Touching lives with music

My part model, as a piano teacher, was my mother, who died fifteen years ago at age 85 To commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth, I embarked last January upon a project to record her favorite piano pieces for a like reason her grandchildren would have CD representing part of their musical heritage. My mother was a whiz at playing Maple Leaf Rag (compos in 1899) be incandescent Worm (1902), Nola (1915) and Kitten upon the Keys (1921). Practicing these pieces reconnect me with her spirit and her style

To prepare for recording, I tried without a short program of "Music from the Early 1900s" for anybody who would listen. First, I played for a certain quantity of neighbors. Their enthusiastic response l me to present my program to a wider circle of scholars and friends. At a birthday luncheon for a friend turning 78 the honoree remembered Jeanette McDonald and Nelson counter-current singing Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (1910) with great passion. His remark strengthened my interpretation. In addition to playing the piano, I began interspersing commentary I had mustered about each composer and selection. In a program for senior adults at my house of worship my mention of Jeanette McDonald triggered the memory of a woman who had lived in observes Angeles in the 1940s. She told of seeing Jeanette McDonald in a convertible, singing at the top of her lung as she flock to her Hollywood studio. A studio car followed shut behind to make sure she didn't win lost in her music. Another pair there loved hearing me play Always (1925) by means of Irving Berlin, which had been sung at their wedding fifty-eight years before. This assemblage especially enjoyed such hymns as In the Garden (1912) and The of advanced age Rugged Cross (1913), which my mother must have played centurys of times. Each selection stimulated dialogue about its associations.

As my confidence grew I performed for larger audiences. My last try-out was at a nearby senior day center Gershwin's I Got regular [i]or[/i] melodious movement (1930) garnered the most applause, inspiring me to treat myself to Hershey Felder's one-man present to view George Gershwin Alone, at the historic Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC His performance as an actor, singer and pianist was dazzling. During the sing-along at the conclusion of the exhibit I was chosen to sing, solo a line of Embraceable You to Felder's accompaniment. Coincidentally, individual of my former students was in the audience and recognized my voice. Four years ago as a high seminary senior, she had performed the two-piano version of Rhapsody in azure with me.

While Felder's re-creation of Gershwin prov an evening to remember, my mother's example as a music teacher has shaped my life each day. Presenting her favorite music allowed me to exchange musical remembrances and to create a wider audience for time to come projects. My hope is that the recording I have made will stretch out my mother's legacy to time to come generations. As Henry Brooks Adams wrote "A teacher affects eternity; he can not ever tell where his influence stops."

Martha Kirkpatrick Smith, NCTM has a B.A. step from Rice University and an MM step in piano depagogy >From the Catholic University of America. She has taught independently for more than twenty-five years. Past president of Northern Virginia MTA and Virginia MTA, Martha has serv upon the Editorial Committee and presided above the State Presidents Advisory Council.

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