Irena Porteko - Photo/Pinsky Studio
MCW offers programs for all ages and abilities. How do you approach teaching students of different ages, whether a child, teen or an adult?
The students come to the piano lessons with different backgrounds, goals, levels of preparation and knowledge about the subject. I welcome them all to the world of music and help them find their own niche. I strongly believe that music can influence one’s life, interest and personal intention in the most positive way. One of my main goals in the beginning of the lessons is finding the spark that will later fuel students’ interest in continuing lessons either with the teacher or on their own. Whether a child, teen, or an adult, students are ready to embrace music when offered attention, clarity, sincerity, patience and support under their teacher’s guidance.
You made a critically acclaimed debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall last year; what was that experience like? What do you hope to accomplish as a performer?
When I was a teenager at music school, and later, a student at the Kiev Conservatory, I was frequently performing as a soloist and in a chamber music setting. Carnegie Hall was equal to Pluto for me at that time: the extremely limited travel opportunities for most students and adults in the Soviet Union made this goal seem simply unreachable.
All things considered, it would be hard to describe what I felt on the stage at Weill. During my two-hour rehearsal, which was scheduled two days prior to the recital, I became teary the whole time. I couldn’t stop this emotional outburst. The keyboard was all blurry yet I was overwhelmed with the beautiful and noble interior of the hall, amazing quality and responsiveness of the piano, excellent acoustics, and, selfishly speaking, having it all to myself! What I experienced was a strong feeling of happiness and fulfillment.
After the performance at Carnegie, I have felt more inspired toward new endeavors, playing more contemporary music, doing interdisciplinary projects and pieces that I used to postpone for later learning. I also noticed that my students who were at the performance have become much more brave with their own piano performance skills. They trust me with new demanding tasks I offer to them.
As music students get into their teen years, how do you approach developing their artistic personalities along with their own identity?
The approach to every teenager is strictly individual. For me, it is important that I understand more about the personality of a particular student. That is why it would be difficult to depict a single recipe for merging a teenager’s artistic personality and his/her own identity. According to my own experience, adolescence is one of the most interesting stages in one’s life. A teenager is a combination of two circumstances. On the one hand, a teen is still restricted by the rules traditionally set by family and school, but on the other hand he/she makes first attempts to acquire some freedom in various areas of life. That seems to be a “storage” with a tremendous amount of energy. So, here comes a question: how to direct this into the appropriate stream and to develop it further on?
Not all the teenagers talk much, however we all know they have millions of questions, such as what to do, whom to become, how to express oneself through joy, anger, worries, what type of people to attract. They are actively searching for their own ground, while experiencing numerous bumps along the way.
Music calls for an emotional response, creating a so-called comfort zone for teenagers. It becomes their own musical world where they can actually relate to everything happening in their lives. Some of them spark an interest in music by sharing it with their peers and taking it beyond school, participating in the festivals, competitions, rock-band events, and so on. Besides that, learning a musical instrument helps define one’s aesthetic likings and teaches leadership skills – whether during the lesson, practice time, or rehearsal. It also helps them discover their own endurance, patience and resilience, when it comes to making mistakes.
Studying music helps enrich oneself emotionally and intellectually, gain important life skills, teaches one to share one’s experiences through performance and rehearsal, and prepares one to become a stronger and well-rounded young adult.
How do you think music training contributes to students’ all-around development?
Music evokes an emotional response from anyone who studies it professionally or as an amateur. It also develops numerous intellectual and physical qualities and important life skills. Music is thought-provoking, it nourishes the soul, inspires one to search for the new ideas, stimulates towards learning about one’s personal strengths.
First of all, in order to learn and to perform even the shortest composition, one has to apply maximum attention, to practice using visual and mechanical memory skills, not to mention that for playing hands together on the piano, good coordination is a must. Secondly, to prepare the piece for a lesson or for performance, one also needs to apply strategic thinking and analytical skills, answering the following questions and applying those to practice: how do you spread out the learning process to have it ready in time for performance? What are the short and long- term goals in this preparation process? Is everything clear in this composition structure?
Practicing a piece for performance also involves other emotional and personal aspects, such as responsibility, openness and braveness. “Nailing” the piece of music for a performance and feeling 100 percent confident is rare. There is always something in the way: overall nervousness, feeling too much pressure, thoughts like “I wish I had that extra day of practice,” someone’s cell-phone ringing in the audience, sneezing, coughing, etc.
Success on the stage depends on several factors, including both practicing and psychological preparation. In this area the teacher’s role and support is irreplaceable. While practicing, one develops certain principles of learning and so-called personal ties to the piece, portraying the main characteristics of the composer’s personality, and understanding the time period in which the composition was written. The closer these ties, the more confidence one gains toward the performance. So, when the performer is on the stage, the important part is to remember the purpose of the event, which is communication to the audience by means of music.
In my opinion, it is more valuable when one approaches the music using one’s own creativity and knowledge by reading about the composer, listening to other works of the same time period, expanding knowledge, developing one’s own sense of taste and vision toward performing the studied piece. Then, it is quite delightful to listen to various recordings and compare interpretations!
Last but not the least: music does contribute to the development of such physical qualities as sense of touch, visual and audio perception; it enhances understanding of beauty, style and interest in other art forms such as painting, literature, architecture and dance; and it evokes interest in historical events. Learning strong interrelations between genres and styles, one expands one’s personal horizons and taste, understanding more about music and appreciating music in life.
How did your background studying piano in Russia influence your teaching philosophy?
I studied in the Ukraine, however the educational background I received came from the Russian Piano School. I have also been blessed to study with the teachers both in the Special Music School and the Kiev Conservatory which I attended. Certainly, as a student who experienced approaches of six different teachers during my childhood and teen years, I represent a blend of various performing styles and teaching methods.
While applying those principles throughout my own teaching experience, I can remember and outline the most important of those. My first teachers were Leonid Fundiler and Larisa Vakarina. During the first years of my music studies, the main principles of their expectations from me and the other students were based on content of the performance, variety of dynamics, timing, nuances, timbres, sensitivity, accuracy of the material delivery.
Later, Sergei Skrynchenko and Daniil Yudilevich opened my eyes to a more independent approach to learning, critical listening skills and vast musicianship. Ludmila Tsvirko helped me with my collaborative skills, working on sensitivity and artistry in the area of chamber music.
My last teacher in Kiev, the late Igor Ryabov, had a great influence on my performance skills. With his approach I understood more about the correlation between musicianship, technique and the structure of the piano as an instrument, efficient hand movements and the way to solve challenging tasks, stage presence and sincerity of the performance.
However, I wouldn’t feel complete with my answer if I did not mention the wonderful teachers here in the United States, who shared their knowledge and experience, helping me shape my knowledge and abilities, develop my skills throughout my studies and beyond. They are Yong Hi Moon, Logan Skelton, Arthur Greene, Edward Parmentier and Ralph Votapek.
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