Here are a few more worthwhile blogs I've been reading lately - I've followed all of them for some time and am just now getting around to listing them.
Adaptistration
Drew McManus on orchestra management. Provides many insights about the ever-changing world of the classical orchestra industry and how to help it face the many challenges of today's artistic, financial, and social environment. Drew's blog is part of the Inside the Arts cultural blogging exchange.
Arts Addict
Jason Heath (he also manages a popular double-bass blog) on "life as a classical music bottom feeder." Features more of Jason's long-form articles and essays on making a living as a classical musician and other relevant topics. Jason's blog is also part of the Inside the Arts cultural blogging exchange.
Music Matters Blog
Natalie Wickham's blog provides "creative, practical, and up-to-date resources for the independent music teacher." She is a Kansas-based music teacher with lots of positive ideas for making piano lessons more rewarding and exciting for students and teachers.
Sequenza21
This prominent site/blog is dedicated to the promotion of contemporary classical music. Content is provided by a number of contributing authors/editors from many different locales. Features of the site include a composers forum, cd reviews, performance announcements, and a listening room.
Friday, February 22, 2008
BlogRoll Additions #3
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Life Moves Quickly Sometimes
Things have been pretty slow here at the Cincinnati Pianist blog for some time. I thought I'd throw a bone to my readers with the following update.
Recently it has been problematic for me to do any posting because my own computer has a bad video card and I have needed to use it only in "safe" mode (and only in 16-bit color, which is taking me back to the mid-90's!) My usual dedicated "blog browser" is Opera, but it won't work for me in 16-bit safe mode. But it turns out that I have some deeper hardware problems and will need to replace the poor machine entirely. So I am avoiding committing much more material to the blog until I get the new machine.
How about some good personal news? I have just been offered an adjunct teaching position at CCM in the CMT division (Composition, Musicology, and Theory). The course I will be teaching is a survey of chamber music literature for graduate students, many of whom are pursuing a cognate minor in chamber music. I have done this class once before in 2005 but gave it up after one quarter because I was still pretty burned out on academic life at that point. (I graduated with my doctorate in 2004 after a seven-year slog through the curriculum!)
But it's been a couple of years now; life has moved on, and it's now the right time to get back into academia with this opportunity. Usually this class has been taught by a musicology professor (rather than a performance professor) so the CMT division is showing considerable faith in my academic and classroom skills by offering it to someone who is mainly a performer and private lessons teacher. I am looking forward to improving and streamlining the coursework this time around. The good thing is that my performance schedule will be solely local for a few months, which will allow me a decent amount of time for preparation and research. UC is just down the street from me, so there's really no commuting issue either.
The bad news is that this new part-time job will take even more energy away from blogging here, but I am planning on continuing to post at least once (maybe twice) a week in the new year. Since I will be teaching the history and repertoire of the string quartet first, it will be nice to come back to writing keyboard-oriented material on off-days.
I'll be back soon with new material. Happy Holidays to all!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Computer Issues
I am having some serious problems with my computer right now that are totally cramping my style. Blogging will need to wait for a little while.
While I try to get the system repaired I will continue posting student schedules from another machine.
Wish me luck...
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
New "Classical Music News" Blog (BlogRoll Additions #3)
My good friend and colleague John Grillo, a bassist and musical entrepreneur located in the Philadelphia area, has just started a new blog and music news resource:
ClassicalMusicNews.tv
John has been a good friend of mine since 2000. We met during our fellowships with the New World Symphony and have enjoyed many experiences (musical, social, and celebratory) together over the years. John has a unique and refreshingly irreverent perspective on the classical music industry and I am sure his resource will be one to follow closely.
In one of his first posts, John writes about his recent experience performing with the IRIS orchestra (where yours truly plays orchestral keyboard). He has also waxed poetic about New World's ongoing annual Oktoberfest celebration, an event John organized in the fall of 2000. Coincidentally these two events pretty much frame the time period we've known each other so far, and I was present for both of them as well!
John has been a special guest on Jason Heath's Contrabass Conversations (you can check out John's episode on bass excerpts here) and he is a frequent contributor to the program.
I've added a link to ClassicalMusicNews to my blogroll in the sidebar. Best wishes to John on the new site!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
CincinnatiArts.com Link Exchange
Recently I was contacted by CincinnatiArts.com, which is an online arts portal supported by the Enjoy the Arts/Start organization.
Their mission "is to promote the arts in the greater Cincinnati region by:
(Source page)
This is a great site that packs a lot of information about arts events in and around Cincinnati. If you are in the area (either permanently or just in for a visit) I would recommend looking there for any arts-related events. All kinds of cultural occasions can be found, including art and photography exhibits, dancing and dining events, musical and theatrical shows, literary events, special museum exhibits, and much more.
Christopher Lamping over at the CincinnatiArts blog was kind enough to offer a blogroll link exhange with my Cincinnati Pianist blog. (You can find my site listed under their Blogroll list, and I put a link to theirs in my blogroll located to the right in the sidebar.) One of the neat things about this blogging project is when an arts organization sees value in a site like this one, which I hope does foster communication and arts advocacy. When arts communities and individuals network online in this way, it really is a step in the right direction for the betterment of interconnected access to the arts (for any particular region). Thank you, Christopher and CincinnatiArts.com, for the opportunity to serve more arts patrons through this link exchange.
Monday, August 13, 2007
...and another moment of rest...
Another vacation period commences. Blogging will be discontinued here for a little over a week.
OK, how about some recommended reading offsite? Here you go:
Jason Heath on This Crazy Business (3 parts, all about musicians and our mindsets).
Chris Foley's posts on piano practice (quite a few under this path).
Alex Ross on music education (July 2006).
An interview with Randall Scott Faber (1999), co-author of the famous "Piano Adventures" piano method.
Why not learn something about musical acoustics? Or maybe the Baroque Suite?
If you're tired of reading, watch something instead. Below is a video of Vladimir Horowitz playing some rather bizarre and thunderous Scriabin ("Poem Vers La Flamme").
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
A Moment of Silence
Alright, it’s time to go on vacation! Arpi and I are heading to Chicago to see some good friends (including double bass-blogger extraordinaire Jason Heath), eat some fantastic meals, be a tourist, and catch a Grant Park Music Festival concert. The program for Grant Park is Mahler 5 this weekend. Just thought I'd share.
I’ll return to blogging sometime next week. In the meantime it could be a good idea to browse around here and catch up on any overlooked posts.
Photo of Chicago's Millenium Park by Jerod Schmidt.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
BlogRoll Additions #2
Here are three more sites I've been following recently (they have been added to the BlogRoll list in my sidebar):
AfriClassical
William J. Zick’s blog on composers, performers, and other musical figures of African heritage. It is a companion to his excellent website resource AfriClassical.com.
Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise
New Yorker music critic Alex Ross provides wide-ranging articles on musical culture around the world. An important site that can be found in many musician blogrolls, Ross’s writing is attractive and erudite yet accessible. Highly recommended.
Musical Perceptions
Dr. Scott Spiegelberg, coordinator of the music theory program at DePauw University, provides a lot of interesting insights on many strands of music and on music education. While there are certainly perceptions from a theory perspective, articles here seem more refreshingly intended for a general (but musically informed) readership and less focused on jargon-heavy, insular academic discourse.
Be sure to remember my disclaimer (located at the bottom of my blogroll descriptions post) about content outside my blog domain.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Important Dates Fall 2007 through Summer 2008
Calendar information and events for my students from August 2007 through August 2008.
Monday, August 27, 2007: Fall/Winter Term begins at Slater Academy (18 lessons to be completed by Sunday, January 20).
Thursday, October 11—Sunday, October 14: Dr. Nemith will be out-of-town for an IRIS orchestra performance in Germantown, TN. Thursday and Friday students will need to reschedule missed lessons; see other out-of-town dates below.
Saturday, October 13: OFMC State Convention held in Columbus, Ohio. Students who have achieved FIVE consecutive superiors are eligible to perform at this event.
Thursday, November 8—Sunday, November 11: Nemith at IRIS.
Thursday, November 29—Sunday, December 2: Nemith at IRIS.
Sunday, December 2: Fort Thomas Holiday Walk, 5:30-8:30 PM. Students can email me to sign up to play a half-hour of holiday selections at the Academy.
Saturday and Sunday, December 8-9: Slater Academy Recitals at Milligan Hall at St. Pius X Church in Edgewood, KY. 2:00 recital on Saturday, 2:00 and 4:00 recitals on Sunday. I will post and email when sign-ups and further details are available. Directions.
December 22 - January 1, 2008: Academy CLOSED – Christmas vacation. My last day of teaching will be Friday, December 21; lessons will begin again on Thursday, January 3.
Monday, January 21, 2008: Winter/Spring Term begins at Slater Academy (17 lessons to be completed by Sunday, June 1).
Saturday, March 15: OFMC (District 3-D) Junior Festival at Xavier University. Directions.
Thursday, March 27—Sunday, March 30: Nemith at IRIS.
Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18: Slater Academy Recitals at Milligan Hall at St. Pius X Church in Edgewood, KY. 12:00 and 2:00 recitals on Saturday, 2:00 and 4:00 recitals on Sunday. I will email when sign-ups and further details are available. Directions.
As time progresses I will update this list with other dates of interest for performance opportunities and other events. Other lesson-time conflicts (such as those with my DPO schedule) will be handled via email or other form of communication. Check back to this post periodically for updates by using the "Important Dates" link to the right at the top of the green sidebar.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Music Teachers UK
Music Teachers UK is another great website that I learned about via Chris Foley. The "Resources" page is probably the most useful section from my point of view; it contains links to many interesting PDF documents on sight-reading, piano teaching, perfecting practice, and other topics of interest for students, parents, and teachers. You can also download manuscript paper for free in both portrait and landscape formats. I will provide a link to this page in my sidebar under the "History - Literature - Pedagogy - Theory" link list.
By the way, if you have not seen Chris Foley's amazing site (The Collaborative Piano Blog), please do yourself a favor and link/subscribe to it. I have done a lot of research on piano blogs over the past few months, and I firmly believe that Chris's site is still the BEST place to find relevant resources for pianists of all persuasions.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Problems with "Expandable posts"
UPDATE 7/14/07: I think I have the expandable posts feature working again. This feature is actually a hack I got from Ramani at Hackosphere. The problem was one of exceeded bandwidth. Every time someone clicks to expand a post, a script over at his site is accessed. Ramani has been gracious enough to supply the actual script itself, which is now in my blog template. Problem solved!
Now, when you click on “Read More….” the actual post page will appear. This is better than before because now readers will also be able to see comments and any post links via a single click.
For some unknown reason my expandable posts feature is not working properly. I'm referring to the little hyperlink text at the bottom of most of my posts that says “Read more.” When you click on it, the rest of the post text should appear. But that’s not happening right now.
If you’re surfing the blog and want to read an entire article, just click on the post title. (For instance, the title for this post is Problems with "Expandable posts".) That will take you to the specific post page and you can read the full article/post there, complete with any available comments and links.
If anyone out there in blog-land had the same problem and knows a solution please let me know! It would be a long and tedious job to tear this feature from all of my posts, something I’d obviously rather not do.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Resource on Musicians of the African diaspora
(via On an Overgrown Path)
(Update 7/11: This post was quoted in its entirety at On An Overgrown Path, an important UK music blog I’ve admired for months [and from which I got the original idea for this post]. It’s awesome to get some link love from such an established site of the arts blogosphere. Thanks to “Pliable” for the recognition! Most importantly, though, this "re-blogging" will foster broader awareness of musicians who merit more attention - it makes the blogging project so much more meaningful.)
AfriClassical.com is a wonderful resource that presents information on classical composers and musicians of African heritage. It includes men and women from diverse populations around the globe, including Africans, African-Americans, Afro-Latin Americans, and Afro-Europeans. A broad historical range is covered from the 1700s up to the current day.
Many people do not realize the breadth of these contributions to the concert music tradition. It is true we often focus quite heavily on the “Dead White Guys” of the European art music tradition such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Mahler, etc. But all through this history non-whites have been composing, conducting, and performing music. Sometimes their art got noticed, many times it did not.
Today it is becoming increasingly important for the concert stage to present and embrace more diverse programming from outside the standardized canon. I’ve felt quite strongly about this since I decided to become a professional musician and am happy to see that performance institutions are evolving towards inclusion of quality musical products from lesser-known composers and musicians. AfriClassical serves as a great introduction to some of these musicians. There are biographies, audio samples, and links to other pertinent sites and information. (As an example, check out an excerpt of the cool performance of Margaret Allison Bonds' "Troubled Water" by William H. Chapman Nyaho,
Not least important is the fact that many of these composers wrote great piano music. Over the years I’ve played some terrific pieces by African-American composers George Walker, Duke Ellington, William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, and Hannibal. Even though some of these are household names (like Joplin and Ellington), their solo and ensemble concert music is often unfairly overlooked. (Who knew Ellington wrote a piano concerto?) It is great that AfriClassical is out there to help raise awareness about their repertoire as well as the music of more (unfortunately) obscure black musicians. Many audiences would appreciate more attention paid to it.
Monday, July 9, 2007
New BlogRoll list
I've decided to stop relegating my list of blogroll sites to a single post and finally created a BlogRoll link-list in the right-hand column. However, I do think it is good to have a brief description of each one so my BLOGROLL post is still online.
You'll notice that it is also in the blog category list.
Here are some recent additions I made to my BlogRoll:
Don’t drop the piano
A piano and songwriting blog with a pop/rock perspective.
UPDATE 10/3/07: This blog was deleted by its author(s) and is no longer available.
Hugh Sung
An extensive site about using music technology to augment the classical musician’s bag of tricks. Cutting edge hardware and software are presented and explained by Hugh Sung.
Music Teachers Blog
Community blog for the MusicTeacher’sHelper.com site, this focuses on pedagogical issues and studio management. (There is a fee for the use of its online studio management software, but not for the blog itself.)
Vana Jezebel
Pam Igelsrud, one of my good friends from school days at Eastman, writes a personal blog about life in Boston. She is a talented singer and a fearless interpreter of contemporary vocal music.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Dayton Phil hires new Principal Keyboardist...
...and it's me!
I performed a successful audition yesterday afternoon for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra at Dayton’s Schuster Center, made it through two rounds, and was awarded the job after consideration by the audition committee (which was chaired by music director Neal Gittleman). I played Chopin’s Impromptu Op. 29 and several excerpts of standard orchestral literature by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Gershwin, Respighi, and Tchaikovsky. It was a mean and technically demanding list, and I was sweating bullets in the final round!
This is a really great career move for me, and I am very excited about achieving a performance post with such a wonderful group in a nearby area. My position will begin in the fall (I am waiting on a contract for the time being). As some of my readers know, I’ve actually been playing as a substitute with the orchestra for about five years now. The real job came open just this past spring after former keyboardist Michael Chertock resigned the position. (I'm grateful to Michael for giving my colleagues and myself the opportunity!)
So it turns out I have two performance positions with two different orchestras: one now with Dayton, and the other with the IRIS orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee (where I’ve been principal keyboard for the last six years). This is a rare and fortunate circumstance for a pianist, so I will probably enhance the blog in the near future with posts about orchestral and large-ensemble keyboard practice.
TO MY STUDENTS: Rest assured! This is a part-time position (mostly in the evenings), so I will continue to teach at Slater Academy as much as possible. Since the drive up to Dayton does take commuting time, I may have to give up teaching regularly during the evening. But I will strive to accommodate everybody to the best of my scheduling ability. Since we have until the fall anyway, everything remains the same for now. Please be in touch if you have questions about how this might affect your lessons.
Last but not least, I’d like to say “thanks” to my students and their families for their patience and flexibility over the last five years. Many times I needed to reschedule lessons at the last minute so that I could rehearse and perform with the DPO as a sub. (Thanks also to Becky Slater, who allowed me to get away with this kind of behavior!) That experience helped give me the edge I needed to win a job like this, so I appreciate everybody’s willingness and good humor during those hectic times.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
New Blog Category: Benefits of Musical Training
These days there is more and more scientific research being devoted to the cognitive and intellectual development of humans. Not surprisingly, recent studies considering musical training and study (such as lessons and music classes) are revealing more and more substantial evidence for the benefits, direct and indirect, of participating in musical activities. A longer report from 2002 on the benefits of music education for various kinds of success at the National Association for Music Education: "Music Education Facts and Figures" As time goes on I am sure that more research will yield additional articles to include in this category. If anyone would like to suggest links to related articles they may have seen elsewhere on the web, please let me know via the comment function below or through email.
I've always wanted to know more about this topic than I currently do, so I think it would be perfect timing to try and compile some information on the subject here at the Cincinnati Pianist Blog.
Of course, there is an obvious "selfish" reason for me to do this here -- it could help to convince parents to begin and/or continue lessons for their child, with me as the teacher! But I also think that it is good for us to just be more aware of what we actually gain in the pursuit of musical study. I know that all parents want the best for their child's development as they grow, and I think that knowledge of the benefits reaped by musical training should help us better understand and appreciate the not-so-insignificant investment in private lessons.
To start, here are some links to brief articles on this subject from the recent past:
ScienceDaily report from 2004 on the "The First Solid Evidence That the Study of Music Promotes Intellectual Development" (this study involved keyboard students)
ScienceDaily report from 2006 on how music enhances "Intelligence, Mental Health, and the Immune System" (hmmm...could you practice more and not get sick? Well, maybe that's a stretch...but more practice wouldn't bother me!)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Student Etiquette
Here are some things every piano student should know when it comes to lesson/performance etiquette. Most of you will probably realize you already know these things, but sometimes it is good to be reminded once again. As new situations come up (new ones always do!) I'll add more to the list.
At The Lesson
1) Show up on time with all of your materials. Smile and greet your teacher pleasantly when you come in.
2) NEVER bring food into a lesson (unless it's for me).
3) NEVER chew gum at a lesson. If I make you count out loud, you might just choke. Not good.
4) Be prepared. If you had a bad week of missed practice, admit this to your teacher up front.
5) TRIM and FILE your fingernails regularly. You CANNOT play the piano properly with long fingernails. Sorry, teenage girls: this is a sacrifice you have to be willing to make.
6) Do not play/goof off while your teacher is talking to you. Sit still and listen carefully. You might learn something that will help improve your music-making.
7) Sometimes you will become frustrated with yourself. Try to maintain your composure because losing your temper will not help your music-making. Take deep breaths and relax.
8) Your attitude at your lesson should be positive; you should be open-minded and willing to listen to constructive criticism. Be mentally prepared to concentrate for the full length of the lesson. I have to do this, so I think you should also.
9) ASK QUESTIONS. Show an interest in what you are doing. At least try to stump your teacher once in a while!
10) Enjoy and appreciate your time at the lesson. It is a great privilege to take private lessons for artistic training. Many people do not have the resources to do this. You are one of the lucky ones -- don't forget that.
At a Performance/Recital that includes You
1) Come to your performance location EARLY.
2) Warm-up and play through your repertoire before you get to the recital.
3) Dress to impress. No sneakers, jeans, shorts, or stained shirts. Avoid t-shirts. Suits are not necessary. "Sunday best" will do the trick.
4) Play your piece(s) with conviction and artistry. Strive to do your best.
5) If you have a memory slip, move on ahead and don't worry about it.
6) If you have a memory slip, move on ahead and don't worry about it.
7) If you have a memory slip, move on ahead and don't worry about it.
8) Re-read numbers 5-7 again.
9) ALWAYS BOW after a performance. If your audience is clapping to thank you for your performance, you must thank them back by bowing. That is the gesture our culture has agreed on for this kind of ritual and it looks dumb and uncouth to not bow after you perform. Smile at your audience before and after your bow.
10) If people compliment you after your performance, thank them and tell them you appreciate their comments. There is no need to tell them what you did wrong or that you thought it "stank", even if you had 24 memory slips and 85 wrong notes.
At a Performance/Recital for which you are in the Audience
1) Be on time for the performance. If you are late, wait until a silent break on stage before finding your seat. NEVER walk into a stage performance while music is being played live.
2) Dress appropriately for more formal events (e.g., orchestra concerts).
3) Do not eat/sleep/talk during performances.
4) Be attentive and involved with what's happening on stage. In other words, don't go to a performance and read your Harry Potter book the whole time.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Music Stores
Local sheet music stores:
Mannerino's
Willis
Online sheet music stores:
Sheet Music Plus. (My favorite site; huge selection and low prices.)
Burt & Company Discount Music Supply
Hutchins and Rea (very good for standard classical repertoire)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Important Dates Winter-Spring-Summer 2007
Monday, January 22: Winter/Spring Term begins at Slater Academy (17 lessons to be completed by June 3)
Saturday, March 3: OFMC (District 3-D) Junior Festival at Xavier University (click here for directions).
Saturday, April 28: OFMC District 3 Junior Honors Recital (1 - 3:30 PM at the Otterbien-Lebanon Retirement Center, 585 State Rt. 741, Lebanon, OH. Click here for directions.) Participation by invitation for those students who achieved a FOURTH consecutive superior in 2006.
Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20: Slater Academy Recitals (12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 on Saturday, and 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 on Sunday. 12 students per recital.) Recitals will be held at the Fort Thomas Location. For those of you who are not Academy students but would like to participate in the recitals, please contact me or let me know at the next lesson.
Monday, June 4: Summer term begins at Slater Academy. (9) 30-minute lessons or (6) 45-minute lessons to be completed by August 3.
Saturday, October 13: OFMC State Convention held in Columbus, Ohio. Students who have achieved FIVE consecutive superiors are eligible to perform at this event.
As the year progresses I will update this list with other dates of interest for performance opportunities and other events. Check back to this post periodically for updates by using the "Important Dates" link to the right.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Initial launch of Cincinnati Pianist
I've just decided to start a blog that will function mainly as a resource for my students. Come to this site for schedule updates, music resource links, and other stuff. For now, I'll be keeping things simple.
