Studio News
September, 2006
--
The
Recital Recital Purposes
Holiday Lessons Gershwin
Welcome
to September’s issue of Studio News.
This
issue outlines important points for the student recital to be held in November.
Our
composer of the month is George Gershwin, a popular American composer who
impacted the music of the mid-1900s – especially on Broadway.
^
Recital
Invitation and Plans
Plans for the recital have been finalised.
The event will be held on Sunday 5th November at 2:00 pm, at
the studio. Friends and family
members are invited, so bring whomever you feel would be supportive.
Please RSVP by 3rd October 2006, with the expected number of
guests, so I have time to plan programmes and organise catering.
My hope is that all the young beginner students will attend, as I believe
the experience is an important part of their musical development.
All families and students are welcome, even if you choose not to play.
The event will be open to students of all ages, but there will be a focus on the
10 and under age group – in an effort to make the experience enjoyable and
encouraging for these young students. (A
senior recital will not be held this year.)
Every student will be given the opportunity to play and have his or her
music appreciated. There will be
games and finger foods, with a party atmosphere.
(Any party game suggestions are invited and would be appreciated.) Everyone is asked to wear party, or semi-formal, clothes
since dressing up is an important performance convention.
^
Important
Outcomes of the Recital
It
is very important that the event be an enjoyable experience for students.
All the young students who will attend are beginners and have never
experienced a solo ‘public’ performance.
No assessments or comparisons will be involved.
The purpose of the event is to provide a positive experience, helping
students learn that others have an interest in their playing and their efforts
are appreciated. This is valuable
training for musical development, whether students sit exams and competitions in
the future, play with other musicians or simply increase awareness of the need
for interesting, expressive playing.
I
also hope that older students will ‘inspire’ one another.
Each
student has learnt something they can share – even if that is a five-finger
exercise or the Middle C March! Students
will not be asked to learn pieces to ‘perfection’ – only well enough to
enable them to know what they are playing and how they want it to sound.
However, even simple pieces do need to be practiced intentionally for
several weeks. Pieces need to be
learnt well enough that it is possible to restart from any bar after stopping
– which often happens when stage fright and audience awareness suddenly creeps
in during the middle of a performance.
Although
students will be nervous – this is a ‘big’ thing for them to do – please
help them focus on what they are giving to their audience, rather than any ideas
that they might be criticised. Students
need to build experience playing in front of others and to have opportunities to
meet and empathise with other students (in learning and performance contexts).
I hope all my students will learn that playing in front of others is
meant to be sharing a pleasure (it is giving of themselves) and that the nerves
and uncertainties are things everyone goes through.
Family
and guests are asked to understand that there will not be any ‘virtuoso’
playing – some students have had only a few lessons, many are very
young – but your support and encouraging comments are invaluable.
Your attendance is very important for the sought affect – playing for
and being appreciated by an audience. I
thank you in advance for giving your time, respect and attention to these young
students.
I
will be teaching students about other performance conventions and strategies
during lessons. I also will address
the issue of dealing with pre-performance nerves in the next newsletter.
There
is no charge for attendance. Bring
a smile and have a good time!
^
School
Holiday Lessons
I
apologise for creating some confusion by omitting the date, in the last
newsletter, for the newly announced AMEB Music Craft syllabus and exam schedule.
The free exams will be held in August of 2007.
AMEB is not releasing any more information about the new syllabus until late
September. However, they are
advertising the new syllabus as a completely new approach to music theory –
“the biggest change in over 30 years” (AMEB publications).
The new syllabus seems to focus on the creative aspects of writing music
with the work presented as a set of modules.
^
George
Gershwin
American
composer George Gershwin
, born on 26th September 1898, was famous as
a pianist and a composer of popular and stage music.
Like many of the famous composers, he died fairly young (39 years of
age), but had a big influence on the development of popular music.
Gershwin
was born in America, in a poor Russian immigrant family.
However, he was gifted and began studying music composition and piano in
early childhood. His first songs to
be published were written when he was 15 years of age. His wish was to write popular music that also followed the
structure of earlier composers such as Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart.
He was very successful in achieving this, making his music unique.
Gershwin’s
first ‘big hit’ was Swanee, written when he was 21.
The performances of Al Jolson, a star in minstrel shows with a strong,
warm voice, helped make this song well known.
Gershwin
wrote piano music for the concert hall (both for jazz band and symphony
orchestra) and performed most of his compositions in concert for the first time,
before publication. His piano music
combined jazz and blues with the passionate, melodic style of the Romantic
composers. Two of his piano works
are Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F.
His orchestral works include An American in Paris.
Gershwin
became especially famous for his musical comedies and stage songs and ‘made
it’ on Broadway in the 1920s, writing operas and musicals.
His works include Porgy and Bess, Tip-Toes, Funny Face
and Strike up the Band. Some
of the songs that became popular from these shows include ‘Embraceable You’
and ‘I Got Rhythm’. (Gershwin’s brother wrote most of the words for his
songs.) Several of his songs remain
popular – many are still well known.
Gershwin
was a man with great talent in playing piano and composing.
He had a rare ability to write effectively in many different styles –
classical and modern.
Annah-Valerie
Hyrst (teacher)
Individual
dynamics
Rouse
Hill, NSW
