I write to you tonight from a comfy couch in Cleveland, calmly collecting my thoughts.
Today has been an extraordinary day by all accounts. It has been the sort of day I have been looking forward to for probably my entire life, where I have had the chance to present my research to a room full of my peers. Not only my peers, but musicians and scholars who I hold in great esteem.
Other than the battery petering out on the overhead remote mid-presentation, the Raphael Lecture-Recital was rather successful. I think I was able to pitch Günter Raphael's music to an audience of appreciative colleagues, which was my intent. If you were in the audience today, thank you! If you were in the audience for one of my test runs over the last couple of weeks, thank you! This project has been a way for me to envision the work that still lies ahead on my Dissertation, and get me to understand Raphael's music more thoroughly.
So far this has been a great American Viola Society Festival. I have been impressed with the turnout, the performances I have seen so far, and the level of the presentations that I have seen so far. This is my third American Viola Society event and probably the one that I have learned the most from. Perhaps I am at a place in life where I am able to be more receptive, and also a little calmer. This is not to dismiss the Viola Congress at Eastman in 2012, or the Viola Festival at Colburn in LA in 2014, but this has been such a great experience so far.
For those of you violists who have yet to attend one of these Festivals, I strongly encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open for news of subsequent events. It is definitely worth going, whether you are a student, performer, teacher (at any level). I have attended presentations about practicing with drones, the legacy and teaching style of Karen Tuttle, a Lecture-Recital about pre-1900 German composers for solo viola works (which is relevant to my own work), a panel discussion about DMA research and how it can be transformed, and ended my night with a performance by Robert Vernon, violinist Elmar Oliveira and others.
Tomorrow (Friday) will bring another riveting day. Until then!
Today has been an extraordinary day by all accounts. It has been the sort of day I have been looking forward to for probably my entire life, where I have had the chance to present my research to a room full of my peers. Not only my peers, but musicians and scholars who I hold in great esteem.
Other than the battery petering out on the overhead remote mid-presentation, the Raphael Lecture-Recital was rather successful. I think I was able to pitch Günter Raphael's music to an audience of appreciative colleagues, which was my intent. If you were in the audience today, thank you! If you were in the audience for one of my test runs over the last couple of weeks, thank you! This project has been a way for me to envision the work that still lies ahead on my Dissertation, and get me to understand Raphael's music more thoroughly.
So far this has been a great American Viola Society Festival. I have been impressed with the turnout, the performances I have seen so far, and the level of the presentations that I have seen so far. This is my third American Viola Society event and probably the one that I have learned the most from. Perhaps I am at a place in life where I am able to be more receptive, and also a little calmer. This is not to dismiss the Viola Congress at Eastman in 2012, or the Viola Festival at Colburn in LA in 2014, but this has been such a great experience so far.
For those of you violists who have yet to attend one of these Festivals, I strongly encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open for news of subsequent events. It is definitely worth going, whether you are a student, performer, teacher (at any level). I have attended presentations about practicing with drones, the legacy and teaching style of Karen Tuttle, a Lecture-Recital about pre-1900 German composers for solo viola works (which is relevant to my own work), a panel discussion about DMA research and how it can be transformed, and ended my night with a performance by Robert Vernon, violinist Elmar Oliveira and others.
Tomorrow (Friday) will bring another riveting day. Until then!
A picture of me demonstrating a passage in today's Lecture-Recital, at the American Viola Society Festival, at the Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin, OH. (Photo Credit: Edward Klorman)
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