7th Solo Piano Festival

Saturday Afternoon Educational Offerings

The Solo Jazz Piano Festival, now in its seventh year, is one of the cornerstones of the VJC’s programming. The festival has presented some of the world’s top pianists and most important musical innovators of this generation including NEA Jazz Masters Toshiko Akiyoshi and Joanne Brackeen, acknowledged luminaries Stanley Cowell, Benny Green, Sullivan Fortner, Kenny Werner, and many others.

2:00     Shiyu Fang (Berklee Coll. of Music)
Emerging Artist Performance & Interview
Fang was awarded the prestigious Berklee Toshiko Akiyoshi Award, which recognizes exceptional talent in jazz composition. She is a part of the Jazz and Gender Justice Institute at Berklee.

2:45     Remi Savard (Univ. of Vermont)
Emerging Artist Performance & InterviewSavard is an active performer in the area both as a bandleader and a collaborator working with local musicians. He is a graduating senior at University of Vermont studying music and microbiology.

3:30     Dan Tepfer
From Bach to Natural Machines: Algorithms as the Shapers of Music
Many think of music as primarily a product of the heart, but Dan Tepfer argues that algorithms — rules that are followed consistently — are just as important. Without constraints underlying creativity, music tends to lack the deep structure that makes it timeless. Tepfer will demonstrate and illuminate his concept of using algorithms as a helpful tool for spontaneous composition.

4:30     Question & Answer Panel
Upon arriving for the day-long educational component, each audience member will be given the opportunity to write out a question to the panel of six musicians. Questions will also be accepted via Facebook (using the VJC’s FB page). At 4:30 PM on Saturday, a juried selection of those questions will be presented to the panel and will serve as topics for discussion. The conversation will be moderated by VJC Director Eugene Uman.