Workshop Sessions
June 23-27, 2008

You Won't Want to Miss Any of the Outstanding Workshops and Nationally- Renowned Presenters!

(Please inform and invite your colleagues!)

Session 1

Monday, June 23, 9:15 – 11:45 a.m.

Presenter: Peter Takács

Workshop: The Mind of Beethoven:  Recurring Ideas in His Piano Sonatas

In performing and recording "the 32", Professor Takács, a brilliant pianist and teacher,  became aware of certain recurring ideas that served as an inspiration to the composer.  In Beethoven, one can identify a number of themes, such as love of nature, suffering and healing, searching for surprises, inspiration from orchestra, string quartet, and opera, and a quest for transcendence.  These are traced from the drama of the very first sonata, Op. 2 No. 1,  through the valedictory second movement of the final sonata, Op. 111.

Session 2

Monday, June 23, 1:15 - 3:45 p.m.

Presentes: Peter Takács

Workshop: Wrestling With the Score: overcoming obstacles to authentic interpretation

The act of learning music from a printed text can interfere with our main task, which is to bring the music to life.  We examine various techniques for cutting through these obstacles, such as questioning the "urtext" mentality, looking for "genres", finding "tempo giusto", checking for internal evidence, and unlocking (in the words of Leon Fleisher) "the wisdom of the material."  Attendees are invited to bring scores containing problems you would like discussed.

Session 3

Tuesday, June 24, 9:15 – 11:45 a.m.

Presenter: Dr. Vanessa Cornett

Workshop: Transforming Fear:  Mindfulness Practices for Any Student

We’ve watched it happen many times:  performance anxiety and low self-esteem can sabotage the best efforts of even our most talented students.  Good teachers understand that our pedagogy must evolve to include practical applications of the mind-body connection for students of all ages and levels of ability.  This interactive session will include a wide variety of progressive centering exercises and biofeedback techniques which can easily be adapted in the piano studio or in a group setting.  They also work miracles for teacher burnout!

Session 4

Tuesday, June 24,  1:15 – 3:45 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Vanessa Cornett

Workshop: In the Zone:  Psychologies of Optimal Experience

During those magical moments of “flow” onstage, we feel connected to our music, our audience, and ourselves.  But how can we consciously get there?  Recent research into the fascinating field of cognitive psychology can help us understand the capability of our amazing brain, and help us learn to control our own levels of consciousness.  Performers and teachers can safely and effectively apply concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy, learned optimism, neuro-linguistic programming, embodied cognition, and advanced techniques for imagery and self-hypnosis.

Session 5

Wednesday, June 25, 9:15 – 11:45 a.m.

Presenter: Dr. Charles Aschbrenner

Workshop: Intractable Tension And Rhythmic Incoordination: Chicken Or The Egg?

Is it stiffness and awkwardness that causes rhythmic problems or is it the lack of a natural “feel” for rhythm that causes the student to be tense?  The skeletal hinges: wrist, elbow, shoulder and hip joints, all need to be trained to work together in a rhythmically coordinated, fluid manner while seated at the piano.  This demonstration provides technical Pulse Patterning solutions based on the presenter’s extensive training in Dalcroze eurhythmics, and in Alexander, Feldenkrais and Taubman techniques.

Session 6

Wednesday, June 25,  1:15 – 3:45 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Charles Aschbrenner

Workshop: Dalcroze In The Studio: Teaching Concepts, Solving Problems, Preventing Injuries

This interactive session will present numerous useful and simple applications of Dalcroze Eurhythmics to the studio lesson, comprising both off-bench and on-bench activities that teach concepts or solve technical and interpretive problems.  Taken together these exercises or games can create a healthy use of the body at the piano helping to eliminate  tension and preventing discomfort, pain and possible injury. 

Part II: Improvisation: Making A Personal Connection With The Instrument.
Finding ones personal voice at the piano can be an elusive goal.  This interactive session will provide insights as well as some ways and means of uncovering ones creative potential through feeling, listening and movement rather than by memorizing a collection of formulaic exercises.  Playing by ear and improvising can and should indeed be fostered and nurtured in every student if the student is to achieve artistry and imaginative personal expression.  

Session 7

Thursday June 26 , 9:15 – 11:45 a.m.

Presenter: Joanne A. Smith

Workshop: Before the First Note is Played -Testing for Success!

We can take the guesswork out of teaching through an evaluation of a child’s current musical aptitude and readiness for study before the first lesson. This workshop will explore testing content for the interview of a beginning student. We will see how to gather data which can dramatically change our approach to teaching a child and later be used to evaluate our effectiveness as teachers.

Part II: Developing Musicianship and Musicality: the early years.
Robert Schumann said: "What is it to be 'musical?  If you have music, not in your fingers only, but in your head and your heart". This session will present learning activities to include in our lessons  that will build musicianship skills and enhance the development of musical artistry through emphasis on aural, cognitive and tactile responsiveness and growth.  Most activities take no more than 3-5 minutes of lesson time!

Session 8

Thursday June 26, 1:15 – 3:45 p.m.

Presenter: Joanne A. Smith

Workshop: When Johnny Wants to Quit