer to make 78-rpm recordings of his Carnegie Hall concerts in this period, and he used them to review and judge his performances. Most of these mono recordings were originally contained on 12- and 16-inch acetate discs. They have been impeccably mastered, with the sound restored, from new transfers made in the Yale archives. Significant press accompanied the original announcement of the donation of these recordings to Yale, where Horowitz performed often through the years and was an assistant fellow of Silliman College.

The first volume is classic Horowitz. He is in sovereign form for the Liszt Sonata, a piece associated with him throughout his career for its incredible virtuoso display, with its cascading runs punctuated by incisive chords. As David Dubal, professor of Piano Performance at the Juilliard School, mentions in his liner notes, “His Liszt Sonata was invincible.” Dubal adds that the private collection release is “more glorious than the 1932 recording,” which is typically considered the gold standard for performance of the sonata. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition demonstrates a different kind of fearlessness unique to Horowitz. His interpretive license as a transcriber of famous works and melodies—including his frequent encores, Variations on a Theme from ‘Carmen’ and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever—has become a part of his legacy, but even in this context, his transcription of Mussorgsky’s Pictures is particularly bold. For Horowitz, there were no hallowed works, only great performances.

What I noticed about these recordings is that they offer an amazingly accurate picture of how Horowitz played at the absolute height of his powers, and with pretty good sound to boot (albeit for the late 40's on acetate). In addition to deadly accuracy, which one doesn't associate with his later recordings, he is able to create unbelievably bold colors at the piano, from passages played with raw power and authority to moments of the most exquisite and tender sentiment imaginable.

Now the cool part...

To celebrate this occasion, Sony Music has made available to readers of the Collaborative Piano Blog two copies of Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - The Private Collection, and to decide who gets them, I will be holding a contest tomorrow on Friday, July 10 at 12pm EDT.

The contest post will go live at noon EDT and to win you'll need to answer a skill-testing Horowitz trivia question and email me the answer. Stay tuned...

(Thanks, Dana!)

Remembering Bob Mitchell, 1912-2009

Bob Mitchell, the last surviving accompanist of the silent movie era, has passed away at the age of 96. From his Los Angeles Times obituary:

He helped create "a true revival of cinema on the highest level," said Charlie Lustman, who owned the theater from 1999 to 2006. "That you could walk into a classic theater and see a classic movie accompanied by a man who had done it way back when. . . ."

On Christmas Day 1924, Mitchell was practicing carols on the organ at the Strand Theater in Pasadena when the lights went down and a movie about the Yukon went up. The 12-year-old kept playing, improvising a soundtrack. Soon he was accompanying matinee shows five times a week.

He played for films such as the romantic wartime drama "What Price Glory," the action-adventure "Beau Geste" and the Fritz Lang futuristic fantasy "Metropolis."

With the arrival of talkies and Al Jolson in the 1927 film "The Jazz Singer," Mitchell's first silent-movie career ended when he was 16.

Mitchell, a Cal State and Trinity College graduate, also went on to play in the Armed Forces Radio Orchestra, worked as organist for both the LA Dodgers and California Angels (Mitchell was the first organist to play in Dodger Stadium), conducted choirs, and once again worked as a silent movie accompanist during the recent revival of the medium.

Memorial Service Information
MP3 of Bob Mitchell playing He's Got The Whole Wide World In His Hands
A remembrance by Jon Weisman in Dodger Thoughts

Here are the Mitchell Singing Boys with Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way:



(Via @blackwingjenny)

Tapestry at the Doras

Taylor Graham, librettist of Tapestry New Opera's Dora-nominated opera The Virgin Charlie, has written an interesting blog post about her experience learning the new opera creation process, the success of her first opera, and the night of the 2009 Dora Awards. An excerpt:

While Bill [Rowson] and I were talking about reasons we thought opera creates possibility I discovered that what the two of us needed was to create something large, something funny, something bigger than the both of us, and yet relateable, caring, sensitive as that is undoubtably key similarities in our personalities. From that discussion I began to create the world of Charlie, our main character and pitched the idea to Bill and with his approval to Tapestry. About a year later I was at the Enwave Centre standing up to bow as "The Virgin Charlie" came to a close.

The category of Oustanding New Opera/Musical (in which four operas produced by Tapestry had been nominated), was eventually won by Abigail Richardson and Marjorie Chan's Sanctuary Song.

(Via Inside The New Work Studio)

Image Credit: Xin Wang and Alvin Crawford from the 2008 Tapestry production of Sanctuary Song, as photographed by John Lauener.

Vancouver New Music Festival's Copyright/Copyleft: Call for Sonic Artists and Mashup Artists

This is just in from Vancouver New Music:

The 2009 Vancouver New Music Festival will focus on copyright and appropriation, and will be presenting musicians who have been working and reflecting on issues related to copyright/copyleft, using mash-ups and sonic collages and other approaches. We are looking for local musicians who would like to bring their contribution to the discussion. Selected artists will be invited to perform opening acts at the VNM Festival.

Please send a short bio, a note explaining how your work relates to the theme of Copyright/Copyleft, and a short sample of your work in mp3 format to:
giorgio [at] newmusic dot org by July 15, 2009.

As space is limited only a few artists will be selected for performance.

The Show Must Go On

The old adage holds a lot of truth, especially a few nights ago in Covent Garden, when mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato broke her leg in the first act of The Barber of Seville and returned to finish the rest of the show (and blogged about it too). Here's an account of the accident from 21C Media Group's press release earlier today:

After DiDonato had finished delivering her showpiece aria “Una voce poco fà”, she tripped and fell as she ran off stage. Her manager, Simon Goldstone, watching in the audience, knew immediately that there was a problem when he saw her use the signal that theater folk use to ask for some ice! “For act two, she came in with a cane. Some people in the audience clearly thought it was part of the show,” he says. But that was just the beginning. DiDonato was determined to finish the show, and after the final curtain she was rushed to the nearest ER. The opera is nearly three hours long, and she spent about four hours in the ER of University College Hospital before being released. She was assured that while this kind of break is painful, it heals quickly (the broken bone is the fibula, the outer bone of the lower leg); the orthopedic specialist who saw her the next day said she should be able to perform in a day or two. Accordingly, she was fitted with a new fiberglass cast in shocking pink – to match her costume.

A similar accident happened in a dress rehearsal I played in a few years ago when a tenor fell from the stage and fractured his leg when rehearsing bows. These types of incidents are why I never say "Break a leg" before a performance, but instead substitute one of these:

• "Toi Toi!"
• "In bocc'all lupo!"
• "In culo alla balena!", to which the correct response is "Fammi luce!"

(Thanks, Louise!)

Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of British Columbia

The School of Music at the University of British Columbia offers a two-year Diploma in Collaborative Piano Studies. About the program:

The unique demands of collaborative work with singers and instrumentalists require specialized training for pianists. The Diploma program combines repertoire study with a diverse array of courses designed to enhance specific skills, in preparation for, or in place of, graduate degree work in collaborative piano. Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree, normally in piano performance, including several years of experience in collaborative work, in both vocal and chamber music, and with very strong proficiency in sight reading. Some study of German and of French or Italian is recommended.

The Diploma includes 29 credits of coursework, which includes both core and elective classes. Prospective students can apply online and may be eligible for a teaching assistantship.

Here is a list of audition repertoire for entrance into the program:

• One short solo piece containing some virtuosic element
• Movement 2 or 4 of the Franck Sonata for Violin and Piano (some substitution possible with approval from Professor Rena Sharon
• One substantial opera aria
• Two songs
• One opera aria to be specified by faculty
  

For more information, contact the UBC School of Music.

Also be sure to check out the complete list of Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano.

1938 Review of Edwin McArthur In Recital With Kristen Flagstad

Here's a fascinating item that turned up in a search this evening: a review of legendary accompanist Edwin McArthur in recital with Kirsten Flagstad in the Sydney Morning Herald of June 20, 1938, with a sub-header entitled "The Accompanist's Part":

The piano parts in the Grieg Songs are full of poetic feeling. They drew attention to the outstanding attainments of Mr. Edwin McArthur, who played them. A voice like Madame Flagstad needs something much more electrical than the discreet patternings of a conventional accompanist and this something Mr. McArthur supplied. In the Wagnerian music he had strongly simulated orchestral colour and tone. His "Erl King" conjured up the terrors of Schubert's imaginings. In the same composer's "Ungeduld" his crisp, brisk accents gave a new sparkle to the music. But, like most accompanists, Mr. McArthur did not succeed in giving much interest to his solos.

The Darius Ensemble Performs Ravel's Nahandove

There needs a better way to visualize performances of art song, so that it can not only survive, but reach out and move a much larger audience. This performance of Ravel's Nahandove (from Chansons Madécasses) by the Darius Ensemble was filmed for the Dutch TV program Vrije Geluiden at the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam and is an excellent example of how to visually make art song work on television with only some fine performers, an engaging performance space and cool camera angles.

The Darius Ensemble are: Barbara Kozelj (mezzo soprano), Romana Goumare (flute), Teije Hylkema (cello), and Mirsa Adami (piano).



Compare this video to the fascinating montage of Wolfgang Muhr's Nahandove music video. If you're interested in keeping up to date with another fascinating reinvention of the art of song, be sure to check out the Sparks and Wiry Cries Podcast by Martha Guth and Erika Switzer, whose Episode 2 (National Holidays) has just been released.

Collaborative Piano: Changing Career Paths and Skill Sets

I really like this explanation of what collaborative piano is in a recent post by Billie Whittaker:

Practically speaking, I think it is whatever combination of piano + _____ that a pianist can get paid to play with.

Billie's definition is anti-academic, to say the least. There is no discussion of collaborative piano's affinity to piano pedagogy in academia, the quest to create a premium brand of accompanists, or the training of graduate students for ever-harder-to-find tenure track positions. Collaborative piano's existence in the freelance world is grounded in the functional, economically viable world of getting work in urban centers, suburbs, opera companies, ballet companies, large and small ensembles, festivals, competitions, and yes, universities too.

I also like the importance she places on talking about the specific genres and skills that have genuine importance and demand (many of which include an emphasis on keyboard skills and stylistic adaptability). There needs to be much more dialogue on the types of work that people actually get hired to do

Take a quick look at my previous post on Career Options in Collaborative Piano--I had to give up a lot of preconceived notions I had learned about the constituent parts could make up a career in the process of gathering information for that list.

But at the end of the day, I still believe that some of the most valuable skills we can bring to the profession (and to musical life in general) include an infallible professionalism, as well as the vocabulary and core skills, pianistic or otherwise, to create a sense of dialogue and partnership in any situation one runs across.


Pianists: What are some of the skills you are using and skill upgrades that you are working on? How has your career path evolved in unexpected ways?
Singers and Instrumentalists: What are the most important skills that you need from the pianists that you work with?

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

Here's Barack Obama with the Chicago Symphony in 2005 (when he was still in the Senate) in an excerpt of Copland's Lincoln Portrait (previously seen here):

Canadian Music Centre's Song Repertoire Listings Available as Free Download

As part of a continuing initiative to make Canadian music more accessible (and get it performed!), the Canadian Music Centre has made available a spreadsheet of its complete Canadian art song repertoire listings, which I am offering as a free download on my teaching site. The spreadsheet can be viewed with Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, and Open Office, as well as a number of other programs.

These listings include songs by a vast number of Canadian composers, including:

• Chan Ka Nin
• Robert Fleming
• Harry Freedman
• Violet Archer
• Jean Coulthard
• Stephen Chatman
• Paul McIntyre
• John Beckwith
• Barbara Pentland
• Harry Somers
• Ben Steinberg
• Mary Gardiner
• Larysa Kuzmenko

Once you've downloaded the spreadsheet, each of the entries contains the correct call number for the work so you can easily locate it at the Canadian Music Centre either online or in person, and then borrow the score for free or purchase it through the CMC.

Canadian Music Centre Complete Song Repertoire Spreadsheet

(Thanks, Erika!)

Collaborative Piano Studies at Bellarmine University

The Department of Music at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky offers a specialized Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Pedagogy and Accompanying. The philosophy behind the pedagogy/accompanying split:

The philosophy of our Piano Pedagogy and Accompanying Program is to provide an environment in which students can take responsibility for their own musicianship. You will have plenty of opportunities to develop your solo playing skills, but the focus of this degree program is to develop your skills in pedagogy and accompanying. We mentor students and give guidance while holding them accountable for understanding the proper work ethic needed for optimum success. Successful completion of this degree will lead to career opportunities as private teachers and accompanists, and to entrance into graduate school.

The Piano Pedagogy and Accompanying Program also has several goals for the undergraduate students enrolled in the program:

• Students should be prepared for a career in music, graduate study or teacher certification in music.
• Students should develop an understanding of music history and theory.
• Students should develop the ability to perform in various genres.
• Students should develop skills in pedagogy.
• Students should develop skills in accompanying.
• Students should develop skills in basic music technology, including basic digital manipulation and recording/editing techniques.
• Students should develop an understanding of historical and theoretical aspects of performance and in turn seek answers to questions such as: Why do we do what we do? How does the music reflect and understanding of society and of ourselves?

For more information on the program and a detailed curriculum for the degree, go to the Piano Pedagogy/Accompanying page.

Here are more Bellarmine links:

University Admissions
Music Faculty
Apply online
Request more information

-----

Complete listing of Degree Programs in Collaborative Piano

Top Posts in June

Here are the top 10 posts in the last month, ranked by RSS reader engagement:

• 7 Useful Resources for Identifying Intervals By Ear
• Lesson Notes for Students
• Toronto Children's Chorus Seeks Accompanist for the 2009-10 Season
• The Musical Wonder House of Wiscasset, Maine
• Susan and Sarah Wang Play Amy Beach's Prelude from the Two Piano Suite
• Tapestry New Opera Works Nominated for 6 Dora Awards
• Chausson Poeme, Revised
• Introducing The New Dilettante
• CPB Readers Only: Free Sheet Music Download from Elijah Bossenbroek
• Susan Tomes, Pianist and Writer

Thanks for subscribing, everyone (671 and counting, as of this morning)! In case you're new to the site, Collaborative Piano Blog subscriptions are free, and you can keep abreast of new updates either in a feed reader or via email. Have a great summer and stay tuned for Degree Programs month...

Quote of the Day

A set of films by Justin Blome accompanied Mr. Broome’s performance, which ended with Cage’s “4’33”.” His version was oddly rushed: I clocked it at 4’20”.

--from Alan Koznin's review of pianist David Broome in the New York Times

(Thanks, Stephen!)