StudioFestivalVideosGroupB

Festival Description

Inherent motivation. Whether it is a competitive event or simply a fun performance or workshop, we all need opportunities that provide the motivation and inspiration to focus our efforts on specific goals, affording continued development of our skills and talents.

The Opus One Åberg Studio Festival at McLelland Piano Studio in Hoover, Alabama is a special, annual event held in March. While the format sometimes varies, the activities always provide students a unique opportunity to evaluate performance, keyboard theory and technic, sight reading, and written theory skills. The event also helps prepare students for future participation in other, non-studio festivals such as the AMTA, (Alabama Music Teachers Association, state affiliate of the MTNA, Music Teachers National Association).

What is unique about the studio festival is that the requirements are customized for each student. No matter what age or level of advancement, the individualized goals and deadlines will provide just the right amount of structure for continued motivation.

The principle goal of this event is to supplement the Alabama Music Teachers Association pre-college auditions by affording students opportunities in sight-reading and written theory categories as well as performance and KT&T.

The event is held approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the AMTA auditions and the Spring Studio Recital thereby affording students an opportunity to assess development at a critical stage in their performance preparation. All students will not necessarily participate in the AMTA however most will participate in the studio recital. Therefore, at this stage, the goal for all students should be: music almost-up-to-tempo, basically memorized, with correct rhythm/notes/ pedaling etc. The remaining 6 weeks will be used to polish, secure memory, and strengthen performance skills so that the April performance events are a positive experience.

The 2009 festival will be a "first ever" online festival.

During their lesson the week of March 2-6, 2009, students completed the following 4 categories:

1) Sight-Reading

2) Written Theory Test

3) Keyboard Theory and Technic (1 major and 1 minor scale, chosen randomly, based upon the AMTA KT&T requirements)

4) Performance

The Performance Category was videotaped (the videos are posted on this webpage, below for GROUP A, students 3rd grade and under, and on a different webpage for GROUP A, students 3rd grade and below). The teacher provides ratings for all categories except for the Performance Category, which was videotaped and posted online. A professional, guest adjudicator (2009, Dr. Monica Horn in Arizona), then reviews the videos and provides a rating and written comments for this final category. Ratings are:

Outstanding (90-100)

Good (85-89)

Satisfactory (80-84)

Fair (75-79)

Needs Improvement (74 or below)

Trophy Awards

Each student will earn points for the rating received (in the performance category). (Outstanding = 5 points; Good = 4 points; Satisfactory = 3 points etc.) Once the student accumulates 10 points, a trophy is awarded. (Thus, a student would receive a trophy after 2 years of participation if an Outstanding Rating was received both years.)

In this aspect, students are only competing against themselves.

Opus One Åberg Competition

For 2009, there is an additional component to the studio festival which involves the Opus One Åberg Piano Competition. From the participants in videos below WHO HAVE RECEIVED A SCORE OF 90 OR HIGHER IN ALL 4 CATEGORIES, the adjudicator is asked to choose:

1) First Place Trophy Winner

2) Second Place Medal Winner

3) Third Place Medal Winner

4) Optional Honorable Mention Ribbons (maximum of three)

It is not necessary that all awards be presented. For example, it is possible that only a 1st place is given, but no 2nd or 3rd. Or that a 1st and 2nd is awarded, but no 3rd or Honorable Mentions etc. This is totally at the adjudicator's discretion.

All awards will be presented at the Awards Ceremony immediately following the Spring Studio Recital, Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.

Adjudicator

The guest adjudicator is asked to do the following

Comments - Piece #1:
You are in good shape.  You have a nice range of dynamics in your Clementi.  It has a good tempo, consistent overall, but be sure not to change it at the beginning of the B section, or within it. Also, try not to hurry, or shorten the rhythm of the cadences - let them settle before moving on. I love how you "fall away" from the eighth note accompaniment in the left hand, such as found in measure 1 (slight accent on the downbeat).  Be sure not to overdo that accent. I love the shaping of your melody.  Work towards smoother 16th notes and even smoother shaping - allow for the dissapation of sound on the quarter notes so that the 16th note groups don't sound accented.  P.S. Excellent 
recovery on your memory slip.  
 
Comments - Piece #2:
You have lots of excitement and energy in the piece.  You also have some good dynamic contrasts, and your memory is solid!!  I know you'll be ready on this one.  Work for smoother triplets, with less accents on each group.  Watch out for a tempo fluctuation in the B section.  You're also adding a beat in Measures 17 and 21...keep it moving.  Could it go just a bit faster - that might ultimately help you with smoothness. Finally, leave your hands in place until the sound stops (after you lift the pedal) and the piece is completely finished.  Great job! 
 
Comments - Piece #3:
Great job on this piece.  You have nice shaping to your melody and good clean crisp trills.  Be careful not to rush in the B section and could we add a tiny ritard at the end? 
 
You are in great shape.  Be sure not to lose any ground in these upcoming weeks. Keep working towards security, polish and above all, enjoy yourself!

Comments - Piece #1:
I love how you played this piece.  It had a nice even tempo and even flowing eighth notes.  Your pedaling was also nice and smooth.  Try to add even more dynamic contrast and shaping and work for smoother 16th notes.  In measures 21 and 22, work on catching that bass note in the pedal so it can ring.  
Good job. 
 
Comments - Piece #2:
You are comfortable with this piece, and you own it. You're in great shape.  Just a few suggestions for true polishing.  We need less left hand - it's overpowering the right hand melody.  Be careful not to punch the LH downbeats.  They should be heavier, but not overly accented.  In the right hand, try to decrescendo as the 16th notes descend - end the phrase a little more gently.  Your memory is solid - you were completely unphased by your tiny slip.  I loved your ritard into the recap and you had a great strong ending...a nice crescendo and slight ritard setting this cadence.  Fantastic! 
 
Comments - Piece #3:
Nice perky staccatos, but be careful of overarticulating the downbeats... they're just a little heavy.  You have an excellent tempo, very steady. I would be wary of rushing as you get even more comfortable with this piece.  Finally, try to "set" your ascending cadences in the LH at the end and at the end of the A section...not staccato, but disconnected.  Also, be careful not to rush into the B section.  
 
Overall, a great performance. Good luck.

Festival Participant #5

Comments - Piece #1: 
I love this piece, and I love the energy with which you play it. You really treat this as a performance with preparing your beginning and holding still at the end - great! You have nice crisp staccatos. You have a great start on the dynamics, but watch the end of your phrases that they don't get too heavy or bumped.  I thought the tempo you started was just a hair slow; however, you do have a tendency to rush, so the one you ended with was perfect. Work with a metronome for complete evenness in your 16th notes and a steady tempo.  Good job!

Comments - Piece #2: 
You play this piece very nicely and musically as well.  You have nice shaping of the melody, though in some places, (like m. 11-12) I felt you could move more across the bar line to the downbeat.  I love how you are really making an effort to voice the right hand chords as well - don't let them overpower the LH in m. 15, it still has the melody.  You did a great job with the deceptive cadence near the end, maybe you could ritard just a bit more into m. 22 since this is truly the final "sigh" of the piece.  Great job! Very mature playing.

Comments - Piece #3: 
I don't know this piece very well, but I thought you gave a very exciting performance of it.  You had nice even 16th notes, and good voicing and dynamics throughout.  I thought that you did just a little too much pulling in every measure starting at the bottom of the second page (I'm not exactly sure of the location since I could only see part of a score, but I know there was a page turn in the middle of it).  Anyhow, don't give me too much of a good thing. 
Great job!

Comments - Piece #1: Dance in C Major, Op. 82, No. 19 - Gurlitt
You have nice crisp staccatos.  Your dynamics are in place too, especially the echos.  Work towards even more shaping of the melody in the right hand.  I think the tempo could be even a little faster, hearing it almost in a big "1" instead of "1-2-3" - even more waltzing.  
 
Comments - Piece #2: Old German Dance - Praetorius
Again, you have great dynamics going here, especially with the contrast.  Keep working towards more crescendos and decrescendos, shaping your melodies a bit more.  Let the LH come out a bit more if it has the melody.  Don't let those memory slips undo your performance - work to improve your memory and have good jump spots just in case something happens so you don't have to "restart".  Double check that last measure - maybe you're trying to ritard a bit at the end, but you actually doubled the rhythm, work for a more subtle ritard 
if that is your goal.  
 
Comments - Piece #3: Hurry Scurry - Vandall
You have a nice crisp staccato in this piece.  Once again, you have a great start on your dynamics - it's good you are so aware of these. Do even more. Keep an eye on the end of your phrases, don't hang on to the last note (except for the fermata, of course). When you're ready, can we push the tempo just a bit faster, I think it will make it even more exciting.  I think you can do a lot with these three pieces to make them perfect in just a few weeks.  Good luck.

Comments - Piece #1: Leaves Falling – Christopher Norton
You have such a nice sound for this piece, very gentle and laid back.  You could work for just a little more dynamic range and contrast to make it a little more interesting.  The most important thing I could see was rhythm - you must work to flow smoothly across the bar lines and not hesitate at the end of each measure. You don't do it every time, so perhaps this is more memory related.  Maybe practice only 2 or 3 measures at a time until they are perfect - practice in groups so that you can be better able to move across the bar lines.  
 
Comments - Piece #2: Sonatina in C Major Op. 36, No. 2 – Muzio Clementi
In your Clementi, you have already good balance between the hands and good dynamics, though I think you could do even more with shaping and contrast.  Think about changing character a bit between themes.  Make that second theme (m. 13) even sweeter and more delicate.  Work on evening out your 16th note passages - be careful about dropping your thumb when it passes under, it thumps a little bit.  You have a little bit of rushing towards the cadences (m.23) - keep it steady, don't get too excited.  Drill, drill, drill those memory problems - don't let those undo all your good work.

Comments - Piece #3: Study in E Minor Op. 29 No. 14 - Bertini
You have a great energy and rhythm for this piece, and I love your tempo right now.  You're doing great with your dynamic contrasts, but I would love to hear even more shaping of the triplets and especially of the phrasing from the half note to the quarter note - let that quarter note be just slightly less.  
 
Good luck.

Festival Participant #19
Comments - Piece #1: 
What a beautiful piece, and you play it so sensitively.  I love the shaping you already have going on here - you really tug at my heartstrings with the A section melody.  Be sure to keep that triplet honest...it's trying to turn in to 2 sixteenths and an eighth - lengthen it just a little bit more.  Try saying "trip-o-let" when you get here.  If you could lighten up the pedal just a bit, don't push it all the way down, so that the right hand doesn't get buried in a collection of sound.  Count very carefully at the beginning of the last line.  Finally, do some slow practice drilling in the b section so that memory stumbles,( which weren't terrible,but were there) won't interrupt our enjoyment of this work.  Good job.

Comments - Piece #2: 
This is an exciting etude, and you have the right "attitude" for it.  I would say that possibly you are trying to go too fast too soon.  That it's not that you don't have it memorized, just that your brain can't think ahead so quickly yet.  Your technique also appears to be suffering just a bit with this as well - you're bouncing your wrist quite a bit, and often jumping rather than rotating on your thumb crossing.  If I were you, I'd slow back down and work backwards from the end one measure at a time.  Last measure, last two measures, last three measures, etc. (That way, the end gets as much practice as the beginning, and you are then constantly playing towards the most familiar). Use a metronome and step up three, back one, up three back one until you are at 
the tempo you want.  Don't hurry off the quarter note at the end of a measure - 
give it its full value. Finally, I already hear you doing some lovely shaping, 
but be sure to think overall shape and don't let it get bogged down in two beats per measure.  You are in a great place with this piece, you'll get it.

Comments - Piece #3: 
You play this sonata very sensitively as well.  Such a beautiful work.  Try a very basic "harmonic analysis" to secure your memory - help you remember which time goes where.  Nothing fancy, just enough to give you something else to think about when you're trying to play from memory.  With this piece, it's always a challenge for that melody to sing out over the accompaniment.  Ask your teacher about possibly holding onto the longer notes, rather than letting them go.  They really do retain sound better if you can hold them, but you have to be very careful, then, about having tension in your extended hand position.  You can practice playing, then relaxing your pinky while still holding the note to see if this will work. I would love to hear even more shaping in the melody, and be sure that the dotted eighth sixteenth rhythm at the end of the measure leads across the barline to the quarter (possibly with a tiny crescendo) ... they are all part of the same thought.  One little picky detail...I don't have my score, but I really thought there was a D natural in the left hand before the return of the A section.  Could you double check this please?

You play beautifully and sensitively.  Let's knock out some of these tiny things holding you back.  Good luck!!

Festival Participant #23
Comments - Piece #1:(Halfway to Halifax) 
Nice job, your memory is pretty solid on this piece, just a tiny glitch going into the last measure of the A section.  Really try to smooth out those triplets in both sections.  In the A section, try not to overemphasize each note, try to hear a larger phrase.  In the B section, see if you can't connect the last note of the first group to the first note of the second group in the last group in the left hand to make that section smoother.  I'm hearing a hint of dynamics, but if you could do just a bit more, that would be nice.  I like your tempo for this piece, however, your B section goes a tiny bit faster than the A.  I didn't notice in the score if it's supposed to be this way, could you double check this for me?  You've got a great start on this piece, just a little polishing needed!

Comments - Piece #2:(Going Downtown) 
I loved the articulation contrast you have in this piece with the nice smooth slurs and the light staccato notes.  Watch out for occasionally connecting a staccato quarter to the slurred eighths (it was rare).  Your dynamics are off to a great start too, though I could stand to hear a bit more.  Make more out of that crescendo on the third line.  Your memory is pretty solid too, just interupted a bit in measures 4 8, and 12 - let's isolate that and fix them so they don't trip you up later.  Make sure that if you intend to ritard into the fourth line that it sounds intentional and not like a memory struggle.

Comments - Piece #3: (Beauty and the Beast) 
This piece is pretty solid too - it just needs a little "something" to make it even more beautiful.  Use even more dynamics to help the melody sing out above the accompanying "interlude" or "echo" phrases. If you build more towards the end, then you won't get so soft we can't hear you in those last phrases, I love how you kept trying to get softer though.  You just gotta give yourself enough to work with.  I feel like if you slowed the tempo down just a hair, it might feel more relaxed...more like a song, less like an etude.  It might help you smooth out some of your phrases so they can sing more.  Your memory is pretty solid, but I wanted to point out the last measure of the 2nd line - there are 2 quarters rather than 2 eighths and I wondered if there weren't more places like that in the piece.  Double check that for me, please.  You're in good shape - just keep working towards a more polished performance.  Good luck!

Festival Participant #29
Comments - Piece #1:(Bach) 
You have nice even 16th notes here, very smooth.  You also have a nice hint of dynamics.  You don't want to overdo them in Bach, but I think you could do just a bit more.  I like your tempo.  I, myself, always enjoyed a ritard into m. 32, but make sure you don't stop the music, let it flow even if it's flowing just a bit slower. Your memory is pretty solid too, though there were a few places that got away from you.  If a theoretical analysis seems too difficult to polish off your memory, try and practice between two "chords" to see what your hand "shape" is doing: which fingers move, are you expanding or contracting?  See if that helps.  I thought your tempo was good, just think about two pulses per measure - I feel like this piece needs just  a bit more energy or spark - don't let it's simplicity fool you into taking it for granted.  Good job.

Comments - Piece #2:(Haydn) 
This piece has good energy and character.  I love your nice bright staccatos.  Your tempo is good too, though be careful not to let the ends of your phrases slow down so much (this may be memory related). I think, because the melody is so high, you should work to bring it out even more so it's not competing with the left hand so much.  Also, work on more dynamics and especially more dynamic contrast.

Festival Participant #30
Comments - Piece #1: You have a great energy in this piece: a good tempo, nice 
crisp staccatos, clean 16ths for the most part.  Good job.  Be very careful that you don't bonk some of your down beats.  It's ok if they have a bit of a kick, but dont' overdo it.  Perhaps if you held them just a bit longer, less staccato might help there.  There are some places where your LH accompaniment needs more consistent articulation (make them all the same length)...maybe even a tiny bit of help from the pedal would smooth these out, especially in the transition back to the A section.  Try to make even more dynamic contrast within the piece.  I hear you working on dynamics already, but I'd like more please.

Comments - Piece #2: 
Have you learned these pieces just since you've come to Mrs. McLelland?  If so, wow! This is a beautiful piece, and you have a good start on it.  Really follow the pedal markings, and make sure that when you "clear" it, it's getting cleared.  I know you don't want a hiccup, but right now, there's so much sound building up.  Maybe just lighten up a bit, dont' push it all the way down. In the first section, let the LH sing out more, lighten up the RH.  It has its chance to sing out later on.  Good work!

1st: Each of the festival participants featured in the videos below will need to receive: 
1) a numerical score (96, 88 etc.)
2) the corresponding rating (Outstanding, Good etc.)
3) brief, encouraging, constructive written comments (a few sentences max per piece).

Each student will earn points for the rating received.  (Outstanding = 5 points; Good = 4 points; Satisfactory = 3 points etc.)  Once the student accumulates 10 points, a trophy is awarded.  (Thus, a student would receive a trophy after 2 years of participation if an Outstanding Rating was received both years.)

In this aspect, students are only competing against themselves.

2nd: There is an additional component to the studio festival which involves the Opus One Åberg Piano Competition.  From the participants in videos below WHO HAVE RECEIVED A SCORE OF 90 OR HIGHER IN ALL 4 CATEGORIES, the adjudicator is asked to choose:
1) First Place Trophy Winner
2) Second Place Medal Winner
3) Third Place Medal Winner
4) Optional Honorable Mention Ribbons (maximum of three)

It is not necessary that all awards be presented.  For example, it is possible that only a 1st place is given, but no 2nd or 3rd.  Or that a 1st and 2nd is awarded, but no 3rd or Honorable Mentions etc.  This is totally at the adjudicator's discretion.

While it is hoped that high standards be applied, the  adjudicator is also asked to take into consideration:
-age
-length of study
-the overall function of this event as a 1st preliminary deadline (this event is held 6 weeks prior to the "real" performance events -- AMTA and studio recital.)

What are the overall event standards?  "Is the student where he/she needs to be now in order to be ready for the performance in 6 weeks?"  If "the usual" amount of work is still needed to guarantee a successful performance in 6 weeks then "Outstanding" would be an appropriate rating.  This would mean:  "The music is basically learned -- there might be a handful of rough spots which still need to be ironed-out etc., but points should definitely be deducted for incorrect rhythms, notes, incorrect articulation and other items which are difficult to correct once learned incorrectly. The tempo may still be slow and there may still be some memorization issues or need for greater dynamic contrast, clearer pedal changes, phrase shape, cresc., greater expression and the like."

COMMENTS:  Please try to make the brief comments encouraging yet supportive of the rating. For obvious copyright protection, the lack of reference scores will certainly prevent the most thorough of examinations, inclusion of measure #'s etc., but hopefully the brief glimpses at the score within videos can provide some guidance. If the student receives a "Good", please list the many items which need attention. Hopefully it will be quite obvious which students need to get busy in order to have a chance for a successful performance experience in 6 weeks.  These are the students who will especially benefit from this event, so if a score of "Good" or "Satisfactory" is necessary to light a spark, go for it.  "Fair" or "Needs Improvement" should only be used for the rare student who seems to not  care at all and simply cannot get through the piece.  Please realize that these very discouraging, lower ratings generally tend to lead to discontinuation of music study and appreciation ... now and in future.