Piano Retreat at the Michigan State University College of Music

Join Derek Kealii Polischuk, assistant professor of piano and director of piano pedagogy at Michigan State University, and Deborah Moriarty, professor of piano and chair of the piano area at Michigan State University, for a Piano Retreat on August 4 and 5. Piano teachers are invited to come to the MSU College of Music for a two-day workshop where they will have the opportunity to hone their own craft in piano performance by taking lessons with Professors Polischuk and Moriarty, participating in master classes, and attending workshops on current topics in piano pedagogy and performance.

Registration for the Piano Retreat is only $70 for two days and $50 for one day (with registration by July 4, 2010). Contact Professor Polischuk at polischu@msu.edu, or Beverly Brouwer at beverlly@comcast.net for more information.

The Piano Retreat is jointly sponsored by the MSU College of Music and the Capital Area Music Teachers' Association.

Interview on The Avocado Jungle

Greetings from Tennessee! I'm wrapping up an exciting week-long residency at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a masterclass this morning at UTC for students of the brilliant Dr. Sin-Hsing Tsai and a recital this evening featuring works by Ewazen, Schubert, Chopin and Liszt. I was inspired by the musical excitement I experienced at UAH with students of Dr. Sarkis Baltaian during a masterclass, recital, and piano pedagogy lecture I delivered to his students and teachers from the Huntsville/Decatur area. I was excited to share my research about the relationship between rhythm skills and sight-reading in young pianists, and to engage in conversations with young and veteran teachers alike about effective ways to teach musicianship skills.

I recently had an interview with Jeremy Olsen, an extremely talented journalist with the Avocado Jungle about being a pianist and about two performances of mine they are hosting on their site. All portions of the interview can be found here: http://avocadojungle.com/author/jjbullfrog

I hope you enjoy!