Conference Presentations

Henze and the Viola

Presented at the 47th International Viola Congress, June 1, 2022

Performances included Sonata for Viola and Piano with Zachary Lopes, and the solo work, An Brenton. I traced the threads of viola writing through Henze’s career, how he explored the unique voice of the instrument, and his compositional style. Works analyzed were: Compases para preguntas ensimismadas (1970), the Sonata for Viola and Piano, String Quartet no. 4 mvt II, and the Serenade for cello, arranged for viola (1949/2003).

Martelé and the Mastery of Sound Production

Presented at the 2023 American String Teachers Association National Conference. March 18, 2023. Orlando, FL.

This presentation is a guide for using martelé to develop a beautiful tone. I'll cover beginning principles to advanced musical techniques. You'll learn the physical motions needed for resonant tone production, exercises for developing martelé and a beautiful sound, and extensions of the martelé stroke to other areas of technique.

Chapters

0:00 - Introduction
1:33 - Overview
2:33 - Primary Bow Strokes
4:47 - Bow stroke vs Articulation
7:01 - Continuum of Bow Strokes
12:29 - Set up principles (Instrument, bow hand, bow arm)
23:21 - Martelé and Martelé actions
31:25 - Beginner Piece: AEA
33:24 - Weight and Friction exercises
35:11 - World's Shortest Note
36:42 - Martelé Cycle
40:02 - Combining the Strokes: Beginning to Advanced
43:23 - Beyond the Bow
44:27 - Martelé and Finger Coordination
46:23 - Scale Applications
49:26 - Shifting and Vibrato
52:48 - String Crossings
56:05 - Intonation

The Sixth Source: Creating your own edition of the Bach Suites

Presented at the 2018 International Viola Congress, Rotterdam, The Netherlands and the 2018 American Viola Society Festival, Los Angeles

Before the Big Three: A guide to intermediate viola concertos

Presented at the 2021 American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference

Repertoire List (click for PDF)

This list provides a sequence of intermediate works for viola and orchestra, spanning between two cornerstones of viola repertoire: the Classical concertos (Hoffmeister and Stamitz) to the “Big Three” (Hindemith, Walton, and Bartók). The works increase in difficulty as they go down the page. I did not include works of comparable difficulty to the Big Three in order to more faithfully focus on the in-between pieces.

Hoffmeister, Franz: Concerto in D major
Stamitz, Carl: Concerto in D major

Khandoshkin/Goldstein: Concerto in C major, mvt. III
Rolla, Alessandro: Concerto in D major, BI. 543
Forsyth, Cecil: Concerto for viola and orchestra
Shulman, Alan: Theme and Variations for viola and orchestra
Rolla, Alessandro: Concerto in E♭ major, BI. 545
Hummel, Johann: Potpourri, op. 94
Serly, Tibor: Rhapsody on Folk Songs Harmonized by Béla Bartók
Kraus, Joseph: Concerto in E♭ major
Martinů, Bohuslav: Rhapsody-Concerto
Jacob, Gordon: Concerto no. 2 for viola and string orchestra (1979)
Dávid, Gyula: Concerto for viola and orchestra
Jongen, Joseph: Suite for Viola and Orchestra, op. 48
Bowen, York: Concerto in C minor, op. 25
Porter, Quincy: Concerto for viola and orchestra
Piston, Walter: Concerto for viola and orchestra

Hindemith, Paul: Der Schwanendreher
Walton, William: Concerto for viola and orchestra
Bartók, Béla: Concerto for viola and orchestra

Building and Sustaining a Prep Program

Presented at the 2020 American String Teachers’ Association Conference in Orlando, FL.

Bridging the Gap: Intermediate violin pedagogy

Presented at the 2021 American String Teachers Association National Conference with Dr. Ching-Yi Lin and Dr. Anna Cromwell

Click Here for a repertoire list handout

Arthur Bliss’s Sonata for Viola and Piano

Historical background, musical analysis, and performance guide. Also includes an analysis of the viola throughout Bliss’s chamber music, his relationship with Lionel Tertis, and a personal history of Bliss and the viola. Based on my doctoral project, PDF found here.