I never would have anticipated that my Dover bound collection of Grieg's Complete Lyric pieces for piano, would contain a tender morsel that hearkened back to a Spring Dance Concert presented at the New York City High School of Performing Arts. The school, known as FAME, immortalized by a long running TV series, and big… Continue reading An Edvard Grieg Lyric piece stirs up High School memories
Jeannette Haien is rarely recognized for her role in Murray Perahia's musical development, though it's clear through her own words, (rekindled posthumously) that she must have had a profound effect on him. (She was Perahia's mentor from age 4 to 18.) Reminiscences I knew Murray as a classmate at the NYC High School of Performing… Continue reading Murray Perahia’s earliest piano teacher and her influence on him
Saturday, June 6th Performing Arts High (FAME I'm gonna live forever!) Reunion! A first for me that was worth a crowded subway ride to the heart of Times Square plus a zesty walk through throngs of tourists. While I missed class photo shoots, I managed a pose with conductor, Gerard Schwarz before I sauntered over… Continue reading My NYC High School of Performing Arts Reunion!
Today, I'll fly back to New York City for my mother's Memorial, and in a tight 4-day span I'll visit the edifice of my High School of Performing Arts, a designated landmark at 46th and 6th Avenue. Ironically, I recently unearthed a graduation photo that shows me holding a Music award in the presence of… Continue reading Musical Memories of New York City and my impending journey back home
"Bobby" as I remember him at "P.A." (nickname for the FAME school that hadn't yet acquired Broadway, TV, or movie status) was a shining light among stage-struck students, some of whom swished down the hallway in first position, ballet style, while others in the drama department audibly cajoled each other, wise-cracking their way through academics.… Continue reading A tribute to the late, Robert DeGaetano, classmate, NYC High School of Performing Arts
Amy Herzog is regaled as one of the most gifted young playwrights of her generation. Not only has she been a recipient of the well-regarded Lillian Hellman prize, but she's amassed a slew of New York Times rave reviews. Charles Isherwood, Arts editor, lauded After the Revolution in a generous media spread that wove in… Continue reading After the Revolution is my cousin, Amy Herzog’s tour de force play. (An Aurora Theatre Berkeley production)
After a major workout at the gym this afternoon, I sat down at my computer, flooded by waves of LinkedIn "endorsements." A new gush of approbations encompassed bird-watching, percussion, band conducting, coin-collecting, baby-sitting and chess-playing. Was I in the midst of a mega makeover? I felt guilty about being showered with praise for my non-existent… Continue reading How to win Friends and influence People on LinkedIn
Recently, I made a trip back East to New York City and the experience instantly hit "home!" A child of the Bronx and Manhattan, my emigration to Fresno, California three decades ago came with a blast of culture shock, but my most recent relocation to the East Bay (Berkeley aka "Bezerkeley") fleshed out extreme bi-coastal… Continue reading East Coast/West Coast (East Bay) culture shock
It's not easy to plan a one hour piano lesson to include ear training, solfege and transposing. (They belong together, bundled with Theory, and enrich the learning environment) At the Oberlin Conservatory, Theory, Keyboard Harmony, and Eurhythmics were taught separately. Our piano teachers (applied study) adhered to their rigid routine, rarely fitting solfege, sight-reading, improvising,… Continue reading Ear Training and Transposing are intrinsic to piano lessons (examples from an Adult lesson in progress)
It's nostalgia time for me, reconnecting with the Pathetique that I butchered as a teenager before I landed in the good hands of mentor, Lillian Freundlich. The teacher before, lived about 4 blocks away, but was miles off the mark in her teaching. She had me studying the Chopin Scherzo in Bb minor before I… Continue reading Revisiting Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata, Op. 13 GRAVE
Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten) 