Oh! Those Charlestonians are so Smooth.

Charlestonias have a certain quality. One can tell they were around long before the rest of us here in South Carolina. I love their genteel ways, and the conversation that always has a different slant. One lady said its because of the light. "Painters come heah to study the light!", she remarked as I gazed out the window at one of those pink low country sunsets. I was at Charleston Southern University for a "Piano Portrait" featuring the music of Chopin and Schumann. I didn't really know what kind of audience would show up, but in the end it was a mix of students, piano teachers, faculty and Charlestonians. The Charlestonians sat in front, and the students aimed for the back rows, probably to Twitter away, of keep up with Facebook. I had a funny thought. Perhaps I should have stayed home and just streamed from my living room.

Now that would have been a mistake. Once again I proved to myself the power of live communication, and the use of PowerPoint to make many points in a powerful way. I am now the Master of PowerPoint, having transfered the knowledge gainned working with a slide projector in hundreds of presentations. In fact, my "Piano Portraits" have long since passed 150 performances. I know alot about how long an image can stay on the screen, where to place a slide that will allow time for a musical interlude, or an expanded explanation. It is difficult for many to be artistic with this medium. So many PowerPoint presentations I have seem at music converntions and workshops are really quite amateurish, as they aim solely to mark the points of the presentation. For me, PowerPoint is a fluid state of mind, able to travel quickly when you need it, and slow down for a curve.

I had a strange feeling giving this presentation. The students seemed noncommmittal at first, although very quiet. After the first selection..."Traumerai" of Schumann, I heard a distinct SIGH from one of the "genteels". Then when I pointed out the accompaniment pattern of Schumann's "Intermezzo", with its rolling left hand figurations and powerful harmonies, I glanced up and saw a young man with his mouth open, as if transfixed. When I then played the melody soaring over the accompaniment like a beautiful viola solo, I felt the whole room was right in the palm of my hand. So simple an illustration, but through the power of music, a sublime moment.

I think today we need to go back a few decades as far as how we approach the appreciation and explanation of music. Leonard Bernstein was a genius with his programs for young audiences in the early days of TV. But there have been many others who have done this well. The problem today lies with a certain low regard schools have for teaching the subject. Often grad students are handed music appreciation classes, and often it is regarded as a chore, not an opportunity. It has to be a PASSION, and that is more important than ever in the current cultural malaise. It is no secret that most young people are ill imformed about the arts and humanities, and often have no exposure to classical music. What needs to happen is for the arts to become a normal part of the routine of growing up, integrated fully into the learning process. It pains me that most people making big decisions today, expecially Representatives, Senators, Governors, and even PRESIDENTS seem ill at ease with the arts. That's because they had none or little along the way. So much of our culture today is hand-to-mouth.

That's why "Piano Portraits" have ended up the biggest thing I have done in my career. People came up Tuesday after the performance and said.."I loved the integration of art with music". Perhaps what seems so normal to me is a revelation to others. Is that not the true nature of teaching?