Godwin's Tips on Speaking about Music

Godwin Friesen – Winner of the 2018 PianoArts Audience Communication Award

”I am seeking ways to integrate my many interests into performances that articulate something relevant and impactful to audiences.”  

Godwin's Tips – Speaking to Audiences about Music  

Godwin’s preparation for speaking about a piece of music begins with research, asking how the music creates meaning, and what the key listening points are. Following is an outline of his method of preparation: 

Research

• Study the notes in the score 
• Learn the history, on the internet and in books 
• Decide how the piece is unique and how the music creates meaning  
• Decide what information will get the audience listening 

Prepare

• Practice the talk  
• Memorize the key points  
• Avoid having a "memorized-sounding speech" by not planning exact sentences  
• Do plan the last sentence before sitting down at the piano

Perform

• Speak confidently 
•  Enjoy sharing

Godwin's love of music and speaking about music was nurtured by performing in the Friesen Family Band, which has recorded three albums and toured across Canada. His abilities to perform piano and speak to audiences grew to a new level when he began his studies at The Glenn Gould School. Currently, Godwin is in the senior class, studying piano with John O’Conor.  Godwin has performed with the Regina Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony, and Greater Toronto Philharmonic orchestras. His many awards, as a soloist and as a chamber musician, include winning second place with his piano quartet in The Glenn Gould School Chamber Competition. Godwin was recently honored to perform with Canada's Piano Six– New Generation and in the show, 88Keys, for Soulpepper Theater. His compositions have been performed by the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra and by the Junior Choir of the Phil and Eli Taylor Academy with Godwin as the conductor.  

Listen to Godwin's award winning presentation on the PianoArts Facebook page.

Questions for Godwin? Write your question in the comment section and he will respond.   

Watch for upcoming blogs about professional musicians who include conversations about music in their concerts and/or give other types presentations, such as pre-concert talks.  

Curiosity is the Beginning

When Aleksandra (Sasha) Kasman speaks about music, we become curious about a new discovery in a well-known piece of music. Or, if it is a piece we are hearing for the first time, we are curious about whether we will experience a musical mystery or an ”a-ha” moment. Did world events effect the music the composer was writing? 

From a very young age, Aleksandra enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm about music through piano performances and speaking about music. During the PianoArts 2014 competition, she began to hone her speaking skills through classes on musical content presented by coach Catherine Kautsky and her speaking and stage skills in classes presented by theater artists, such as actress Linda Stephens, a 2018 PianoArts competition coach. 

As a PianoArts fellow, Aleksandra took these skills to a new level through numerous performances for a vast variety of audiences in Milwaukee, as well as in Alabama, where she was pursuing her undergraduate degree, and in New York, where she was studying for her master's degree at The Juilliard School. Developing these skills takes time and practice, just as performing the piano does.

Aleksandra is curious about the musical journey and how the musical traveler begins and ends the journey. Sharing that curiosity during her award winning performances at the piano is making a difference in the numbers of people she draws to classical music. In addition to her loyal following of concert goers, she is bringing new listeners to our art form.

Upcoming blogs will feature the PianoArts competition’s Audience Communication Award

and PianoArts fellowships.   

Concert Conversations from the 2019 Festival

Highlights with John Schindler, Jacob Ertl, Aleksandra Kasman, & Sophia Jiang...

They spoke about composers, ballades and ballads, creepy nocturnal flutterers, stories told through music, and music written for stories. They illustrated their concert conversations with musical examples that sometimes scampered up and down the keyboard. They set the stage for exciting performances at the piano.  

Preparing for Concert Conversations

Jacob, Aleksandra, John, and Sophia are compelling award-winning pianists who have a passion about sharing the art form. They also have a passion about concert conversations that reveal fascinating stories and the inventive creative processes used by composers. 

As PianoArtists, during the North American and Wisconsin Youth Competitions, they were coached by musicologists and specialists who use the spoken word in performances. As fellows, they honed these skills while performing for diverse audiences.  

Watch for upcoming blogs about the coaching sessions provided by PianoArts that help outstanding pianists hone skills in concert conversations that project, engage, fascinate, and provide insights that will open the audience's ears to a superior listening experiences. 

Musicians On Stage with Actors

What do pianists gain from working with actors?

PianoArts alum, Professor Jacob Ertl has performed musical works with actors on several occasions. In a talk back following his performance of Igor Stravinsky's Firebird with actors Linda Stephens and Norman Moses narrating the story, Jacob discussed the artistry and his personal experience of collaborating with artists from different disciplines.  

"With the words, 'Once upon a time,' the actors set the mood for the musical story. The timbers and colors of their spoken voices set the stage for the music which I believe was more powerful because of the contrast." 

The collaboration affected the pacing, the way the actors and pianist projected the work to the audience, and the intensity of the drama. Even the silences became more dramatic. One of the members of the audience, who had not seen the ballet, was very excited about the interplay of the music and the narrative. For the first time, she fully experienced the drama of Stravinsky's music.  

Future PianoArts performances with narrators will include suites for piano arranged from opera and ballet scores. Programs will include Stravinsky's Petrouchka and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker with a script based on the original tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann.