Elvina Pearce, NCTM, studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova in NYC, and pedagogy with Frances Clark. She has presented recitals, workshops and master classes in over 40 states as well as in Canada, the Republic of China, and Australia. Her pianistic career is highlighted by an Orchestra Hall appearance with the Chicago Symphony performing the Liszt E Flat Concerto, by a coast-to-coast broadcast over the Chicago Theater of the Air, and by solo recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She was one of the founding faculty members of the New School for Music Study in Princeton, NJ, as well as of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, for which she has served as Vice President on its Board of Trustees. From 2000 until 2006, she also served as Editor-in-Chief for Keyboard Companion Magazine. Elvina directed the preparatory division and taught piano pedagogy for 14 years at Northwestern University. In addition to her ongoing career as a pianist, teacher, lecturer, and author, she is also a nationally recognized composer of educational piano music.
I consider it both an honor and a privilege to have been asked by the Piano Pedagogy Forum to share a few of my thoughts about Marvin Blickenstaff - the man, the musician, and master teacher.
I first met Marvin at a MTNA convention back in the 70's. It was shortly after the publication of the first books of the Music Pathways series which he co-authored with Louise Bianchi and Lynn Olson. At the convention, he and Lynn were greeting people at the Carl Fischer booth in the exhibit hall. Lynn (a long-time friend and former student of mine at the New School for Music Study in Princeton, NJ) introduced me to Marvin and I was immediately aware that here, indeed, was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. As I have come to know Marvin over the years, I have become increasingly impressed with his personal skills in dealing with both teachers and students - always gracious and sincere, and always the quintessential "gentleman."
As a musician and pianist, Marvin's performances always display the depth of his musical sensitivity and artistic standards. This, of course, becomes the essence of his skill as a master teacher, and as one observes him working with students, either individually or in a group setting, it is apparent that he expects these same high standards to characterize each of their performances, regardless of their age or innate musical abilities. A lesson with Marvin has, I'm sure, enabled many a student to obtain a level of excellence and artistry never before experienced. And perhaps even better, this has taken place in such a positive and encouraging environment that all leave feeling better about themselves and their music-making abilities than they did when they arrived!
Marvin's expertise as a master teacher of piano is equaled by his similar expertise in the training of piano teachers. Those students who had the opportunity of enrolling in his pedagogy classes at Goshen College in Indiana (where he taught for many years before relocating in the East), received some of the finest and most comprehensive pedagogical training available anywhere at the undergraduate level. Apropos of this, many of his students went on to pursue graduate study in piano and pedagogy, and I had the opportunity of observing a number of them teach during their internships at the New School for Music Study in Princeton. Although these observations were not prefaced by my being informed about any of the student teachers' backgrounds, I found that I was almost always able to recognize those who had done their undergraduate work with Marvin at Goshen. His legacy in the area of piano pedagogy surely lives on through many of these individuals who are now teaching piano and pedagogy, both independently, as well as at institutions throughout the country.
When I assumed the editorship of Keyboard Companion Magazine back in 2000, I had the pleasure of working more closely with Marvin who headed up the magazine's REPERTOIRE department. The topics he selected to explore in his column provided great diversity, and his choice of writers to address these topics provided similar diversity. Marvin's own editing of his column was always impeccable, and although he was undoubtedly one of the busiest individuals I knew, he was somehow always able to meet his magazine deadlines.
Finally, Marvin deserves great kudos for his service as President of the Board of Trustees of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy. His always positive leadership has provided the Center with an abundance of imaginative goals and ideas -- both idealistic and practical -- along with workable ways to fulfil them. The value of Marvin's contributions to the planning, content, and structure of the Center's national conferences in '01, '03, and '05 is inestimable, and when evaluating the outcome of these three events, he surely deserves a huge portion of credit for their success.
Hats off to Marvin Blickenstaff - the man, the musician, the master teacher! And thank you, Marvin, for the many gifts you have so graciously and unselfishly given to so many of us for so long.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|