Christopher Norton's "Connections"     With ear-catching melodies, exciting rhythms, a wide palette of harmonies and dynamic styles, Christopher Norton’s music is unlike anything the piano pedagogy world has ever heard before! This presentation will walk teachers through Norton’s new “Connections” series and discuss effective pedagogical techniques and practice strategies.  The series editor, Andrew Hisey, has written a strikingly brilliant set of activities books to accompany the series that help students and teachers learn the fundamentals of Norton’s music. Interspersed throughout this discussion of the music and activities books, students who have already traversed the Christopher Norton landscape and learned new and exciting repertoire will be showcased. Student performances via video complement the presentation and show the demonstrated strategies in action!  To view the MacPhail Professional Development flier, click here; to hear a partial live-performance recording library by JMI, follow the The Christopher Norton Project link. You can find a video below.

A “Connections” Workshop

This Professional Development Session was presented by Jon Michael Iverson at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN in February of 2008. This hour and a half session on Christopher Norton's "Connections" has been whittled down into an easy-to-watch six and a half minute video, giving viewers some practical pedagogical tips while getting an overview of the series. 

Music, Memetics and You: Most Everything You Might Need [or Want!] to Know About Memes     Memetic Theory is a new theory stating that non-genetic information is susceptible to the same laws of nature that apply to genetic information (DNA); that is, that cultural information replicates, adapts, competes, and seeks survival in the environment in which it’s located. Over time, bits of information called “memes” [rhymes with "beams"] bind together and enormous information super-structures emerge. Music is one of many of these types of structures. As musicians and music teachers, a basic understanding of memetics is important as we, the teachers, are where many students come in direct contact with musical information. How is this information transmitted from the teacher to the student as clearly as possible?  How do we know what we are sending is what they are receiving? How do we make things ‘stick’? This engaging and thought-provoking session discusses teaching from the viewpoint of the meme and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how they are effectively passed from teacher to student.  

Intermediate Piano Master Class     Have you ever wondered why most master classes are geared towards advanced players? Aren’t intermediate players just as capable of performing in a master class? I think so! This intermediate level master class is aimed at teachers, parents and non-performing students of all ages and abilities so that they can get a glimpse into the processes of learning and performing. Perhaps more importantly however, they can experience the process of learning to perform. Style, musicality, expressiveness and performance choreography and whatever advice these young performers might need are all topics dealt with in this light-hearted and enjoyable open lesson!

Master Class for Advanced Pianists     As artists, we strive to be on a path towards perfection. While on that path, a pianist steps over the threshold into advanced repertoire and new avenues of discovery open up in myriad of previously unknown possibilities. In this Master Class for Advanced Pianists, performers will take yet another step along their path and enter into a dialogue about musical artistry: phrasing, shaping, expressivity, inflection, technique and color become the new standards as they journey towards fine musicianship.

Variations on a Baroque Theme [Available Fall 2009]     Music of the Baroque period is filled with numerous cyclical forms: the chaconne, the passacaglia, the ground bass and the theme and variations. In this part solo, part chamber lecture-recital, some of the finest Baroque pieces utilizing repeating musical structures will be performed on both harpsichord and piano. On the program is Handel’s “Harmonious Blacksmith” Suite; Corelli’s Violin Sonata in D minor, “La Folia”; “Dido’s Lament” from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas; Pachelbel’s Canon in D (in the original instrumentation: three violins, cello and continuo); J.S. Bach’s Chorale Cantata “Wachet auf,” BWV 140 (“Sleepers Awake”); the Busoni transcription of the masterful Bach violin Chaconne in D minor; and Bach’s “Goldberg Canons” – cryptic canons built upon the bass line of the “Goldberg Variations.” These musical ciphers were discovered in 1974 are so ingeniously written that not one, but two harpsichords are needed to realize them. Although there may be a lack of readily available harpsichords, the need for multiple keyboards is remedied with modern playback equipment and live performance over-dubbing. This is guaranteed to be a program that you’ll want to hear again, and again, and again, and again ...