about 3 years ago - No comments
At the beginning of this week I was accompanying several flute and clarinet performances at the Ottawa Kiwanis Music Festival. Kiwanis is a large music competition that runs six days a week for the entire month of April, hosted at various churches in Ottawa. Hundreds of young performers enter in many different categories: piano, woodwinds,…
about 5 years ago - No comments
I enjoy accompanying young instrumentalists and vocalists. Their talent and enthusiasm and my experience make a strong team. Recently I received some delightful news. Two flute students and a violin student I accompanied last spring earned provincial medals for the highest marks in their instrument and grade. I knew we had done well, and I…
about 6 years ago - No comments
Last week I was accompanying a vocalist at the Renfrew Rotary Music Festival. The order of performance in a competition is usually chosen by draw. As luck would have it, two performers were singing the same piece – back to back. That is a difficult order to draw, and everyone reading the program felt the…
about 6 years ago - No comments
I tell my students that you can’t cram piano. Skills like sight reading, memorizing, and developing technique must be worked on every day so the ability is in place when it really counts. Cut corners in your practising and you won’t be able to deliver under the pressure of performance. Last week I found myself…