ORTHODOX MUSIC MASTERCLASS
FOR COMPOSERS AND CONDUCTORS
JUNE 20-23, 2019
THE SOCIETY OF SAINT ROMANOS THE MELODIST
in November of 2018, announced a unique
Pan-Orthodox Masterclass for Composers & Conductors.
There has never been a masterclass in North America that focused its curriculum and instruction on composers of new Orthodox music. The response to this masterclass is remarkably positive and encouraging.
Whether the applicants are "beginners" or "advanced" in their skill levels and training, ALL current registrants–composers & conductors–are serious church musicians and serious in their approach & desire to improve. We hope to enjoy our time together as colleagues with fellowship and fun-times; still, a distinguishing characteristic of our event is that we did not set for ourselves the goal of massive enrollment with a socializing dimension. From the inception of the project we set a tone of exclusivity in an intensive, work-oriented environment and, for this reason, opened a limited number of seats in each category initially totaling 26 seats. We are delighted to say that, as of April 1, 33 seats are now filled. To allow more participants to register, we have opened up seats in the Beginner Conductor category. These encouraging figures speak not only to the actual need for a high-level forum for skill-acquisition but to the actual presence of tremendous creativity, talent, and hunger for new and appropriate-for-worship Orthodox music in our ranks.
Another unique feature of the masterclass is its pre-event mentorship program. Under the guidance of our master teachers, the enrolled composers have now begun to compose and arrange designated Orthodox hymns. The new compositions will be tweaked for craftsmanship and appropriateness for worship, rehearsed by the Masterclass Choir with the Advanced Conductors, and, if selected by our faculty, sung at the Divine Services at the end of the Masterclass. At the same time, also under the guidance of our master teachers, all enrolled participants have now begun musicianship training in music theory and ear-training. Every participant will work to improve his/her music skills prior to the masterclass with the Musition/Auralia platform, a sophisticated, cloud-based application, designed for comprehensive and customized training. Students can access this program from any device at any time of day or night. Both the composer and conductor participants will benefit from this masterclass through 3 phases of work–pre-event training, on-site training during the event, and post-event evaluation & directional advice.
The work of conductors requires transmission of energy & information through a coordination of conceptually clear musical intentions & physical dexterity. To help our student conductors acquire this complex set of skills, we are offering a unique curriculum with score analysis & preparation and Dalcroze Eurhythmics training. These components of the Masterclass are also a unique feature and provide training that is simply not readily available for church musicians.
Finally, the Society has secured reduced rates with possibility for double occupancy at a Holiday Inn which is walking distance from the Serbian Cathedral. If desired, a shuttle bus will be available for transport from the hotel to the Cathedral. The hotel and masterclass site are 10 minutes from O'Hare International Airport, easily reached with safe & reliable public transportation. All of these arrangements are made with the goal of creating convenience & comfort for our participants.
PLEASE REGISTER NOW BEFORE THE AVAILABLE SEATS ARE FILLED!
SIMPLE 3-STEP ONLINE REGISTRATION
https://www.societyromanos.org/registration
In order to provide more focused and intensive training in the various areas of study and to add the composer track, what was originally The PaTRAM Institute Summer Academy for Conductors & Singers has now been separated into two distinct programs which will hold sessions in two venues on different weekends.
The Orthodox Music Masterclass for Composers & Choir Directors will convene in Chicago from June 20 thru 23 under the auspices of the Society of Saint Romanos the Melodist. Faculty: Dr. Peter Jermihov, Dr. Tamara Petijevic, Dr. Irina Riazanova, Dr. Kurt Sander,
Dr. Matthew Arndt, Kristen Regester, Anastasia Serdseva, Melita Zdravkovic & Timothy Morrow.
COMPOSERS & CONDUCTORS are invited to register here:
https://www.societyromanos.org/description
AND ADDRESS QUESTIONS TO:
The PaTRAM Institute Singers' Summer Academy will take place in Howell, New Jersey from June 27 thru 30. Faculty: Maestro Vladimir Gorbik, Maestro Benedict Sheehan, Laryssa Doohovskoy, Dr. Nicholas Reeves, Richard Barrett & Talia-Maria Sheehan.
SINGERS are invited to register here:
https://patraminstitute.org/singers-summer-academy-2019-registration/
This event is supported, in part, by generous in-kind and monetary donations from
The Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral,
Ancient Faith Radio,
The PaTRAM Institute,
and numerous local vendors,
families, and individuals.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Every musician and conductor has his/her unique set of skills, strengths & weaknesses, and level of training & experience. The best way to assess a conductor is through a face-to-face evaluation. Without this personal evaluation, applicants can rely on the following general criteria to assess themselves:
Beginner conductors are expected to read music, have a working knowledge of key signatures and staff notation, and the ability to hear and discern pitches and intervals; they need not have any experience conducting ensembles.
Intermediate conductors should meet the criteria of beginning conductors and will have more advanced knowledge of music theory, the ability to sing any voice part of a 4-part choral score, and be currently directing an ensemble.
Advanced conductors should have completed a music degree–either an undergraduate or graduate degree–or be in their 3rd year of a 4-year college degree program. This presupposes the completion of the standard 2-year sequence of courses in music theory, ear-training, and keyboard harmony. Advanced conductors should have the basic ability to analyze a score and be able to play a 4-part choral score at the piano (not necessarily at a performance level or tempo). They should have, also, conducting experience with a choral or instrumental ensemble.
The good news for all level of conductors is that as soon as you register, you can begin to build your musicianship skills through an assessment and online course of study with Musition & Auralia, a music theory & ear-training program. Advanced conductors will also receive individual instruction via Skype sessions. Through this unique pre-event training, all conductors will be optimally prepared for the masterclass in June.
How will the different levels be taught?
The beginner & intermediate conductors will be taught as one group in a class setting. The daily, 3-hour blocks will focus on the development of manual technique & all the joints of the arm, the various ways of beating (legato, staccato, etc.) in all tempos, and expressive use of hands. The class will be accompanied by a professional pianist. Qualified conductors from this class will be selected to direct a hymn with the Masterclass Choir. This class will be taught by Dr. Irina Riazanova and Anastasia Serdseva.
The advanced conductors will receive 2 to 3 hours of individual podium time. The morning sessions will be taught with 2 pianos and a professional pianist, while the afternoon sessions will allow each conductor to direct the professional Masterclass Choir. The emphasis in this format of study will be mainly on manual technique with elements of rehearsal technique. The advanced conductors will receive alternate sessions with Dr. Peter Jermihov & Dr. Tamara Petijevic. They will direct the Choir at the All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy.
All conductors will receive written feedback from their colleagues and from the professional singers in the Masterclass Choir.
The additional good news for all conductors is that they will receive 6 hours of training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics from a certified instructor of this method. This training cultivates the physical use of Time, Space, & Energy in music-making–indispensable training for conductors.
What other training will I receive during the Masterclass?
Pitch-giving with a tuning fork, the use of the voice in teaching a score, score analysis and preparation, development of "inner" hearing, daily instruction in ear-training, appreciation of newly-composed music, and inquiry into arranging chants and composing music suited for worship. A unique feature of this masterclass is the inclusion of a category for composers who are also advanced conductors; composers often are placed into situations where they must conduct their own compositions but lack the necessary training in conducting; here, they will have a chance to not only gain the needed skills to conduct but have the opportunity of hearing and directing their own compositions.
What skills & benefits can I expect to gain after completing the Masterclass?
Each track and level of participation will receive its own focused training. Conductors can expect to acquire and perfect a basic conducting apparatus–proper stance and hand position, appropriate-to-the-music hand movement, the ability to hear the score and connect their inner ears to their hand gestures, the ability to understand the style of the hymn at hand and its proper character within a liturgical framework, and most importantly, the knowledge of how to practice & prepare for performance and a self-awareness of the need for improvement in specific areas of competency. All conductors will be video-recorded while on the podium and receive a written summation of their work in the masterclass from the master teachers.
Will the course of study be challenging or even intimidating?
Yes and no. All participants will be encouraged to expand their comfort zones but the activities will be conducted in a supportive, collegial, and caring manner. Growth occurs when we reach beyond our comfort zones and become open to "otherness." For more insight into past masterclasses taught by Maestro Jermihov, please visit: https://patraminstitute.org/chicago-advanced-conducting-master-class-observers-and-students-share-their-opinions/
Is there any financial aid available?
Yes. A scholarship fundraiser has been established on Facebook with the goal of providing 2 scholarships in each category of participation. Thus far, one scholarship has been awarded on a need basis. As funds become available through donations, especially by parishes that wish to support a musician from their community, the awards will be made on a need and merit basis. Applicants may wish to inquire about the availability of financial aid at the time of their registration in the "Comments" box.
How will out-of-town participants travel from the airport to their place of residence and the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral and back to the airport?
Participants must make their own in-city travel arrangements. If participants stay at the recommended hotel, a shuttle will be provided from the hotel to the Cathedral.
Are home stays available for the participants?
Yes, but for a limited time during the pre-event registration phase. A limited number of home stays will be allotted on a first-come-first-serve basis.
What meals will be provided as part of the tuition?
A lunch will be provided on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, a snack before the All-Night Vigil on Saturday, and a banquet on Sunday after the Divine Liturgy.
I have more questions. Who do I address them to?
Please send an email to societystromanos@gmail.com
VENUE
CONDUCTING FACULTY
DR. PETER JERMIHOV
Personal Statement:
"I advocate score preparation and an attitude of self-criticism in the classroom. My energy to teach comes from an innate love for music and music-making. I encourage my students to root themselves in their innate passion for music and then layer the acquired skills in a life-long process of self-betterment. My teaching philosophy is a balancing act between the intrinsic-innate, and extrinsic-acquired aspects of the student’s music persona.
I do not legislate religiosity or personal faith. I teach music–often sacred and Orthodox choral music in particular–and conducting. Within these boundaries, I encourage my students to explore their awareness of how sacred texts impact their connection to the music.
I am always searching for new and more efficient ways of gaining and imparting knowledge and skills, but my main concern is to present an image to the students of a man who knows his limitations, who is honest in his appraisal of himself and others, and who is constantly seeking ways of becoming a better musician and person. Awakening and nourishing a desire to examine and better oneself is the greatest gift a teacher can offer a student."
About the Master Teacher:
Born in Chicago of Russian-émigré parents, Peter Jermihov is an American conductor with Russian roots. A student of legendary, master teacher–Il'ya Musin, he has cultivated a versatile career by combining professional conducting engagements with teaching appointments, choral with orchestral conducting, and music-making with research. An internationally recognized specialist in Orthodox liturgical music, Jermihov is also a devoted proponent of East-West cultural exchange. He has led an initiative to commission and premiere new compositions from prominent Orthodox composers including Ivan Moody, Kurt Sander, and Zoran Mulic. Jermihov’s doctoral dissertation was dedicated to Georgy Sviridov, and he continues to champion the music of this major composer in the West.
During his formative years, Jermihov studied conducting under such renowned choral masters as Eric Erickson of Sweden, Vladimir Minin of Russia, and Helmuth Rilling of Germany. He was invited to the Tanglewood Music Center under Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa as a Conducting Fellow and to the American Orchestra League’s Conducting Seminars under Kurt Masur and Leonard Slatkin as an Active Participant. He had the privilege of serving as Robert Shaw and Vladimir Minin’s assistant in preparing Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem at the 2nd World Symposium on Choral Music in Stockholm. Jermihov has served as director of choral and orchestral activities at several major state universities and private colleges. His articles and editions of choral music appear in the Choral Journal, International Federation of Choral Music Journal, Musica Russica, Inc., PSALM Music Press, and numerous other publications. He is Artistic Director of The PaTRAM Institute Singers and The St. Romanos Cappella.
DR. TAMARA PETIJEVIC
Personal Statement:
"Conducting is defined as a 'non-verbal behavior of a conductor' and, as such, is based on gestures. But those gestures should express the whole inner world of the person conducting, including broad knowledge of the music, intellectual and psychological potentials, emotional specter, and the physical condition. The art of conducting is very complex; it also includes leadership skills, organization and management of the ensemble with different people etc.
In addition, in church music, the conductor must have a deep understanding of the words and context of the church services and know how to transfer this understanding to the singers; all of this is essential for a person conducting sacred music.
To be precise and innovative at the same time, achieve the balance of tension and relaxation in every aspect, motivate the singers at each rehearsal, not just at the performance–these are some of the skills that I would like to teach students of conducting.
The Serbian St. Varnava wrote: "Music was the first consolation that Heaven sent to Earth after the Fall." Therefore, music is a comforting element in our lives, but it is also means towards salvation.
I believe that collective (choral) singing is one of the great achievements of our civilization. Treat your choir with respect, but try to "squeeze" the most from it, and never stop learning how to do it."
Tamara Adamov Petijevic is a conductor, violinist, teacher, a researcher in the field of choral music, and leader and artistic director of three choirs and two symphony orchestras, with approximately 300 mostly young people. She conducts the renowned Orthodox Church Choir of St. Stephen of Dechani, the IsidorBajic Music School mixed and female choirs, and a professional vocal-instrumental oratorio studio Orfelin. She conducted the boys’ Choir of the Karlovci Seminary of the Serbian Orthodox Church as the first female-conductor and teacher in the history of that institution which was founded in the 18th Century. Petijevic’s choirs and orchestras won many prizes at national and international choral competitions and festivals. She was awarded the Best Conductor Performance at the Young Prague Competition, the title Ambassador of Good Will at Zimriya Festival in Jerusalem and several high national prizes for her pedagogical work. Her work as a researcher resulted in numerous projects, such as recording 10 CDs and editing and publishing three music collections of Serbian Orthodox music. She has served as a presenter and conductor at choral workshops for liturgical and choral music in USA, Canada, Italy, and Hungary. Petijevic is a member of the Regional Artistic Committee of Europa Cantat choral association, as well as many international juries for choirs and composition. In May of 2017 she initiated and founded the Serbian Choral Association. She completed her Ph.D. studies in conducting at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, conducting Rimsky Korsakov's opera Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and writing her dissertation about the opera's oratorization.
DR. IRINA RIAZANOVA
Personal Statement:
"As musicians, we are always faced with the challenge of how to translate the composer’s vision into a meaningful and beautiful sound. The conductor’s role in this process is even more complex since he/she has to not only discern the inner meaning of the music but also be able to communicate that meaning efficiently to an ensemble and lead them in communicating this musical vision to the listener. My role as a teacher is to assist my students in this intriguing process of discovery and learning. I try to create a safe and engaging environment in which everyone can openly explore different ways of becoming better conductors and musicians."
About the Master Teacher:Irina Riazanova received her Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting with honors from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia and, upon immigrating to the United States, completed the Doctor of Music Degree in Choral Conducting from Northwestern University. Her doctoral dissertation, An inquiry into text and music relationships in Sergei Rachmaninoff's “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom,” Opus 31, can be found at Northwestern University D. M. Publication Number: 3030539, 153 p., 1999. Her professional experience is multi-faceted, having served as an assistant conductor to Vladimir Minin in New York City and James Conlon at the May Music Festival in Cincinnati; as a professional vocalist in the Rockefeller Chapel Choir, St. Romanos Cappella, and PaTRAM Institute Singers; as a vocal coach at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Houston Opera; as a producer of a CD recording Holy Radiant Light with Gloriae Dei Cantores; and as a presenter and conductor at numerous Orthodox festivals and conferences across North America. Riazanova served as choir director and chanter in Moscow Patriarchate, OCA, and ROCOR parishes for over 25 years. She is currently employed as a full-time music teacher at Lincolnwood School District No. 74 and as an organist at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago. She is passionately devoted to bringing young people closer to their Orthodox faith through singing in worship.
ANASTASIA SERDSEV
Personal Statement:
"A skilled conductor can communicate a great deal to an ensemble through the use of gestures, without saying a word. Just with a pickup beat, a conductor can define the tempo, dynamic, and character of the sound that follows. This ability to communicate through gesture is very important to Orthodox choir directors, since we are faced with a vast body of liturgical hymnography that is constantly changing throughout the year and the common reality of not being able to rehearse all of it for all the services we direct. Therefore, by developing our skills in conducting, along with our knowledge of the order of services, liturgical repertoire, and choral vocal technique, we can become clearer with our gestures during services and more efficient during rehearsals. I strongly believe that by acquiring and continuing to refine all the basic “tools” in conducting, one can make a positive difference in the quality of the sound that one’s ensemble produces. It is my goal to equip church choir directors with the skills needed to navigate and communicate the many nuances of Orthodox liturgical music."
About the Teacher:
Anastasia Serdsev holds an M.M. degree in conducting from the Bard College Conservatory of Music and an M.A.T. degree in music teaching from Lehman College. She is a conductor, teacher, and performer of differing styles in music and an active participant in various Orthodox liturgical music conferences, concerts, and projects. Serdsev is particularly interested in the training of current and future generations of Orthodox church musicians in North America. On this subject, she wrote her conducting master’s thesis titled Orthodox Liturgical Music in North America: Finding a Place for Professionalism. At the 2017 PaTRAM Memorial Day Workshop,she gave a talk titled “Choral Tone and Prayerful Singing” and another titled ‘Working with Your Church Choir: Will the ‘Next Generation’ Follow?” at the 2015 Russian Orthodox Church Musician’s Conference. Serdsev regular appears as a conductor and singer at different Orthodox liturgical events. In April 2017, she directed the Prince Vladimir Youth Association Choir in its third annual Paschal liturgy and concert. In the preceding year, she travelled with select members of the choir to Ukraine, where they performed at several of the country’s most prominent monasteries. She has, likewise, participated in the Patriarch Tikhon Choir concert series in September 2013 and in the choir’s recording “Praise the Lord, All Ye Nations” in December 2014.
Currently, Serdsev directs the choir at St. Mary Magdalen Orthodox Church, teaches choral and general music at two parochial schools, and offers private music instruction in the New York metropolitan area.
COMPOSITION & MUSICIANSHIP FACULTY
Dr. Kurt Sander
ABOUT HIS TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & CAREER
PHILOSOPHY
Excerpts from On the Need for a Living Orthodox Creative Tradition by Kurt Sander.
Every Orthodox Christian has an obligation to nurture creativity in some way, as it remains one of the most essential and immediate ways we have to glorify God. God has given us, through His creative image, a mind that can conceive of things out of nothingness—to create art and music out of light and sound. He gave us voices to sing in a whole spectrum of notes and keys. He gave us the whole theory behind tonal music and its harmonic makeup which resonates throughout the natural world in mathematical proportions and ratios. He gave us these things that we might draw closer to Him.
Creativity is a delicate and temperamental thing. If overindulged, it suffers from excess. If constrained, it responds in passive silence. If neglected, it departs from us taking with it answers to some of the most fundamental questions of our being. Yet, despite creativity’s mutable nature, the Orthodox Christian has an obligation to nurture it, as it remains one of the most essential and immediate ways we have to glorify God. From a Christian perspective, the fountainhead for all human creativity remains the Divine act of creation. Of all that we confess in the Nicene Creed, nothing is more fundamental to the faith than the affirmation of God as Primordial Artist: the “Maker of Heaven and the Earth, and of all things visible and invisible.” The recurrent liturgical emphasis on God as the quintessential Creator obligates us to acknowledge the creativity of man as both a reflection of the image of God and an indispensable extension of our faith.
The moment that God willed us into existence, He gave to us an image of His own creative nature that manifests itself in in three ways: love, discernment, and free will.
The first part of this image, love, can be considered the primary motivation for all creative activity. St. Isaac the Syrian reminds us that God’s creative will emanates from His inherent goodness, “brought about with a love that cannot be measured.” And so, as we were created out of love, out of love do we also create.
But love, alone, is incapable of ensuring good creative fruit. For this reason God offers us a second portion of His image given to us in the form of discernment. Holy Scripture describes discernment as a type of wisdom enabling us to recognize the intrinsic virtue in what we do or create. The Book of Genesis repeatedly emphasizes the good that God saw in His creation. In realizing the creative image of God, we remain obligated to seek the good in our own creations, understanding that “good” is that which is pleasing to Him.
The final, and most fundamental, aspect of the creative image is free will. Without it there can be no creativity. Free will is essential because it gives us the option to choose right or wrong–to direct our creative aspirations to glorify the sacred or the profane. In choosing what is good, we show our love for God and also for one another. St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Galatians, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Without free will, it is clear that our actions can never be completely born out of love nor do they demand our own discernment. Without free will, we cease to be creative.
CAREER
Kurt Sander's compositions have been performed in twelve countries on four different continents. Much of his choral and instrumental work takes its inspiration from the sublime dimensions of the Eastern Orthodox faith and its rich artistic traditions.
While his record of work includes a variety of contemporary concert pieces, his energies are heavily focused on the composition of Orthodox choral music and research on the aesthetics of Orthodox creativity.
His sacred choral work has been sung by many fine performing ensemble throughout the world including Cappella Romana, the Choir "Kastalsky," the Cincinnati Camerata, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, the St. Romanos Cappella, the Clarion Choir, Archangel Voices, and the PaTRAM Institute Singers. It has also been featured at the CREDO International Festival of Orthodox Choral Music by the Orthodox Singers. In 2017, the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute commissioned the composition of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which was recorded in August 2017 and will be released under the Reference Recording label in early 2019.
Sander has also acquired notoriety for his chamber and orchestral writing. He was recently named a finalist in the American Prize for his song cycle Ella's Song about the life of St. Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia. Other instrumental works have been performed by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Brasov Philharmonic (Romania), the Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria) and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Synchronia, the Corbett Trio, the Solaris Wind Quintet, and the St. Petersburg Quartet.
Sander also is an active presenter and author. His research is directed toward the relationships between Orthodox iconography and music, and the unique traditions that inform the creative process for the artist and composer, more specifically, the work of contemporary Orthodox composer Arvo Pärt.
Sander currently serves as Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition at Northern Kentucky University. He holds degrees in composition from Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Cleveland State University. His teachers include Bain Murray, William Karlins, Alan Stout, Rudolph Bubalo, Andrew Imbrie, and Alan Sapp.
DR. MATTHEW ARNDT
ABOUT HIS TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & CAREER
PHILOSOPHY
Composition of Prayer by Matthew Arndt
St. Augustine says that the one who sings prays twice, while St. Theophan the Recluse
distinguishes amongst bodily prayer, attentive prayer, prayer of the feelings, and spiritual prayer. How precisely might music duplicate these different degrees of prayer? I find it helpful in teaching composition for the church to relate praying with the body, mind, and heart and the through the Spirit heuristically to rhythm, melody, harmony, and silence, so as to make each of these parameters a matter for careful consideration.
Bodily prayer
Praying with the body means using reverent posture and gestures (such as the sign of the cross) and pronouncing the words correctly. In musical terms, this prayer means having tempi and rhythms that accord with such demeanor, and—above all—writing rhythms that fit the word stresses in English. The principle is this: the stressed syllables must be metrically stronger than the unstressed syllables, unless syncopated. This principle requires special attention from student and teacher.
The action of the muscles in bodily prayer corresponds to the activity of the will, whose desire more generally should be for God. Music can embody this constant desire through long-range voice-leading goals and paths (coordinated contrapuntally through rhythm), which give direction and flow to music through its many vicissitudes. This aspect is the most subtle and open to interpretation, and it is not necessarily a matter for deliberate planning unless disruptions become apparent to the teacher that necessitate analysis and revision.
Attentive prayer
Praying with the mind means attending to the words and crediting them in faith. In musical
terms, this prayer means shaping the phrases and the form to accord with the sense, grammar, and rhetoric of the text and the liturgical versus paraliturgical function of the piece. Praying musically with the mind also entails giving the line an intrinsic sense through repetition and variation of motives (the smallest recognizable repeated parts) and Gestalten (shapes of all sizes). Motives need not be emphasized or obvious, nor do they require a great deal of planning unless musical non-sequiturs become evident.
Prayer of the feelings
Praying with the heart means wordless communion with God. Music can embody this
communion through the harmonious mixing of notes, not only in chords but in all collections, such as scales. “Harmonious” does not mean pretty. “Harmonious” literally means fitting together, but what fits depends on what is fitting. It is fitting that we should feel pain of heart in our lowliness before God, and that is fundamentally what our harmony should convey. As St. Gregory says, God’s love is granted for tears. The danger of neglecting this pain and taking harmoniousness for granted by using banal or even misapplied formulae is great. (For example, one might try to harmonize Byzantine tone four in a major key with the final as the third scale degree, with the result that the leading tone continually goes unresolved as a melodic apex.) On account of this danger, and due to the variety and complexity of harmonic problems, this parameter requires special attention. It requires sensitivity to the sounds and capabilities of the human voice. It requires the ability to hear oneself precisely. And it requires sensitization to harmonic possibilities from an experienced teacher.
Spiritual prayer
Spiritual prayer is the gift of constant prayer through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit is in all places and fills all things, so music is conceptually surrounded by silence, and by acknowledging this silence music can gesture toward the Spirit and spiritual prayer. Music can work with silence as a kind of negative space weaving through various textures. It can also evoke silence symbolically, for example through pitch centers or tonics, if these are used.
***
Furthermore, as the Spirit is the giver of life, so music is nurtured by silence. Only standing in humble supplication and silence before God can one make ready to receive the music that is to arise, whether in composition or in teaching. For in teaching composition, the music is still not totally on the page but in a kind of hibernation, and it needs to be coaxed out, which requires a certain emptying of oneself in imaginative sympathy. In my experience, this orientation toward prayer and silence by teacher and student alike is central to tradition in church music. When combined with long practice and study in singing church music, it automatically results in the cultivation of what Archbishop Kallistos Ware calls an “aesthetic dialect” of a time and place, while relying on ostensibly traditional elements such as the Byzantine tones or tonal harmony results in a hodgepodge. Thus the one who composes church music prays not just twice but (at least) three times: in asking for God’s help, worshipping, and singing. And the one who teaches composition of church music must likewise pray for God’s help.
CAREER
Matthew Arndt is an Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Iowa and a choir leader at St. Raphael Orthodox Church in Iowa City. He has also taught composition and music theory at Mercer University and Lawrence University. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory with a double minor in Music Composition and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, an M.M. in Music Composition from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.A. with honors in Music Composition from Lewis & Clark College. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, he studied with Orthodox composer Richard Toensing of blessed memory, and at Lewis & Clark College he studied with composer Robert Kyr. From his conversion to Orthodoxy in 2009 until recently, Arndt remained mostly compositionally silent while absorbing church music and studying music theory. He researches the application of insights from the history of music theory to music theory pedagogy, analysis, and criticism. He also studies technical aspects of Georgian chant and has arranged Georgian chant for the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom into English. He is the author of The Musical Thought and Spiritual Lives of Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg (Routledge, 2018) and several articles. Having found a mature voice, Arndt has recently returned to composition, primarily of church music and chamber music dedicated to his wife. His music is influenced by Georgian chant, Byzantine chant, Bach, Beethoven, Schoenberg, Theolonius Monk, Olivier Messiaen, Jacques Ibert, Arvo Pärt, and others.
Arndt collaborated with five other Orthodox composers, including Richard Toensing and Kurt Sander, on Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation (a collaborative setting of Psalm 103), premiered by Cappella Romana in October 2018. For this occasion, he also composed a setting of the Jesus Prayer. Of these works, Matthew Neil Andrews for Oregon ArtsWatch writes: “Arndt’s The Jesus Prayer, closing the first half, came at me out of nowhere, right out of the gate crying a big Ligeti-esque wall-of-sound chord on ‘Lord!’ and proceeding directly to fluctuating chromatic micropolyphony, occasionally resolving to lightly seasoned fifths before shifting back into 2001 overdrive, the text looping obsessively, cycling through iterations of ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,’ texture constantly changing, from vibrating clusters and close dissonant harmonies down to superquiet unisons. If I’d heard this in Seattle the previous night, I would have driven down here today just to hear this one piece again. Later, Arndt’s setting of his section of Heaven and Earth, ‘There is the sea, great and wide,’ used similarly dense harmonies to evoke ‘creeping things without number, living creatures small and great.’”
DALCROZE EURHYTHMICS SPECIALIST
KRISTEN REGESTER
About the instructor:
As a teaching artist, Kristen has been influenced by the foundation of Music Together®, believing that all children are musical and can achieve basic music competence if fostered with a playful and musically rich environment. Her most recent professional development has been studies towards the Dalcroze Eurhythmics certification under the direction of Dr. Annabelle Joseph at the Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. A kinesthetic music education approach, Dalcroze Eurhythmics explores rhythm, pitch and improvisation utilizing the body as the main instrument with the actual instrument being an extension thereof. She currently applies the principles of Eurhythmics to the talented students of the Suzuki Preparatory Program at Columbia College Chicago. She is very passionate about working with children and adults who are differently-abled, and finds that music is the bridge of communication connecting her to them. A passionate percussionist, dancer, and singer, Kristen has been actively involved in many different rock/blues and drum theatre bands in Chicago.
Kristen Regester received her Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She began her career at Sherwood, The Community Music School at Columbia College Chicago in 1999 teaching for both the Early Childhood and Percussion departments. After gaining her Music Together® certification, Kristen developed early childhood curricula such as Percussion 4 Kids©, Exploring Musical Instruments©, Bumblebeats© and BE the Music!© for children ages 2-6. Since 2008 she has served administratively at Columbia College Chicago as Early Childhood Program Manager, Children’s Program Chair and now remains as the Music Together Center Director. She splits up her full time teaching status between Columbia College Chicago, Merry Music Makers, ChiME and Merit School of Music. Kristen is forever grateful to all of her students who teach her an exponential amount every single day, which leaves her pondering if she, in fact, is the eternal student.
QUESTIONS ABOUT DALCROZE EURHYTHMICS
What is Dalcroze Eurhythmics?
Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a unique way of knowing music through the body exploring musical concepts such as rhythm, Solfège and improvisation through social and interactive methods that invite students to trust their own creative ideas through their body’s expression of what they hear, feel, and understand.
Where did it originate?
Émile Jaques-Dalcroze™, a Swiss pianist, composer, and educator, was born in 1865. During his professorship of harmony, Solfège and composition at the Geneva Conservatory, Dalcroze questioned higher education musical training, and was particularly concerned about his Solfège students whom were studying theory by rules and writing, however not by sound. He thereby created his own method of teaching advanced conservatory students using so-called “rhythmic gymnastics” early in the 20th century, later developing these same concepts for children and young adults.
What are the benefits of DE?
Musicians discover musical concepts in a playful manner rather than by rote, thereby gaining a less arbitrary understanding. By remaining highly present and alert in the Dalcroze classroom, the listening skills of musicians are heightened and their response to music is made intuitive. Eurhythmics uses movement, a non-verbal form of communication to teach music, a non-verbal art. Since we cannot touch or see music, by expressing it through our bodies, it is suddenly a more tangible and vivid experience.
How can conductors apply the training received in this class?
By exploring time, space and energy, conductors will leave this training feeling more fluid with their movements and gestures. They will feel more open and deeply connected to the emotions of music, and by interacting with others, their communication at the podium will be strengthened and made more effortless. They wil have a new sense of their own individual musicianship, thereby enhancing their ability to lead an entire group of musicians. Most importantly, they will leave confidently smiling, having gotten lost in the art form and being reminded of why they love it so much in the first place.
Staff accompanists
Melita zdravkovic
Melita Zdravkovic was born in Nis, Serbia in 1988. She holds degrees in both Music Education and Piano Performance. She graduated in 2010 in the class of Aleksandar Serdar at the Univeristy of Nis – Faculty of Arts. In 2011, she received her Master’s Degree in Piano Performance in Nis, Serbia.
In the course of her education, Melita won dozens of competitions in Serbia and throughout Europe, such as the competition in Turin, Italy, in 2008, where she won the first prize with her twin sister in four hands, and the special award for the premiere performance of Skalamerija written for her and her sister by the composer Dragana Velickovic.
Melita was a winner of numerous scholarships for young artists. She worked in Music Schools and Academies as a piano teacher and an accompanist around Serbia and Kosovo since the age of 17.
Since 2011, Melita has been working with the Steinway Artist Cosmo Buono in New York, where she received a scholarship that enabled her to record her first solo CD in New Jersey, and the opportunity to hold concerts in Chicago and Boston and at prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in New York City.
Melita is the winner of the first Claudette Sorel Scholarship honoring the contributions of women performers to the world of classical music and offered through The Alexander & Buono Foundation in New York City.
Currently, Melita is completing her second Master’s Degree in Piano Pedagogy at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, where she has a full scholarship. She is also serving as a staff accompanist at Northwestern University in Evanston and works as a piano teacher at Metropolis School of the Performing Arts in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
timothy morrow
Timothy Morrow is an American born pianist and composer. Born in 1999, he is currently a sophomore at Westminster Choir College studying piano and composition. There he has sung in choirs including the Westminster Chapel Choir, and Schola Cantorum. He also sings and accompanies the Grammy nominated Westminster Kantorei, an ensemble focusing on early music. He is also a cellist in numerous orchestras affiliated with the Westminster Conservatory and Princeton University.
Timothy's music career has taken him far and wide, performing in concerts and competitions all throughout Europe, most notably at the 2013 Cremona International Music Festival in Cremona, Italy. He has also performed in places such as Carnegie Hall, NJPAC, Steinway Hall, and David Geffen Hall. In January of 2019, he will also participate in the Texas tour of the prestigious Westminster Choir.
Currently, he lives in New Jersey with his loving family.
This event is supported, in part, by generous
in-kind and monetary donations from
The Holy Resurrection Serbian
Orthodox Cathedral,
Ancient Faith Radio,
The PaTRAM Institute,
and numerous local vendors,
families, and individuals.