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My apologies, but the wrong dates for this course were given in my earlier blog post about courses for pianists. The correct dates of Penelope Roskell’s next course are:
October 5th to 7th 2012
The course runs for three days, and is open to all advanced pianists (post-Grade 8) – professional, student or amateur. It is particularly helpful for those studying for diplomas or preparing for auditions, competitions or concerts, and for those who suffer from physical tension or performance anxiety.
Cost: £195 (EPTA and ISM members £185).
The course takes place in Penelope’s home in north London.
Further details: peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk
I’m about to go on another three-day course for advanced pianists, run by my teacher, Penelope Roskell. This will be the fourth of Penelope’s courses I have attended, and my regular appearance on her courses is testament to their benefits: supportive, inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable. Three days of total immersion in all things piano and the opportunity to have one’s playing critiqued not just by a highly experienced and sympathetic teacher, but also by fellow pianists, the chance to share repertoire and enjoy lots of ‘piano chat’. I have met some wonderful people on these courses, and discovered some fantastic repertoire, including Messiaen’s Vingt Regards.
The course takes the form of masterclasses, and as the numbers are strictly limited to 8 participants, everyone has the chance to play at least once a day. The course ends with an informal concert on the Sunday afternoon, always a very pleasant affair, with a drinks party afterwards. Each day we begin with ‘piano yoga’ in Penelope’s garden. The course is open to all advanced pianists (post-Grade 8 to post-diploma level) and is particularly useful for people who may be preparing for competitions, auditions, concerts, diplomas, or who suffer from physical tension and performance anxiety.
Penelope runs the course twice-yearly, and hers are just some of the many courses around the UK, and further afield, for pianists of all abilities. Now is a good time to start thinking about doing a summer school. Here is a selection of courses and summer schools recommended by friends and colleagues:
Summer School for Pianists, Hereford (faculty includes Graham Fitch, James Lisney, Karl Lutchmayer, Christine Stevenson, Frank Wibaut). Ability: c.Grade 6 to advanced/post-diploma. Concerto, soloists, duet and improvers classes. Masterclasses, lectures and performances by faculty. Dates: 18 – 14 August. Cost £595.
Chethams International Summer School for Pianists (faculty includes Peter Donohoe, Philip Fowke, Leon McCawley, Jeremy Siepmann, and many more). One of the biggest and best piano summer schools. Wide range of abilities from intermediate to post-diploma/professional. Children and adults. Dates: 17-23 and 23-29 August 2012.
Penelope Roskell’s Advanced London Piano Course Faculty: Penelope Roskell (Trinity College of Music). Three-day intensive course for advanced amateurs, students, teachers and professional pianists. Limited to 8 students, the course begins each day with exercises to relieve tension, followed by one-to-one tuition for each student (everyone gets to play at least once each day). Coaching on repertoire, technique, performance, anxiety. Particularly useful for those preparing for diplomas, competitions or concerts. Ability: advanced (post-Grade 8 – post-graduate). B&B accommodation available nearby. Dates: 5-7 October 2012. Cost: £195 (EPTA and ISM members £185).
Piano Course, Hindhead Music Centre, Hindhead, Surrey (faculty Simon Nicholls and James Lisney). Four-day intensive course with masterclasses, workshops, lectures, recitals by faculty. Ability: Grade 7 to post-diploma. Dates: 1-4 August 2012. Cost £385. Places also available for observers. Special focus on the music of Schubert and Poulenc this year. Residential and non-residential. Summer courses for other instrumentalists and children. See website for further information.
Jackdaws Music Education Trust, Frome, Somerset. Various courses for pianists, singers and instrumentalists throughout the year. Piano faculty includes: Julian Jacobson, Mark Tanner, Philip Fowke. Residential. A friend of mine in Bath has attended several Jackdaws courses and is full of praise for them.
Summer School for Pianists, Hereford. This comes highly recommended by my friend Lorraine of SE22 Piano School, who attended last summer, and is going back for more this year. Her assertion that it was “invaluable for ATCL preparation” is a pretty good endorsement of the course. Faculty includes: Christine Stevenson, James Lisney, Karl Lutchmayer, Simon Nicholls, Frank Wibaut, Graham Fitch. Residential. Dates: 18-24 August 2012. Cost £590.
Pianist magazine has a helpful search function for courses and festivals, and EPTA regularly flags up courses and events throughout the year.
There are still places available on Penelope Roskell’s Spring course (16th-18th March). Penelope is an inspiring and dedicated teacher, and the courses, which are open to all advanced pianists (Grade 8 – post-diploma), amateur, student or professional, offer a very supportive and stimulating learning environment.
Taking place over three days, the March course will focus on repertoire, technique, and yoga for pianists, and is ideal for pianists preparing for concerts, competitions, diplomas or auditions, or for anyone suffering from technical problems, physical tension, injuries or nerves. The course is run as a series of masterclasses with plenty of opportunities for discussion and exchange of ideas, and ends with an informal concert on the Sunday afternoon.
Limited to eight students per course for maximum participation – two scholarships available.
Penelope Roskell is an international concert pianist, and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Please contact Penelope direct for further information or to book a place
Dates: Friday 16 March – Sunday 18 March 2012, 10am – 5pm
Course fee: £195 (ISM and EPTA members £185)
Venue
The Studio
66 Queen Elizabeth’s Walk
Stoke Newington
LONDON
N16 5UQ
Tel. 0208 802 6258
Email peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk
Last weekend I attended another of my teacher’s 3-day intensive courses for advanced pianists. This is now the third course I have been on, and each time I have gained a great deal from it. The course is open to all advanced pianists, amateur or professional, student or teacher, and offers guidance on repertoire, technique, teaching and exercises to prevent tension and injury. It is particularly helpful for those preparing for Diplomas (as I am), auditions or public performances, but it is also an enjoyable forum to exchange ideas, hear new repertoire and share thoughts. The best part, for me, is total immersion in all things piano for three whole days.
This time we were quite a mixed bunch: three students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire where my teacher is Professor of Piano, two of whom I had met before on previous courses, a professional pianist and teacher who specialises in contemporary and twentieth-century repertoire, and a teacher from South-East London who, like me, is preparing for the ATCL Recital Diploma this winter. While the course is organised in the form of a masterclass, there is nothing intimidating nor scary about the experience (at least, not after one has got over one’s initial anxiety on the first day of playing to a group of people you’ve never met before!), and the whole atmosphere is very supportive and encouraging.
Despite slaughtering Schubert’s Impromptu Opus 90, No. 2 in E flat when I played it for the first time on the Friday, I managed to redeem myself – and the music – by Sunday, having spent two days thinking about what I wanted to do with the music, rather than hack away at it at the piano. One of the key things to come out of this course is to allow oneself “thinking time” before playing, hearing the sounds you would like to produce in your head. One student, Stephen, who was preparing for a competition in Germany, seemed particularly good at this, and his second performance of Debussy’s Prelude Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest was atmospheric and very colourful.
Helen, meanwhile, a teacher and pianist based in Brighton, astonished us all (teacher included) with her choice of repertoire, from David Rakowski’s witty and sprightly etude A Gliss is Just a Gliss to Peter Feuchtwanger’s Tariqa 1 in which Helen recreated the sounds of a Middle Eastern plucked instrument, and Somei Satoh’s arresting Incarnation II, during which we all forgot we were listening to a piano being played!
Even the more traditional repertoire (Beethoven, Bach, Liszt and Chopin) was played with individuality and flair, and it was wonderful to hear each person’s performance (the Spotify playlist at the end of this post includes tracks of nearly all of the music we played over the weekend, except the Satoh, which is on YouTube with Helen playing it). What was particularly helpful for me, apart from having my own playing critiqued, of course, was to hear Lorraine, a fellow piano teacher, play two of the pieces I am including in my Diploma programme, Liszt’s ethereal and romantic Sonetto 123 del Petrarca, and Messiaen’s meditation Regard de la Vierge, from the ‘Vingt Regards de l’enfant Jesus’. It was very helpful to compare notes about these pieces with someone who, like me, is now on pretty intimate terms with them, and reassuring to find that certain passages or sections were bugbears for both of us, particularly in the Messiaen.
One of the most revelatory things about these courses is hearing how a performance can be transformed with just a few words or suggestions from teacher. Maddie’s G-flat Impromptu became serene and spacious as she allowed the music to “breathe”, while Sally’s final movement of Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata was nicely held in check, colourful and urgent, though without sounding hurried (far too many pianists take this movement at such a lick, one misses all the really interesting parts of it). Lorraine’s Malambo by Ginastera (also for her Diploma programme) was earthy and vibrant.
The course always ends with a concert. Participation is not obligatory and nobody is forced to play if they don’t want to. In fact, it is less nerve-wracking than one might imagine, playing for friends and family. It is also an important part of one’s study, for new ideas or insights often emerge during a performance, allowing one to view one’s music from a slightly different perspective. I opted to play the Messiaen, and while I “winged” it in places, overall I was pleased with it and have resumed working on it with renewed enthusiasm and interest. And suddenly, the sections which seemed so hard before are beginning to come together nicely, and the overall shape and flow of the piece is far better.
For anyone thinking about doing a piano course, Penelope Roskell is offering some “piano days” to give one a taster of the full course. More details about piano courses and workshops for piano teachers here:
Courses and Workshops for Pianists and Piano Teachers (details of courses and workshops run by my teacher, Penelope Roskell)
Piano Course – April 2011 (includes information about other piano courses and summer schools around the UK and beyond)
Here’s a Spotify playlist based on the pieces played in the end of course concert at Penelope Roskell’s latest Advanced London Piano Course. I will write up the weekend properly when I have time, but in the meantime, I thought readers would enjoy the wide variety of repertoire we played over the weekend. As usual, the course was very supportive, inspiring and instructive, and I think everyone got a huge amount out of it. I know I did!
There is just one track missing from this playlist, an etude by American composer David Rakowski (b. 1958), which was the final piece in the concert, performed by pianist Helen Burford who specialises in contemporary repertoire (she also played Tariqa 1 by Peter Feuchtwanger). I’ve posted a YouTube clip of the piece instead.
There are places still available on my teacher’s advanced piano course in September (16th-18th). The course is held in her home in north London, and is open to all pianists of a high standard, from international performers to piano students, piano teachers and advanced amateurs. All participants have the option to play in an informal concert at the end of the course.
The course includes work on repertoire, technique, and teaching and study methods, and also incorporates yoga for pianists and healthy piano technique. The course is particularly helpful for pianists preparing for concerts, auditions, diplomas, or for anyone suffering from technical difficulties, physical tension, injuries or nerves.
The course runs from 10am to 5pm Friday to Sunday, with breaks for coffee, lunch and tea. Everyone has the opportunity to play at least once every day.
Penelope Roskell is an inspiring and patient teacher, and the course offers a very supportive and friendly working environment.
Venue: The Studio, 66 Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Stoke Newington, London N16 5UQ Tel. 0208 802 6258
Fee: £180 (students £140). Two scholarships/bursaries are available.
Further information including an application form from: peneloperoskell@blueyonder.co.uk
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