Join us for an engaging array of workshops for piano students, teachers, and enthusiasts of all ages and levels!
Our workshop topics and presenters will include:
Increase Your Creativity in the Studio: Piano Composition for Beginner through Intermediate Pianists with Martha Hill Duncan, Wynn-Anne Rossi (including one-minute improv!), and Ayumi Okada
Alexa Stier: The Lion Method: Visualizing Music Through Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis
Inspired by Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Paul Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis (1942) is a monumental cycle of interludes and fugues that traverses all twelve tones of the chromatic scale. At first glance, the work can appear highly intellectual and architecturally rigorous; yet hidden within its pages is a lighthearted and deeply human element. For his wife’s fiftieth birthday, Hindemith decorated a personal copy of the score with hundreds of hand-drawn lions, playfully adorning the margins and woven into the musical notation itself. Far from whimsical doodles, these illustrations serve as interpretive guides: some clarify the formal structure of the music, while others capture the character and humor of individual movements. This workshop presents illustration as a powerful pedagogical tool for pianists, offering a creative bridge between analytical understanding and musical imagination. Associating visual images with musical ideas can strengthen memory retention, clarify formal structure, and help performers characterize the emotional world of a piece. During the workshop, participants will explore Hindemith’s illustrations in relation to the score and create their own visual annotations for pieces they are currently studying. Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their music and colored pencils or other drawing materials of their choice. All levels and ages are welcome!Siena Rose: From Sketch to Song: A Songwriting Toolkit. In this interactive workshop, professional singer-songwriter Siena Rose invites you to dig deep into the songwriting process: what really goes into writing a song? By guiding participants through seven essential tools for songwriting and hands-on musical explorations, Siena reveals the (not so secret) secret to bringing a song from sketchbook to stage.
These workshops are open to the community regardless of participation level in the festival. To attend, please enroll in the festival as a participant and grab your festival pass, or join us at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub to make a donation in person (pay what you can) to engage in these workshops.
