The University of Texas at El Paso

Department of Music: Professional Activities Report Form

 

Dena Kay Jones, Pianist

For 2007 Evaluation

 

 

Although the PARF form will clearly list all activities in the 2007 year, definite ventures took my energies.  I would like to share a few of these projects with you.

 

In efforts to fulfill my three-year review committee’s suggestions, I performed a solo piano recital “tour” that took me to different regional and international locations.  The first of the four concerts was held in Las Cruces on March 11th, 2007 at the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in their “St. Paul’s Second Sunday” Concert Series.  Musical director, Mr. Doug Weeks, was gracious enough to trust in the recommendation of NMSU Piano Faculty member, Dr. Laura Spitzer and invited me to participate.  The performance was well-received and I enjoyed playing in that space.  The piano was very brilliant and the all-wood sanctuary (beamed ceilings and all) provided a “live” and “resonant” atmosphere. 

 

The next performances on March 30th and April 1st took me back to my “old stomping grounds” of Bisbee, Arizona, where I performed upon invitation for a third time in the For the Love of Music Concert Series at the Women’s Club.  A slightly different program than the one offered in Las Cruces, what struck me as odd during this time of practicing was that most of the pieces I’d chosen to perform fell predominantly within the tonal ranges of D Major, D Minor, C-sharp Major and C-sharp Minor.  This rarity in programming caused me to research what others have had to say about these tonal centers, and I shared my findings with the audience through informal, verbal comments.  Two performances later (travel on Friday, performance on Saturday night and Sunday matinee and travel back to El Paso Sunday evening) brought more confidence to the last two performances, which I felt where the most important.

 

Three days later led me to my UTEP Faculty Concert, repeating the exact program from Bisbee.  It was well-received and well-attended.  One community member charmingly wrote in an email, “Dear Maestra, I am the husband of Elvira Spector, one of the accompanists for the UTEP voice department. I am also a musician…By the way, I know the Bach Chaconne better than I know my wife and your performance was outstanding!  Sincerely, Abraham Spector.”  A week later on April 11th, I traveled for the first time to Canada, where I performed a solo performance in the 2007 Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Society Concert Series.  This program—specifically request by their program director, Mr. Jan Narvelson—was the longest of the four and recorded for release on their local, public radio station. 

 

The “hall” was not as one would expect.  Dr. Jan Narvelson, the director of this concert series, is an amazing person.  A professor of philosophy emeritus from the University of Waterloo, he has written hundreds of essays, reviews and articles.  A fierce critic of Marxism, he is also known in the University of Waterloo for taking part in many on-campus debates.  It has been stated that,  “Dr. Narveson's The Libertarian Idea (1988) stands as one of the most important works of libertarian theory” and in 2004, Narveson was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.  It just so happens that he also loves classical music.  The numerous concerts of this series (over sixty last year) take place in a room built off the back of his house.   “The Music Room” is a large room, seating a maximum of eighty-five audience members, with a beautiful 1887 Steinway piano.   Dr. Narvelson prides himself that informal attire is the norm in the Music Room—that they are very unfussy—except about audience noise. This little series is famous among musicians for its quiet, attentive audiences. They welcome everyone who just wants to hear the music.  (To read more about the history of this concert series, please visit, http://www.k-wcms.com/KWCMS/History.html).  My performance was well-received and Mr. Narvelson sent note that perhaps we could schedule a return concert in 2009?   Click here to see photos.

 

Last Spring, I had submitted a proposal for participation in a conference entitled, FIMTE – which stands for the International Festival of Spanish Harpsichord Music (Festival Internacional de Música de Tecla Española).  My presentation entitled, Domenico Scarlatti:  Still an Influence Two-Hundred Years Later, was accepted, both as a paper and a performance.  I knew in July that I would return in October to Spain, a country that has held me spellbound for over a decade of my life.

 

My trip began with a one day/night stay in Madrid, where I arranged to visit the last home of Joaquín Rodrigo.  This large European flat has been preserved to look as it did in his final days, while the family bought the adjoining flat, turning it into an archive museum and office space.  Cecilia Rodrigo, the only child of the esteemed composer and wife Victoria Kamhi Rodrigo, runs two operations from this space.  The Fundacion Victoria y Joaquín Rodrigo is a philanthropic entity which offers outreach in numerous ways – all to keep the memory of the Rodrigos alive and well in the world of music.   The second is a business.  Editorial Joaquín Rodrigo is a publishing house that sells Rodrigo’s music.  I met Cecilia in 2001 and we have remained in contact.  She was happy to hear that I would be visiting and arranged for me to come to the home.  After my sleepless flight, finding the hotel, a quick shower and taxi ride, I found myself in front of the apartment.  There was a doorman and soon enough, I was ringing the doorbell of the Rodrigo household.  Can you imagine my excitement?

 

A woman by the name of Katherine answered the door.  Cecilia was in a meeting, would I mind waiting in the office?  I sat and conversed with Katherine, an American who had married a Spaniard in the 60s and lived in Madrid ever since.  She and Cecilia have been best friends for many years, and she now assists Cecilia in all matters of Rodrigo business.  She told me of their upcoming events and gave me some pamphlets.  Soon enough, Cecilia burst into the room.  It was as if she had not aged at all.  Full of boundless energy, she spoke both in English and Spanish and ushered me right away into her parents’ house.  If I have ever been in a place before, I had been there.  All of the photos I have in my books on Rodrigo were there in that space.  Statues, photos, paintings, awards – even the sofa on which I sat I had seen in pictures.  Katherine, Cecilia, Cecilia’s daughter (also named Cecilia!) and I all sat and ate tapas, talking about Rodrigo and what it was like to be a mother.  After our flan and coffee, I meandered, absorbed…playing his piano (a Bechstein Baby Grand), sitting behind his Braille machine, reading the awards hanging on the walls, examining the art…From there, we went to the archive side of the flat.  It was amazing.

 

Joaquín Rodrigo has written approximately 250 works for many classical genres.  It is an outstanding feat, considering the challenges which faced him.  In these archives, each piece has been filed in folders containing at least three portions: 1) the original manuscript on Braille paper 2) the original transcription to written notation and 3) the first publication printing.   All letters written to Rodrigo (and he has many from the top composers, artists, governmental figures and others from all around the world) have been archived, as well as any program the Fundación has received in which a performance of Rodrigo has been offered.  And yes, my work is there also.

 

Cecilia brought out a newly released DVD from an interview taken in the 1970s.  Her father was sitting behind a piano, being interviewed in a show somewhat similar to our “Sixty Minutes.”  It was emotional for Cecilia, who teared-up a few times.  I can see that she misses her parents very much.  Her mother died in 1997 and her father, in 1999.  I started my work on Rodrigo in 2000 and always said that I wish I could have had the chance to meet him.  This day was probably as close as I could ever get to that.  I stayed with Cecilia, speaking about her father, his music, Spain and Madrid, as well as my own future endeavors for five hours that day.  I asked her that should I be able to get the funding to bring her to El Paso to speak about her father, would she come?  She didn’t hesitate for a second and replied, “Pero, claro que sí, Dena,” (But of course, yes, Dena).  Click here to see photos.

 

 

I traveled by plane from Madrid to the city of Almería the next morning.  I needed to get to the small town of Garrucha, approximately 60 miles away.  The only way to get there was by bus or by renting a car.  If you’ve ever been in Spain, one knows you can not trust the public transportation system to be on time, and so I knew in order to catch my plane back home, I had to rent the car.  The only cars available were stick-shift, and I hadn’t driven a manually operated car but one time when I was sixteen, learning how to drive.  With a print-out of my destination from YAHOO! Maps, I got in my rental Fiat, drove 50 times around the airport parking lot and took off toward Garrucha on the altavista mediterranea (Mediterranean Highway).  The view was fantastic but even better, I made it there safely.      

 

What ensued were four days of intense discussions and performances on the harpsichord.  Some of the top harpsichordists and researchers of period instruments were gathered in this small city on the Mediterranean—this historic place of Garrucha.  Diego Fernández, harpshicord maker, resided in this region of Spain and made instruments specifically for the court of Maria Barbara and Domenico Scarlatti.  Paper readings and harpsichord performances were held in a renovated 18th century castle.  I performed in the neighboring town of Mojácar and performed on a modern piano – a seven foot Kawaii, presenting an all-Baroque first half with works by Scarlatti, Albero and Larrañaga.  The second half was a performance of the Five Castilian Sonatas with Toccata by Joaquín Rodrigo – a work influenced by Scarlatti and his contemporaries.  Although I received many compliments on the Rodrigo piece, I sensed that these scholars did not enjoy my Baroque interpretations so much.  Portuguese harpsichordist and academic Cremilde Rosado Fernandes asked me the following day, “Why do you pianists need to play everything so fast?  Why must you show that you have such phenomenal technique?  I would encourage you to investigate more lyrical approaches to the Baroque works on the modern piano.”  I had heard Ms. Fernandes play her harpsichord concert the evening before and although I would never say anything directly to her (she is established in the field of keyboard music), the one critical thought I had of her performance was that everything sounded the same to me: lyrical and beautiful, yes, but lacking a sense of sparkling energy that I associate with the harpsichord and many of the dances of this time period.   I found her response to my interpretations to be the exact opposite of my perceptions of her playing.  The whole festival has given me a more profound respect for the harpsichord and a different view in approaching works originally written for it but now performed on the modern piano.  Click here to see photos.

 

 

I returned to perform the Beethoven Chorale Fantasy with the UTEP Symphony and Choirs within the next two days.  Dr. Ron Hufstader was generous to allow me much rehearsal time prior to my trip, and I also had the fortune to work with Dr. Don Moses (who was Chair of the U of I School of Music when I was an undergraduate) and Dr. Lowell E. Graham, as well as with Ron.   I know that if I had not had the time in those rehearsals, I never would have been able to successfully play the Beethoven when I returned, although I was practicing the Beethoven while staying in Garrucha.  One of my biggest challenges in performance continues to be with my memory and many things affect it: preparation, sleep, health and other things running through my mind.  I didn’t want to use the score for the Beethoven, and I didn’t.  It was so exciting to turn to my left and see all of those music students on the stage.  It was one of the most exciting performances I have had here at UTEP since beginning my tenure in 2002.

 

Coinciding with this time was the release of my debut CD of select Rodrigo piano works, published by Centaur Records.  

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I.  Teaching:

 

A.  Courses taught each semester and number of students enrolled in each course. 

 

Semester                   Number/Course Title            Enrollment                 

Fall 2007                    Applied Piano Lessons

                                       MUSA 1185                                    1

                                       MUSA 1295                                    5

                                       MUSA 5381                                    1

                                       MUSA 5391                                    1

                                    Piano Class I for Majors (2 sections)

                                       MUSA 1271                                    19 + 12

                                   

Summer 2007           Music Appreciation                           19

 

Spring 2007               Applied Piano Lessons       

                                       MUSA 1285                                    1

                                       MUSA 1295                                    7

                                       MUSA 3295                                    1

                                       MUSA 3391                                    3

                                       MUSA 5381                                    1

                                    Piano Class B for Non Majors

                                       MUSA 1270                                    11

                                    Piano Chamber Music

                                       MUSA 1165                                    8

 

B.  Advising in the previous calendar year:

 

1.  Assigned Advising Duties for undergraduate students:

I currently advise all piano majors in registering for the appropriate classes in their chosen degree plan.

 

2.  Assigned Advising Duties for graduate students:

I currently advise my own graduate students, informally.  Their main advisor is Dr. David Ross, but I work directly with him to see that my graduate students or potential graduate students are going about earning the Master of Music degree in the appropriate manner.

 

3.  List graduate student thesis or recital committees on which you served:

Geralyn Mitchell, Master of Music in Voice Performance, dissertation on the works by Margaret Bonds

 

4.  Thesis directed and in progress (include name/s of student/s):

I have been asked to serve on the thesis committee of Rebecca Lytle, Master of Theory, dissertation on the works by Viteslaza Kapralova. 

 

5.  Other thesis or dissertation committees served on during the year of review (include name/s of student/s):

no others during this time

 

6. List of other committees on which you served: 

Undergraduate Oversight Committee (Chair of Committee)

New Faculty Handbook Committee (Chair of Committee)

Gala Committee (Reception for Donors and Alumni)

Faculty Senate (completed two year term in August 2007)

 

C.  Student accomplishments during the year of review:

 

1.  List of degree (capstone recitals) or other major recitals given by students:

Adrian Sanchez, Senior Recital in Piano Performance, May 2007   Click here to see program.

Gema Valencia, Senior Recital and Graduate in Piano Performance (B.M.), May 2007 Click here to see program.

 

2.  List student accomplishments in competitions, in publishing articles or significant events:

A.  Evelyn Rios and David Moreno, Master Class with El Paso Pro-Música Artist, David Allen Wehr, November 28, 2007

B.  Elena Castañeda, Departmental Recital, performing Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano by Haydn, November 2, 2007

C.  Blake Duncan, Master Class with Ivories on the Border Artist, Dr. Ian Hominick, November 8, 2007. Click here to see photos.  He was also interviewed for the UTEP student newspaper, The Prospector Click here to read article.

D.  UTEP Piano Area Recital, showcasing 99% of the studio, October 29, 2007

E.  Three participants in the UTEP Aria and Concerto Competition, Fall 2007:

1) Blake Duncan (B. M. Candidate in Piano Performance) performed the Bach Concerto in F Minor, 2nd and 3rd movements

2)  Evelyn Rios (Piano Minor), performed the Finzi Eclogue

3)  David Moreno (B. M. Candidate in Piano Performance) performed the 1st movement of the Kabalevsky 3rd Piano Concerto, “The Youth,” 1st movement

F.  Former student and UTEP Music Department Graduate, Thomas Azar, is admitted into the Artist Diploma program at the Manhattan School of Music in Piano Performance, Fall 2007

G.  Piano Scholarship Recipients (during 2007):

     1)  Blake Duncan

     2)  Sowon Joung     

     3)  David Moreno

     4)  Evelyn Rios

     5)  Krista Snow

     6)  Gabriela Zamora

H.  Two Students Graduated, May 2007: Gema Valencia, Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Gabriela Zamora, Bachelor of Music Education, Emphasis Piano/Instrumental Track

I.    Gema Valencia, performance of Senior Piano Recital at the Museo del Arte in Juárez, Mexico, April 25, 2007

J.   Adrian Sanchez, Departmental Recital, performing Etude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 7 by Chopin, March 2, 2007

K.  Three UTEP Piano Majors assisting in the EPMTA State Theory Exam:  Christine Ponce-Diaz, Juan Sanchez and Fatima Vallez, February 3, 2007    

 

D.  Recruiting Activities

June 8-10, 2007                                   Texas Music Teachers Association State Convention

April 20, 2007                                       Tippin Elementary School

February 13, 2007                               Franklin High School

February 9, 2007                                 Coronado High School

January 20,  2007                                Pre-College Master Classes with students affiliated with the El Paso Music Teachers Association

January 11, 2007                                 Invited Speaker, El Paso Music Teachers Association (I spoke directly about recruiting, auditions and scholarships)

January and February 2007                Mailings out to all local piano teachers regarding upcoming Scholarship Auditions

 

E.  Faculty Performances at UTEP

October 28, 2007                                 Celeste performer on Professor John Sequeiros Faculty Recital

October 16, 2007                                 Soloist with the UTEP Symphony and Choirs, Beethoven’s Chorale Fantasy, Op. 80  Click here to see program.

September 7, 2007                             UTEP Faculty Recital – Departmental  Click here to see program.

April 4, 2007                                         Solo Faculty Recital  Click here to see program.

 

 

II.  Research or Creative Activities: Scholarly activity, composition, invited non-UTEP performances, or other Creative Activity during the year of review.

 

A.  Publications, recordings and completed works.  Include title, publisher (or stage of  publication), company, journal citation, commissioned work, known performances of compositions or arrangements:

 

Piano Music of Joaquín Rodrigo, Centaur Records, CRC 2891, Recorded July 26-27, 2006 at LSU Recital Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.  Produced by Daniel Cassin.  Engineered by Daniel Cassin and Victor E. Sachse.  Executive Producer:  Victor E. Sachse.  This project was sponsored in part by the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spanish Ministry of Culture and United States Universities and the University Research Institute at the University of Texas at El Paso.

 

B.  Recitals, major clinics, concerts, major lectures/lecture recitals, scholarly presentations.  Include nature of presentation, place, date and special circumstances, such as a professional meeting, competition, professional engagement, etc.:

 

October 10-13, 2007            Invited Soloist (professional appearance) and Lecturer (through a juried process), Domenico Scarlatti: Impacting Music Two-Hundred Years Later, VIII Festival Internacional de Música de Tecla Española Diego Fernández, Almería, Spain.  Click here to see program.

 

April 11, 2007                        Invited Soloist (professional appearance) for the 2007 Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Society Concert Series, Waterloo, Canada

 

March 31-April 1, 2007        Invited Soloist (professional appearance) for the 2007 For the Love of Music Concert Series, Bisbee, Arizona  Click here to see program.

                                               

March 11, 2007                     Invited Soloist (suggested performer through contacts) for the 2007 St. Paul’s Second Sunday Concert Series, Las Cruces, New Mexico  Click here to see program.

 

C.  List of adjudication assignments, including date and place:

January 14, 2007                  Judge for the El Paso Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition, The Plaza Theatre, El Paso, Texas

 

D.  Work(s) in progress:

January 20, 2008                  Performances of the Scriabin Fantasy in B (solo piano), Vaughn Williams Quintet in D Major for Clarinet, Violin, French Horn and Cello, Psathas Matre’s Dance and Bartók Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

 

July 26, 2008                         All Spanish Concert (professional appearance) for the Dame Myra Hess Historic Concert Series, Chicago, Illinois


E.  List of supporting materials:

Joaquín Rodrigo Fundación Annual Holiday Newsletter from the family/company  Click here to see.

CD Review Click here to see.

El Paso Times Newspaper Article  Click here to see.

El Mundo Newspaper Article, Almeria, Spain  Click here to see.

 

III.  Service:

 

A.  List of committee work and/or administrative responsibilities for Department, College, or

      University, professional societies, or others:

Undergraduate Oversight Committee (Chair of Committee)

New Faculty Handbook Committee (Chair of Committee)

Gala Committee (Reception for Donors and Alums)

Faculty Senate (completed two year term in August 2007)

College Music Society, Faculty Representative

Administrative responsibilities for the Piano Area including reports for possible rebuild of concert instruments, piano loaner program, all piano scholarships, Ivories on the Border guest master classes and performances, preparation of students for the Spring Gala, piano inventory for the entire building, key administration, budget for Piano Division, etc.

B.  List of workshops, educational clinics, guest speaking engagements and/or other outreach presentations given.

El Paso Symphony Keyboardist (approximately five season subscription concerts plus the Youth Concerts and Christmas Concerts)

El Paso Symphony  Pre-Concert Lecturer (approximately six season subscription concerts)

El Paso Symphony “Music Sandwiched In” hostess (four brown bag sessions)

 

February 13, 2007    Invited Presenter for Dr. Keith Pannell’s MARC students, University of Texas at El Paso

Dr. Keith Pannell, Director (College of Science) invited a series of university faculty from outside science to present seminars on their research/creative activities to the MARC (NIH-funded Minority Access to Research Careers) students. These are all undergraduate students, juniors or seniors who are in theory en-route to science research careers via Ph. D. programs. It is in his opinion that “many scientists and engineers certainly do not always recognize the creativity and intellectual challenges of areas outside their realm of research.” Thus, in a modest endeavor to partially offset this attitude he exposes these students to the activities of colleagues outside of this college. He specifically asked for a presentation on the piano works and life of Joaquín Rodrigo.

C.  List other service activities, including course and curriculum development:

Digital Keyboard Lab Service 

 

IV.  Membership in Professional Societies:

November 2004-present College Music Society Campus Representative

 

January 2004-present El Paso Music Teacher Association, Advisory Board and UTEP Liaison

August 2002-present El Paso Music Teacher Association, El Paso, Texas

April 2001-present Music Teachers National Association

1999-present College Music Society

 

V.  Honors and Awards:

Does not apply

 

VI.  Faculty Evaluation Committee  (inserted by the Department Chair).

 

VII. Chair’s Evaluation to Dean