Another Older Press Release for the Piano Studio

March 10, 2011

Piano students gaining valuable insight

Having recently attended a master class by pianist, Jon Kimura Parker at Wichita State University, students in Cowley College’s piano studio will now prepare to participate in the Walnut Valley Music Teachers’ Association Spring Festival Sunday in the Brown Center.

Piano instructor, Dr. Gloria Tham, and students in the piano studio observed four piano majors perform at the master class, followed by their coaching session with Mr. Parker.

“We all gained valuable insight in practice and performance techniques of pieces by Beethoven and Chopin,” Dr. Tham said.

The students of the piano studio will now turn their focus to the Walnut Valley Music Teachers’ Association Spring Festival, where the students will get to work individually with another adjudicator.

“This festival will let them gain experience in playing for a different audience and learn some different ideas on the pieces they are working on,” Dr. Tham.

Dr. Tham and several of the students also have plans to attend Melody Bober’s workshop this weekend and also Leon Fleisher’s solo piano recital at Wichita State University’s Wiedemann Hall, next Thursday.

Next month, there will be two performance events featuring Dr. Gloria Tham, in a faculty recital on April 5 at 7 p.m. and Cowley Piano Studio Recital on April 17 at 2:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. Current students and scholarship recipients for 2011/2012 will perform during the studio recital. The recital will showcase the repertoire the students have been practicing throughout the semester.

“This is a great opportunity for the students to play in a formal recital setting in a concert hall and share the fruits of their hard work with family and friends,” Dr. Tham said.

Students of the piano studio are: Will Austin, Anne Bloyer, Aaron Brooks, Melisa Coberley, Tosha Coberley, Hannah Dillard, Valerie Monteith, Asa Muntz and Kelley Reynolds.

Along with Dr. Tham’s performances on April 5 and April 17, three more performances will follow. The performances are:

• April 10 - First United Methodist Church, Ponca City, OK.
  
• April 21 - Master Class and Recital at Central Christian College, McPherson, KS.
  
• April 29 - College Avenue United Methodist Church, Manhattan, KS.

Cowley Piano Studio Recital - Press Release..

I should have posted this earlier and I should have a digital record of this event on my personal blog. They played so well and it was such a nice afternoon.

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April 18, 2011

Students shine during Piano Studio Recital, Art Majors Show

Having worked hard in preparation of the Piano Studio Recital held Sunday in the Robert Brown Theatre, eight Cowley College students played with clear musical intent and managed to convey the character of the pieces they performed.

For a few of the students, this was their first piano recital.

“I have one word for all of the performers – Bravo,” Dr. Gloria Tham, piano instructor said. “I am very proud of them.”

Dr. Tham said the students benefited from having several piano lessons on the Steinway concert grand, learning to listen critically to the sounds they were producing and adjusting to the acoustics in the theater. They also had practice performances to overcome stage fright and to learn coping strategies for performing to go along with their performance at Southwestern College for the music faculty and music majors on April 8.

“Their hard work, diligence and patience paid off at the recital,” Dr. Tham said.

The recital featured different composers ranging from Bach, Beethoven to Bartok, spanning the different periods in music history. Cowley students were joined by Danielle Anderson of Wellington High School, the recipient for the Piano Activity Scholarship for 2011-2012.

The recital featured performances by the following Cowley College students: Will Austin, Anne Bloyer, Aaron Brooks, Melisa Coberley, Hanah Dillard, Valerie Monteith, Asa Muntz, and Kelley Reynolds.
Along with the Piano Studio Recital, the Art Majors Show held an opening reception Sunday afternoon inside the Earle N. Wright Community Room.

This year’s Art Majors Show is an exhibit of artwork created by this year’s graduating sophomores during their time at Cowley.  On display are various art media created in drawing, painting, design ceramics and sculpture classes.

A reception was held in the Earle N. Wright Community Room following the Piano Studio Recital.

“It was such a nice afternoon to enjoy two art forms and a reception where people could mingle,” Dr. Tham said. 

Work done as part of the Art Majors Show will be displayed through May 9.  The following sophomores have works displayed in the show: Michael Bowling, Maribel Ramirez, Jessica Vega, Caitlin Bowman, Talia Bowman-Bekemeyer, and Zane May.