Guests gather to say thank you to Corinne - New England ...

MASTERCLASSPiano masterclass with Gil SullivanRecently, a group of 6 students, including myself, attendeda piano master class run by Australia’s only fulltime performingconcert pianist, Gil Sullivan. Many of us had heardhim play the previous night at a concert in the T.A.S CreativeArts Centre, and already had a fair idea that he knewhis way around a piano.Gill gave us an opportunity to play a piece of our ownchoosing, and then gave comments and feedback on ourperformance. Pieces ranged from classical works by Mozartand Beethoven through to the French composers Debussy,Mompou and Fauré. Whatever the style, Gil showed a greatinsight into the workings of the pieces, both technically andstylistically. I am sure that everybody found this insight particularlyuseful in the weeks leading up to the Eisteddfod.His main focus during the class was to get us to listen moreto our own playing and not “to make the notes themselvesour focus” as he put it. Because there was such a wide rangeof pieces, we saw how this could be done in all styles, likelistening to the pictures painted by programme music andthe emotions conjured up by classical composers.One of the things that I found most helpful is that in mywork by Beethoven, he showed me how I could use my wristtechnique to improve my interpretation of the work and notjust have to focus on getting the notes right. I did however,find it frustrating after working on my piece for months, thathe was able to sit down and sight-read it better than I couldplay it!Gil could spot a wrong note a mile off, and in the sectionsof our works that we found challenging he gave invaluableadvice on fixing up our act. His rhythm and time work wasgreat too, and he reinforced that old mantra that we’ve beenreared on “check your metronome!”It’s not easy to pull yourself together for music lessons onthe weekend, but the Gil Sullivan masterclass was an unmissableexperience. Everybody was struck by his warm personalityand skill with the keyboard; you couldn’t help takingsomething away from the experience. A big thankyou toNECOM, it was marvellous.Tim WilliamsonFrench Horn weekend with Robert JohnsonThe weekend of the 21st of June saw Robert Johnsoncoming to Armidale to teach the French Horn players of Armidaleand the New England region. Robert provided someamazing insights from his extensive experiences as principalHorn for the SSO, work with chamber groups such asACO and years of performing and recording professionally.It is truly amazing to be enriched by the wisdom and adviceof such a brilliant player and a patient and knowledgeableteacher.Robert taught the French horn students from Armidaleand Tamworth, from adult players to the newcomers thathave recently seen the light. He also took adult and juniorensembles, developing the essential ensemble playing skillsnecessary for future orchestral and chamber music performers.It was fantastic to hear the beautiful horn ensemblesounds created from all these players from the region. Thiswas all topped off by an informal but highly informative andenjoyable session to discuss Opera and the upcoming ArmidaleSymphony’s ‘Night at the Opera’ concert program. Thiswas masterfully reinforced with an orchestral playing sessionand having Robert play with the horn section at the orchestrarehearsal.We are truly privileged to have such an opportunity to performand learn from one of the best horn players in Australia.These weekends will continue throughout the year thanksto the successful outcome of two grants from Regional ArtsNSW: a CASP grant and an Art Start grant. These grants willallow Robert to come to Armidale for five weekends this year.This is great for the future development of horn playing inthe New England region as all players had a great time duringtheir time spent with Robert and gained very valuable experience.A huge thanksto Rob and all thepeople involved ingetting this programhappen.Alistair FincoRobert Johnson and some of the workshop participants.12 NECOM NEWS JULY 2009