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Grant Event – Piano Methods from Around the World
Presenting District: Eugene
Presenters: Dr. Lark Powers, NCTM & Dr. Ricardo de la Torre
Program Description: Much has been written about the value, advantages, and disadvantages of piano method books for beginning students. However, few comparative studies on the methodology of different international approaches exist. The objective of this joint session is to present, discuss, and contrast piano methods at the beginning level from different pedagogical traditions by authors from France, Germany, Hungary, Cuba, and Japan. Elements discussed will include the approach to introducing note-reading, how technique is built, the structure of rhythmic exercises, and the introduction of general musicianship, as well as the use of fanciful elements that engage children. We will compare and contrast these approaches to ones used in English-speaking countries, particularly American piano methods. Teachers may find inspiration for teaching specific skills through the analysis of these method books, as well as gaining increased awareness of what texts are used worldwide, while enjoying a lively discussion of pedagogical merits and cultural values.
About Dr. Lark Powers: Dr. Lark Powers has performed at such venues as Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally she has been heard in Europe, Mexico and Canada. In addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles, including the Tacoma Symphony, Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, the Tacoma Opera, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, she appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the duo she forms with pianist Ricardo de la Torre. Last spring they were soloists with the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra. Locally she is a frequent performer on Lakewold Garden’s Music From Home series, the Listen Live at Lunch series at the First Lutheran Church of Tacoma, the Second City Chamber Series, and the faculty artist series at Pacific Lutheran University.
Lark received a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees (in piano, theory pedagogy and in harpsichord) and a graduate performance diploma in piano from the Peabody Institute. Her undergraduate studies occurred at the University of the Pacific, where she earned a BM in piano performance, summa cum laude, after which she attended the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris for three years where she won a premier prix.
A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and a Washington State Visiting Artist, Lark is an Associate Professor at Pacific Lutheran University where she instructs applied lessons and accompanying, and coordinates the group keyboard program. Dr. Powers has presented on topics including managing performance anxiety, the creativity inherent in the Baroque repertoire, the pedagogy of keyboard harmony, and more. She is a proponent of new music, specializing in the music of Latin American composers, and can be heard on recordings with the Pan Pacific Ensemble on Albany records and the Cherry Creek Flute Duo.
About Dr. Ricardo de la Torre: Dr. Ricardo de la Torre currently serves as piano instructor for the Community Music Program at the University of Puget Sound, where he was also staff accompanist for the School of Music. Ricardo has played in concert venues in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Spain, Austria, and France. A finalist and prize winner in several competitions in Mexico and the U.S., he received second prize at the Eleventh Annual Competition in the Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America, sponsored by Indiana University’s Latin American Music Center and the Embassy of Spain. The recordings he made as a result of this competition were included in a two-CD collection released by the LAMC. Together with his wife, Dr. Lark Powers, Ricardo forms a piano duo that has performed internationally, was a finalist of the United States International Piano Duo Competition in Colorado Springs and received a Silver Award at the first international competition of the Carles & Sofía Foundation of Spain. Born in Mexico City, Ricardo attended Escuela Superior de Música in his hometown, where he received a Bachelor’s degree cum laude. He continued his studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he received a Master of Music degree and went on to graduating with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked as a teaching assistant. An active presenter, he has participated in numerous local, regional, national, and international conferences and the results of his research have been published in specialized journals in the U.S., Mexico and Colombia. He is a visiting artist for the Washington State Music Teachers Association’s Music Artistry Program and has served on the faculties of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, and East Central University in Ada, OK. After being pianist at First Lutheran Church in Tacoma and directing its summer concert series Listen Live at Lunch, Ricardo currently works as Curator of Art and Music at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, WA.