It’s always the greatest of honors to be recognized by one’s peers.   And it’s surely a privilege for me to introduce your IMTA Teacher of the Year for 2010.  Let me first recount a bit of personal experience.  Many years ago I was teaching a group of somewhat reluctant theory students.  I was constantly on their tails, asking them to master the subtleties of chromatic voice leading or the long-range implications of remote-key relationships.  The semester ended with the usual intensive flurry; the exams were graded; the student evaluations came in.  My chair at the time complimented me on the positive evaluations from what she knew was a reluctant class.  I told her I was pleasantly surprised and mentioned that one student had even written “This class was fun!”  My chair snorted, “That’s not the point!”  Being a somewhat contentious brat in my younger years, I shot back:  well, I  think that’s exactly the point … if they could have a good time while being subjected to a fairly rigorous approach, they just might have the motivation necessary to alter a bit in the future the way they perceive the important works of the repertoire.  My chair responded, “But aren’t you the one who chides your piano students:   if you’re having a good time in the practice room you must not be doing it correctly?!”  Yes, that was me.  And to this day, even after all these many decades of working with college students, I’m still searching for that balance of rigor and inspiration in my teaching:  the toil and sweat to develop our craft on the one hand, the unearthly inspiration from the great masters of the past and present on the other —  if we might only unlock their profoundest secrets.Continue reading→