Ten people of varying ages and abilities at ten Steinway grands. And all made some of their own music! Each person brought a small part of a classical piece that they knew and loved, ranging from Mozart & Beethoven to a contemporary Israeli composer, and used it as the basis for their improvisation.
Moira Lo Bianco, our most able and charming teacher, first talked about the historical and traditional importance of improvisation, highlighting the fact that almost all of the great composers improvised prolifically and that this skill was once an important part of musical training. From there the workshop began.
Moira brought out various techniques to tap improvisation from each person who participated. At the end everyone participated in an improvised piece inspired by a painting, which proved incredibly fun and interesting!
The participants had nothing but great things to say:
"An incredible opportunity and a unique experience"
"I didn't realize how truly incredible it was until a couple of days later, when I had a chance to utilize some of the concepts in the class.......and for the first time in my life I've composed a piece of music!!!!"
"Excellent seminar, great information..."
"It was wonderful and I had so much fun"
"The class was so informative and enjoyable, I learned so much. We should have more classes like this one"
"Moira, you are a wonderful teacher. You gave clear and doable exercises that I will try on my own"
"Definitely enjoyed it. I especially liked how Moira illustrated specific techniques of improvisation"
Moira will be presenting a concert of her music in September here at Steinert's and will be releasing her CD later this Spring.
