This past weekend I played three shows for the Butler Midwinter Dance Festival. Baritone Oliver Worthington and I performed four songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, set to choreography by Susan McGuire. One of the wonderful (and sometimes annoying) things about being a performing musician is having music in my head wherever I go: for the past several weeks, fragments of these songs have been going around in my head on a steady loop.
As someone who plays, teaches, talks about, and listens to music as my profession every day, I'll admit that it is possible to become somewhat jaded. It is indeed possible to "forget" how emotionally powerful music can be, until a performance jolts you out of it.
Although every concert is special, some performances feel more special than others. This was one. Poetry, music, dance, lighting, costumes: each component of an artistic collaboration has its own way of sparking the imagination and speaking to the heart. Sometimes combining different art forms fails spectacularly - it can seem contrived or cringe-worthy - but when it works well, the result can transcend each of the individual art forms and create an entirely new experience that feels profound and moving.
The first night I noticed sniffling throughout the concert hall, and when I finished performing and came back to my seat, my husband was wiping tears from his eyes. At the final performance, I snuck a glance at the dancers a couple of times, to soak in what I could while I was playing. This was not a great idea, because even I actually wept a few tears, from the sheer beauty of what I saw. After that, I had to avert my eyes and stay focused on playing for the rest of the performance.
After the final show, the dancers presented us with cards that each and every one of them had signed, as well as a print of a backstage photo we all took together.
This was an experience I will cherish for a long time - it felt like an exploration of beauty for beauty's sake, and reminded me of the incredible power of bringing together different art forms.
Top: a scene from the performance; Bottom: the backstage group photo
So, the question I have for you this week is this - have you ever attended a performance that has moved you to tears? What do you remember about it?
Happy Practicing! 🎹
-Kate
🎼 Today's Practice Tip: Pre-plan your practice time!
A significant predictor of how much progress someone will make at the piano is how they practice. There have been many studies about how professional musicians practice, compared with how less advanced music students practice. And this is why so many music teachers work with our students to help them develop the ability to set effective goals in the practice room.
To that end, I recommend a weekly and daily goal-setting process. Every week, look at the week ahead and set a goal for each piece you are working on. Then, divide that goal out for each piece to determine your practice plan for each day of the week. For example, if you're learning a new piece, divide it into segments and learn one new segment every day that week.
This week’s exercise: This week, try pre-planning how you are going to use your practice time. Look at your goals for the week. Plan out your practice times, and treat them with the level of commitment you’d treat a rehearsal with other people. And finally, before you start practicing each session, decide what it is that you want to accomplish and sketch out how you are going to use your time. It's okay to modify the plan as you go!
Quote of the Week
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou
🎥 YouTube update
Video Catalog
I didn't manage to get a new video out this week, but I do have a new spreadsheet of all of my previous videos, organized by playlist topic. This has been requested by several of my viewers. You can access the spreadsheet here.
💜 Some of My Favorite Things
Recording - The world of classical music lost a giant earlier this month, with the death of Seiji Ozawa. I met him back in the 90's when I was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, but, more importantly, I had the opportunity to hear him conduct the Boston Symphony every week throughout that magical summer. I love his recording of Mahler's first Symphony with the Boston Symphony. Here's the famous third movement, featuring variations on Frères Jacques in a funeral march style. Speaking of being moved to tears, I always shed a couple during the middle section, where the harp accompanies small groups of woodwind instruments and muted violins.
Tutorial - One of my students is playing Chopin's etude in F Minor, Op. 10, No. 9. Her hands are on the smaller side, and she has been struggling with the big reaches in that etude. Jocelyn Swigger, professor of piano at Gettysburg College, made a series of short video tutorials about how to play the Chopin etudesfor pianists with smaller hands. Despite some background hum in this video, I found it very helpful in terms of redistribution of notes and Swigger's description of her "one-eared llama" hand position.
Study at Butler: At Butler University I teach undergraduate and master's-level pianists. Interested in learning more about studying at Butler? Simply reply to this email!
Xanthi, Greece: This summer I will be returning to Greece to teach at the Summer Piano Institute in Xanthi, from June 30-July 8. The festival consists of mainly undergraduate through doctoral-level piano students, but a few high school students and some adult amateurs also attend. You can read my blog post on last year's festival here. If you are interested, you can reply to this email or fill out this interest form.
🗓️ My Upcoming Performances and Events
Feb 27, 7:30 pm (next Tuesday!): Rhapsody in Blue, Schrott Center for the Arts, Butler University. With the Butler University Wind Ensemble, conducted by Trae Blanco. The live stream link is available at the event page.
March 16-19, Atlanta GA: I will be attending the MTNA National Conference as President-elect of the Indiana Music Teachers Association.
June 30-July 8, Xanthi, Greece: Summer Piano Institute
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