Playing With Wolfgang: Ives for Boston
A few years ago I got out Thoreau from Ives’ Concord Sonata and decided to discover it. As you all know I’m a sucker for pieces about the outdoors, plus…
PA Shorts: As Time Goes By
Last Thursday, film critic Roger Ebert lost his long battle with cancer. I was listening to a Fresh Air interview by Terry Gross and was struck by the following: I…
Matching Quiz
Tomorrow evening is our EAC Piano Recital. We always try to do something to make the evening special for both the performers and the audience. This spring, we decided to…
PA Shorts: Resilience
I was perusing a discussion on one of the social media groups I belong to and was struck by a comment on resilience. The discussion concerned judges and whether certain…
Piano Fail
I was thumbing through a magazine while waiting for an appointment and came across some wisdom on reversing painful assumptions from Martha Beck. She had asked her client, who was…
Artist Portrait: Matthew Odell
I had the great pleasure of doing this latest Artist Portrait interview with pianist Matthew Odell—and face to face too! He is an energetic and down to earth person who…
Looking in the Mirror
Last week, I was given the gift of seeing myself and my teaching from without on two different occasions. Firstly, Matthew Odell was at the college to do a workshop…
PA Shorts: Competition With A Twist
Last Saturday, I had the privilege of adjudicating for a piano competition about a 90 minute drive from here. The format was pretty much what you would expect: four divisions…