Research
and Creative Activities
My
research and creative activities fall into three main categories: I) performer
of solo piano repertoire, II) performer of chamber music and III)
writer/lecturer on music history. As professor
primarily of applied studies, my research and creative activities find their
“publications” on the performance stage and/or lecture venues. The third category has had an interesting
development—unique to my situation in
By
focusing my research on select programs of either solo or chamber music, I
continue to develop my art as a pianist.
Playing an instrument at a professional level requires persistent
attention, and these programs literally advance both my musical and technical
skills as a performer. I still hunger
for expanding my own performance knowledge of the amazing repertoire written
for the piano, and my approach of studying the music (which always contains
further investigation of the cultural and historical roots of the work in
addition to solidifying my understanding of musical content, comprehending
theoretical structures, implementing my own personal interpretations and
conquering technique requirements) inevitably leads me to more references about
the composer and to listening to more recordings made by great pianists. My
research commands a unique interpretation of music that no other pianist in the
world holds.
In
addition to feeding a constant requirement for necessary self-improvement (as
someone once said about musicians, “You’re only as good as your last
performance…”), this research makes me a better professor of piano. I know how to explain concepts to students
because I myself have learned them and continue to “re-learn” them. I am able to make connections to the
composers and their works because I have read and I have listened. I also have carried that information to the
keyboard. I can assist a student who
does not yet have the developed technical tools at his or her
disposal—implementing weight transference, employing virtuosic techniques,
controlling detailed voicings or executing efficient and clear
pedalings—because I myself have studied and conquered these advanced concepts
of playing the piano. I am a better teacher because of my research.
Lastly,
these creative activities bring the music from behind the closed doors of the
practice and teaching rooms out into the public. Perhaps the greatest thrill of all is being
able to share my select, musical art with audience members. It is unlike any other experience of that I
can compare: it combines the three types of neuro-linguistic
programming—visual, aural and kinesthetic modes—all in real time. Audience members are “invited in” to share
these experiences and the instantaneous communication that occurs between
performer and listener is exhilarating. Throughout my tenure at UTEP, my research has
been presented to thousands of people.
These
are the general reasons behind my research.
Please allow me to divide these three categories and briefly explain
each one a bit further.
I. Solo Piano Repertoire
A. The Piano Works of Joaquín
Rodrigo. After completing my Doctor
of Musical Arts degree at the
One
of the highlights of this research includes a
These
works and Rodrigo’s story, as I mentioned, receive amazing responses. However, my continued research—specifically
in learning more of his piano works—has truly been embraced by the
A
memorable moment was hearing three of my piano majors successfully play select
Rodrigo piano works, correct in style and interpretive approach. Complex and written in a twentieth century
vein, his piano music is not frequently heard by professional musicians, let
alone university students. His music—and
his piano music in particular—deserves a higher place in the piano literature
canon and my goal is to educate all who will listen about his life and works,
in addition to educating my students to perform this repertoire. Below
(List
A) is
a list of all performances, lectures or activities focusing on this topic since
my tenure at UTEP began in 2002 (the most recent listed first).
Included
in many of the programs from these recitals are extensive program notes that I
myself write, all based on scholarly research as well as personal
interpretations of the works performed.
I personally believe that written program notes serve to educate not
only those who attend recitals prior to the performance time and want to know
what they will hear in the concert, but also for those who want to study these
works after the concert. Each sentence
is written with the specific intent of audience members reading what I think is
important for them to know. These
thoughts are directly related to the pieces I am playing and the thoughts that
often times are running through my mind as I perform. Although some might argue, I believe that
when an audience member understands more details about the music being
performed, he or she will enjoy it more.
In addition to verbal comments (which I usually add for the Rodrigo
concerts), the written comments are the best way for me to make those
connections.
B. Spanish Repertoire and
Repertoire from the Classical Piano Canon. Following the examples of my professors from
my own collegiate studies, I offer at least one solo recital at the
II.
Chamber Music
Another
main component of my research and creative activities is performing chamber
music with my UTEP colleagues as well as with other artists within the
community. One major benefit of
collaboration is working with others. I
develop my professional relationships with the UTEP faculty, and chamber music
connects me to members within the musical scene of El Paso. Also, most of this repertoire is new to my
performing experience and provides an even larger depth to my abilities as a
collaborative pianist. I treat the
instrument much differently when I am collaborating with someone else: textures
are constantly changing, approaches to touch and dynamic control are placed in
a unique focus and an ever-present concern is balancing an instrument which can
be ten times stronger in sound and always bigger in sheer size to other
instruments. Again, these programs are
usually full recitals, containing sixty or more minutes’ worth of music.
Although this music is not memorized in the same way as the solo repertoire, it
is “committed to heart,” requiring just as many hours of preparation—if not
more—for solid ensemble playing. In
order to be an excellent chamber musician, you must not only know your own
part, but you must know every other musician’s part and its relationship to the
piano. If one does not commit to that attempt of perfectionism (knowing all of
the other parts, playing accurately and musically, effectively employing a
unified interpretation in regard to tempo, phrasing and dynamic use, for
example), the composer’s wishes are not met and the piece is not successfully
performed. There is an intensity and
attention to detail that I find important in chamber music performance, and
this is my philosophical reason for playing this type of music. For the same reasons mentioned in
relationship to my teaching of solo music, I believe these chamber performances
make me a better teacher of collaborative music. Gone are the days of the concert pianist who
only plays solo repertoire. Pianists
must play all types of music and my students need to see that and to learn
that. It also provides for a broader and
more interesting series of music concerts.
Below
(List C) is a list of all chamber performances within the city of El Paso
since my arrival in 2002.
(Note: As the piano is often seen as an accompanying
instrument in these recitals, I do not contribute any program notes. Personally, I view these recitals as
collaborative and treat the research of the works equally to that of my own
solo recitals. As is often the case with
any sort of collaboration, I feel that my musical partners are depending
heavily upon me and put more responsibility upon myself in the performances of
these pieces than in any other projects.)
III. Writer/Lecturer on Music History
A.
Pre-Concert Lectures for the El Paso Symphony (September 2003 to
present). The third area of research and creative activities actually came
to me unexpectedly. It is not a typical
job for a person in my role as applied piano professor. I’d like to share the story with you.
Upon leaving El Paso for a new job at
California State University Long Beach, musicologist Dr. Alicia Doyle had to
give up one of the posts she adored most, and soon I found the El Paso Symphony
Orchestra administrative officers offering me her position: giving pre-concert
lectures – discussions about the music performed on each season subscription
concert. Before answering right away, I
phoned Dr. Doyle to ask about the job, and she let me in on a little secret,
“When they asked me for a replacement recommendation, I thought
to myself, ‘I can recommend someone who will make me look good or I can
recommend someone who will do a good job.
I decided on the latter. After
seeing your lecture on the piano music of Joaquín Rodrigo, I knew you’d be the
right person for the job.’”
I decided to accept the challenge. Being a pianist, I confess that I know very
little about the works for symphony orchestras but have discovered that I can
write and offer a lecture after thoroughly researching and listening to the
works. I am fascinated by the lives of
composers and “where they are” in relationship to the pieces performed on the
program. One goal is learning how to
provide clear ideas about the music in a non-technical manner. Many of the people who come to the symphony
concerts are not educated specifically in the study of music; however, several
of them are. Always keeping this needed
balance of technical versus non-technical language in mind, the goals of the
lectures are to be informative, to guide the audience member in listening (I always
offer musical examples at every lecture when the venue permits), and to bring
the music to life (which sometimes forces me to try to be humorous or
entertaining). Still uncomfortable with
speaking straight from the heart, I always research, listen and write out every
word of my lecture. I heavily rely upon
these written notes, and I feel as if I am reading my own words but also
incorporate eye contact, hand gestures, voice inflections, movement, and
sometimes even a power point presentation, which the participants enjoy
immensely. The feedback has been that I
do not seem to be reading but am successfully interacting with the audience
members. I have learned that if I do not
stick to a written script, I will “wander off-track,” so to speak, and too much
time will be spent on a topic that is not so important to their actual
listening experience. The speeches are
thirty to forty minutes in length, and the audience members will let me know by
their body language if I am going over that allotted time. It is a humbling reminder that their top
priority is not really to listen to my speech but rather to the symphony
concert. Then again, these community
members and students have informed me that the lectures are indeed a helpful
supplement.
I
find that the lectures usually take four days of preparation, with
approximately two hours devoted each day to research, listening and
writing. If there is a power point
presentation, approximately three more hours can be easily added to that
time. I hope to gain speed with
knowledge but the creative ideas behind these lectures is still endless at this
point. The lectures are fresh, I am
pushed to learn more about orchestral compositions and both UTEP and community
win as a result. Several pre-concert
lecture members become audience members to UTEP recitals as this relationship
with this particular group develops.
Below
(List D) is a list of all lectures given since taking
the position in September 2003.
B. Selected
Presenter at the Third International Conference on Education, Labor and
Emancipation (CONFELE). Living and working in a
bicultural region led me to investigate my own “traditional” upbringing of
classical music and music education and how some of those approaches do not work
at my current institution. These
thoughts were presented at the CONFELE conference in a lecture entitled, “How
Can an International Art Form—Classical Music—Still be Wearing European White
Wigs and Buckled-Toe Shoes?” Topics
covered in the lecture included the dissemination of Central and South American
composers and their works, the UTEP Department of Music’s student demographic,
differences in pedagogical approach (for example, Mexico has a strong aural
tradition, whereas the U.S. has a strong visual tradition in regard to music
education), and I also demonstrated musical examples used when teaching,
pairing musical works by Frédéric Chopin and Manuel Ponce, as well as Aaron
Copland and Silvestre Revueltas. As
international faculty traveled from Spain, England, Canada and Brazil to UTEP
to offer innumerable theoretical perspectives, I gained great insight as to how
other scholars relate to some of these very same issues.
Click
Here
to see my power point presentation offered at the CONFELE conference. It accompanied my verbal presentation, which
thereafter led to interactive discussion with audience members.
In closing, these three components of research and creative
activities have purposefully been chosen to help establish my abilities in
performance and lecturing. I look
forward, however, to steering my research efforts more toward education in
relationship to my studio teaching and practicing. In particular, I hope to research and write
an article on the process of memorization.
This topic intrigues me, as it is one that continually haunts me in live
performance, as well as continues to be a challenge for my students. In reality, it plagues all pianists and yet
so many pianists overcome the fears related to memorization. Although I have already initiated my
research, I anticipate the time when I can devote more attention to this
project.
In the meantime, my focus steadily remains on the elements of
solo and chamber performance and scholarly projects on music. I find that the piano works by Spanish
composers is a wonderful and unique subject for this community in particular,
the chamber performances an important means for connecting my performance
ability to this specific UTEP music faculty and the symphony lectures a way to
strengthen my academic abilities in general music education.
{Please click on
highlighted
text to view letters and proposal examples, to hear mp3 files, to
view select programs notes or to read select lectures/view accompanying power
point presentations. All recordings are
live unless otherwise noted.}
October
1, 2007 Debut
Solo CD, Piano Music of Joaquín Rodrigo, Centaur Records, Victor Sachse, Executive Producer and
Dan Cassin, Producer and Engineer. Click
here to view recommendation letters which helped secure funding for
this project.
July
12, 2007 Invited Soloist
and Presenter, Eighth International Festival of Spanish Keyboard Music (FIMTE),
Notification of Contract via email
for the October 11th – 14th, 2007 festival. A solo piano concert and a separate lecture,
both entitled Domenico Scarlatti:
Impacting Music Two-Hundred Years Later in Piano Works of Joaquín Rodrigo
will be given in Almería, Spain.
April
12, 2007 Invited Soloist,
Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Music Society Concert Series, Waterloo, Canada. The musical director, Mr. Jan Narvelson,
specifically requested piano repertoire by Joaquín Rodrigo on the second half.
May 10, 2007 Invited Soloist, St. Paul’s
Second Sunday Concert Series, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Las Cruces,
New Mexico. The second half of the
program was dedicated to performances of works by Joaquín Rodrigo and other
Spanish composers.
November 21, 2006 Invited Presenter, The Soul of Spain, Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia. This presentation offered verbal comments and
piano performances of Rodrigo’s and other Spanish composers’ works.
September 8, 2006 Invited Performer, Solo and
Collaborative Piano Chamber Recital with Jean Broekhuizen, mezzo-soprano and
Ruben Gutierrez, piano, El Alma de España (II) (which included one work by Joaquín
Rodrigo), La Universidad Autónoma de
Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, Chihuahua, México.
This program was a reworking of El Alma de España from August,
2005 (see below).
October
30, 2006 Invited Soloist, Dame
Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Notification
of Contract via letter for the 2008
Season, International Music Foundation, Chicago, Illinois. The program will be an all-Rodrigo live
concert, recorded for a later radio broadcast.
October 12, 2006 Invited Soloist, The Soul
of Spain, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. This solo recital offered performances of
Rodrigo’s and other Spanish composers’ works.
September 16, 2006 Invited Presenter (chosen through a
juried process), Extreme Devotion to
Country: Joaquín Rodrigo, His Life Reflected in Piano Music, Community
Engagement Program, College Music Society, Radius Café, San Antonio,
Texas. Click
here to view notification letter.
June 10, 2006 Selected Presenter (chosen
through a juried process), Joaquín
Rodrigo and His Intermediate Piano Works, Ninety-Second Texas Music
Teachers Association Annual State Convention, Grapevine, Texas. Click here to see other chosen
presenters at the conference, in addition to my accompanying handouts
given. The target audience includes both
pre-college and college-leveled piano teachers.
July 25-28,
2006 CD Project, The Piano Works of Joaquin Rodrigo, Recording
Session, Centaur Records, Dan Cassin, Engineer and Producer, University of
Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
September
2005 Grant Award from the
University Research Institute, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso,
Texas. $4,000.00 award to help cover the
costs for a professional-level CD recording.
June 7, 2005 Grant
Award from the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sports and United States Universities, Joaquín Rodrigo and His Piano: A Unique Intimacy (Part
II).
$5,000.00 award to help cover the costs for a professional-level CD
recording.
March 11,
2005 Invited Soloist and
Master Class Clinician, Erskine College, Due West, South Carolina. Something
Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue. The second half of the program was dedicated
to select piano works and verbal comments about Joaquín Rodrigo.
November
3-6, 2004 Invited lecturer and
performer as a result of a juried process, Forty-Seventh College Music Society
Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California. The Piano
Works of Joaquín Rodrigo: An Evaluation of Social Influences and Compositional
Style.
February 28,
2003 Solo Faculty Pre-Concert
Lecture and Performance, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, Joaquín Rodrigo’s Piano Music.
February 3,
2003 Invited soloist and master
class clinician, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, University of California,
Irvine, California. The
Piano Works of Joaquín Rodrigo.
¨ Chaconne in D Minor by Bach/Busoni (transcription from the D Minor Violin Partita,
BWV 1004)
¨ Set of Etudes: Chopin, Op. 10, No. 4 in
C-sharp Minor and Op. 25, No. 7 in
C-sharp Minor
¨ Toccata, Op. 4, by Alicia Terzian
¨ Piano Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3 in D
Major by Ludwig van Beethoven
March
31-April 1, 2007 Invited Solo Piano Recital. For the
Love of Music Concert Series,
August 28,
2005 Solo and Collaborative
Piano Chamber Recital with Rita Triana, dance, Ruben Gutierrez, jazz piano and
Felipa Solis, dance, El Alma
de España. Works performed:
¨ Fantasia Bética by Manuel de Falla
¨ No. 2 and No. 5 from the Danzas
Españolas by Enrique Granados
¨ Córdoba and Leyenda by Isaac
Albéniz with Rita Triana, dance
¨ Original piano transcription
from the Adagio of the Concierto de Aranjuéz by
Joaquín Rodrigo
¨ España by Chick Corea with pianist Ruben Gutierrez
¨ Select works from El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla with
Felipa Solis, dance
¨ Partita No. 2 in
C Minor, BWV 826 by Johann Sebastian
Bach (1st mvmt.)
¨ Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 by Frédéric Chopin
¨ Fantasy in C, Op. 17 by Robert Schumann
¨ Sonata in A Major, Kirk. 208 and Sonata in D Major, Kirk. 119 by Domenico Scarlatti
¨ Rondo in A Minor, K. 511 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
¨ Estampes
by Claude Debussy (2nd mvmt.)
¨ Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5 by Johannes Brahms
October 11, 2002 Mexican Debut Solo Piano Recital. Centro Municipal de las Artes,
¨ Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903 by Johann Sebastian Bach
¨ Sonata in A Minor, K. 310 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
¨ Widmung (transcription) by Franz Liszt
¨ From Goyescas, the Maiden and the Nightingale by Enrique Granados
¨ Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata” by Ludwig van Beethoven
October
3, 2002 Solo Faculty Recital. El Paso Debut. Same program listed above.
¨ Sonata in
G Minor, BWV 1029 arranged for two flutes and harpsichord by Johann
Sebastian Bach (1st mvmt.)
¨ Ballade for Flute and Piano by Frank Martin
¨ Romance, Op. 37 by Camille Saint-Saëns
¨ Waltz from Suite, Op. 116 by Benjamin Godard
¨ Sonata in D Major, Op. 94 by Sergei Prokofiev
¨ If You’ve Only Got a Mustache and His
Eye is on the Sparrow by Luigi Zanninelli
¨ Love’s Philosophy and Believe Me, If All
Those Endearing Young Charms by Roger Quilter
¨ Silent
¨ Set Me As a Seal from the Songs of Solomon by George Rochberg
¨ Sweet Chance by Michael Head
¨ Cradle Song by Peter Warlock
¨ Song of Devotion by John Ness Beck
¨ Sing, My Soul and I Do But Sing by
Kurt Kaiser
¨ Wise Men Still Seek Him by Ellen Woods-Bryce
¨ Evening Hymn to God by Henry Purcell
¨ Grand Duo Concertant, Op. 48 by Carl Maria von Weber
¨ Suite for clarinet, violin and piano by Darius Milhaud
¨ The Works of
¨ Sonata for Bass Trombone and Piano by Patrick McCarty
¨ Sonata for Bass Trombone and Piano by Alec Wilder
¨ Sonata for Bass
Trombone and Piano by Erick Ewazen (3rd
mvmt.)
¨ Sonata for
Violin and Piano by Ottorino Respighi (1st mvmt.)
¨ Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 12, No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven
¨ Cantabile by Nicolo Paganini
¨ Scherzo Tarantella by Henry Weinwiaksi
Music Festival with Professor
Zuill Bailey and Dennis Brott, cello.
Works performed:
¨ Suite for Two
Cellos and Piano by Gian Carlo Menotti (2nd mvmt.)
¨ Sonata in C Major by Luigi Boccherini
Schweigart,
violin. Works performed:
¨
Madrigal Sonata for flute,
violin and piano by Bohuslav Martinů
¨
Sonata for Flute and Piano by Charles Marie Widor
¨
Duo for Flute and Piano by Aaron Copland
¨
Transcription of the Fantasia para un gentilhombre by Joaquín Rodrigo