Too good!

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Class

Bravo in Barcelona.
Shutterstock image. Source: Pixabay.

A new blog post!  Surprising, I know.  Having a few days’ vacation time gives me an opportunity to catch up a little.

A most amazing thing happened in musical theater class a couple of weeks ago.  I’m so excited to have a chance to tell you all about it!

A student took her turn a few minutes into the class, singing “Almost There” by Randy Newman.

She had nailed “All That Jazz” by John Kander just the week before, so I was anticipating that this would also be wonderful.

As it happened, she was anxious about something. When she began to sing, I could barely hear her. I wanted to get into it and play, but my sound would have covered her voice.

Why was she nervous?

It could have been anything.

• Was she coming down with something?
• Was she unprepared?
• Was she working on one aspect of vocal production rather than performing the song?

What was going on?

She was worried about the high note at the end of the first phrase, so she held back out of fear that her voice might crack. This is a freshman class. The students are shy about making a fool of themselves in front of other people, even in class. (I’ve been there myself so many times! As a freshman, I was so nervous in my first voice jury that I forgot every word after the title of a slow song in English! I changed my major immediately.)

The professor, who is also her voice teacher, identified the problem and found a way to deal with it.  Among other things, she vocalized the student to a top note a third above the one she was concerned about.

And THEN…

On the fourth or fifth try, she knocked everyone out of their chair!  She was SO GOOD!!!  It was perfect.

Next:

The professor talked about how well the student had just performed, giving her kudos for her substantial progress this semester.  She talked about how gratifying it was to witness this as a teacher, saying, “If I had my shoes, I’d throw them!” ++

Huh?

She elaborated.  In the African-American tradition, when something is “too good,” audience members throw their shoes! *

And then the professor burst into tears.  It was so moving.

The student was in tears soon after.

And the class was speechless.

And that, for me, is what it’s all about.

++  Class is held in a studio with a dance floor.  Everyone takes off their shoes so the floor remains grit-free. If a dancer were to trip on grit, s/he could sprain, dislocate or break something, putting him or her out of the game for a long time.  So that’s why the professor didn’t have her shoes!

*  Both professor and student happen to be African-American.  After class, I shared with the professor that I worked in an African-American church in Brooklyn for quite a while, also performing in other venues with the music director, who is a wonderful singer. However, when things were “too good,” no one threw their shoes.  So where did that come from?  She said it’s a Southern thing.  People even throw their shoes in church!

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Please take a look at my e-book!

“Goal-oriented Practice”
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My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.

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PianoAnd: The lid. Full stick, half stick, or none at all?*

Source: Wikimedia. Public domain.

No worries!  The following is not a scientific analysis!

*The lid may be closed or removed entirely.

Where do our preferences come from concerning the position of the piano lid in performance?

• Early teachers
• It’s always been that way
• Never thought about it

If you think about balance, I’m sure you must have your own list.

Variables

What are the important considerations when balancing other instruments/voices with piano?  If you’re the soloist, your main concern is that your part will be clear.  But what about the other performers?  If you’re the pianist, YOU want to be heard.  (There are exceptions.  Sometimes pianists seem to be intent upon disappearing out of a fear that they will be too loud.)

Assuming that our goal is to find appropriate balance among all participants, there are several variables that need to be considered from venue to venue:

• Acoustics of the room
  • Curtains (at the front, back, and sides of the stage, at the windows, and on the walls of the room), seat cushions, carpet, wall hangings, hard surfaces, shell/no shell behind the performers
  • size of audience (which wears clothing that soaks up sound)
  • the way sound travels on stage (can you hear other performers?)
  • other variables in the hall (i.e. moveable acoustical features, such as blinds, panels, walls, ceilings)
  • Sometimes a room has a muffled sound. A closed lid, in that case, means that the piano’s sound is not clear.
• Where is the soloist in relation to the piano? If the piano is “too loud,” is that actually the case, or would moving away from the piano create a separation in the sounds (soloist/piano) and resolve the problem?  Try it!  A change of only a few inches often makes a huge difference.
• Size of room, size of piano. Smaller rooms with larger pianos may call for a shorter stick.  I would tend to consider this arrangement, but I know other musicians who use full stick regardless.
• Type of music? Joseph Fuchs used full stick ALL the time for violin/piano.  Part of the resonance of the violin came from the piano’s soundboard.  When playing music with more density in the writing, I would tend to prefer short stick.
• The pianist’s manner of producing sound. When less arm weight is used, the sound is lighter.  More transparent writing in combination with less arm would make full stick clear but not overwhelming.  Also, voicing the piano part (more focus for prominent lines) goes a long way.

Wooden block

Perhaps you feel that using the short stick would be too much.  In addition, some pianos no longer have a short stick.  Occasionally, manufacturers include only full stick or a variation, about 3/4 high.

You can take a wooden block with you.

A rectangular block, painted black, about 5” or 6” x 3” x 2”, is a better choice than a hymnal or book.  Propping the lid open with a book results in a dented book cover.  In church concerts, churchgoers are sometimes offended when hymnals are used in this way.  (Setting anything on top of the Bible is considered sacrilegious.  By extension, the hymnal, which contains sacred texts, is included in this category by some.  If you want to be invited back, don’t prop the lid open with a hymnal.)  Also, painting the wooden block black helps to avoid audience distraction.  The dimensions of the block allow it to be used on either side and on end.  Plenty of options.

Recording

Using a recording device to assess the sound is a great way to go when you have the time.  Yo-Yo Ma swears by it, placing the recorder at varying distances from the stage. This can be done during solo practice sessions, rehearsals, and warm-ups, as well as in performances.

The acoustics of the room change depending on the size of the audience.  Rehearsals typically take place in empty halls.  Once the audience arrives, everything changes.  So keeping an open mind, listening to the room, making adjustments in one’s playing during a performance, and trying various options make a difference.

Takeaway thought

My hope is that performers will be aware of the variables.  For the music to reach the audience effectively, the sound needs to be clear.

Please experiment!  And… go.

How do you approach the piano lid issue?  Comments welcome!

Source: Google search. No evident copyright.

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Please take a look at my e-book!

“Goal-oriented Practice”
Are you practicing well? Is your imagination working for you?

My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.

50% off!!!  Absolutely NO JARGON!  Even my non-musician little sister says so.

Click here for the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.

If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.

I would appreciate it very much. Thank you!

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How can we improve congregational singing? Part VI

Tags

alternative harmonizations, anthem, church choir, church music, congregational singing, Education, Hymnal, music education, new hymns

Source: Pixabay

The following conversation, in response to Part V of this series, took place on Facebook:

• Contributor Hi Gretchen, what’s your suggestion making sure the congregation doesn’t get thrown off when using alternative arrangements to accompany congregational singing (as opposed to using them when the choir is singing a hymn as an anthem)?
• Gretchen Saathoff  Hmm… I’ll think about it! At Riverside, it’s not a problem. Have the choir sing the melody, disperse the choir throughout the congregation, try the Hymn of the Month approach, Try practicing the alternative arrangement for 2 minutes with the congregation, then use it in the hymn. Use the traditional harmonization for all verses except the last. That way, the congregation has been singing the tune for several verses already.
• Gretchen Saathoff  And try not to go too far afield with the alternate harmonization. The green Lutheran hymnal that replaced the red one had so many funky arrangements, they made very little sense. So why would anyone want to sing them.
• Contributor  Thanks, Gretchen. Good advice here. There is a new red Lutheran hymnal, the ELW, that kept some of the old arrangements from the green LBW, and has lots of new hymns without harmonization, just melodies. So that helps. (But they left off the time  signatures, which leads to confusion.) But if the hymn is new, even if only the melody is printed, the alternative arrangement still challenges the ear. And about the funky arrangements, people who can sing parts, oftentimes can sing even the funky ones, and some need to do that, because the melody is too high for them. I like the idea of practicing the alternative arrangement with the congregation – hadn’t thought of it as a possibility before!
• Gretchen Saathoff  No time sigs? Not especially helpful, I’d think.
  Also, there is no need to use only the arrangements in the book. Change it so it works. Keep some parts and not others. Write a new one. If the melody is too high, something needs to change, such  as trasposing down or maybe singing the melody an octave lower. The congregation needs the choir to sing the melody in unison on alternate harmonizations. When they can hear it, they sing better.
• Contributor  Great advice!
• Gretchen Saathoff  There are lots of alternative harmonizations out there: volumes of hymns for organ, choral anthems, hymnals from other denominations, AGO website, etc. Plenty of hymn improvisations can be heard on YouTube.
• Gretchen Saathoff  Free association, you understand… and now it’s time for dinner! Back later.

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

And a followup Facebook Message from yours truly:

During services in various denominations, I sometimes would play an alternative harmonization from a funky organ collection (The Sunday Morning Organist, I think). Just leave out the whiz bang awful parts when they don’t work.

Similarly, there are plenty of anthems that work, for the most part, but also have spots that don’t.  One example is asking the choir to hold the last note for 8 bars.  Does this make the ending better?  Does singing a high note improve the message?  That all depends on the choir, what else is going on (i.e. the keyboard part might be just fine on its own).  Sometimes a “festive” ending will be tacked on that isn’t really needed.  When the rest of the piece works well, I omit the parts that don’t work.

There may be one stanza of an anthem that splits into 8 parts, for example.  When you have 6 people in your choir that Sunday, you have to think on your feet and find something that works.  What do you have to keep?  The melody and the bass line?  Is the alto part more interesting than the tenor, or vice versa? 

If one stanza is too elaborate for your circumstances, then sing the rest of the anthem and omit that one.

If the printed introduction is too long or too short, or is confusing to your choir/congregation, then by all means change it!

Thanks so much to my contributor, who prefers to remain anonymous.

Which approaches have the most success in your church?Comments and suggestions welcome!

Please see previous posts in this series.

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While you’re here, please take a look at my ebook,

Goal-oriented Practice.  Now available at 50% off, only $10!

Free of musical jargon, it will save you time.  By identifying practice goals, you will soon be able to learn music more accurately, resulting in confident playing.

Click on the link to see reviews, book intro, and table of contents!

Thank you!

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Want calls? Introduce yourself!

Tags

audience, freelance, introduction, presentation

Headshift business card discussion (Photo credit: Lars Plougmann)

Seems obvious, doesn’t it?

This evening, I was having dinner out when the hostess informed me about a presentation that would begin in a half-hour.  There had been publicity, but the restaurant remained open for other diners as well.

I remained seated at my original table, which happened to be directly next to the presenter’s location. The presenter began showing slides of his photography.  I was doing something else, but looked over at the screen from time to time.  Being so close, I listened to the narrative as well.

Those who attended seemed to know the photographer, for the most part.  Others knew of him, as he has lived here for years.  Although I have lived here for 15 years, I had not met him.

Given that there were “outside” people in the restaurant while he was presenting, one thing about his talk, especially, surprised me.  He never said his name until the end!  There was no name indicated on the slides, nor did he introduce himself when he welcomed people at the beginning of his talk.

He was, of course, concerned about the best location for the screen, computer, projector, and microphone.  There was the amplification to consider.  In addition, he had enlargements of some of his work displayed around the room.  So there was ample opportunity for distraction on his part. However, as a free-lancer, I was reminded of the importance of getting to the reason behind the presentation.

Remember to introduce yourself!  Feel free to disagree, but I think it’s important.

Comments welcome!

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New job!

photo source: hartford.edu

A few weeks ago, I began working as a pianist in the Vocal Studies Division at The Hartt School, part of the University of Hartford.

Last Thursday, a voice teacher introduced me to one of his students as “our newest acquisition!”

Hartt has been, since I first set foot on campus for my interview, a friendly, welcoming place.  The students are excellent, and the faculty is consistently engaged in the students’ progress.

I love my job.

This is my bio as it will appear on Hartt’s web site, along with the photo to the left of this post:

 

Pianist in the Vocal Studies Division

 

Gretchen Saathoff was born in Springfield, Illinois and grew up in Burlington, Iowa.  She began piano lessons at age 6, and by age 12 was studying piano, organ, and voice at the University of Iowa.

 

Her father, a minister, trained her to collaborate in liturgical service playing from halfway across a rather large church sanctuary.  She began playing church services at age 14.  This proved to be excellent training in coordinating with a minister in the role of cantor, anticipating from a distance by using visual cues rather than sound, and leading congregational singing in the liturgy and hymns.

 

Thomas Dunn, then conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society, observed a chorus rehearsal for which Gretchen was accompanying during her sophomore year at SIU/Carbondale.  Following the rehearsal, Mr. Dunn suggested that she consider a career as a professional accompanist.

 

After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from UMass/Amherst, Gretchen worked as staff accompanist at Smith College, also commuting to New York to study with Martin Katz, the venerable accompanist and vocal coach.

 

She then earned a Master’s Degree with Distinction in Accompanying and Coaching at Westminster Choir College, where she continued studying with Mr. Katz, graduating first in her class.  During this time, she commuted to Philadelphia to play rehearsals for The Philadelphia Singers, directed by Michael Korn.  Additional training includes fellowships to the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals, scholarships to the Alfred University Summer Chamber Music Institute, and accompanying singers in an audition class offered at The Metropolitan Opera by Joan Dornemann.

 

Following graduate school, Gretchen moved to New York with the goal of gaining the widest performing experience available.  She lived and worked in New York for 18 years, where she founded Kairos, a piano trio, followed by a collaboration of several years with the prominent violinist Lisa Rautenberg.

 

Gretchen toured the United States twice as pianist with the Norman Luboff Choir.  In addition to Mr. Luboff, she has worked with more than 75 conductors, among them Zubin Mehta, Placido Domingo, Daniel Barenboim, George Manahan, Paul Halley, Robert DeCormier, John Daly Goodwin, Amy Kaiser, Harold Rosenbaum, Joseph Flummerfelt, Greg Funfgeld, Clara Longstreth, Alan Harler, Alice Parker, and Tony Thornton.  In addition, she has worked in the studios of sought-after voice teachers such as Judith Raskin, Paul Sperry, Oren Brown, Edith Bers, and Cynthia Hoffmann.  She has collaborated with students of Joseph Fuchs, Harvey Shapiro, Richard Stolzman, Emanuel Vardi, Philipp Naegele, and Joel Krosnick.

 

She played rehearsals for the Brooklyn Opera, Bronx Opera, acted as House Accompanist for the Queens Opera Verdi Competition and the Oratorio Society of New York Soloist Competition, and played auditions for The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and Amato Opera.  She has played countless auditions for singers and instrumentalists in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Haven, and many other cities.

 

Influential teachers include Mr. Katz, Ms. Dornemann, Mr. Fuchs, Mr. Krosnick, Mr. Shapiro, and Kenneth Cooper.

 

In addition to her work at The Hartt School, Gretchen is Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church in Northampton, MA, and pianist for the Hampshire College Chorus and the Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble.  Her freelance activity has seen her performing with the Pioneer Valley Symphony, the Commonwealth Opera, the Valley Light Opera, the Amherst College Choirs, a variety of students and groups at UMass/Amherst, the Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, and Mak’hela, the Jewish chorus of Western Mass.

 

Gretchen is actively engaged in creating audience-friendly performances.  In solo recitals, she insists that the house lights be left on so audience members can read her program notes.  She has received a great deal of positive audience feedback when also providing verbal notes during her solo and chamber music concerts.

 

Her other interests are, among others, being outdoors; The New York Times crossword; listening to jazz, gospel, and soul; watching tennis, baseball, and old movies; and enjoying dinner out with friends.

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Q&A: Can the prelude to a church service be sung?

Tags

arts, church music, Church service, order of worship, Prelude

Light Singers – 61 (Photo credit: pixiduc)

Short answer:  there is nothing that says “no” to this in all cases.

You would need to check out each situation.

A more detailed answer:

In my experience, the congregation is in “music on the side” mode before the service begins.

There are also some situations where singing could work:

A pre-service concert series

One church where I’ve performed concerts designates one Sunday per month as their concert Sunday.  The musician(s) play a half-hour program which is followed immediately by the service.  The congregation arrives 1/2 hour before the usual service time expecting to listen to the music.

A sung pre-service concert would be wonderful!

Congregation expects to listen

At The Riverside Church in New York, the prelude occasionally consisted of Mozart sonatas for piano and violin.  William Sloan Coffin, who was trained as a concert pianist, enjoyed teaming up with an accomplished violinist from the congregation.  However, at Riverside, the congregation is accustomed to hearing great music played by organists at the top of their field.  People come early, find a seat, remain quiet, and listen.

A singer would be comfortable in this situation.

Most of the time

My suggestion would be to include a singer after the service has begun. When the minister is at the front of the sanctuary and the call to worship or opening prayer has been spoken, people are more settled.

Why planning matters

Choir members at a nearby church (not mine) told me that when they sang an anthem as the prelude, nobody listened.

The text of a song or anthem is much more important than background music.   We need to keep that in mind when deciding where to place sung music in the service.

People who write advice columns about party/dinner planning say that instrumental music works best when guests are talking.  The prelude can be seen in the same way.  The congregation is just arriving, and they want to greet one another.  When they are talking, the text of a song is lost.

Please comment!  What have you experienced with sung preludes?

 

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Press Review of the Rocky Hill Concerts series

Tags

Christ United Methodist Church, concert series, Rocky Hill Concerts

English: New England Conservatory of Music. Incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts. Winter term. Boston Music Hall. 1871. The winter term … opens Thursday, November 23d, 1871. … (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ROCKY HILL CONCERTS

by Diana Souza

Sunday, July 29th saw the conclusion of the first Rocky Hill Concerts series. Located at Christ United Methodist Church in Northampton, the acoustics were complementary so that the music reverberated, beautifully filling the hall and delighting the audience. This past Sunday the artist was a harpist, Anna DeLoi, all of 16 years old. Anna studies harp at the New England Conservatory in Boston and has performed in master classes and with orchestras in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She was joined by flutist Christen Sparago for the second half of the program.

Anna gave a description of each piece and its composer set in historical context. There was a suite for lute composed by J.S. Bach, consisting of short dance movements adapted for harp. Then came pieces by Hindemith, followed by Mozart and finally a Reverie, Arabesque, and Prelude by Debussy.

Previous concerts included the group Red Valley Fog on July 9th and Gretchen Saathoff, accomplished pianist, organist and Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church, in mid-July. Red Valley Fog is a band performing political folk music reminiscent of the late 60s and early 70s.

On July 22nd Bob Sparkman and Jerry Noble played a spirited program of traditional jazz on clarinet and piano.

There is nothing that equates to listening to live music beautifully played. Be sure to look for this concert series and other concerts in the future.  Kudos to music director Gretchen Saathoff, who conceived of and promoted this series, for her impeccable choice of musicians and the variety of musical styles.

http://www.RockyHillConcerts.wordpress.com

How to write program notes

Tags

church bulletin, concert program, program notes, writing

program notes for 'in the middle, somewhat elevated' (Photo credit: stevendamron)

Do you write program notes with ease?

Do you have a process that works?

Here are a few ideas that might help:

Set limits

Remember when you wrote stories in grade school? Most of the time, the teacher provided topic suggestions. Those guidelines helped us find a way to start writing.

Don’t just stare at a blank screen! You’ll be there for hours!

Write for the people in your audience

When you write with people in mind, your notes become friendly and compelling. You are no longer engaged in something that isn’t fun.

Remember who you’re writing for!  Unless your notes are to be submitted to your academic department to fulfill a degree requirement, “insider” jargon needs to be eliminated.

Don’t try to be perfect

You can play around from program to program, noticing the results.  Are you getting the type of feedback you thought you might hear? Are audience members approaching you to comment or ask questions? Over time, you can work on your approach.

Be interesting, maybe even funny

People will appreciate your efforts to be informative without sounding like a history book. Use words that non-musicians can understand. You can always introduce a new term or two. Don’t make people look anything up just so they can understand your notes.

Be brief

Have you ever been to a major concert where the performer’s bio is so long you stopped reading? I have. No matter how accomplished you are or how much knowledge you have, don’t include every last detail!

Examples

When I perform Debussy’s “Children’s Corner,” I include 2-or 3-line stories about each piece in the program. Some information is from the score; some of it I made up.

In music commentary for the church bulletin, I look for the most interesting part of each composer’s biography as it might relate to the congregation. Next Sunday’s anthem was written by a composer who was born in Maine and lived in the East throughout his life. Since the church is in Massachusetts, people will be happy to see that.

In addition, our anthem composer wrote a Sunday School song that everyone sang when they were kids. When people read that, they will feel like they almost know him! That’s the goal, to remove him from the obscurity of the encyclopedia and the picture of the man with the long beard from the 1800’s.

The postlude this week is written as a canon with an ostinato bass. As most people are likely unfamiliar with the word “ostinato,” my comments explain that the first few notes of the tune are repeated to form exactly that. Using the term without explanation would be a turn-off.

Should I have a performance in an academic situation, my notes would be somewhat more formal. But I would still avoid being too dry and too lengthy.

Still not sure?

Read your notes aloud. Find someone to read them to. If that person has questions, that will help you to simplify your writing (without talking down to your audience).

What do you consider when writing program notes?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Successful Concert #3! Williamsburg, MA

Image via Wikipedia

On Sunday I played the 3rd of 3 concerts based on the same program.  This was the Williamsburg, MA concert rescheduled from October.

Some thoughts about the day:

Getting there

The drive to Williamsburg was much easier today.  No storm!  We had lunch at the Brewmaster’s Tavern (pictured above), which was excellent.

Distractions

During the time between lunch and the concert (about an hour), there were any number of distractions.  I was focused, and found myself able to ignore them.

In the audience

A father walked in with his 2 young daughters.  They sat in the front row, right by the piano.  I was thrilled!

Just before concert time, a friend arrived.  It was very nice to see him.  He had come to the dinner during the power outage, and I had not expected him to make the trip a 2nd time.

Playing 3 concerts together worked!

My playing in this concert was the best of the 3, as it should be.  I wish the piano had been better, but I’m happy to have gotten something out of it.

Audience engagement

As is my habit, I spoke to the audience rather than providing printed program notes.

The Bach and Bach/Busoni shared the 1st verbal note.  I explained a few ways in which a fugue is different from a round.  And I shared a few details about Bach chorales.  (This was a Congregational church.  “Ich ruf’ zu dir” was not in either hymnal I consulted.)  Then I suggested that Busoni, a Romantic composer, would sound completely different from the prelude and fugue.

Everyone laughed when they heard that Mendelssohn‘s “Songs Without Words” have no words and never did.  Then I indicated that the 3rd and 6th pieces I would play had titles, inviting them to make up their own titles for the others.

I grouped the Liszt and Stamatelos together with the goal of introducing Katerina’s piece with Liszt’s “Nuages Gris.”

Everyone LOVED Katerina’s piece!  I was surprised, as this is a country church with an “older” congregation.  Describing how the piece was composed made a difference and piqued their interest.  And mentioning that Katerina and I “met” on Twitter wasn’t a bad thing to say, either.  They were also quite attentive when they learned that she lives in Greece.

This 3rd performance went so smoothly!  I am completely comfortable with the transitions between variations now, and could focus on expressing the music.

Before playing the Gershwin, I played a 4th on the piano, explaining that we aren’t accustomed to hearing that interval as a pleasant sound.  Then I added the 3rd below (to form an inverted triad), then 3rd below that.  Now that everything sounded normal again, everyone enjoyed the piece!

What’s next?

It’s time to watch some tennis!  (Barclays ATP World Tour Finals replay from earlier today in London, http://espn3.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Related articles

• Concert countdown on mostly unfamiliar music (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)
• Almost concert time! (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)
• Concerts: #1 of 3 (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)
• A successful New York concert (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

E-books

Looking for practice inspiration? “Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” will give you a fresh perspective!

Goal-oriented Practice

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

When You Buy a Piano

How to Maintain Your Piano

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A successful New York concert

Tags

Katerina Stamatelos, Skype, Twitter

Cover of Star!

Yours truly played a concert in New York on Wednesday. 

What a blast!

Actual program will be posted here as soon as it is received.

The countdown

Everything about daily life that could go wrong the week before, did. I felt like I couldn’t handle it all, nearly canceling the concert.

And then, things kept getting worse! The day before my trip, not only did some dental work fall apart, but my plans to stay with a friend fell through.

A Skype video call enabled me to put all the negatives in a box and forget about them. They would still be there when I got back, if I wanted them.

Fortunately, I have more than one friend in New York! An email resulted in a quick reply with a gracious invitation to stay with a lovely person in a beautiful apartment in Midtown.

Getting there

The trip into the City was easy and uneventful. I found a cab in 2 seconds, and even scored a friendly driver.

The street noise kept me awake ½ the night. It wasn’t particularly loud, but I’m not used to it anymore. We were on the 4^th floor with a window open.

Warmup

When I arrived at the concert venue, the music director was out of the building, the piano was in the corner, someone was praying aloud, and no lights were on. So I asked a desk clerk to have the lights turned on (which they were in 2 minutes) and moved the piano myself (but I’ve done that before). The desk clerk assured me that warming up would be fine while the prayer was in progress.

My practice time, about ½ hour, didn’t go well at all. Possible reasons are too little sleep, nerves, the extreme acoustics (reverb), and the climate (hot and humid). I felt like I had a fever!

Even just before the house was opened to the public, I wasn’t feeling good about the way I was going to play the concert. And that, for me, is very unusual.

Backstage

I had a talk with myself. “So, what are you going to do, blow it? You’ve never blown it here!” (I’ve played there several times.)

I decided the way to go was not to rely on what I expected to come out of the instrument, but to listen to the actual sound and deal with that.

The concert

Things proceeded normally. The 1^st half was Bach/Busoni and Mendelssohn. I felt completely settled in the 2^nd half with Katerina Stamatelos’ piece and Gershwin.

Talking to the audience

I wanted to talk to the audience because it has always worked. Nothing profound ~ it wasn’t a lecture recital. I told them that the “Songs Without Words” don’t have any words and never did! Scholars have been searching, believe it or not. And I told them that Mendelssohn named only a few of his songs, publishers named the others. I encouraged people to make up their own titles.

Katerina’s piece

When I said that I’d “met” Katerina Stametelos on Twitter, some people said, “Oh!” Others smiled ~ all looked intrigued. I told them that Katerina lives in Greece and earned 2 degrees at the University of Iowa, and why I felt a connection with her.

Everyone in the audience loved this piece! Big smiles, long and enthusiastic applause, true appreciation without reservation.

A chance occurrence

The music director had asked me to assure him that my program was 30 minutes, not longer. Apparently recent concerts have been longer, making people rush for lunch. He has received complaints.

So I was conscious of the time frame during my concert. I omitted 2 repeats in order to allow talking time.

After my program, as the audience was applauding, I found myself taking a bow and then speaking again, saying something like, “That’s it ~ everybody go to lunch!” And I didn’t make a grand exit.

Audience engagement

That was a chance happening. And it worked! More than twice the usual number of people approached me after the concert!

Their comments included:

“You made my day!” I recognized the man from 2 years ago, when I had performed Messiaen. We had discussed Messiaen then.

One woman said she is the organist at a small church “down the street.” She had played “Ich ruf’ zu dir” on the organ, but this is the first time she had heard the piano version. Since the organ she plays had stopped working, she would look at the Bach/Busoni.

Another woman asked about Katerina’s “In Memoriam Béla Bartók,” wondering whether they knew each other, or what that was about.

Friends

I got together with 4 friends on this trip and had a great phone conversation with a 5^th. Four of us (3 friends plus myself) enjoyed lunch on Amsterdam Ave. just South of 120^th St. My friends had never met each other, but have common interests, so we all had a good time.

Later that evening, I had a sandwich and a wonderful time seeing someone who couldn’t make the concert. He has so many interests and so much curiosity, he is always fun to talk to.

‘Tude

After dinner, I had an ice cream attack. So I walked around the neighborhood in search of a deli. What I found was a Johnny Rockets restaurant (50’s or 60’s American diner) at 56^th and 3^rd.

At the takeout counter, I ordered 2 dark chocolate shakes to go. The cashier took my payment and made change for a nickel.

Her arm extended back, and she slapped the nickel on the counter!

Welcome to New Yawk. If my change had been a $5 bill, would she have turned around? What would it take to score eye contact?

The trip back

The bus driver had no clue.  At Port Authority, he announced that we were boarding a Hartford bus.  The destination, Springfield, is clearly posted.  In New Britain, he asked the passengers if anyone knew how to get to Route whatever.  Soon after that, he became lost for 10 mi.  Then we encountered traffic backed up from an accident.  After that, a passenger had to direct him to the gate in Springfield as soon as he left I-91.

Then we changed buses.  The next driver was very unpleasant.  But it turned out there was also an express bus to Amherst. So the last 45 minutes of the trip were normal.

We arrived in Amherst 2 hours and 20 minutes late!

I called the complaint number the next morning and demanded a refund.

I’m glad the mega-glitch in the trip happened after my concert!

Goals

Continue to facilitate audience engagement.

Look to NY as a reality check rather than feeling discouraged by recent changes in the focus of various concert series and the local situation.

Practice, plan future programs, incorporate more contemporary music, organize house concerts.  Twitterhouse concerts?

Network like mad!

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Related articles

• Concert countdown on mostly unfamiliar music (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

E-books

Looking for practice inspiration? “Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” will give you a fresh perspective!

Goal-oriented Practice

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

When You Buy a Piano

How to Maintain Your Piano

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