Presenting District: Eugene

Presenter: Dr. Lark Powers[expand title=”Read Presenter Bio” swaptitle=” “]In demand as a solo and collaborative artist as well as an adjudicator and presenter, 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, Fort Collins Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, 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. Locally she is a frequent performer on 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 teaches 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.[/expand]

Program Description: The Baroque repertoire provides an exceptional resource[expand title=”Read More” swaptitle=” “]for teaching students to analyze, to develop creativity, and to take charge of their interpretation. This presentation uses compositions from a variety of composers, well known to less well known, and explores pieces in a range of difficulties. The blank scores from this period, in urtext editions free of dynamics and phrasing indications, can provide challenges in developing an idiomatic and effective interpretation, and discussion includes helping students find cadences, establish phrasing, the importance of meter and pulse, articulation, ornamentation, and the treatment of specific dance forms, as well as effectively translating this music for performances on the modern piano.[/expand]