Happy Birthday John Cage! World Listening Project 4'33" Goes Global

Today is John Cage's birthday, he would have been 100 years old. The group World Listening Project is coordinating a worldwide celebration of his composition 4'33". And why am I talking about this on the Piano Studio Blog? Because one of my students, Isaac Liu, performed this piece at the New School University back in April, for our MusicCircus event. This was a collaboration between the

Eugene Lang College, The Mannes College and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, which is where I teach.  John Cage taught experimental composition at the New School from 1956-1961, which is also what I teach. My class last semester was a special edition of Composers Forum, entitled, "Composing Outside of the Jazz Box". My students composed pieces based on structures that Cage used, Ives, Pauline Oliveros and many others. They performed these pieces on the MusicCircus event, and Isaac, who is 8years old, performed 4'33" at the close of the event, while a film was shown of John Cage performing 4'33" in a park with hundreds of people looking on. Everyone cheered at the end, it was absolutely wonderful!
Also on that day, one of my former piano students came by for the performance, Max McKee, along with his dad the wonderful bassist Andy McKee, who also teaches at the New School. Max is a student at Bard College and is studying composition with Joan Tower, and..Max won the ASCAP Young Composers Award this year for his composition "Double Helix" which you can listen to here.  It is a beautiful piece composed for string quartet, and performed by the Iris Quartet.
What a day that was for me, my New School students bursting with creativity, my young piano student Isaac who bravely performed in front of college students, professors, visiting artists, and then the surprise visit from Max, who also helped me arrange music stands as we talked about his ASCAP award. All of my teaching environs happening in one day, at one place, in the space of a few hours, it was very satisfying! For me as a teacher, it's one of the best outcomes, watching my students express themselves with the music that they love.

Friday night, Sept 7, the New School presents "The New Music: John Cage Centenary Concert" featuring Robert Ashley, David Behrman, Alvin Lucier and Chris Mann. The concert is at Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street, and admission is free! You can learn more about this concert here.

So why would an 8 year old want to perform 4'33"? Well, it started with his older brother Allen, who has been obsessed with this piece for some time, probably because their dad told them about it. And who wouldn't be obsessed? It's the subject of a worldwide celebration today, where people all over the world are performing this piece. From September of last year, Isaac was insisting on getting the score for 4'33". I told his sister Hannah, who I also taught (taught for many years, she is now a Freshman at Brown University), and she bought the score for him as a present for Chanukah. He proudly brought in the score, and we surfed Youtube together, watching all the performances we could find, and tried different approaches. Meanwhile, I showed Isaac some prepared piano techniques, which he was thrilled about because he has a spinet and I have a grand! In the end, he decided on the David Tudor approach, and John Cage approach, which is to open up the score, pull the keyboard cover down, and time the silence. At the end of each section, Isaac opened up the cover,turned to the next page, and pulled the cover down again. Here is Isaac's performance of 4'33"!
If you have problems watching it from the blog, go to...http://youtu.be/hZAcHZZmeqQ

Piano Recitals and their other lessons.......

Student piano recitals-some quiver at the thought-others revel in the memories. I am happy to report that our piano recital was a huge success and a wonderful evening shared by students, families and friends-and-this lovely piano cake made by a mother of a student! And it was scrumptious!

I'm very proud of all of my students, for they have practiced countless hours, worked on their music, come to their lessons and re-worked their music and then had the courage to get up in front of their fellow students, countless family members and friends to present their music.

This year we had a wonderful array of music, everything from folk songs, to rock, blues, boogie woogie, classical, romantic, contemporary, broadway, pop and jazz. There were pieces of music that everyone knew, to surprising arrangements of familiar works, to new pieces of contemporary music. As I peeked at the audience (while keeping one eye on the student's music), I saw parents nodding their heads and tapping their feet to not just their own child's performance, but for all the other students. I think that speaks volumes to how music really does touch the soul, and to the wonderfully compassionate group of people that are a part of my studio.
It is every teachers dream to see the dreams of others fulfilled and for their dreams to be acknowledged by their family and community.

Psychologists say that when young people express themselves through the arts it instills confidence and makes them feel better about themselves. I totally agree with that assessment. But I think there's a lot more involved. I believe that studying music and performing music puts you in touch with your humanity and the humanity of others. It instills compassion for the one who is performing, because we know how nerve racking that experience can be. It instills a sense of community, because we have all come together to witness the courage of others to share their musical endeavors. It instills a yearning for learning as you listen to a new piece of music that you might like to try for yourself, which in turn opens your mind to new experiences.

And finally,it instills acceptance. Even though we may have dropped a note here or there-the applause is just as loud and we can accept ourselves and others for who we really are.

Thank you students and parents for a wonderful year of teaching. I learned a lot from all of you. And as I always say to the parents, it is a privilege to be a piano teacher and to be part of the growth of your children.
With deep gratitude,
Diane