Now that the Amalfi Piano Program has come to a close, how would you reflect on the value of the festival with regard to the students and faculty who participated, yourself included, and what do you believe future students would gain from participating in the festival? Let me indulge in an exercise of comparison between a summer program such as that of the Amalfi Coast Festival, and a more typical program that is generally offered by any North American institution during th

How do you think the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts differs from other programs? The obvious thing is that it is on the Amalfi Coast, in a beautiful resort town with so many Italians and not a bunch of tourists. There are a lot of festivals in Italy and throughout Europe, but often times there you will have so many tourists from America. If you’re studying in America and you see and hear fellow countrymen, I mean that’s okay, but at this festival we have a lot of international stu

On Saturday, July 23rd, the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival will present renowned pianist Paul Barnes in concert at the historic Convento di San Francesco in Tramonti, Italy, in a recital dedicated to the contemporary minimalist composer Philip Glass. The solo recital is planned as a retrospective tribute to the two artists’ two decades long relationship. The event also honors Glass’s upcoming 80th birthday. The concert program will feature repertoire that progresses ch

How would you describe your pedagogy? “You’re trying to help someone learn to sing better in terms of improving their craft. Most often you do this with improved technique, but ultimately with the goal of the singer achieving an artistic experience both dramatically and vocally. At the same time, as a teacher, you are building a personal relationship to support the student; you often become ‘a professional parent’, in the best sense of the words.” “We have this unique relati

So as a Texas girl myself, I am always thrilled to see another native Texan on faculty! Yes, I am in fact a native Texan – I was born on the coast, lived in East Texas for a while, and then went to school at Baylor before going away for a long time. I came back here in 1994 – I was still singing, but my parents were older and I really wanted to be closer to my family. I’m assuming that is when you joined the Texas State Faculty? I actually came to Texas State University in 20

Getting a chance to speak with the lovely Barbara Hill Moore is such a pleasure; she is warm and wise, and her generousity of spirit and joy in life is immediately apparent. Here she discusses her involvement with ACMF, and the evolution of the festival over the years. (Apologies for the background noise. This was one of our first interviews and the ideal location was not yet hit upon). #2014 #barbarahillmoore #vocalprogram #faculty

by Jeannette Fang Maiori - Palazza Mezzacapo July 24, 2014 Usually when I hear “piano duo concert” I think of this: It’s generally not a bad idea to keep to having only one pianist on the stage. Except for… The Festival Duo! Vigilantes against stereotypes, the festival darlings of Jim Giles and Yoshikazu Nagai strode calmly to their pianos, perfunctorily bowing and launching immediately into a perfectly coordinated Lutoslawski with an ensemble that was so together it crackle

It was a pleasure to sit down and chat with Hee Song Joo, a lovely new addition to the ACMF piano faculty of 2014. She takes some time to sit down with me and discuss how much her students have benefitted from being in Italy, and the differences that she's noticed between Asian and American musical training. #2014 #faculty #heesungjoo #interview #video

Shots from the Young Artist's Series no.3 and the Liszt Mini-Festival (The only time you'll see the words "mini" and "liszt" in the same line" recaps to follow #jeannettefang #brianhsu #liszt #naples #faculty #2014 #images #youngartistseries #thomasmastroianni #jimgiles #yoshikazunagai #loganskelton

by Jeannette Fang Hotel Reginna July 21, 2014 Yoshikazu Nagai likes to listen. He poses a question to you and then waits with slightly unnerving calm as you fumble, because the questions he asks are not ones that really have a right answer. They are ones that ask for your interpretation, opinion, and feelings. In Tuesday’s masterclass, he made it a point to begin each commentary with a direct question to the student about how they think about the piece. And he didn’t just