The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Incorporated
PO Box 4 RUNDLE MALL SA 5000
Print Post Pub. No 100003224
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016 www.mtasa.com.au
MUSIC EDUCATORS EXPO 2016 Held: Sunday September 25 Venue: Thebarton Community Centre, Torrensville by Pete Barter feedback as to how we can make things bigger and better next year. It was very humbling and rewarding to see the response that we got from the community that we endeavour to serve – the music educators of South Australia. Birdseye view Wow! What an excellent inaugural Music Educators Expo. What an amazing event, everybody who was involved had a great time putting their expertise on show – not only the exhibitors, but also the volunteers.
Ground view
Don’t get busted! Michelle Holland (right) on Whole-Brain Teaching
We do recognise the problem with the audio in the room and know that the sound wasn’t working fully in our favour for the first portion of the event. We didn’t get to announce all about platinum sponsors from the stage as planned, so we apologise to those affected. We have already made plans to improve the audio at the next Expo, among other things. I personally would like to thank the Expo sub-committee team, Carly, Hayley, David and Sam. They all injected their skill into organising particular areas and keeping each other on track. Things work well when you work with a well rounded team.
There were a vast variety of products on display and also available for purchase at the Expo. We also think the venue itself was an amazing choice. Beautifully lit, nice and clean, with plenty of room to move around. Looking and talking
We are really excited to be bringing you further Expos in the future off the back of the success of the 2016 Music Educators Expo. I’ve had a personal word from one of our exhibitors that they did over one thousand dollars in sales during the day, which is great news! We learned a lot at the Expo and we really would love your
Adelfi String Quartet perform
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Now that our website is becoming more functional (it is still under development), I know that next year’s Expo will be much easier to manage for the exhibitors and guests who come and view areas of support that is available for music educators in South Australia.
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
The goal of the Music Teachers’ Association of SA is to nurture and inspire the growth of our industry and to increase the professionalism of music education. By running events such as the Music Educators Expo, we feel it’s a great way to be exposed to not only great services that are on offer but also to mingle with other likeminded musicians and music educators.
from the grand piano, and Michelle Holland with her keynote address on ‘Whole-Brain Teaching’, were a highlight for many visitors to the Expo. We look forward to running more amazing exhibitors and facilitators at our next Expo.
Lots to see
James Kendall aka Bikie Busker The facilitators from the stage, Kerin Bailey performing beautifully
If you have any ideas as to who we could or should include in the next Expo, please feel free to send us an e-mail so we can serve you better (musicteacherssa@gmail.com).
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
Ultimately, we are building the Music Teachers’ Association to benefit what our members require. Thank you to the performers who beautifully shared their craft with us throughout the day. The Bikie Busker was extremely proud to be part of our inaugural Music Educators Expo. It was delightful to have one of Adelaide’s award winning barristers serving coffee and snacks throughout the day – because we all know us music educators need our coffee ☺! Thank you very much to those people who came along to the Expo. The biggest thank you should go to all the exhibitors who put their businesses on display. We look forward to the next Expo in September 2017.
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COMMUNICATING WITH YOU! by Carly McDonald MTASA is now on Facebook! It is a great new way for us to keep our members informed and for us to be able to communicate with you. It is also a way we can all keep in touch as a music community in South Australia. All of our events and updates are available on the page, together with interesting industry information and other events of interest in South Australia. How can you be involved? Have you ‘Liked’ the MTASA Facebook page? It’s easy to do. Firstly, log into Facebook. Then search for The Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia, Inc. and click the ‘Like’ button (the thumbs up). This can be done either via your phone or computer. If you would like to ensure you see all of our updates, click on ‘See First’ and it will always come up in your newsfeed. For quick access here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/The-Music-Teachers-Association-of-South-Australia-Inc883307955101655/ What’s so great about this? • Regular updates straight to your Facebook feed • Event details all in one easy to access place • Photos of events and competitions • A public professional profile for MTASA • Access to a network of professional colleagues • Up-to-date information about professional development opportunities in South Australia • Your MTA at your fingertips! Get on board and ‘Like’ MTASA’s Facebook page today! If you have other friends who are music teachers or you feel the information available would also suit parents and students in your studio, invite them to the page and help us expand our professional network!
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
“THE MUSIC STAND”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. VOLUME 24 NO 4 – October/December 2016 PATRONS: Dr. Doreen Bridges AM Emeritus Professor David Lockett AM PRESIDENT:
Rodney Smith
VICE PRESIDENT:
Robert Brown
SECRETARY:
Masako Kondo
TREASURER:
Samantha Penny
AUDITOR: Australian Independent Audit Services COUNCIL 2016/2017: Pete Barter, Robert Boundy, Robert Brown, Norma Knight, Masako Kondo, Monika Laczofy, Carly McDonald, David Metin, Samantha Penny, Rodney Smith, Betty Snowden, Hayley Wedding, Pat Wilson EDITOR: Newsletter Layout:
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
Robert Brown Masako Kondo
Membership enquiries to the Secretary – PO BOX 4, RUNDLE MALL, ADELAIDE SA 5000 Mobile: 0402 575 219 E-mail: musicteacherssa@gmail.com For more about us, please visit our website http://www.mtasa.com.au Advertising – Please contact the Secretary Please see MEMBER INFORMATION page for Advertising Price List. Mobile: 0402 575 219 E-mail: musicteacherssa@gmail.com CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER ARE WELCOME. Material to be printed in the next issue must reach Robert Brown (robbrown@adam.com.au) st no later than Tuesday, January 31 . MTASA WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK The MTASA website has had a makeover. Please visit http://www.mtasa.com.au/ to have a look. Please visit the new MTASA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Music-TeachersAssociation-of-SA-Inc-883307955101655/.
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Music Educators’ Expo By Pete Barter
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COMMUNICATING WITH YOU! by Carly McDonald
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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME by Rodney Smith FROM THE TREASURER by Sam Penny
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COMING MTASA EVENTS MEMBER INFORMATION OTHER ORGANISATIONS’ EVENTS
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ACCOMPANIST’S CORNER: FINDING YOUR (MUSICAL) NICHE by Dale Ringland
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THE COLOURFUL SOUNDS OF MIRIAM HYDE: INSPIRATIONS AND INFLUENCES by Jo-Anne Kemp
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IN MEMORIAM: MARY GILLESPIE by Josephine Gillespie
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OUR TIME AT BALAKLAVA by Di Spence
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ADVICE FOR PIANISTS: PIANO LESSON MYTHS, PART 2 by Howard Richman
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PEDAGOGY MATTERS by Rodney Smith
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION (SAIRC) RULING AUGUST 10, 2016 by Rodney Smith
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MUSIC TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF SA INC./GRACE BARBARA TURNER AWARDS FOR 2016
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CONCERT PERFORMANCE DAY 2 by Norma Knight
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REIMANN – ROBINSON SCHOLARSHIP by Betty Snowden
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NORMAN SELLICK MEMORIAL PRIZE by Betty Snowden
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CONTACT DETAILS FOR OTHER ORGANISATIONS
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
PRESIDENT’S WELCOME In previous issues I’ve forecast changes in how MTASA responds to the needs of members and on this occasion I can point towards two examples, one next year and one a short while ago. Our events for 2017 will be seen to have adopted a different shape to previous years. Professional Development has become a buzzword in recent times and while MTASA has offered good quality in this area there has been insufficient to supply members’ requirements. We are therefore increasing this area considerably - not difficult when only one PD day was scheduled this year! Three PD days spread throughout 2017 will focus on what your Council considers useful topics that have broad appeal and will yield worthwhile study hours for attendees. On September 25 in the Thebarton Community Centre we ran our first Expo. It proved a highly successful opportunity for members to network and gain valuable professional information about Music Education in their specialist area from the large number of exhibitors. Feedback has been positive and you will see that has encouraged us to schedule another Expo next year. We are immensely grateful to the small group of sub-committee members who delivered this new event so efficiently and enthusiastically. To make way for these new developments we have nominated a single day in 2017 as Prize Day when from morning to evening we shall run our three much loved regular competitions, the Miriam Hyde, Reimann-Robinson and Norman Sellick awards. We hope that by positioning them in a concentrated timeframe we may give them improved publicity in the public arena. MTASA’s Concert Performance Days have continued to be well patronised by our other major constituency – our pupils – and two days will therefore again be offered in 2017. But we shall go on exploring different venues in our quest to find the most suitable available accommodation for these valuable events. There are a great many other developments in the pipeline and these should become more apparent next year and beyond. I look forward to sharing them with you in 2017. With all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Rodney Smith, President
FROM THE TREASURER
Sam Penny
MTASA NEW SUBSCRIPTION BILLING CYCLE EXPLAINED INTERIM: 6 months ended 30/6/16
OLD BILLING CYCLE
2015
1/1/16 to 30/6/16
NEW BILLING CYCLE
1/7/2016 to 30/6/2017
Subscription Invoices issued in November 2015 were for the Interim cycle in GREEN. New invoices issued are for a full year ended 30 June 2017, in BLUE. Subscription Fees RED and BLUE cycles:
Subscription Fees GREEN cycle:
Full
$105
Full
$52.50
General
$105
General
$52.50
Associate
$100
Associate
$50
Student
$52
Student
$26
2016/2017 SUBSCRIPTIONS All current invoices are now due. They are payable by cash (by deposit at an ANZ branch and quoting our BSB and Account number, and your name/invoice number for reference), cheque, EFT (quoting invoice number & surname), Credit Card (fees & charges apply) or PayPal. By not being a 2016/2017 subscriber, your current 2016 membership of MTASA will lapse at 31 December 2016, according to the MTASA Constitution, and you will be required to complete a new application. MTASA BANK ACCOUNT (ANZ): BSB 015 010 ACC 2868 81594 NEED TO CONTACT THE TREASURER? EMAIL SAM AT mtasatreasurer@gmail.com
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
MEMBER INFORMATION RECOMMENDED TEACHING FEES The following teaching rates are recommended to members by the MTASA Council for 2016/2017. Full Member General Member Associate Member Student Member
$70 per $70 per $60 per $45 per
hour hour hour hour
MTASA MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES AND FEES Full Member General Member Associate Member Student Member Friend Member Institution Member
$105 $105 $100 $52 $30 $30
MTASA MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL 2016/2017
COMING MTASA EVENTS, 2017 Wednesday January 25
Professional Development Day 1 Wednesday April 19
Professional Development Day 2 Saturday May 13
Concert Performance Day 1 Where: Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood Admission: gold coin Saturday June 24
Competitions Day: Miriam Hyde Awards,
Reimann – Robinson Scholarship, Norman Sellick Memorial Prize Where:
Cynthia Poulton Hall, St. Peter’s Cathedral, 27 King William Road, North Adelaide Admission: gold coin
Subscription renewal notices were sent out in May and were due by June 30, 2016. Please pay these promptly. They are for a period of twelve months. Subscriptions will be due again on June 30, 2017
Sunday August 27
NOTICE TO STUDENT MEMBERS Have you fulfilled the requirements for Associate or Full Membership? Student members are reminded that Student membership is restricted to four years after which time it is expected that they would be eligible for another membership category. Student members who are ready to upgrade their membership are invited to submit an application form to the Secretary together with the required supporting documents. Criteria can be downloaded from the MTASA website (www.mtasa.com.au) or obtained from the Secretary.
Sunday September 24
ACCREDITATION Members are invited to seek accreditation by obtaining applications forms from the MTASA Secretary and submitting them to the Music Teachers’ Association of New South Wales. Visit http://www.musicnsw.com.au/teachers/accreditat ion/ for more information. Upon gaining accreditation members are then requested to advise the MTASA Secretary if they wish to have this qualification entered either on our website or in ‘The Directory of Teachers of Music’. This information cannot be supplied by the Music Teachers’ Association of New South Wales due to privacy laws.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
Concert Performance Day 2 Where: Carclew, 11 Jeffcott Street, North Adelaide Admission: gold coin
Music Educators Expo 2017 Sunday October 22
Professional Development Day 3 OTHER ORGANISATIONS’ EVENTS ADELAIDE EISTEDDFOD 2017 Entries for the 2017 Adelaide Eisteddfod will be via Stardom; go to http://www.stardom.com.au/. All of the participating competitions can be viewed from the Homepage. To enter a competition, you will need to be registered to login. Visit the Adelaide Eisteddfod website at http://www.sacomment.com/aes/eisteddfod/ to read the General Rules and look for any news. Entries will close on April 13 at 5 pm. No late entries will be accepted. Divisions being offered in the 2017 Adelaide Eisteddfod will include Choral, Vocal, Piano, Strings, Guitar, Flute, Recorder, Woodwind, Brass, Eisteddfod Ensemble Event and Eisteddfod Concerto.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. Entry in the SA Final of Young Virtuoso, offered by the Australian Fine Music Network of community radio stations, is through the Adelaide Eisteddfod. The winner of the National Final will receive the Young Virtuoso Travelling Scholarship of $10,000 provided by Freemasons Victoria and the Australian Fine Music Network. The adjudicators will select the SA finalists through Recitals offered via the Vocal, Piano, String, Flute, Woodwind, Recorder and Brass Divisions. The SA Final for Young Virtuoso will be held on Sunday October 15, 2.30 pm, at St John’s Church, Halifax Street, Adelaide. The prizes for the SA Final will be: Vocal Prize: $750; Instrumental Prize: $750, SA Finalist Prize: $1,500. These prizes are sponsored by Beta Sigma Phi and Size Music.
21st BALAKLAVA EISTEDDFOD The 21st Balaklava Eisteddfod will be held on Friday, August 4, 2017 (Instrumental Ensembles, Bands, Choirs, Vocal Ensembles), Saturday, August 5, 2017 (Vocal, Musical Theatre, Contemporary Vocal, Instrumental, Piano, Speech and Drama) and Sunday, August 6, 2017 (Finale Concert including adjudication of the Adelaide Plains Vocal Scholarship). Entries will be open from April 7, visit http://www.balaklavaeisteddfod.org.au, Facebook www.facebook.com/BalaklavaEisteddfod, e-mail info@balaklavaeisteddfod.org.au. Entries close on May 15.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
EMAIL ADDRESSES MTASA would like to update all members’ e-mail addresses. Please send to the Secretary at musicteacherssa@gmail.com.
DIRECTORY OF TEACHERS OF MUSIC The 43rd Edition will be issued towards the end of 2016. It will be distributed to music stores throughout Adelaide and will be available to students/parents who are seeking a teacher. The distribution of the Directory is assisted by the businesses and associations who have placed advertisements.
ADVERTISING PRICE LIST FOR THE MUSIC STAND, 2016/2017 A4 size page (210 mm X 297 mm) Full Page Half Page Third Page Quarter Page Sixth Page
Per issue Colour B/W
For 4 issues Colour B/W
$250 $125 $83 $63 $42
$800 $400 $267 $200 $133
$200 $100 $67 $50 $33
$640 $320 $213 $160 $107
INSERTION FEE FOR POSTERS AND FLYERS One issue $100. Four issues $360. Advertisers have two choices: 1.to provide the inserts, 2. To provide the artwork, MTASA will arrange the printing and invoice for this.
Members placing an ad are entitled to a 15% discount. CLASSIFIED AD MTA Members, free. Non-members, $15. Please contact the Secretary about advertising. Mobile: 0402 575 219 E-mail: musicteacherssa@gmail.com NEW MEMBERS The Music Teachers’ Association extends a warm welcome to the following music teachers who have joined the association. We looking forward to meeting them at our events. Robert Boundy
Full member
Xing Fang Paul Gibson
Full member Full member
Venessa Oberholzer Tanya Welsh
Full member Associate member Associate member
Sharon Xhuang
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Drums and Percussion Piano Drums and Percussion Piano Piano Piano
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
ACCOMPANIST’S CORNER FINDING YOUR (MUSICAL) NICHE By Dale Ringland generally as repetiteur with an opera or ballet company, and even here the positions are becoming contract positions as the companies (particularly the smaller state companies) try to balance budgets and cut costs. Music teaching in a school is probably the other choice, and can also offer a range of duties where one can gain satisfaction and also earn a good living. However, there are many other options for musicians if you look for them.
Dale Ringland
Early in my career, my old high school English and music teacher expressed her delight that I had found my ‘niche’ in a volatile and often unpredictable profession. I had been worrying that going into the theatre and the commercial side of music, instead of pursuing a concert or academic career, may have been ‘selling out’, but looking back on a fifty-six-year career (and still counting) I realised that finding the right niche was the most important thing to do for a successful career in any walk of life, particularly a life in the arts. Many people do not think of music as a full time job. I have often been asked, ‘but what do you do for a living?’, by people outside the profession, who are very surprised that I have been able to make a respectable and successful living out of music, as have many of my friends and colleagues. The one thing that all of us have in common, is that we have all managed to find a niche which works for us and has allowed us to pursue our calling in many and various ways in music. For instrumentalists, the symphony or opera orchestra can provide a rewarding career, but the choice for pianists is not so straight forward. The very few full time positions are
The only way to do this is to become aware of the options out there and to find a path that works for you. Everyone’s path will be different, but perhaps telling you of my own experiences may give you an idea of what is possible. I grew up in a musical family. My grandmother was an opera singer, my grandfather an organist and singer, and my mother was also a singer and dancer. I was playing the piano by the age of three, and lessons began almost straight away. By the time I was eight, I was already accompanying various members of the family as they sang, and by the time I was ten or eleven was also accompanying their friends and colleagues. My earliest leanings to a career choice came at about this time, and I remember telling some visitors to the convent where I was learning that one day I would have an orchestra that would fill the tennis court outside the music room. I suspect there was the usual adult thing of a good natured ‘isn’t that nice’ sort of thing, but Sister Cecilia, my teacher, knew that I was in earnest, and encouraged me greatly. At age twelve I went to the Conservatorium High School in Sydney and had the great good fortune to have as my teacher Nancy Salas, who was to be a great and understanding teacher and mentor through my time at the Con and beyond. I was well trained to a high
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standard and did all the usual theoretical studies, harmony, and music history and form. At thirteen I became accompanist of the High School Choir. Normally a position for a senior student, none of them raised their hands for the job when asked, and against some opposition from the Headmistress at the time I duly became accompanist for the choir thanks to the support of Choir Mistress Margaret Cunningham and Terence Hunt, Head of the Music Education Program in the NSW Education Department. It was the first step on the ladder. It got me noticed. Sir Bernard Heinze was Director of the Conservatorium at this time and decided that all the pianists should learn an orchestral instrument, or sing, and that all the singers and instrumentalists should learn piano. I won a scholarship to study the French Horn. This was to be a life changer. I did not know it right away, but it was to prove the key to the door of my career. By the time I was sixteen I had already progressed on the French Horn well enough for my teacher Alan Mann, who was Principal Horn in the Sydney Symphony, to put me in the orchestra as sixth Horn in Mahler’s First Symphony. I soon started getting work in various orchestras around town and found myself in the orchestra at the Tivoli Theatre for the Sadler’s Wells production of The Merry Widow, starring June Bronhill, and Orpheus in the Underworld with Suzanne Steele. Little did I know that in later years I would be both an accompanist and conductor for both of these stars. I played on and off at the Tivoli for the next three years. I wasted no time in letting it be known that I also played piano, and wanted to be an accompanist/repetiteur, and a conductor. I started playing rehearsals, and as the cast were all opera singers, found myself being in demand as an accompanist at soirées, and music clubs around town, and
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. also playing rehearsals for Conservatorium Opera School.
the
piano and conducting, and continued to do this until the early nineties.
During this period, I auditioned to join the music staff of J.C. Williamson Theatres. They produced all the big musicals, and at the time also produced opera and ballet. They were very interested in having me join them, but could not take me on until I was eighteen and had finished school.
I had settled in Adelaide in the mid 1980s, and in 1992 after nearly 35 years in the theatre decided to step back. I decided the time had come to concentrate on being an accompanist and to use my experience in other areas of music. And so thanks to friends I had made over years of bringing productions to Adelaide, I slipped quietly into the music scene in Adelaide. I soon found my niche here and for the last twenty-four years have been just as busy as I was for the first thirty-two years. I took a year off and practised to get my piano skills back in top condition, and have had a lovely time as an accompanist at the Elder Conservatorium, Flinders Street School of Music, became Music Director for the Drama Centre at Flinders University, resident pianist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, repetiteur at State Opera of South Australia, and a foundation member of the Adelaide Art Orchestra.
I completed school (still playing at the Tivoli by night, and school by day) and at the end of 1963 was offered a position with JCW as they were known. I would be a music staff member and play as directed, either as a horn player or pianist in the orchestra, as a repetiteur for rehearsals, and would be trained as a conductor. I had found my niche! In less than a year I was conducting the matinees of Camelot for the Brisbane season, and the pattern of my life was set for the next fifty-six years. Although JCW finally went out of business 15 years later, I was by then well established in the music business and went right along doing musicals, opera, ballet, cabaret and concerts. I was still equally at home on horn or
For the statistically minded I have managed in fifty six years to:• Work for 21 major producers and companies
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Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016 •
Play, conduct or rehearse (sometimes all three in the same production) 40 major musicals
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30 operas
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16 full length ballets
•
Innumerable concerts, cabarets, broadcasts and recordings
•
Altogether a total of over 20,000 performances to date
I realise that this will not be everyone’s path to a career in music. It cannot be, as it was the result of my own particular abilities and desires, but the opportunities still do exist if you are prepared to honestly appraise your own talents and interests to seek out a career path. You may be lucky and be able to find a specialist path, or you may find that it requires a mix of several areas to achieve your goal. Along the way you will find that certain areas do not work for you, and that often sacrifices must be made to achieve your ambition. What they may be, and whether you think they are worth making will be up to you. Just get on with it, and most of all, FIND YOUR (musical) NICHE!
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Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
THE COLOURFUL SOUNDS OF MIRIAM HYDE: INSPIRATIONS AND INFLUENCES by Jo-Anne Kemp Miriam Beatrice Hyde is considered to be one of Australia’s best performers, composers and pedagogues. Presenting her own thoughts on each major and minor tonality which she notated during the Second World War provides insight into how Hyde perceived and used colour to create such expressive and impressionistic music. Discussion of other specific influences that Hyde described in her autobiography will also be presented and supported in the selection of specific compositions that best exemplify these influences and inspirations. As a burgeoning piano student, I was introduced to the piano works by Miriam Hyde as part of my practical exams. I was entranced by the manipulation of melody and harmony that Hyde used. As an advanced musician, and having experienced the various highs and lows of life, which Hyde also encountered, I have developed an empathy and understanding of the emotional complexity of Hyde’s music. One thing that needs to be stated from the outset is that subjectivity, in many forms, is inherent in musical discourse. It encourages healthy debate and thought-provoking stimulation. My research explores the various influences and inspirations of Hyde’s music, presenting a selection of four works that demonstrate the maturation of Hyde as a composer, from a 13-year-old adolescent, through to an absolute veteran of Australian music. Some argue that Miriam Hyde should be considered one of the most prominent Australians in the fields of composition, performance and music education within the 20th Century. In her autobiography, Complete Accord (Signature Press, 1991), Hyde describes the upbringing she had and
the artistic milieu which nurtured her passion for music, literature and poetry. Hyde delves into her genealogy that further describes the artistic nature passed down through previous generations. One thing Hyde does not do is lay credence to one particular familial link to her talents and abilities, but simply acknowledges their influence as a collective throughout these generations. In reading any literature or poetry by Hyde, or any of the detailed and descriptive narrations she provides with her compositions, one glimpses a person of eloquence, intellect and profound fervour for her craft. Hyde makes it evidently clear in her autobiography Complete Accord, that her story is ‘…of a woman who, like many others, has gone through life trying to keep a balance between the harmony of the home and the fullest possible development of talents that were recognised at a very early age’ (Complete Accord, p. 9). Born on the 15th of January 1913, Hyde grew up in extremely artistic environs with a mother who was a concert pianist; a father who worked for the Adelaide Steamship Company and created needlework designs for Miller Anderson’s (Adelaide Department Store) and who, in his spare time, dabbled in philately (stamp collection), as well as having a sister who played the violin. Learning piano from her mother at a very early age, Hyde’s first formal composition Evening Primrose was created when she was 4, but it was never formally scored. Successfully winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London saw Hyde leave her native Australia to travel halfway around the world at the age of 19, to study composition under Gordon Jacob. Only three years after arriving in London, Hyde performed the 4th
Figure 1. Table notated by Miriam Hyde between 1940-43. C Major C Minor
Unsentimental, dry, humorous. Forceful, direct, grand, noble.
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Beethoven Piano Concerto with Sir Malcolm Sargent in 1935. Over the years since studying in England and returning to Australia, Hyde forged a career performing regularly for the ABC, examining, teaching, lecturing, composing and raising a family; the outcome of such a diverse career saw her receive an OBE in 1980 for such immeasurable contributions to the field of music. Hyde was still performing and undertaking part-time teaching well into her eighties. 2005 saw Hyde pass away at the age of 91, leaving behind an enduring legacy of music to be explored for many years to come. Hyde’s music, subjectively speaking, is an idiosyncratic constitution of inspirational sources. Virtue is awarded to each individual composition from its propagation as a melodic concept through to completion. She wrote, ‘My sources of inspiration (although this always sounds too pretentious a word) fall roughly into the following categories: 1. Nature; 2. Words or a poem; 3. A painting or a picture; 4. Some musical motif; 5. Some profound emotional experience; 6. Some small incident; 7. Some accident or misfortune; 8. A direct approach from a performer, or a performing group, for a work for some specific purpose’ (Complete Accord, pp. 150-152). The uncovering of elucidations by Hyde, for each of the twelve major and minor tonalities, provides quite a unique insight into how she perceived each tonality and the application of those thoughts onto her 1. compositions .
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. C#/D Major C#/D Minor D Major D Minor D#/E Major D#/E Minor E Major E Minor F Major F Minor F#/G Major F#/G Minor G Major G Minor G#/A Major G#/A Minor A Major A Minor B Major B Minor B Major B Minor
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
Most romantic, ‘juicy’ of all; highly emotional, warm. Tragic with a meaner edge than the other most tragic key (E Minor). Bright, rather green, joyful, chiefly in contrast to its minor, not very appealing. Very minor; serious and of strong purpose rather than tragic. Pompous, suggests flag-flying and patriotism; rather red. Deeply tragic; more sonorous than C# Minor; less bleak. Very bright; greenish-yellow, not given to richness. Cold, bleak, unsympathetic, thin; the most ‘wintry’ of keys. Rather smug, not easily ruffled, complacent, can be insipid. Strong character and high aspiration, dignified, determined. Sentimental, easily becomes sickly and monotonous, though can sparkle brilliantly. Rather unsympathetic and cold but stronger than E Minor. Lends itself to delicacy rather than massive effects. Clear and bright. Straightforward, downright, rather square and teutonic. Romantic, Autumnal in colour, rich, yearning, often serene. Sombreness unrelieved. Spring-like, youthful, clear, dewy. Dusty, colourless, can suggest grotesque or super-natural when used chromatically; not very effective unless used rhythmically. Confident, bombastic, resonant, easily sounds commonplace. Dark and rich, thick, has pathos. Not a very definite personality; not as distinguished as F# Major with one sharp more or E Major with one sharp less. Allows no nonsense; firm, portrays human affairs rather than ideal realms.
What is interesting to note in Hyde’s elucidations for each major and minor key, is that they are of an emotive, almost psychoanalytical viewpoint. Admittedly these elucidations were penned during World War II, an emotionally draining time when her husband was a POW in Europe. Whether her perceptions had changed over time, unfortunately that is a question that will not be easy to answer, as there is no other evidence that Hyde revisited her thoughts on each major and minor tonality. Again, it must be stated that subjectivity will always be at the core of any response provided in relation to creativity. The selected works I will discuss in this article are Reverie, Concert Study No 3, Valley of Rocks and Evening in Cordoba. These works span a period of some sixty years of composition by Hyde and enable detailed exploration of the correlation of the tonalities of each of these works and the construction and manipulation of those tonalities Hyde created. The selected works also demonstrate, interestingly enough, the introvert (Reverie), the technician (Concert Study No 3), the lover of people (Evening in Cordoba) and the lover of 2. nature (Valley of Rocks) . Reverie was composed in 1926, when Hyde was 13 years old. This
work has a tonality of D Major (bright, rather green, joyful) with suggested modulations through D Minor (very minor; serious and of strong purpose rather than tragic); A Minor (dusty, colourless); E Minor (cold, bleak, unsympathetic, thin; the most ‘wintry’ of keys) and a return to D Major for the ending. When asked about this work later in her life, Hyde associates it with an ‘…idyllic garden in the home of Wimbledon friends ...as I relaxed in a hammock on a sultry afternoon, the scent of flowers came to me, as did the nips of a few midges (the whimsical cadenza-like 3.’ passages…) . Composed in 1935 whilst studying in London, Concert Study No 3 was written when Hyde was 22. Having played it to Arthur Benjamin, then Hubert Howells, Hyde was encouraged to write it down and at the time found this a daunting task. This work is highly chromatic in nature and is the most technically difficult and virtuosic of the three Concert Studies. Hyde is strongly influenced by Arthur Benjamin’s style of technique, with deft alternation of the hands required throughout most of this work. This work was recorded by Hyde herself in 1991, when she was 78. Concert Study No 3 begins in C# Minor (tragic with a meaner edge than the other
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most tragic key [E Minor] with some suggested modulations through keys such as B Major [not a very definite personality]); G Major (lends itself to delicacy rather than massive effects, clear and bright); G Minor (straightforward, downright, rather square and teutonic); G#/A Major enharmonic modulation in key signature (Romantic, Autumnal in colour, rich, yearning, serene); D Major (bright, rather green, joyful); leading back to C# Minor. The end of this work has a slight twist with the creation by Hyde of a Tierce de Picardie, as the piece finishes in Db Major (most romantic, ‘juicy’ of all; highly emotional, warm). The contrasting sections throughout are far more lyrical in nature and contrast heavily with the main concept of this 4. study . Demonstrating the profound influence nature had on Hyde, Valley of Rocks was composed in 1974. Hyde was 61. Whilst on holiday in England Hyde visited the Valley of Rocks near Lynton, North Devon. After returning from this holiday, Hyde was approached to compose a ‘quickstudy’ item for an overseas scholarship. This work is centred on the key of B Minor (dark, rich, has pathos) and the opening ‘…invokes the atmosphere of the coastal scene
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. as night is falling’. F Major (rather smug, not easily ruffled, complacent, can be insipid) leads the next section of music, which is very lyrical in nature and ‘…depicts a flowing stream winding its way through the Valley’. Hyde uses a rhythmic feature of a dotted quaver-semiquaver pattern that ‘…expands forcefully with jagged leaps depicting the primeval eruption that created the rock formations, followed by an impassioned statement in C# Minor (tragic, with a meaner edge) of the flowing river theme’. After this impassioned statement, the next section portrays ‘…a stirring wind stirs the leaves and lightening from a distant storm lead to a chromatic cadenza’ leading to a final return of the original key of B Minor with a ‘…reinforced version of the opening harmonies bring the piece to a close – 5. the Valley is folded into night’ . The final composition selected delves into Hyde’s Spanish heritage. Like Valley of Rocks, this work was composed by Hyde (in 1987) after a
holiday, this time in Cordoba. Even at the age of 74, it is clearly evident that Hyde’s skills as a composer had not diminished in any way over time. This work is a superb example of the capturing of human nature and portrays an imagery of ‘...lavish lighting of all the streets and lanes ...groups of young people moved in an ever-flowing stream singing ...sometimes someone would be strumming a guitar in their midst …near the mosque, the narrow streets surged with humanity, reaching a sort of midnight crescendo’. Evening in Cordoba begins in A Minor (dusty, colourless) with suggested modulations through D Major (bright, rather green, joyful); C Major (unsentimental, dry, humorous); Ab Major (Romantic, Autumnal in colour, rich, yearning, serene); back through D Major then F Major (rather smug, not easily ruffled, complacent, can be insipid); F Minor (strong character and high aspiration, dignified, determined); then an alternation between A Minor and A
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016 Major (Spring-like, youthful, clear, dewy). The composition finishes on Hyde’s version of a Tierce de Picardie with the reinforcement of the tonality of A Major (Spring-like, youthful, clear, 6. dewy) . As stated in the opening paragraph, subjectivity has a tendency to be inherent in any discourse on artistic creativity and can bias any underlying concepts or ideals. The other side to this is that the reader or writer of text for any academic research (including this individual endeavour) has, in a sense, prior knowledge that ought to potentially enhance the inquisitiveness of new investigative inquiry. In bringing this article to a close, I can easily comment that, because Hyde was so articulate in openly disclosing influences and inspirations on her work, discourse on her music is facile and enables the best understanding of the compositional complexity and skill she was, and still is, renowned.
SUMMARIES REVERIE • Composed in 1926; Hyde was 13 years old. • Ternary form. • Day-dreaming character. • Tonality of D Major (bright, rather green, joyful) with suggested modulations through D Minor (very minor; serious and of strong purpose rather than tragic), A Minor (dusty, colourless), E Minor (cold, bleak, unsympathetic, thin; the most ‘wintry’ of keys) and a return to D Major for the ending. • Later association with an ‘…idyllic garden in the home of Wimbledon friends ...as I relaxed in a hammock on a sultry afternoon, the scent of flowers came to me, as did the nips of a few midges (the whimsical cadenza-like passages…’). CONCERT STUDY No 3 • Composed in 1935; Hyde was 22 years old. • Played to Arthur Benjamin then Hubert Howells. • Not scored initially; too daunting for Hyde due to its highly chromatic nature. • Influenced by Arthur Benjamin’s style of technique; deft alternation of the hands. • Recorded by Hyde in April 1991. • Travels through 38 tonalities. • Begins in C# Minor (tragic with a meaner edge than the other most tragic key (E Minor), suggested modulations through keys such as B Major (not a very definite personality), G Major (lends itself to delicacy rather than massive effects (clear and bright), G Minor (straightforward, downright, rather square and teutonic), G#/A Major enharmonic modulation in key signature (Romantic, Autumnal in colour, rich, yearning, serene), D Major (bright, rather green, joyful), leading back to C# Minor with a twist at the end – creation by Hyde of a Tierce de Picardie, as the piece finishes in D Major (most romantic, ‘juicy’ of all; highly emotional, warm). • Contrasting sections more lyrical in nature. • The most technically difficult and virtuosic of the three concert studies. VALLEY OF ROCKS • Composed in 1974; Hyde was 61. • Written whilst on holiday in England.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. • • • • • •
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Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
Valley of Rocks near Lynton, North Devon was the inspiration. Composed as a suitable piece as a quick study test for an overseas scholarship (Sydney International Piano Competition). Through-composed in structure with coda restating the opening theme. Key of B Minor (dark, rich, has pathos). Opening invokes the atmosphere of the coastal scene as night is falling. F Major (rather smug, not easily ruffled, complacent, can be insipid) lyrical section depicts a flowing stream winding its way through the valley. Rhythmic feature of dotted quaver-semiquaver expands forcefully with jagged leaps depicting the primeval eruption that created the rock formations followed by an impassioned statement in C# Minor (tragic with a meaner edge) of the flowing river theme. A stirring wind stirs the leaves and lightening from a distant storm lead to a chromatic cadenza. Return to the original key of B Minor (dark, rich, has pathos) with reinforced version of the opening harmonies brings the piece to a close, the valley is folded into night.
EVENING IN CORDOBA • Composed in 1987; Hyde was 74 years old. • Composed after being on holiday in Cordoba. • Delves into Hyde’s Spanish heritage. • Imagery of ‘…lavish lighting of all the streets and lanes …groups of young people moved in an ever-flowing stream singing ...sometimes someone would be strumming a guitar in their midst …near the mosque, the narrow streets surged with humanity, reaching a sort of midnight crescendo’. • Begins in A Minor (dusty, colourless) with suggested modulations through D Major (bright, rather green, joyful), C Major (unsentimental, dry, humorous), A Major (Romantic, Autumnal in colour, rich, yearning, serene), back through D Major then F Major (rather smug, not easily ruffled, complacent, can be insipid), F Minor (strong character and high aspiration, dignified, determined), then an alternation between A Minor and A Major (Spring-like, youthful, clear, dewy) to finish on Hyde’s version of a Tierce de Picardie with the reinforcement of the tonality of A Major (Spring-like, youthful, clear, dewy). BIBLIOGRAPHY Hyde, M. Complete Accord. Currency Press. Sydney, 1991. Hyde, M. Piano Works of Miriam Hyde, Signature Series. Allans Publishing, Melbourne, 1995. Hyde, M. Valley of Rocks. Albert and Son Pty. Ltd. Sydney, 1976. Hyde, M. Three Concert Studies for Piano. The Keys Press, Perth, 2001. Hyde, M. Evening in Cordoba. The Keys Press, Perth, 2000. Edwards, C. Table of Keys and their Colours. Sydney, 2014. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS British Music: The Journal of the British Music Society, Volume 38, 2016/1. APPCA Conference 2015. END NOTES 1. This table was discovered by Christine Edwards (Hyde’s daughter to Marcus Edwards) in 2014 when she was going through some of her mother’s scrap books and personal notebooks and is reproduced with permission. 2. There are possibly other works of similar character and skill that could have been selected for the purpose of analysis, but I feel these provide more than adequate differentiation for the purpose of discourse. 3. The specific comments related to the various sections within this work are sourced from the notes provided at the back of the Signature Series sheet music published by Allans Publishing in 1995. 4. The tonalities mentioned are simply an example of what modulatory movement occurred throughout this work. The specific comments related to the various sections within this work are sourced from the inside cover of the sheet music published by The Keys Press in 2001. 5. The specific comments related to the various sections within this work are sourced from the inside cover of the sheet music published by Albert and Son Pty. Ltd. in 1976. This work also demonstrates the impressionistic nature and skill of Hyde’s compositional techniques, along with the influence of Debussy in capturing the ‘essence’ of nature in music. 6. The specific comments related to the various sections within this work are sourced from the inside cover of the sheet music published by The Keys Press in 2000.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
IN MEMORIAM: MARY GILLESPIE Born March 3, 1927, died August 31, 2016 Compiled by Josephine Gillespie (Mary’s daughter)
Mary Gillespie with Miriam Hyde
Mary Gillespie was born in Balaklava in 1927 to Ethel and Leo Cleary. Mum had five older brothers and life was idyllic for the family living on the land. Unfortunately this utopia was shattered with the death of her mother when Mum was 5 and further when her Father was tragically killed five days before Christmas when Mum was 10 years of age. Life on the farm proved too difficult under these circumstances so it was decided that Mum was to board at St Joseph’s Convent, Balaklava. It was at the convent that Mum developed her love of music. She sang in the choir, learnt violin and began her piano lessons with Sister Therese Gleeson, who remained a life-long friend to us all.
After completing her schooling in Balaklava Mum moved to the big smoke of Adelaide and lived with her four Aunties in Toorak Gardens. She commenced her piano studies at the Elder Conservatorium under the tutelage of Miriam Hyde. Miriam continued to provide a profound influence on Mum’s music throughout her life. Mum’s performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in the Adelaide Town Hall was an early musical highlight. As well as a devotion to music a calling to help others in the form of nursing came to Mum and she started her training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Feminism was yet to arrive so Mum had to surrender her nursing career after marrying John Gillespie in 1949. This meant a return to her music and the birth of a teaching career that continued until the day before her passing. From the 1950’s, as well as teaching at home, Mum went on to teach at Woodlands Girls Grammar, then Sacred Heart and Cabra Colleges. Mum became a member of the Music Teachers’ Association and was awarded Life Membership. A highly regarded and well-respected piano examiner, Mum travelled throughout South Australia on behalf of the Australian Music Examinations Board.
Mum was also the organist for St Joseph’s Brighton Parish for over forty years. Mum was teaching the day before she died and as recently as July this year one of her students obtained an A for their 8th Grade examination. Mum maintained friendships with many of her pupils and several, including myself, have gone on to make music their vocation, such was her great influence. Mum’s special qualities were reflected in all her relationships. As a friend she was compassionate and kind. As a teacher she was generous, inspiring and dedicated, as a mother and grandmother, she was loving and devoted. As a person she was fiercely independent, strong and loved by so many.
Mary Gillespie
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
OUR TIME AT BALAKLAVA By Di Spence were invited to join a host of committees, attend lots of fundraising events, and take part in the sporting life of the town. There were neighbourhood barbecues, dinner shows in the Town Hall and invitations to help in entertainment for these shows. At the local church I noticed that the older organist played the one pipe organ in the town very well, and led the hymn singing in a strong Wesleyan fashion, as I was accustomed to. We became firm friends, and she turned out to be the last of a line of piano teachers, tough and producing young students who played well and achieved nothing less than A for AMEB exams.
Di Spence
Balaklava. We arrived in 1981, on a hot day, the Principal of the Primary School, I the wife, and three kids. We were excited about different things. Geoff about to start out on a new position in his career in teaching – as Principal of a sizeable Primary School, 100 kilometres from Adelaide; our children, aged 8, 6, and 5, were able to walk to the local swimming pool; I could continue my B. Mus. studies at the Elder Conservatorium in voice. The town and surrounds were neat, with enormous horizons. The Wakefield River was dry. We were interested in the Town Hall – very imposing for a town of 1,600 people – but rather rat-infested. Good stage – raked … wonderful dance floor. Awful pianos. Sports clubs were very well supported. Two pubs and at least five churches. High School, a Primary School and a Kindergarten. And so we burrowed our way into the life of a country community. Everyone seemed to know who we were and we found that they were in some way related to almost everyone else. We
The organist told the most wonderful, funny, ribald, local stories, all true, apparently, whenever I visited for practice. This wonderful friend became my practice accompanist for my 2nd and 3rd year recital programmes for my university studies. We worked through Fauré, Schumann and even Margaret Sutherland works together.
Balaklava Town Hall
She asked me to conduct the church choir - a mixed blessing of characters who were very content with their lot in life. I remember one alto stating, ‘I will sing nothing over G above middle C, and if I don’t know the piece I will not sing it. Do not expect me to attend practices either’. Another stentorian voice in the soprano section did battle with the organist and the tempo on most Sundays. I did not last long in this position, and closed the choir. Into its place came a delightful young group of girls, led by
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a woman of my age (36), who had struggled to be heard up until that point. One of the families on a farm had heard that I had some music qualification, and explained that both parents had a great desire to see music taught as a subject in the high school. Their four daughters learnt whatever instrument was available from the IMS (flute, clarinet, trumpet and trombone).
Singing around the piano, 2008: Meriel Lane, Roanne George, Di Spence
Their mother would travel up to Clare once per week to join in the music making of the Community Concert Band there. Both instrumental teachers, Len Shelley and Terry Tresize, led this band. So, I joined in with the family trip and played 2nd triangle for a year or two. There was a small group of people meeting together who represented a once thriving Musical Theatre Club. They were about to close when my dear friend, the organist, who had been there since its inception and was still there, asked me to attend their AGM, with my other ‘young friends’ and they would hand over the group with its money to us! Such trust and such foresight! This is exactly what happened. So, we started our new enterprise with enthusiasm, and support from a couple of the old members. One hundred people joined in no time. Our first show was launched on the Town Hall stage to celebrate the renovations to the hall and kitchen. Because of the renewed interest in the arts, the Town Hall
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. Committee managed to land a grant to pay for the renovations.
needed to be happening as the arts developed in the town.
In this way, the Balaklava Community Arts Group has been the focus for some emerging talent over these years, in direction, singing, instrumental music and backstage work, including lighting and sound. The Town Hall Committee has worked closely with the Arts groups to provide a very good venue with a grand piano, raked seating, air conditioning and a commercial grade kitchen.
I was asked to start music in the high school in 1983. It had not been taught as a subject for some years. At the same time, music was taught to primary school classes by a specialist music teacher. Facilities were less than ideal, but there was enthusiasm by the school leaders for the subject and so I managed to survive the first two years and suddenly the energy took over, and students and parents alike supported whatever was attempted.
So, students at the local schools now have a good facility for drama and music performances and catering classes from TAFE are held there. The big fundraisers are still held there. The development of the Hall
The Eisteddfod was mooted, twenty years ago, by a committee member of the Community Arts Group. The President at the time set it up, with
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Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016 help from the Adelaide Eisteddfod, and so a fledgling festival over one weekend has grown into a very important part of the regional arts calendar. Our local Council use this as promotion for this district. Balaklava’s own cultural awareness, particularly among its young people, has been deepened a great deal because other musicians come here to perform when the Canola is just coming into flower each year. I am now one of the senior citizens of the district. It is an amazing 35 years of living in a country town as a musician. There is much to tell, but I must close before I wallow.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
ADVICE FOR PIANISTS: PIANO LESSON MYTHS, PART 2 by Howard Richman Howard B. Richman is a pianist, composer, songwriter, teacher and author. Mr. Richman’s formal training is in music. He received a B.A. degree in piano performance from UCLA in 1980 and an M.F.A. (Master Fine Arts) degree from California Institute of the Arts in 1984, where he also taught on the faculty for three years. Mr. Richman was selected to be a participant in the very first film scoring workshop with Earle Hagen in 1986, sponsored by BMI. He is President of Sound Feelings Publishing (http://www.soundfeelings.com).
Piano lesson myths are so ingrained into our culture and our consciousness that it almost seems silly to counter them. But on close examination, even the most ‘obvious’ beliefs about piano study and piano practice are not only wrong, they are damaging to the individual who is bound by their chains. This material is an attempt to help pianists of all levels to be liberated from such mental constraints, attitudes and assumptions regarding piano lessons, so that they might truly reach their goals. ‘Children learn faster than adults’. Reality: There is no difference. From my own personal experience of teaching both children and adults since 1975, this idea that a child’s brain is more receptive is incorrect. What may be true is that the child is less encumbered by the busy-ness of life and tends to have less mental clutter. This state results in a naturally-better focusing ability which creates the illusion that the child may be able to absorb new material faster than the adult. However, what the child often doesn’t have is desire. The adult really wants to study piano. And this great desire creates the same type of focus that is needed for quick learning. In fact, adults who have this intention, often from wanting to make up ‘for lost time’, often learn faster than children! The adult who is just a dabbler who doesn’t have the great desire is a typical hectic, frazzled adult. This type of adult is the adult who will tend to learn slower – not because they don’t practice enough, but because their energy is so distracted. Another cause of distraction is self-judgement
and stress and impatience that is associated with learning. Adults have had their lifetimes to become familiar with music so they know how it is ‘supposed’ to sound, whereas children usually have never heard the piece they are learning. As a result, adults do tend to become easily frustrated by comparing their current ability to play a piece with the way they know it should sound – and THIS comparison can cause enough stress and anxiety that the adult student will often lose interest or stop playing altogether. So adult students need to take caution about this unnecessary temptation to think they ‘should’ sound like a professional pianist after only playing for three weeks. The adult student must learn to embrace his or her current ability with grace and appreciation. From this point improvement will occur. ‘Since I didn’t begin studying piano as a child I’ll never be able to play well as an adult’. Reality: It’s never too late. Early neural stimulation as a child DOES help with musical intelligence as an adult, but it need not be from the piano. For example, kids who are great at sports or gymnastics or dance are often the best at piano, when they eventually try it. That’s not a surprise to most people. But what is a surprise is that adults show the same parallel! An adult who had been athletic as a child will find it easier to learn piano as an adult, because the advanced neurological stimulation lasts one’s whole life. It is simply a new application. If you’ve had a nurturing, stimulating environment as a child, you will definitely have an advantage when you begin piano studies as an adult. If you had limited exposure to physical experiences as a child, this
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would tend to make it more difficult to learn the piano whether you are a child or an adult. ‘I should study finger technique before playing actual music’. Reality: Is physical technique and accuracy more important than interpretation and expression? No. Does physical technique and accuracy take more time to master than interpretation and expression? No. It’s like comparing apples and oranges, but both require a lot of time. The best way to develop interpretation and expression is through the repertoire. In some countries, it is common to have a student just do drills for five years before they are allowed to play any music. Then the student is allowed to play repertoire. It’s no surprise that these performers play accurately and fast, with very little expression. The best thing to do is to study music along with finger technique. Ideally, the difficulty of the technique level should always be slightly ahead of the requirements of the repertoire. ‘I must practice every day’. Reality: Taking two or three guilt-free days off from practicing each week will help you progress faster than if you practiced everyday! Think body building. People who work out or who lift weights are always told to rest the day after a workout. Why? Because the workout tears down the muscle tissue and the day off is when it is rejuvenated and built up stronger than before. Our brains are similar to this. The rest periods are when your brain assimilates your effort. Also, the reason it must be guilt-free is so that you get the complete benefit of the day of rest. If you intend to practice seven days a week and you
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. miss a day, you will be inclined to be stressed about it during the inadvertent day off. So instead of relaxing from the piano on that day, you are more stressed. In fact, with this more typical approach, you may be inclined to practice more the next day with the hopes of ‘making up’ for the missed day. This approach never
works. You can’t cram the piano. All you will get is more and more errors and more and more frustrated because your poor brain is never given a rest it desperately needs. For best results, just practice only four days a week. This allows you to plan-in three days a week of guilt-free rest. (These days do not have to be
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016 in a row.) This is realistic and supportive because things often come up for us in our busy lives anyway. By making four days a week 100% of the requirement, if you do more, you feel great.
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PEDAGOGY MATTERS by Rodney Smith During our last MTA Summer Conference some members who hold Provisional Registration raised an issue concerning their ability to meet the 200 days of teaching service required to transition to full Registration. They are private providers of music teaching in schools (PMIs) and they indicated their teaching service could only be recognized for full Registration if they are staff members of the school(s) concerned. The Teachers’ Registration Board has confirmed this point. Private Providers are employed under different terms and conditions from school teaching staff. They are not school teaching staff and therefore not eligible to form part of bargaining, or pay and conditions applied to teachers on staff. This includes transitioning to fully registered teacher status where only service as a teacher on staff can be counted. In this context readers may wish to cross-reference to the article concerning the recent SAIRC ruling in the following article.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
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Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION (SAIRC) RULING AUGUST 10, 2016 by Rodney Smith The following three posts from MTASA were included on our Facebook page during September: First post: 1. Teachers following the current debate about instrumental teaching in DECD schools may be interested to read the SAIRC ruling and Schedule 1 to gain a better understanding of what it’s all about. Second post: 1. MTA believes music teachers should be appropriately credentialed for the tasks they are undertaking. It also supports such teachers being remunerated at an appropriate rate. 2. While MTA is a professional association, not a union, it will always advocate for its members within the limits of its remit when the occasion demands. 3. MTA intends to obtain the most accurate information available in connection with recent developments within DECD in relation to the employment of instrumental music teachers in schools. It will support efforts to ensure there is the best possible outcome for pupils and teachers concerned. Third post: Instrumental music teachers in DECD schools. This has been an unsettling time for members who teach an instrument in DECD schools. Understandably there has been much debate and conjecture following the very recent Industrial Relations Commission ruling on August 10. I’ve been fortunate to have had discussions with a large number of members and also DECD personnel all of whom appeared deeply involved in a desire to achieve a worthwhile way forward. However, this may take a little more time given the short timeframe so far. The MTA believes its members should be appropriately credentialed and should be employed with suitable remuneration and working conditions. I’ve formed the impression that DECD is making serious efforts to meet the challenges thrown up by the Industrial Relations Commission’s ruling and that management from the highest levels is seeking workable outcomes for DECD’s music programs in which our members play a significant role. Clearly DECD has a number of issues to address, not least of which is how funding will be managed if schools switch from Private Music Instructors (PMIs) to Hourly Paid Instructors (HPIs). For its part, MTASA is constitutionally committed to endorsing music teachers who are appropriately qualified for the job they are undertaking. DECD’s Schedule 1 mandates such appropriate qualifications and has done so for some years. There can be little doubt many DECD instrumental teachers’ employment conditions could be improved if they met the Schedule 1 requirements for an HPI and could be employed as such. To that end teachers wishing to continue teaching in the DECD school sector are strongly advised to ensure their qualifications meet the requirements indicated for HPIs in Schedule 1. Although DECD will undoubtedly be challenged to implement the switch to HPIs in the short timeframe ordered by SAIRC, one thing seems certain, DECD has no wish to lose its valuable instrumental teaching force over this issue. Such a development would benefit no-one.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
MUSIC TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF SA INC./ GRACE BARBARA TURNER AWARDS FOR 2016 The Music Teachers’ Association provides the Music Teachers’ Association of SA Inc./Grace Barbara Turner Awards for Excellence in Performance every year at the Adelaide Eisteddfod. The recipients for 2016 are: Wind Maria Zhdananovich, flute Maria Zhdananovich started learning flute in 2007 from Evgeny Zayvey at the E.A. Mravinsky St Petersburg Children’s School of Arts (Russia), at the age of 7. After moving to Australia Maria began lessons with Kerryn Schofield and joined Flutes of Fleurieu (2009-2013). Shortly after, Maria began lessons with Alison Rosser in 2010 and in 2016 began lessons with Elizabeth Koch (Associate Professor of Flute, Head of Performance and Head of Woodwind at the University of Adelaide). Throughout the years, Maria has participated in the Australian Flute Festival, Flute Players Day, has been Second and First Flute of the Adelaide Youth Sinfonia (2011-2014), has won several sections in the Adelaide Eisteddfod including Grade 6 Flute Solo, Grade 7 and 8 Flute Solo and 18 Years and Under Flute Solo, along with being awarded The David Cubbin Flute Medallion and winning the Carolyn White Memorial Scholarship in 2013. Currently Maria is studying at Marryatville High School (Year 11) as part of the Special Interest Music Program where she participates in various school choirs, instrumental ensembles and is given the opportunity to perform throughout the year, to participate in Generations in Jazz (national jazz competition), and will go to Japan later this year to perform and participate in various workshops. She also currently plays Second Flute in the Adelaide Youth Orchestra. Maria hopes to have a career in music in the future. Strings Linh Nguyen, double bass Linh Nguyen has learnt the double bass for 10 years and is currently studying with David Schilling, Principle Double Bassist of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. She completed AMEB 8th Grade Double Bass in 2015 with a high distinction. Linh is the Principle Double Bassist of the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, of which she has been a member for two years. In 2016 she participated in the Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp in Canberra and Young Symphonists in Sydney, and will participate in more programs in 2017.
Piano Chris Tang As a current Year 9 music student studying at Pembroke School, Chris Tang has now walked through nine whole years of his life with the accompaniment of a special friend – the piano. Chris began learning the piano at the age of 7 when he and his family still lived in China before immigrating to Australia in 2010. As a lazy young boy who struggled to practice piano every day, Chris’s father Tommy acted as a strict supervisor who forced him to play for at least an hour a day after finishing his school work. Learning the piano wasn’t always fun for Chris: in fact, he disliked piano playing in the beginning and preferred other hobbies such as drawing and painting. Chris’s real love and passion for piano was aroused when he was 13 years old, after he started learning with Irina Lioubimova, his current teacher. At the time, Irina suggested to Chris that he should try to play Liebestraum No 3 – one of the most famous pieces of classical piano music. In his own words, Chris said that ‘playing Liebestraum changed my view completely towards piano playing. For the first time I felt that strength, power and warmness can be brought by music to people’. After playing Liebestraum, Chris started to listen to more piano music every day and this also encouraged him to practice more. In the last two years his hard work has been paying off: being awarded the Piano Certificate of Performance Prize by the AMEB last year and winning First Prize in two sections of the Adelaide Eisteddfod piano competition. Other than piano, Chris also plays the French horn which he started learning when he was 12 years old. He now participates in two school bands at Pembroke and holds a music scholarship at the school.
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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
Chris’s favourite composers are Chopin, Mozart and Rachmaninoff. He loves learning new pieces by these composers and is currently learning Chopin’s Scherzo No 4 to play in performances or competitions next year. Piano has become an inseparable part of Chris now in his everyday life, just like how he needs food and water. Vocal Victoria Coxhill, soprano Victoria Coxhill graduated with First Class Honours in a Bachelor of Music from the Elder Conservatorium in 2013. Stage roles include Countess Almaviva (Marriage of Figaro), Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte) and The Abbess (Suor Angelica) with Co-Opera, Mother (Hansel and Gretel), First Lady (Magic Flute) and Cinderella’s Step-Mother (Into the Woods) with the Elder Conservatorium. Other roles include the title role of La Perichole, Edith (Pirates of Penzance) and Lady Psyche (Princess Ida). Victoria has sung as a soloist for many of the mainstream oratorio works including Messiah, St John and St Matthew Passions, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Faure’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. During her studies, Victoria won a Director’s Award, the Frederick Bevan Award for Singing and the German Lieder Prize. In the Adelaide Eisteddfod this year Victoria won the Rae Cocking Memorial Lied, Barbara Howard Vocal Prize, the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc./Grace Barbara Turner Award - Vocal and was a finalist for the Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship. She also recently won the Limestone Coast Showcase Aria for the second consecutive year. Victoria is a member of the State Opera of South Australia Chorus and a core member of the internationally acclaimed Adelaide Chamber Singers. She has toured internationally with them twice, including in 2013 when they won the ‘Choir of the World at Llangollen’ in Wales. As well as being a freelance performer, Victoria works as a classroom music teacher, private singing instructor and choral conductor.
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CONCERT PERFORMANCE DAY 2 Held: Saturday August 13 Venue: St Andrew’s By The Sea Uniting Church, 92 Jetty Road, Glenelg by Norma Knight On a mild almost-spring day, some 50 students along with their siblings, parents and grandparents made the slightly longer trek down to the Bay, where the second Concert Performance Day was held at St Andrews By the Sea at Glenelg. In the beautiful acoustic of the church sanctuary we heard students play piano, flute, violin, bassoon and vocal chords! We heard, for example, simple versions of Brahms Lullaby and Dvořák’s New World Symphony as well as a delightfully mischievous piece called The Mouse in the Coat from Preliminary students. It would take too long to list all the delights that these beginning musicians brought to us but I know the audience thoroughly agreed when one of our commentators remarked on the high
standard of musicality being shown by such young performers. There was a delightful mix of styles and composers throughout the afternoon at all three sessions. We heard Rags, Foxtrots, Boogies and Blues, and Australian composers were well represented by Miriam Hyde, Dulcie Holland and Elena Kats-Chernin. It was lovely to hear her Eliza Aria (made famous as the theme to Late Night Live) played on flute. All grades were represented right up to A.Mus. A. and the standard was excellent, with Chopin, Bach, Debussy and Rachmaninoff being the favoured composers. As usual we had experienced teachers writing reports for each performer and we thank Koula Raptis, Jeffrey Kong, Keith Hempton and Robin Parkin for their willingness to come and give
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encouragement and helpful hints to the students. Thank you to the teachers who regularly take advantage of the Concert Performance Days. Your MTASA is delighted to give your students this opportunity to develop their ability to perform confidently in unfamiliar surroundings, and in the case of the pianists, on an unfamiliar instrument.
Performers in the first session
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
REIMANN – ROBINSON SCHOLARSHIP Held: Saturday September 17 Venue: Cynthia Poulton Hall, North Adelaide by Betty Snowden Originally known as the Gwen Robinson Scholarship after its generous donor, a highly regarded Adelaide piano teacher, the name was later changed to Reimann/Robinson to honour Robinson’s teacher Immanuel Reimann (1859-1932) for his work as an Adelaide music educator. Reimann founded the Adelaide College of Music in 1883 and with the opening of the Elder Conservatorium ten years later the two institutions merged and Reimann eventually became assistant-director. He was also a long-term member of AMEB, and its major music editor. The nine Reimann/Robinson scholarship contestants provided an afternoon of brilliant playing. Although the scholarship is open to a range of instrumentalists the competitors were all pianists who clearly demonstrated the exceptionally high standard of performance and of piano teaching in
Ashley Hribar with Nicky Poznak
Adelaide, and also indicated a promising future for our young musicians. The students presented dynamic, polished and inspiring performances, a credit to themselves, and to their teachers and parents who so importantly encourage and support them and are unquestionably a large part of their success. The choice of repertoire was wideranging, with most students playing something from each period. They all seemed to relish the modern works, which I found pleasing, but also performed Bach and Beethoven and Chopin and Brahms with equal zest and composure. Many thanks to the distinguished adjudicator Ashley Hribar who might have had a difficult time selecting a winner from such a brilliant field, however, he seemed to have no hesitation in awarding the prize to
Ashley Hribar (left) with all of the performers
Nicky Poznak for her moving performances of Bach, Mozart and Chopin. The availability of such scholarships provides valuable performing experience under concert conditions. The Cynthia Poulton Hall at St Peter’s Cathedral is ideal for this occasion, being an intimate space with excellent acoustics. Thanks go to the efforts of MC Rodney Smith, and Masako Kondo, Liz Pearce and Hayley Wedding who administered the smooth running of the event behind the scenes. Special thanks must also go to MTASA for continuing to organise this significant instrumental scholarship for students.
Nicky Poznak’s passion for music began at an early age, when she found joy in listening to her parents, both classically trained musicians, practicing their craft. She started her own journey late, under the instruction of her father. However, developed in leaps and bounds, completing Grades 4, 6, 7 and 8 all within a four-year period. Most recently she completed her Certificate of Performance with a High Distinction, being awarded the David Merchant Prize in recognition of her efforts, received first prize in the Miriam Hyde Award and was awarded the 2016 Reimann-Robinson Scholarship. Nicky regularly performs for the Music Teachers’ Association, as well as within and outside of her school. Her desire to continue her development as a musician has led her to the study of other genres including guitar, jazz, as well as vocal performance.
♫♫♫ J HUMOUR J The following answers to written music examinations were given by students in the American state of Missouri. compiled by Harold Dunn.
The list was
It is easy to teach anyone to play the Maracas. Just grip the neck and shake him in rhythm. Morris dancing is a country survival from times when people were happy. My very best liked piece is the Bronze Lullaby. In the last scene of Pagliacci, Canio stabs Nedda, who is the one he really loves. they all live happily ever after.
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Pretty soon, Silvio also gets stabbed, and
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
NORMAN SELLICK MEMORIAL PRIZE Saturday October 22 Cynthia Poulton Hall, North Adelaide by Betty Snowden
Rosanne Hammer addresses the audience
What an unenviable task was given to Rosanne Hammer, adjudicator of this high standard scholarship performance afternoon at Cynthia Poulton Hall, St Peter’s Cathedral on Saturday October 22. Rosanne herself admitted to the difficulty that she had in selecting a winner. However there had to be a winner. On this occasion it was Cindy Shi who edged out two other high performers by the fact that both her pieces were stunningly executed. This evenness won her the day over performances in which one piece was brilliant but the other less so. This seemed a fair decision. The works chosen by performers ranged from Bach to Maykapar to Shostakovich, Miriam Hyde and Colin Brumby. There is certainly a tendency for young people to favour and brilliantly execute the works of more contemporary composers, not that Maykapar or Shostakovich can be considered contemporary.
The performers
There were fourteen competitors: two voice, one flute and the remainder pianists. It was a delight to hear these young musicians perform, all showing high promise, and all passionate, highly skilled and inspiring. MTASA established the Norman Sellick Memorial Prize in 1972 to honour the immense contribution that violinist, teacher and conductor Norman Sellick (1895-1970) gave to the Adelaide musical community in the first half of the twentieth century. He was a wellknown violin teacher and Deputy Leader of the South Australian Symphony Orchestra. He established a number of orchestras, including the Unley Orchestra in 1924, and was asked by Prof. John Bishop to conduct a Junior Orchestra at the Elder Conservatorium in 1948. For twenty-four years he was President of MTASA (1941-44, 1948-69). It is indeed important to honour such a distinguished musical figure in our city, and our young musicians are a credit to his memory.
Cindy Shi is commended
It is hoped that MTASA continues to hold this scholarship prize, which offers valuable performance experience to young Adelaidians. Many thanks to the adjudicator, Rosanne Hammer, whose comments on the performers were deeply encouraging.
Cindy Shi with Rosanne Hammer
Special thanks to MC Rodney Smith, and also to Masako Kondo and Norma Knight for their important and greatly appreciated work in administering and running the event.
♫♫♫ J HUMOUR J
What do you get when you play New Age music backwards? New Age music. A teenage pop-fan was taken to her first symphony concert. to her mother and said, ‘Is it all right if I scream now?’
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At the conclusion of the opening piece she turned
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
CONTACT DETAILS FOR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 5MBS Visit: www.5mbs.com
AMEB Email: ameb@adelaide.edu.au
FLUTE SOCIETY of SA INC http://saflutesociety.org/
ABRSM International Representative – South Australia – Anastasia Chan Email: abrsmsa@hotmail.com Tel: 08-8234 5952/ 0423 282 589 http://au.abrsm.org/en/home
ANATS SA & NT CHAPTER The Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ltd. Enquiries: President (Pat. H. Wilson) – (08) 8355 3526 Email: anats.sa.nt@gmail.com Website: www.anats.org.au
MUSICA VIVA http://www.musicaviva.com.au/ for concert details.
ACCOMPANISTS’ GUILD of SA INC. Contacts: The Secretary, Frances Wood, fdwood@adam.com.au, the President, Monika Laczofy, mlaczofy1@bigpond.com or the website www.accompanist.org.au ADELAIDE BAROQUE www.adelaidebaroque.com.au ADELAIDE CHAMBER SINGERS www.adelaidechambersingers.com ADELAIDE PHILHARMONIA CHORUS For enquiries please contact the Secretary at, secretary@philharmonia.net ADELAIDE EISTEDDFOD SOCIETY INC. http://www.sacomment.com/aes/eisteddfod/ ADELAIDE YOUTH ORCHESTRA www.adyo.com.au
ASME www.asme.sa.edu.au AUSTRALASIAN DOUBLE REED SOCIETY http://adrs.org.au/web/ AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET www.asq.com.au BALAKLAVA EISTEDDFOD www.balaklavaeisteddfod.org.au or write to PO Box 253, Balaklava, SA 5461 or Ph/fax (08) 8863 1242. ELDER CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC www.music.adelaide.edu.au ELDER HALL www.elderhall.adelaide.edu.au or Contact: Elder Hall Concert Manager 8313 5925
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Mt GAMBIER EISTEDDFOD Enquiries, Secretary, PO Box 1711, Mt Gambier, SA 5290, telephone (08) 8725 5905, E-mail backstageinc@internode.on.net, website www.backstageinc.orgf.au/default.asp. PRIMARY SCHOOLS MUSIC FESTIVAL, http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/musicprograms/pages/ MusicPrograms/PSMusicFestival/?reFlag=1 AUSTRALASIAN DOUBLE REED SOCIETY, http://adrs.org.au/web/ THE SOCIETY OF RECORDER PLAYERS SA INC. Society mobile number 0410 109 135, E-mail npope@bigpond.net.au SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BAND ASSOCIATION, http://www.sabandassociation.org/ SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSIC CAMP ASSOCIATION INC., www.samusiccamp.net.au ANZCA MUSIC EXAMINATIONS, http://www.anzca.edu.au/
The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.
Vol. 24 No. 4 – Oct/Dec 2016
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