Lithuania: First Impressions

Wow - I love Lithuania! Been keeping busy with performances and meetings; I'll write more details soon. In the meantime, a few of the basics from Vilnius:

• HOTEL: The famous Neringa of Vilnius. Very comfortable, delicious breakfast buffet, lunches, and dinners

• WEATHER: Chilly but sunny. 

• STREET VIEW: Piles of packed snow/ice darkened with gravel, sand, and soot on the sides of sidewalks, also packed a few inches thick on some smaller streets. Men hack away at it on warmer days, breaking it it up into blocks and carting it away. The snow doesn't really melt - it can last through April or longer. Cobblestone streets throughout the old town of Vilnius. Lots of walkers (but hardly crowded). Traffic is rather light for a city of this size. Feels very safe. Clean streets (I often see people sweeping them with brooms made of bunched Willow branches)

• ARCHITECTURE/CITY LAYOUT: beautiful traditional European city, reminiscent of cities I have visited in Poland, Italy, Germany, France, and Austria. Lots of space for parks - must be stunning in Spring/Summer!

• PRACTICING: a LOT. 

• FOOD and DRINK: Delicious! Great cakes/pastries. Potato cake (entree) is amazing (never had anything like it in any other country), as are potato pancakes, blini, and dumplings. Loving the fresh mushrooms, cheeses, breads. Local beer gets 2 thumbs up, too!

• ATMOSPHERE & HOSPITALITY: Amazing. Very creative, intelligent, energetic people.

• LANGUAGES: Unfortunately I'm very dependent on English here. Most people speak excellent English, as well as Russian and another language or two. My parents' languages are coming in good use. Lithuanian is very different from Polish and German (my two foreign languages) and I've been slow to pick up phrases. 

Good morning: Labas rytas (Lah-bahs reeh-tahs)
Good evening: Labas vykaras (Lah-bahs vick-ah-rahs)
Thank you: Aciu (ah-CHIU)
Very nice weather: Nuostabus Oras (Nosta-boose awe-rus)

Photos from Lithuania 1

Photos from Copenhagen

Modern art outside the palace

Entrance to Tivoli

Bicycles (and bicyclists) are everywhere! Loved seeing all the people out and about, walking and riding, with kids in tow (or in some cases, the kids were in little carts in front of the bicycle - all bundled up in blankets - and were pushed)!

Drop-off mail boxes

I'm guarding the palace...

I was excited to see the royal horses being exercised around the palace.

Channel in center-city

Train Station

Student Success at NFMC Junior Festival

On Saturday, February 26, fifteen young piano students from the Maryland Conservatory of Music participated in the Maryland division of the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) Junior Festival at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  The festival is a musical event held in all 50 states, involving thousands of pre-college musicians nationwide.  Students are grouped into categories based on the difficulty of their chosen musical selections.  Each student plays two selections by memory in front of a public audience and receives a written critique and a rating from professional musicians.  The ratings are Superior, Excellent, Satisfactory, Fair, and Needs Improvement.

All fifteen students study with pianist Elizabeth Borowsky at the Maryland Conservatory of Music.  A professional concert pianist, Ms. Borowsky has traveled to over 35 countries performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and directs the annual International Music Institute and Festival USA in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  She has been on the Faculty of the Maryland Conservatory of Music since 2009, and enjoys sharing her love of music with her students.  Under her guidance, all of the participating students from the Conservatory achieved a rating of “Superior” or “Excellent.”

This festival was a wonderful opportunity for students to grow and learn in their music through diligent practice towards the festival, showcase their talents in front of an appreciative audience, and benefit from the advice of professional musicians. The students, parents, and community can be very proud of their achievements.

(Names omitted from this online blog due to privacy)

14 Pieces for Flute/Sax/Clarinet/Trumpet

Imagine Music Publishing has published a collection of 14 pieces for winds and piano written that I wrote in collaboration with friend and former Towson University Music Chairman Dr. David Marchand. The pieces are written for young musicians and are scored for flute, saxophone, clarinet, or trumpet and piano. Dr. Marchand wrote the melodies, I created the accompaniments. 

Click here for music. Samples available on individual instrument pages.

Life: An Impromptu (part I)

Last week I was interviewed for the nationally syndicated radio show "The Story" regarding my work with Dick Smith, a 95-year-old resident of Oak Crest Village (Parkville, MD). Mr Smith was inspired to write a piece of music after attending a performance by Rachmaninoff in 1931. He spent decades piecing his musical ideas together (he never took lessons, and didn't own a piano until age 60), and asked me to help him prepare the work as a concert piece. 

I was thrilled to premiere Life: An Impromptu on August 29, 2010 at Oak Crest in a special concert dedicated to Mr. Smith. His family was there - as well as an audience of over 300 OCV residents - and it was a highlight of the year for me (and of my musical career!). The story received some local attention (Channel 11 News, Baltimore Sun, Erickson Tribune).

On Tour with the Young German Symphony Orchestra

Emmanuel, Frances, and I joined the Young German Symphony Orchestra for their U.S. concert tour. We performed as soloists for the Beethoven Triple Concerto. Concerts took place in Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Emmitsburg, Baltimore, and New York.