Dr. Suzanne Newcomb
It is hard to put into words about the excellence that is Dr. Suzanne Newconb. A piano professor at Otterbein University, a collaborative pianist and an incredible piano teacher with her own studio in Upper Arlington, Ohio. One of the most amazing things about Suzanne, is that one of her professors was the great Leon Fleisher. More about him in a later post. Suzanne attended the Peabody Institute and received her doctorate of Musical Arts. You should take time to view her website www.suzannenewcomb.com I can only repeat: amazing!!
I like the fact that Suzanne describes herself as a collaborative recital artist. That is a very apt description. I have heard Suzanne play chamber music with other musicians and it is truly incredible. Watching Suzanne, it boils down to this, complete focus, while creating beautiful music. Even if Suzanne makes a mistake and I don't believe she does, she keeps the calm and the peace that results in such great musicality.
As one of her students, for a time that was all too short, I always felt that she played with conviction. She played pieces with the style and grace of someone who truly practiced with great care and accuracy. Suzanne also played even the simplest of pieces with great musicality. When you take lessons from Suzanne, you are challenged. Because she expects perfection in her playing, she expects the best from you. If you really want to play with conviction, Suzanne is a great teacher.
So how did I have the good fortune to find Suzanne. She actually had moved back to her home town Upper Arlington with her family. She had posted an advertisement for students in the local suburban paper, and I called the number listed. I actually talked to her husband on the phone, and he convinced me that Suzanne was the piano teacher I was looking for. He was right!
In the time I took lessons from Suzanne, I challenged myself to be better. Suzanne could tell from across her piano studio, whether a note was incorrect. No stone was left unturned...usually a phrase you used to to describe an attentive trial attorney. Suzanne challenged me to work on my weaknesses, rhythm, fingerings, dynamics. She also convinced me that I could try composer works I never considered before. For instance I worked on a major Mozart sonata during my lesson time with her. She also encouraged me to jump into chamber music, and play in a chamber music group through the Chamber Music Connection. The collaborative artist description rings true, because Suzanne wants you to share your music with others.
Suzanne, also convinced me to take a leap that I had only dreamed about in the past...purchasing a grand piano. I had always thought about it, but saw it as a retirement goal. Suzanne reminded me what a good investment it would be. She was right and I bought a grand piano several years ago. I am glad I did, as it was a dream my mom wanted me to fulfill in her life time. It was so amazing to see how happy my mom was when she saw the piano sitting in our living room. More about my grand piano purchase in a later post.
When my daughter started high school marching band and after my parents' deaths I ended my piano relationship with Suzanne. I didn't really want to, but I felt the busy ness of my high school children, did not afford the time I needed to practice in the way I wanted. Suzanne and I keep in touch on Facebook and I try to get to an occasional performance by Suzanne, when I can. It was a real honor to take lessons from Suzanne. She was about challenging you to be a better pianist, to perform, and to be inspired. In fact whenever she thought there was something I should hear from a musical standpoint, she told me "I would be inspired." I still feel that way whenever I think about her as a pianist.
I await with great expectation all of the music Suzanne will continue to create!!!
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Rhapsody in Blue
In my lessons, I keep coming back to Rhapsody in Blue. I have the Warner Bros. Music edition- New World Music. I bought it about 1967 and the list price was $4.00 back in the day. Though the entire work is challenging, page 5 is where a multitude of challenges begin. On page 5, the very first measure contains a set of triplets, which is the and of beat one, and then two sets of 16ths and two sixteenths and an 1/8 note. I tried for at least the last six months to interpret what I thought the rhythm was supposed to be.
Wrong....you cannot "interpret" the rhythm. With the help of my piano teacher I have resorted to the metronome, which is an 1/8 note at the speed of 88. It is amazing how the metronome points out the cold, harsh and stark reality of it all. The first three lines of page 5 continue presenting their rhythmic challenges.
It seems since looking at this music over the last 46 years, as I bought this music when I was 12, that whenever I opened the music, the challenges of the first three pages, cause me to put the music in the piano bench.
Having a piano bench with a lid that lifts up, allows you to put music in there, that, frankly, you don't believe you can conquer. So while it hides a lot of things when you are dusting, sometimes the closed lid can be perceived as closing off a dream. Perhaps you should open the lid up, and see what has frustrated you in the past. It may be, that if you have some wisdom you can try to learn something again.
My original Baldwin acrosonic piano with a piano bench with a lid, now belongs to a librarian friend of mine. I don't know if she plays it and tunes it the way my parents and I did, but that piano bench may contain her dreams and she should open the lid and get them out.
On page 6 of the rhapsody, line three, there is a tranquillo section, that is easier. Once you can get to this place in the music, you can gain some confidence. Perhaps you don't know the prior two pages as well as you should but here is a place, where you can conclude that you are actually learning this great piano work. I still think about the dare from Catherine Schroeder in 7th grade that caused me to buy the piece. I told her that I could play it...again an out and out lie, but it forced me to get it, and put it in a place in my mind, that I was going to learn it ....sooner or later.
In my lessons, I keep coming back to Rhapsody in Blue. I have the Warner Bros. Music edition- New World Music. I bought it about 1967 and the list price was $4.00 back in the day. Though the entire work is challenging, page 5 is where a multitude of challenges begin. On page 5, the very first measure contains a set of triplets, which is the and of beat one, and then two sets of 16ths and two sixteenths and an 1/8 note. I tried for at least the last six months to interpret what I thought the rhythm was supposed to be.
Wrong....you cannot "interpret" the rhythm. With the help of my piano teacher I have resorted to the metronome, which is an 1/8 note at the speed of 88. It is amazing how the metronome points out the cold, harsh and stark reality of it all. The first three lines of page 5 continue presenting their rhythmic challenges.
It seems since looking at this music over the last 46 years, as I bought this music when I was 12, that whenever I opened the music, the challenges of the first three pages, cause me to put the music in the piano bench.
Having a piano bench with a lid that lifts up, allows you to put music in there, that, frankly, you don't believe you can conquer. So while it hides a lot of things when you are dusting, sometimes the closed lid can be perceived as closing off a dream. Perhaps you should open the lid up, and see what has frustrated you in the past. It may be, that if you have some wisdom you can try to learn something again.
My original Baldwin acrosonic piano with a piano bench with a lid, now belongs to a librarian friend of mine. I don't know if she plays it and tunes it the way my parents and I did, but that piano bench may contain her dreams and she should open the lid and get them out.
On page 6 of the rhapsody, line three, there is a tranquillo section, that is easier. Once you can get to this place in the music, you can gain some confidence. Perhaps you don't know the prior two pages as well as you should but here is a place, where you can conclude that you are actually learning this great piano work. I still think about the dare from Catherine Schroeder in 7th grade that caused me to buy the piece. I told her that I could play it...again an out and out lie, but it forced me to get it, and put it in a place in my mind, that I was going to learn it ....sooner or later.
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