Week in review
This past week was spring break at the UA (b/t/w, go wildcats!), which I spent in Baltimore hanging out with J and doing some things in Philadelphia as well as Charm City itself. On Tuesday, I gave a master class--graciously rescheduled from a December snow day--to Cory Kasprzyk's eager and inquisitive students at Morgan State University, where I also had the rather pleasant unexpected surprise of running into composer James Lee, a UM alum, who now serves on the faculty there.
Wednesday was another master class day night, though this time at the Peabody Conservatory, one of my alma maters. It's always great to return to a familiar environment--I felt at home (or as at home as I could feel since the grand refurbishment that took place just a couple of years ago) and it was great to see that the level of the class continues to improve under Gary's guidance.
On Thursday, I Amtrak-ed up to Philly once again for a guest presentation with pianist Hugh Sung and technologist Barry Brahier for the Sound Technology class at the Curtis Institute of Music. The three of us tag-teamed to talk about different ways to use and implement technology as both artists and teachers.
Barry did a segment on technology for learning, particularly the open-source audio editor and recorder Audacity. Hugh (a.k.a. "The Tablet PC Guy") talked about technology in performance. And I provided some practical advice about using technology for career development. Hugh took copious notes, which he promises to post soon, and wrote a nice summation of the class on his blog. I must say that even though the topic I presented about had absolutely nothing to do with my instrument, as a saxophonist, infiltrating the inner sanctum of one of the country's most esteemed conservatories was quite exciting. (It remined me of the time I penetrated the walls of the Oberlin brotherhood last spring at Merkin Hall.) The train ride home was pleasant, although I slept most almost all of the way home, waking up at Penn Station.
Back to Tucson tomorrow for a busy week that includes a presentation with DJ Dubble8 for the composition seminar at the UA and an HGP concert on Friday. Then it's off to Austin, TX on Sunday to rehearse with Mike for our performance of Walimai at the 2006 Music Teachers National Association national conference--part of his prize for winning the national composition competition.
