Handouts from NCKP Technology sessions

For those who were not able to attend NCKP, or were not able to attend all of the technology sessions, you can find the handouts from the sessions on the conference page or by going to http://www.francesclarkcenter.org/NationalConferenceHandouts.html. Thanks to George Litterst and all the presenters for providing these electronically!

Mei-Ting Sun at NCKP

Mei-Ting Sun performing on the Yamaha Disklavier. He was in New York City, while the piano in Chicago played. Amazing technology, and an amazing performer.

Virtual Teaching

One of the most exciting sessions of the conference was teaching demonstration of Distance Learning via Technology. Using the Yamaha Disklavier (Click for info), students played in one location while the teachers taught from another. The first student played live in Chicago, and Paul Sheftel taught her from New York. It is amazing technology, aided also by Timewarp Technologies and their Internet MIDI program (Click for info). See the videos below for George Litterst's introduction and a short snippet of the teaching. You will notice that when one person plays one piano, the other piano plays exactly as they do, including pedal movement. Listen for the audience's reaction to get a feel for how amazing this technology is.

NCKP has begun!

Here we are at the Keynote address for the 30th National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. We are looking forward to a great day of learning. The keynote speaker this year, appropriately, is Sam Holland. There are over 700 of us from around the world, with many countries represented. Sam is such an articulate and interesting speaker - he has the room in the palm of his hand.

Carol Leone and the 7/8 keyboard

Carol Leone from SMU will present a session at the NCKP pre-conference wellness session on July 29th from 4:30-6:00, " Increasing Performance Potential." This session will present innovative means for improving technical efficiency and enhancing performance.

During her portion of the session she will present and demonstrate the 7/8 keyboard action. Here are two links of her performing on a Steinway piano using the 7/8 keyboard. Performances were at the 2007 NCKP conference:





These videos can also be found on you tube at these links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9-TCD-fL0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_E5D1jGh1g&feature=related

Piano winner for YouTube Symphony competition

Congratulations to Tino Balsamello, winner of the piano portion of the YouTube Symphony competition. YouTube called for professionals and amateur musicians of all ages, locations and instruments to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra by submitting a video performance of a new piece written for the occasion by the renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun.

Winners were announced on March 2nd will travel to New York in April 2009 to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit and play at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Follow the link (title of blog post) for more information.

We welcome comments and discussion - what are your thoughts on this type of competition?

Clavier Companion is here!

For those of you who have not heard, Keyboard Companion and Clavier Magazine have merged to form "Clavier Companion". If you had a subscription to both magazines, you will receive Clavier Companion instead, and your subscriptions have been extended to cover all paid issues. The new magazine combines elements of both, and in my opinion combines the best of each. I have always found Keyboard Companion helpful, although limited in scope to a certain teaching population. However, for many years now I have debated whether or not to renew my Clavier subscription - I usually spent about 10 minutes perusing it, then put it on the shelf. After receiving my new copy of Clavier Companion, I can honestly say that I sat down and read it.

This is a refreshing and necessary change for piano pedagogy and performance. If this issue is any indication, we will get great articles by columnists such as Robert Weirich, and teaching tips, in varied formats, at many levels. Future issues will also include reviews. And finally - icing on the cake - Louise Goss is doing Questions and Answers again. Bravo to the folks involved!