PA Shorts: What A Mess!
I mostly like surprises. I love it when students come in with their own ways of looking at things and their own ways of working out problems. I'm not so…
PA Shorts: Onwards & Upwards
Recently, while in the preparation phase of a presentation, I asked what some of our college students wished they had known before coming to study at a more advanced level. Some of…
What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Wow! This is finals week. How exactly did that happen? We have a Mockingbird nest in our tree and have been amused as the parents have patiently enticed their little…
PA Shorts: Finding Waldo
“You need to find Waldo,” I said. It was true. Maggie was working on polishing the Bartok Sonatina and it needed character, action, detail, and nuance to truly come to…
Remix: Earthquakes, Bright and Shiny Objects, One Speed Ponies, & Time Travel
Pieces have been chosen. Dates have been set. Arrangements have been made. Yep, we are working toward spring masterclasses, recitals, and end of the year piano exams all right. In…
Letting Distraction Go
There are times when all of us are easily distracted by bright and shiny objects—diamonds, texts, emails, the slip of a finger, the person sitting in the front row, your…
Taking My Own Medicine
Last Wednesday evening I played a recital with Soprano Cynthia Sanner. It was a privilege to play the repertoire she had chosen—some works were new to me and others I…
Interference: No Penalty 2
The universe is conspiring to make me think hard about practicing. Coincidenza? I think not. I’m up to my eyeballs in Lieder and Art Song in preparation for a recital…