Congratulations to Aidan and Alec for their performances in the master classes at the conference. I was very pleased that they got this great opportunity! It can be tricky to take a lesson on a piece you have played for a long time, you already pretty much have your thoughts and vision of the piece. But Fay Adams and Marina Obukovsky gave the boys some fresh ideas, and I thought both kids implemented them very well--listening carefully and being open--which I believe are the hallmarks of good Suzuki students. I was proud of them.
My own presentation went fine. There was a respectable amount of victims there and basically I tried to cram a 50 minute topic into 10 minutes, so there wasn't much hope for any inspirational public speaking finesse. That's okay, I'm not trying to be something I'm not, I just had some ideas to share and I think I shared them. If it sparks some thinking and discussion about the value of friendships and community within the studio, it will have been a success.
The value of friendship and community was manifested in my visit with Vicki, my friend from Texas. Having someone to share the conference with and talk over the ideas from all the sessions and masterclasses was so much fun. Vicki stayed with me, and I confess that I was a lousy hostess. She pretty much had to fend for herself in my fridge, but I hope she survived! You know you have a good friend when she pretends not to see the cat throw-up in the hall and gets her own hard-boiled egg and fruit from the fridge while you freak-out reprinting your session handout because you put "SSA" in the title instead of "SAA." Speaking of friendship and community, Doris Harrel, we missed you. Very much. I hope everyone will share their own highlights with you on the phone soon. It wasn't the same without you!
There were two favorite things for me--the first was watching Ann Schein perform, teach and lecture. I could have sat there and listened to her the whole weekend. What a beautiful musician. How much do we need this kind of inspiration? A hero. It's priceless. Just being in the room with her raised us all to another level. She was a student of Rubinstein. I'll always remember the tone of her voice and her smile and of course her impromptu lecture performances that had us all in tears.
My second favorite thing was the Kaleidoscope Concert at Orchestra Hall friday night. William McGlaughlin hosted this recital featuring the cream of the crop of our Suzuki students from around the country. Every child that played was amazing, but I had the most fun watching Gavin George, the student of Mary Craig Powell. This nine year old angel couldn't keep the smile off his face the whole weekend. I loved just looking at him. Of course this is a rare moment when a child can rattle off concert piano concertos at a professional level, but what got to me was his pure little heart. When he grows up and does something amazing, I'm just gonna remember that little face in that very small tuxedo.
Thank you to Malgosia and Gail for organizing the piano sessions. It was a very special weekend.
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