A life in the arts is the life of an eternal student. I see myself as a partner to my pupils in their quests to grasp the meaning of the great musical works they study and in their struggles to realize their understanding in sound. Technique, after all, is the outward manifestation of what the inner-ear dictates. The interaction between the musical imagination and the physical mechanism is a life-long affair, and a teacher’s role is, in part, to sensitize each student’s listening and facilitate the transcendence of physical and mental barriers to self-expression.
I am pleased to announce that I have been appointed to the full-time Music Faculty at SUNY Oneonta as of Fall, 2016. In addition to course work, my teaching load includes studio piano instruction and the development of a collaborative music-making program. In addition, I continue to serve on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division.
SUNY Oneonta
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Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division
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Please check out the links to learn more about the programs offered by each school.
Public teaching in masterclasses is another component of my pedagogical life. At Brooklyn College, my colleagues Jeffrey Biegel, Ursula Oppens, and I took turns directing weekly masterclasses for all registered piano students. On other occasions, I have presented classes for the Eastman School of Music, the Summit Music Festival, New Jersey Music Educators Association, Third Street Music School Settlement, the Americas Society, and West Texas A&M University, among others.
Lecture-Recitals are another means of presenting great works of music and important musical concepts in educational contexts. I have made presentations for The Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, the Summit Music Festival, the Burgos International Music Festival, the Long Island Beethoven Festival, and the University of Indiana. Among the subjects I have covered in these presentations are:
Something to Laugh About: Humor in the Music of Haydn and Beethoven
The Pastoral Beethoven
Cold Pastoral: Beethoven’s Sonata in A Major, Op. 101
Chopin’s 24 Preludes, Op. 28
Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17
Mozart’s Fantasy and Sonata in c minor, K. 475/457
The Kapellmeister and his Cat: Schumann’s Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Chopin’s Four Maddest Children: The Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35
Debussy and the Senses
French and Spanish Piano Music
The Use of Catalan Folk Materials in the Music of Federico Mompou
Arnold Schoenberg in Barcelona
Franz Schubert’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. Posth
Franz Schubert’s Sonata in Bb Major, Op. Posth.
AND THESE BI-LINGUAL PRESENTATIONS:
Maestros de la Música Española
“Maestros of Spanish Music”
Música española del siglo XVI al siglo XXI
“Spanish Music from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Centuries”
Música de Tecla Española a lo largo de los Siglos
“Spanish Keyboard Music through the Centuries”
España en América
“Spain in America”
Music Festivals provide a special aspect of a musical education, giving students a chance to work intensively with their colleagues and teachers in culturally and aesthetically enriching surroundings. Among the festivals where I have taught are the Barcelona Festival of Song, the Winter Harbor Music Festival in Maine, the Summit Music Festival in N.Y., and the Cursos de Verano of the Fundación Princesa de Asturias and the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain. I serve as Director of Cultural Outreach at the last of these, offering a special seminar on the music of Spain and its connections to Spanish history and folklore.
www.burgosmusicfestival.com
www.summitmusicfestival.org
www.escuelainternacionaldemusica.org
My writings on musical subjects are another means of reaching students, colleagues, and the general public. At New Jersey City University, I also serve as thesis advisor to a number of graduate students. Below are links to articles published in Clavier and Music in Art journals, a Spanish-language essay on Xavier Montsalvatge published by the Spanish Society of Authors and Editors, program notes from several recent concerts, and a downloadable version of my doctoral dissertation.
Assorted Notes:
The Damocles Trio Plays Works By Beethoven
The Damocles Trio Plays Works By Brahms
The Damocles Trio in Concert at CUC
Music For Lovers
Schubertiade
Something To Laugh About: Beethoven
The Damocles Trio in Concert at Merkin Hall
Weill Recital Hall Program Notes:
Spain in America
Spain Without Borders
Falla and Turina
Granados
Iberian Impressions
Spanish Music Through The Centuries
Clavier September 2003:
Wonderful Spanish Piano Works by Composer Ernesto Halffter
Journal Music In Art
Vol. XXVII No.1 Spring-Fall 2002
Jan J. De Kloe, “Óscar Esplá in Belgium” (1936-1949)
Xavier Montsalvatge:
Xavier Montsalvatge homenaje a un compositor
The Use of Catalan Folk Materials in the Works of Federico Mompou and Joaquín Nin-Culmell
PHOTOGRAPHY
Formal Shots: Michael Dames and James Keyser
Candid Shots in Spain: Joel Weinberg
Candid Shots of Damocles Trio: Sibylle Johner
Carnegie Hall Shots: Young Jang
