The meeting featured a presentation by Jared Dunn who shared his ideas and expertise on the topic of how to interpret scores and encourage imagination.
He began with a helpful list of books as a resource for learning to interpret scores and to understand performance practices of individual composers. He discussed various aspects which inspire interpretation. The arts are a wonderful source: e.g. poetry, architecture, sculpting, dance, drama, novels, and birdsong.
The importance of nurturing imagination in our students was stressed. We need to encourage them to visualize their futures, whether they perceive a future in music or not. He suggested many creative ways to instill creativity and imagination in our students. We could ask a student to read a story/novel written during the life time of the composer. We could ask them to listen to other works by the composer in the same year as the piece being learned. Students could listen to symphonic works or vocal music written by the composer.
The last portion of our workshop was dedicated to discussion of three pieces from the Romantic era:
Schubert Sentimental Waltz Op. 50 #13
Mendelssohn Andante Sostenuto Op. 72 #2
Chopin Nocturne Op. 37 #1
Discussion centered around careful score reading and how that informs our interpretation of the music.
The two hours spent together were very informative and engaging for us all.