I’ll keep this post very simple, short… and very sweet.
Sheena Roberts and I are just now emerging from our second annual Piano Camp for kids aged 12 to 18 years. We hosted eleven young pianists, eight from outside St. John’s from as far away as Gander. It was a very rewarding, humbling experience for me and Sheena. What we didn’t realize was exactly how rewarding it was for the kids who proudly performed a completely-memorized recital last week on no less than the D.F. Cook Recital Hall stage. Furthermore… and beyond our wildest expectations… we’re discovering how rewarding such an intensive camp is for parents. What follows is a message from the mother of a Piano Camp participant. I’m sharing this not to promote The Piano Camp, but as a reminder to me and to all teachers who happen to drop in here of why we teach and work with young people. Thank you to all parents who allowed me and Sheena to borrow their kids for more than seven hours a day for four days last week. Especially.. Thank you to this very thoughtful Mom. Enjoy…..

Dear David and Sheena,
I wanted to send along another thank you for the incredible week you provided the children with at Piano Camp. I overheard mine explaining to a friend yesterday how much fun they had. I believe it is the challenge you provide them with that offers him so much self accomplishment and pride in their playing. As a parent, anyone who helps instill these qualities in my children is a huge fan of mine!!! How you can challenge, encourage and inspire the children in a totally fun atmosphere is amazing!
My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the recital and it was obvious to everyone how much fun the children had and how much they had learned. By instilling the love of music in a child you open up a whole new appreciation of life for them with a beautiful way of expressing themselves. Below is a reading I found a while ago and I thought of the both of you. Enjoy our last few glorious days of summer, and I look forward to seeing you both soon.

THAT IS WHY I TEACH MUSIC

NOT because I expect you to major in music.
NOT because I expect you to play or sing all your life.
NOT so you can relax or have fun.
BUT- So you will be human
So you will recognize beauty
So you will be sensitive
So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world
So you will have something to cling to
So you will have more love, more compassion, more
gentleness, more
good…in short, more life.
Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live?

Author Unknown

“Hug the corners” is a phrase my teacher and mentor Kristina Szutor said to me during a lesson several years ago when I was struggling through a fast and difficult right-hand passage in a piece I was preparing for a recital. It was really frustrating. I was starting and finishing okay, but stumbling over the notes in the middle of the passage. The problem was that I wanted was to finish playing it without giving deserving attention to the music along the way. Her advise to hug the corners stayed with me because it was also the same phrase Dad used when he took me out for a few driving lessons back in the day. So I knew exactly what she meant. When I was a teenaged driver, Dad made sure that on sharp turns I didn’t lose sight of where I was in the moment. We can all start a turn and finish it, but we can also kick up dust and create hazards in our haste to get there. By taking my time and paying attention to the boundary set by the centre and shoulder lines, I learned how to pace myself and get there cleanly. As soon as Kristina said those words many years later, I responded immediately. I shifted my focus to every single note, even when playing fast. Her words worked like a charm. The difficult phrase was still difficult, but I mastered it by digging in and making every note matter. The composer wrote them for a reason, after all. Common sense, but I needed my teacher to remind me.

This Best Summer Ever is just about over, but I’m taking the lessons learned well into the seasons and years to come. If someone like Philip Holloway has a chance to perform out of town or out of the province, then I’m going to be at the piano no matter the place, time or cost. The summer was bookended with his award-winning performances at Provincials in Corner Brook in May and at Nationals in Montreal in August. Aside from the prizes, Philip and I enjoyed every second together between rehearsals and performances. The only part I didn’t enjoy was when someone asked Philip if I was his Dad. But I digress….

My sister was the first of the three siblings to hit the big 50 this year. She’s been in New Brunswick for many years, but I had never seen their house. Joan and I surprised (shocked) her, her kids and my parents by crashing a family dinner in Saint John. We drove for a day and a half straight and it was worth every cent and second. The journey along the way to and from New Brunswick made for one of the nicest vacations we’ve ever taken. It was simply behind the wheel of the car and an old-fashioned driving holiday.

Dad and I enjoyed our annual five-day salmon-fishing trip. Once again, no fish were caught and it didn’t matter in the slightest. The drive to and from mattered as much as the time casting lines.

My friend Tom and I went to Chicago for our third annual baseball trip. In the year since our last trip, Tom and his wife had a baby. He promised me all along that nothing would stand in the way of our annual excursion. He stayed true to his growing family and to our friendship, something far more meaningful to me than the amazing games we saw.

Joan and I spent five days in New York City. We saw some shows, did lots of sight-seeing and shopped til we dropped. We didn’t just get caught up in New York. We got caught up in each other being in New York together. Other than a couple of hours when she wanted to shop along the China Town markets on Canal Street (which drive me nuts), we didn’t spend a second apart. And it was wonderful.

As I type this entry, it’s just a couple of hours after James and Jeff, two incredible students of mine, left the house after dropping over and staying for more than three hours to just hang around the piano, chat and sing songs. They’re two dynamic young people on a Friday night who could be doing anything else, yet they just wanted to come here and spend a bit of time making music. I tried to put on my teacher hat, but they wouldn’t let me… and I’m glad. They just wanted to have fun their way and I’m honoured that they wanted to include me and my piano in their plans. Earlier this afternoon, another young singer, Ryan, dropped over for a late-summer sing. He and I spend a couple of hours just sifting through lots of music and had a great time along the way. Three rising singers just dropping over for musical visits today and tonight. This was a great day.

This Saturday, Kellie and I will hear well over a dozen men sing for us, hoping for a spot in Newman Sound. It will be a technical process on the one hand of course, but she and I will also be marvelling at their courage and honoured by their desire to work with us and the choir.

This Sunday, my friend and colleague Sheena Roberts and I kick off our second annual Piano Camp. For five days, eleven young pianists from across the province will gather with Sheena and me and hang on our every word. Sheena is an extraordinary teacher and has been mentor to countless young people over her stellar career. She and I might have different specific teaching methods, but at the end of the day we’ll be teaching the kids to have fun while learning efficiently and performing effectively. Rest assured, they will be taught to hug the corners.

Hugging the corners makes the journey a whole lot more fun and interesting.