Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Diane Baxter[expand title=”Read Presenter Bio” swaptitle=” “]Dr. Diane Baxter, pianist, educator and consultant, is the editor of The Oregon Musician. She recently retired as Professor of Music at Western Oregon University where she received the Faculty Honors Award for Outstanding Creativity and the Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching. Diane taught studio piano and courses in Ethnomusicology, Performance Anxiety, and Research Methods. Dr. Baxter has adjudicated the Woodley Festival in Berkshire, England on several occasions. She adjudicates for all ages, and all levels. Diane consults and performs far and wide, often giving workshops on doing our best under pressure. “The Science of Artistry: The Fourth String” was published in Clavier Companion in Nov/Dec 2013. Diane’s article, “Ethnomusicology and Alchemy” was published in the April/May 2020 edition of American Music Teacher. Diane performs and teaches in France each summer, and in 2018 she began an international annual workshop on the shores of Loch Etive in the Scottish Highlands. The focus is on performance success and doing our best when it matters most. The workshop is thriving. Closer to home, recently Diane started writing the program notes for Corvallis Piano International and she continues to perform as principal keyboardist for the Newport Symphony. She lives, writes, plays and thinks in Brownsville, Oregon.[/expand]

Program Description: How do we hear?[expand title=”Read More” swaptitle=”]What happens in the brain when we learn simple five finger patterns? What knowledge about brain function assists us as we learn new music? How do we process music? What does it mean “to know” a piece of music? How do we recall music? How does the athleticism of piano playing shape our behavior? This talk presents basic information about neurological functions from the performer’s point of view. It is a fascinating and diverse body of information.[/expand]