Public Invited to Participate in Piano Workshop Week

Concord, New Hampshire - The public is invited to attend and participate in Concord Community Music School’s annual Piano Workshops Dec. 3-7, 2012, at the Music School, 23 Wall Street, Concord. The free workshops welcome all ages and musical abilities. In addition to workshops designed to explore a particular component of piano practice, many performance classes will be held throughout the week. Performance classes are conducted in a master class format, or “public lesson,” in which the teacher works with pre-selected performers on stage in a way designed to provide learning for the audience.

Observers are welcome at all workshops unless otherwise noted:

Monday, December 3

Rhythm Rondo (ages 7-9), 4 p.m.

Jacqueline Morin

Have fun with these rhythm games, which will reinforce your sense of a steady pulse and strengthen your listening skills and rhythmic expression.

Rhythm Rondo (ages 10-12) , 5 p.m.

Jacqueline Morin

Have fun with these rhythm games, which will reinforce your sense of a steady pulse and strengthen your listening skills and rhythmic expression.

Advanced Performance Workshop, 5 p.m.



Gregg Pauley

Students will be coached on matters of technique, practice strategies and interpretation. Performance workshops are a “public lesson” in which pre-registered performers are coached by a faculty member so that the performer and the audience members receive maximum learning.

Nervous Nellies, 6 p.m.

Abigail Charbeneau

(beginning and intermediate adult students)

Experience playing for one another in a small group setting without the pressure of an audience (no observers, please).

Tuesday, December 4

Is It Real, Or Is It a Recording?, 3:30 p.m.
Kathryn Southworth and David Tonkin

Listen to unedited live performances of great concert pianists, then play and record a short segment of a piece you’re working on. Sound engineer David Tonkin will lead us through the editing process in the recording studio. We’ll discuss our modern-day preoccupation with perfection, fed by our constant exposure to edited recordings -- “performances” that never really happened!

Beginnings – Starting a New Piece (ages 6-7), 4 p.m.

Rebecca Herst

Learn how to study a piece before practicing it, break it down into manageable practice units, and develop effective strategies for strengthening your pianistic skills.

Rhythm Rondo (ages 7-9), 5 p.m.

Jacqueline Morin

Have fun with these rhythm games, which will reinforce your sense of a steady pulse and strengthen your listening skills and rhythmic expression.

African Drumming (ages 12 and under), 5 p.m.

Grace and Lindsey Schust

Explore music through rhythm and ensemble.

African Drumming (ages 13 and above), 6 p.m.

Grace and Lindsey Schust

Explore music through rhythm and ensemble.

Theory and Sight-Playing (adult students), 6 p.m.

Kathryn Southworth

Understand more clearly the essential structures of keyboard music and receive tips for developing proficiency in sight-playing. Adult students at all levels welcome!

Wednesday, December 5

Nervous Nellies (adult students), 12 p.m.
Abigail Charbeneau

Experience playing for one another in a small group setting without the pressure of an audience (no observers, please).

Performance Workshop, 4 p.m.
Catharine Dornin

(intermediate and early advanced students; ages 10 and above)

Students will be coached on matters of technique, practice strategies and interpretation. Performance workshops are a “public lesson” in which pre-registered performers are coached by a faculty member so that the performer and the audience members receive maximum learning.

Beginnings – Starting a New Piece (ages 8-9), 4 p.m.
Rebecca Herst

Learn how to study a piece before practicing it, break it down into manageable practice units, and develop effective strategies for strengthening your pianistic skills.

Studio Performance Class (ages 6-10), 5 p.m.
Anita Yu
Receive coaching on matters of technique, practice strategies, and interpretation in a more intimate studio setting. Participants can bring a “finished” piece to perform, or one that’s “in progress.”

How the Piano Works (ages 13 and above), 5 p.m.

Mark Dierauf

Examine the “innards” of the piano in this session led by the Music School’s piano technician. Learn how the piano differs from other keyboard instruments, and how its working parts relate to the way we play it.

Theory and Sight-Playing (adult students), 6 p.m.

Kathryn Southworth

Understand more clearly the essential structures of keyboard music and receive tips for developing proficiency in sight-playing. Adult students at all levels welcome!

Thursday, December 6

Integrated Arts Recital Performance Workshop, 4 p.m.

Catharine Dornin and Kathryn Southworth

Prepare for the Integrated Arts Recital “American Dreams” (December 16th) through coaching on your pieces and sharing ideas.

Studio Performance Class (ages 6-10), 4:30 p.m.
Anita Yu

Receive coaching on matters of technique, practice strategies, and interpretation in a more intimate studio setting. Participants can bring a “finished” piece to perform, or one that’s “in progress.”

Performance Workshop, 5 p.m.

Paul Dykstra

(intermediate and advanced levels; all ages at these levels welcome)

Students will be coached on matters of technique, practice strategies and interpretation. Performance workshops are a “public lesson” in which pre-registered performers are coached by a faculty member so that the performer and the audience members receive maximum learning.

Beginnings – Starting a New Piece (ages 6-7), 5 p.m.

Rebecca Herst

Learn how to study a piece before practicing it, break it down into manageable practice units, and develop effective strategies for strengthening your pianistic skills.

Beyond Nervous Nellies, 6 p.m.

Abigail Charbeneau

(beginning to intermediate adult students)

Receive coaching on matters of technique, practice strategies and interpretation in this workshop designed for adults who are more comfortable playing for others.

Friday, December 7

Beginnings – Starting a New Piece (ages 8-9), 4 p.m.
Rebecca Herst

Learn how to study a piece before practicing it, break it down into manageable practice units, and develop effective strategies for strengthening your pianistic skills.

Rhythm Rondo (ages 10-12), 5 p.m.

Jacqueline Morin    

Have fun with these rhythm games, which will reinforce your sense of a steady pulse and strengthen your listening skills and rhythmic expression.

Other free Music School Workshop Weeks include: Woodwind Workshop Week, week of Jan. 14, 2013; Voice Workshop Week, week of April 1, 2013; and String Workshop Week, week of April 8, 2013. The Music School’s Jazz Workshop Week recently concluded. For more information about Concord Community Music School, visit www.ccmusicschool.org.

Concord Community Music School is a member of the National Guild of Community Arts Education and is recognized nationally for program innovation and management excellence. Welcoming adults, teens and children of all musical abilities, 53 artist teachers reach more than 33,000 people in four states with educational programs, concerts, workshops and community partnerships. CCMS has received major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hearst Foundation, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, Jane’s Trust, and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and is the 2005 recipient of the NH Governor’s Arts Award for Cultural Access Leadership.