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My first student performed at 9 a.m. so we left shortly before 7:30 a.m. to allow not only for travel time but also enough time to see Ava before her performance and to set things up, mainly the footstool which she would be using.

Ava and her family arrived, their mother quite frazzled – they had left their books at home. Word of our misfortune spread; fortunately one of the local teachers, Shane Galentine, offered us use of his copy of one of the books.  Even more fortunately, the judge graciously said, “Oh, I know that piece” about the other piece for which we had been unable to find a book on such short notice.

Setting up footstool went well, Ava’s performance went very well – she is surprisingly grounded for such a young person, not easily shaken.

The rest of the morning went without problems or upsets; Rachael, Hasun, Chris, Sumin, and Suyeon played beautifully and received high praises from the judge:  “dynamics are perfectly in place” – “You are so well prepared” – “expression that is quite mature” – “Your melody in the LH is just elegant and absolutely gorgeous!” – “very interesting and detailed playing!” – “This performance was absolutely brilliant – so satisfying!” – and about one of the Martha Mier jazz pieces: “This really cooks!”

Actually, there was one more upset:  the floor was rather slippery = both the bench and the footstool tended to slip a bit.  I had adjusted the left pedal for Sumin but as she started her piece, Gillock’s Dragon Fly, the left pedal of the footstool slipped off the piano’s left pedal.  The judge was able to adjust it but Sumin, having started an octave too low, actually had to get up and take a quick look at the score to remind herself of the beginning of the piece.  Once she did, she was able to play her piece as beautifully and convincingly as ever.

We didn’t have much time for lunch, so just drove quickly to Ru-Yi’s Asian restaurant to have a quick bite to eat.  As usual, it felt good to get away from the hustle of a competition, even if it’s just for 30 minutes or so.

Two more students from my studio in the afternoon:  both Gabby and Isabelle performed beautifully.  I was a bit concerned that Gabby would perform for a different judge (too many students overall to be heard by one judge in one day) as every judge has different standards and judging / writing style which makes it more difficult to compare.  However, his comments were as glowing as the other judge’s had been for the other students:  “nice clean playing” – “your touch is solid & confident” – “superb rendition!”

The purpose of the District Auditions is to hear all students and determine who will go on to State on November 5, to compete at the State Honors Auditions.  At the District Auditions, there is (supposed to be) no rating, only “state eligible” or not.  However, for some reason, this year, the evaluation form had a line for “numeric rating” where *I* meant state-eligible, and *II* meant not.

Three of my students received a I rating, five of them received a I+ rating.

After the last of my students had performed, Mark and I took at little break.  Walked to the Granada coffee shop for a vanilla latte and some cookies.  In addition to the normal coffee shop wooden or metal chairs, the Granada has two very very comfy deeply upholstered chairs which felt delicious after standing (in order to video tape the performances) or having sat on not-upholstered chairs at the competition for most of the day.

We walked back to the ESU Music Department where the competition was taking place to listen to a few more students and then were able to meet up with Jonathan who had been busy all day with his band performances for the football game.  We met briefly at the Music Department, and then drove to his house to see the new cat and then to Applebee’s for dinner.

On the way home, as usual, Mark was driving. I appreciated being able to doze off for a bit here and there.  It had been a long day, with a long couple of weeks leading up to it.

Today I didn’t do much of anything.  Uploaded the videos to my laptop, and – took a nap.

And I was saddened, frustrated, and found it hard to believe that NONE of the other teachers of our organization came to attend this unique opportunity.  I have heard some of them say that they are “just not into masterclasses” or that they don’t have the time or that their students don’t play that advanced literature.  Sad, sad excuses. 

Stephen Covey in his Seven Habits talks about sharpening the saw, the necessity of sharpening the saw.  Attending masterclasses, to me, is a wonderful way to do just that:  observing another teacher work with a student – how do you decide what to work on? With some students there are so many things – I wouldn’t even know where to start.  What I like best is not so much hearing what the other teacher works on, but how they do it, what kind of language, imagery, vocabulary they use.  I always learn a new way of saying something I’ve said a million times, but now I have an increased vocabulary. 

So so sad that other teachers elect to miss out on that.

Picture taken after my concert at McCain Auditorium in Manhattan, in March of 1996.  Radio Kansas later broadcast the concert.  Thanks to my good friend Linda who picked up the boys after school and kept them until the concert, I was able to focus all of my energy on getting ready, mentally and otherwise, for what was and to this day still is one of the most important and beautiful days of my life. 

No one will ever know what it meant to me to win the competition and consequently be invited to perform at McCain Auditiorium.  Preparing for the competition and then for the concert was my getting-back-on-my-feet accomplishment after a devastating divorce. 

Thank you to my good friend Virginia, who employed me the summer prior to the competition to catalog materials for her music and piano library.  It was during the commute to her house that I discovered and fell in love with the Piano Concerto with which I eventually chose to compete.  I will never forget the liberation I felt, listening to the concerto (it is still very special but also private to me, that’s why I don’t refer to it by its name), on a whim buying the score, initially just so I could read along, then, slowly, thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could learn to play it.  Then the discovery that, yes!, it was manageable.  And thank you to Dr. Edwards who worked with me, getting the concerto and me ready for the competition. 

Beautiful, beautiful memories.

The judge this year was unusually strict, at least with the first two categories, and really seemed to share the following philosophy (by Dylan Evans in The Guardian, Thursday 21 July 2005):

The just allocation of admiration is a virtue that requires judgment and integrity: judgment to distinguish genuine talent from mere showiness, and integrity in refusing to bestow praise on those who do not fully deserve it. Prizes are only valuable if they are restricted to the very few.

Not winning a prize is not something to be seen as shameful – it should be the norm, something that happens to the overwhelming majority of people.

Here then are the results:

Grades 1 – 3

1st Place     Sumin (Peskanov Concerto No 1, 2nd mvt)

2nd Place     Rachael (Haydn Concertino, 2nd mvt)

Honorable Mention     Hasun (Rollin Concerto in C, 1st mvt)

Honorable Mention     Ava (Mier Concerto in Classical Style, 3rd mvt)

Grades 4 – 6

1st Place     Barry (student of Slawomir Dobrzanski), Mozart Concerto in A, 1st mvt

2nd Place     Youna (Haydn Concerto in C, 3rd mvt)

Honorable Mention     Kyle (Rollin Concerto in C, 3rd mvt)

Grades 7 – 9

1st Place     Natalie (student of Joyce Nelson), Olson Celebration! 1st mvt

2nd Place     Savanna (student of Joyce Nelson), Kasschau Country Concerto 1st mvt

Honorable Mention     Andrea (student of Nancy Blockcolsky), Thompson Concerto Americana 1st mvt

Grades 10 – 12

1st Place     Taylor (Vandall Concerto in G, 3rd mvt)

Honorable Mention     Christian (student of Nancy Blockcolsky), Rocherolle Blues Concerto

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I just love that little personal touch at the end, with his “private email address” . . .

It is the parents.  For the most part, I have wonderful parents: they are involved, interested, supportive, good communicators.  But there are a few bad apples and they really sap my energy.  I have been saying for a long time that I can handle pretty much any student, supposedly difficult or untalented or otherwise not ideal, as long as I get along with the parents, as long as we’re on the same page and they support what I do.

I have a few students who move very slow because they don’t practice as much as they could and should, but they do progress, and the parents and I are on the same page, content with how things work.   

In our lessons, my goal is always to give honest and supportive feedback to the student and make sure none of my students leave the lesson until they have understood what it is they are to practice, and how.  I even make the younger ones read my hand-written assignment out loud to make sure they can read my handwriting and understand all abbreviations – much of the assignment often reads like some secret code, “LH 3 mf then cresc.” for instance.   (And there are students of whom I ask not only “what does LH stand for?” but also to show me their left hand …) 

I praise them pretty much every chance I get, but I also let them know when they are not doing well.  I don’t think I have any students who do not want to do well.  So, when they don’t do well it’s usually because they don’t understand a concept or because they are tired or distracted.  To the surprise of many parents, I don’t chide them for being tired or distracted, but I draw their attention to it, put it in words, and then say that we have a choice:  either say, yes I am tired and need to take a break, or, yes I am tired but I’ll try again anyway. 

And I make sure they understand that one is not better than the other.  I wish more people developed some sense and understanding of their state of mind, and their limits.  Somehow, perhaps because of the liberty of being able (allowed?) to say “I am tired/distracted” most students choose to try again and often play better than before.  To students who would benefit from it, I offer strategies for coping with the challenge of playing / listening / thinking while being tired.

While I try to be honest and supportive and praise my students for doing a good job thinking or listening or having patience (when they do), I do NOT comment on their being “talented” or “future pianists” or any such thing.  And parents who gush at their children (in front of me), telling them how talented they are because they understood a difficult concept  immediately lose points with me.   I similarly cringe when I hear parents say things like, “Ms. Kuder wouldn’t be teaching you if you weren’t so talented!”   So very much NOT true.  “Talent” is a promise, nothing more.  I have had “talented” students who were not interested in learning – how’s that good for anything?

Then there are parents who answer the questions I directed at the child, for the child.  When I ask a question, I get so much more out of the answer than just the answer.  Many of my questions are leading questions and I am interested in the student’s chain of thoughts to get to the answer, convoluted as some of those chains of thoughts can be at times.   Some parents interrupt the child if they think that the answer will be incorrect, but even an incorrect answer tells me what I need to know, namely that there is something that hasn’t been understood 100% = something I need to teach.  Or sometimes, students realize as they speak that they are headed in the wrong direction and correct themselves.  So much more valuable than having mom or dad present the right answer!  To me, piano lessons are about learning, and learning doesn’t do straight lines. 

Most of my students learn quickly that there is no wrong answer to my question, “What do you think needs more work in this piece/section?” except “I don’t know.”  (Most of them have also learned that “dynamics” is a pretty sure-fire answer as it is such an elusive concept and one that always seems to benefit from more attention.)   

Once I observe the student-parent interaction, I find that most students who prefer the “I don’t know” answer do so because their parents don’t encourage them to think, or, worse, jump in every chance they get and correct their child.  No wonder “I don’t know” seems like the safest thing to say …

Addendum:  There are two different ways students tell me “I don’t know” – the one I referred to, above, is not the one where a student honestly doesn’t know and sometimes even has trouble admitting so.  This kind of “I don’t know” actually is more of an “I don’t know and I don’t like that I don’t know!”  The one I was referrring to, above, is the one that sounds like “I don’t know and I don’t care and will you get off my back already!”

Jessica placed 2nd in the 1st-3rd grade division, with Nicole and Blaise receiving Honorable Mention. Kristee placed 1st in the 7th-9th grade division, and Linda placed 1st in the 10th-12th grade division.

Congratulation to Taylor for receiving the highest rating (a I rating) at the state level of the High School Piano Festival in Wichita on February 20!

The Piano Concerto Competition is a very important event in my studio calendar, probably the most important.  For months, my students and I prepare for the competition.  At the moment, one of my students is already preparing for next year’s competition.  I often thought that in order for me to miss the concerto competition, someone would have to die.

This year’s competition took place yesterday, February 13, 2010.

One week ago yesterday, my mother died.  Although her health had been deteriorating, her death was unexpected.  Mark and I flew from the States to Germany, arriving Tuesday morning.  Yesterday, we had her Memorial Service. 

I am blessed with wonderful students and colleagues.  For instance, I was able to send a brief email to a student, requesting to reschedule a lesson because my mind was with my mother but not piano, and all I heard back was, “No problem.  Have a safe trip.”  

My colleagues pulled together and were able to take over the organization of the event, as well as find accompanists for my nine students, organize their rehearsal, and get them through the competition.

I will remain in Germany for another week, getting started on the closing of my mother’s apartment as well as continuing to take care of the many other obligations which arise after the death of one’s mother. 

http://sibylleandmark.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/a-beautiful-fitting-memorial/

This link takes you to the page with more information as well as links to wonderful videos of the performances!

The greatest joy that this job affords – and there are many – is the chance to throw open the doors and invite Americans into the White House and expose them to the talents of their fellow Americans. One of the ways that the First Lady has been doing is this is through the White House Music Series. This series was conceived as a way to celebrate the arts, demonstrate the importance of arts education and encourage young people who believe in their talent to create a future for themselves in the arts community be it as a hobby or as a profession.

Please read the rest of the article here.

For ten months, I enjoyed the new grand.  I grew to really love its touch, the tone, the many different shades of tone, I kept telling Mark “there’s really nothing I can’t play on this piano!”

But I missed a second acoustic piano.  So, a few months after having paid off the Lexus which freed up a considerable amount of money each month, I went back to the piano store.  In their monthly flyer I had seen both a Yamaha upright and another Kawai concert grand which caught my interest.  The upright wasn’t what I expected but the grand (a KG-C6) did not only look like a twin to the one we already had but I already liked its tone and touch even though it will need a bit of work. 

I was anxious for Mark to see the instrument, to hear it and play it.  I rescheduled a lesson so we could both return to the store before they closed that day.  After looking at other instruments as well as the Kawai, we both felt that the Kawai would be a good addition to the piano room.  It would look good, and despite the work we are looking forward to having done, it was in perfect playing condition the way it was. 

I asked my favorite piano technician to look it over and give me an estimate of the work he’d like to do on the instrument, and how much it would cost.  Also, if he saw anything which, in a few years, would make me regret having bought this instrument.  About a week later, I heard from Charles – good news (not that I expected any different, I just wanted to double check):  everything looked ok, and the cost of the work he anticipated was quite reasonable.

Over the weekend, Mark spent much time and energy rearranging the piano room.  When we first moved into this house, we had two upright pianos which dictated pretty much where everything else had to go.  Now, with concert grands, though bigger than an upright, we had more flexibility because they don’t need to be against a wall.  We quickly found a setup we liked; Mark moved the book cases, I cleaned, and then we moved the couch, end tables, the children’s table, etc. and the grand to its new location.

There’s still room for improvement – I want to rearrange some of the books, etc.

Today, Wednesday, over the lunch hour, Dan and two other strong guys, delivered the new Kawai.  Fortunately, despite being cold and damp, it wasn’t raining.

.

In less than 45 minutes, Dan and his guys had the piano all set up. Mark had missed the delivery of the first piano, so he was thrilled to be able to watch this time. 

The piano weighs about half a ton.  Takes a couple of really strong guys to hold one end up while Dan attaches the third leg:

Attaching the pedals:

Ende gut, alles gut:

This afternoon, I taught a few lessons with this new arrangement, and I already love it.  Most of my students are working on concertos and I am really looking forward to being able to practice (and perform) them in this setting.

Life is good.