A worthwhile Journey to George Li’s triumphant Davies Hall piano recital

Facebook was abuzz with reminders of George Li's touchdown in the Bay Area's glittering Davies concert hall, a venue that absorbs a splash of pastel beams from the neighboring flagship government building. Glass panels reflect back montages of color that provide a rush of excitement for ticket holders slipping into seats right under the bell.…

A Happy Day for a 9-yr. old piano student playing on her first recital

Maeve, aka "Liz" was welcomed into the universe of music sharing in the beautiful Oakland Hills of California. What better backdrop, cloaked in nature, as breezes wafted through branches, shaking out leaves in graceful patterns. The images, extracted from the East Bay's gorgeous panorama are in Maeve's mental repository, as they feed relaxed energy down…

Our Global-wide Skype Music Sharing: Triumph over Tragedy

I posted the following on my Facebook page after my adult students played for their peers yesterday over Skype. Their performances were beamed from London, England; Sydney, Australia; near Asheville, North Carolina; Prospect, Kentucky; Chico, California, and Berkeley, home of the esteemed university. "Heartfelt music sharing in the wake of a tragic loss of Parisian…

Rehearsing for the Big Day! LIVE/SKYPE piano student recital

Peter, originally from Sweden, has been studying piano since January 2014. (He started from scratch without any note reading experience.) Working in the technology field, keeping long hours staring at a computer screen, he wanted to study piano for pure tension relief, and lucky for his teacher, Peter loves his Classical music journey. As one…

Andras Schiff in recital at S.F. Davies Hall (Feb. 15, 2015)

Pianist, Andras Schiff delivered an uneven performance at San Francisco's Davies Hall yesterday afternoon. Those who expected the pianist to play his signature Bach program were pleasantly surprised by Schiff's insertions of self-imposed Baroque style ornaments in Mozart's "Drawing Room" Sonata, K. 545.(in particular) As whimsical as it might have seemed, the "improvisation" was out…

Piano buzzes can wreak havoc!

We all know about the note zinging nuisance that plagues students and teachers at inopportune times. Like getting ready to perform on the big Spring recital.. A run over the 88's has a MIDDLE C blockade. The noise has infiltrated the most celebrated note in the method book cosmos, making the BLACK ones feel cheated…

Rina, 5, performs at our Spring Recital (after 8 months of piano lessons) Video

Rina is moving right along. She can spin a legato phrase with finesse after having practiced her detached-note playing for months. Now she's working on using featherlight thumbs to craft smoother lines. Notice her supple wrist approach to the piano: *** Here's a sample of Rina's offerings at the May 5th evening recital held at…