Butler Piano Pedagogy Symposium 2011

Butler Piano Pedagogy Symposium 2010

September 17-18, 2010

The Butler Piano Pedagogy Symposium was founded by Dr. Steve Roberson in 1985 and is designed to address topics of vital concern and interest to piano teachers at every level and setting. After a hiatus, the Symposium returned in 2008 with featured clinician E.L. Lancaster and the same strong commitment to providing inspiration, discussion and dialogue on important issues and trends in our profession. The featured clinician for 2009 was Nelita True.

The 2010 Symposium will begin on Friday, September 17 with our featured artist, Frederic Chiu, in a recital. The recital is at 7:30 p.m. in the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, located in Robertson Hall. Your symposium registration will reserve you a seat, as this recital is expected to be standing room only. Seats will be held until 7:15 and then released to the general public.  Frederic Chiu's performance is sponsored in part by the American Pianists Association and the Piano at Butler Series.

The Symposium continues on Saturday, September 18 with sessions beginning at 9:00 a.m. in Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall in Robertson Hall. On-site registration is available at 8:30 a.m.  Lunch is included in the symposium fee for registrations that are received by September 11.  For registrations received after September 11, lunch is on your own, either at a campus dining facility or off campus.

For out-of-town participants, several nearby hotels/motels are available, about a 15-minute drive from campus. For driving directions and a campus map, please see the Visit Butler page.

The Symposium fee of $45 is for non-credit attendance for Friday evening recital and Saturday sessions and includes Saturday lunch (if registration received by September 11). 

One credit hour of either undergraduate or graduate credit may be earned for Symposium attendance.  For non-degree students, all required forms for the credit option will need to be submitted by September; graduate credit option requires submission of an undergraduate transcript.  For more information about credit options and procedures, please contact associate dean Owen Schaub (317/940-9952; oschaub@butler.edu).

Registration Form (DOC)
Schedule (DOC)

FEATURED ARTIST:  FREDERIC CHIU

Our featured artist and clinician for 2010 is Frederic Chiu.  He will present a public recital on Friday evening, conduct a master class on Saturday morning, and present a lecture session on Saturday afternoon on emotional practicing.

"Emotional Practicing - What, Where, When and How to Practice On Your Heart"

Playing the piano involves more than just moving your hands and fingers. It also involves more than knowing how to read music, memorizing music or doing musicological or theoretical analysis. Playing music is an intensely and deeply emotional activity, which involves the composer, the performer and the audience in complex interaction. So why is most piano training focused on physical practicing and mental studies, and so little of it focused methodically and systematically on exercises for the heart? Frederic Chiu presents important aspects of Emotional Practicing, taken from his Deeper Piano Studies workshop series, through a structured, productive approach that includes working on Emotional Timelines, Emotional Maps and Analysis.

FEATURED SESSIONS:

Kate Boyd

After the Nocturne: Irish Piano Music Today

Ireland, a country better known to the world for its traditional folk music, also has a long history of interest in Western classical music. Since the economic boom of the 1990's, a significant increase in public support for Irish composition has created a groundswell of innovative, varied works for< all instruments, including solo piano. Participants in this session will gain a brief overview of some important figures and events in the history of classical music in Ireland, as well as an awareness of current trends in Irish composition and significant Irish composers active today. Intermediate and advanced repertoire will be sampled, and participants will receive information on how to learn more about and obtain Irish music.

Jacklyn Chan

Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Back by popular demand, Jacklyn will build on last year's symposium session with new and different topics related to utilizing Dalcroze Eurhythmics in your piano teaching.

MTNA Collegiate Chapter at Butler University

"Things I Wish I'd Known about Auditions and College"

A panel of Butler University's undergraduate and graduate students will discuss their college experiences as piano students, focusing on surprises they encountered and what they wish they had known ahead of time. It will give insight into how piano teachers can better prepare their students so that they have the skills they need for when they actually get to college as well as for the audition process. The panel will address issues from a prepared list and then there will be time for questions from the audience.

Featured Artist: Nelita True

Our featured artist and clinician for 2009 is Nelita True. She will present a public recital on Friday evening, conduct a master class on Saturday morning, and present two thought-provoking sessions:

"A New Look at Old Favorites" will use popular teaching pieces to demonstrate how to stimulate students' imagination through analysis of the score. Pieces will include Mozart's D Minor Fantasy, Bach's B-flat Major Two-Part Invention, Chopin's E Minor Nocturne, and Debussy's First Arabesque.

"Please Don't Play in Time" will explore what can happen to timing between beats in order to make the music more flexible and communicative.

Piano Symposium Presenters 2009

Nelita True made her debut at age seventeen with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall and her New York debut with the Juilliard Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall. Since then, her career has taken her to the major cities of Western and Eastern Europe, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Iceland, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Canada, and to Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as to all fifty states in America. She was a visiting professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, performing and conducting master classes and has been in the People's Republic of China more than 20 times for recitals and master classes. She has played recitals on French national television and on Australian national radio. Her most recent recital in Boston was cited as one of the "Ten Best Classical Performances of the Year." She will perform and give classes in India next fall.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan as a student of Helen Titus, Ms. True went on to Juilliard to study with Sascha Gorodnitzki, and then earned the DMA with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory. In Paris, she studied with Nadia Boulanger on a Fulbright grant. Formerly Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland, Ms. True is currently Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music. Many of her students have won top prizes at national and international competitions, including an unprecedented five First Prizes in national MTNA competitions. Ms. True was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching at Eastman, the 2002 Achievement Award from the Music Teachers National Association, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from National Keyboard Pedagogy Conference (USA).

Steve Roberson is professor of music in the School of Music and associate dean of the Jordan College of Fine Arts, where he coordinates the piano pedagogy program. He has published 35 articles on various subjects related to piano teaching, particularly regarding piano technique and motivational strategies. He has also spoken at more than 90 music conferences throughout the U.S. and Europe. In 2000, his biography of the celebrated Hungarian pianist, Lili Kraus, was published. He has served as president of the Indiana Music Teachers Association, which awarded him the "Indiana Music Teacher of the Year" award in 1995. He has also twice received the Music Teachers National Association's "Article of the Year" award.

Scott Houston is an experienced music professional with more than 25 years in the business. A trained percussionist, Houston studied jazz piano and percussion at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. In 2003, Scott began showing public television viewers how to play piano for fun and enjoyment through his wildly successful pledge special. Seen by millions of viewers nationwide since debuting in March 2003, it has been among the highest-grossing pledge specials in public television history, having raised more than $17 million to date. The Piano Guy weekly television series is now in its tenth season, with over 130 episodes, airing on public television stations. A highly sought-after speaker, Houston has lectured widely throughout the United States and Canada at nearly 150 colleges, universities and public television stations over the last ten years. More than 17,000 people have attended Houston's workshops, many of which have realized their life-long musical dream of having fun playing their favorite tunes on the piano. Aimed at non-accomplished musicians, Houston's highly comedic, yet extremely educational look at playing the piano is a hit with attendees.

Dr. Rebecca Grausam holds a Doctor of musical Arts degree from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Music degree from Butler University, and two Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Flute Performance from Western Michigan University. Dr. Grausam has been on the faculty of Erskine College, and the University of South Carolina. She currently teaches at the University of Indianapolis and Meridian Music. She has been an active member of the Music Teachers National Association and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Indiana Music Teachers Association. Her most recent project has been co-authoring an adult piano program called "Play Piano in a Flash" with Scott Houston.