KC Piano Division Scholarship Auditions -- TBA

2011-12 Piano Events (download pdf)

Scholarship auditions are TBA

The Kilgore College Piano Division will hold scholarship auditions TBA, in Room 201 of the Technology Vocational Building.

Kilgore College boasts the nationally-acclaimed Piano Ensemble that has performed at five Music Teacher's National Conventions--Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington; Austin, Tx; Atlanta, Georgia; and most recently Albuquerque, New Mexico. Also, every piano student has the opportunity to play concerti with a live orchestra each May! One does not have to be a music major to be eligible for scholarship.

For more information contact Sandra Siler at (903) 658-2127 or (903) 983-8120 or kjcsiler@aol.com.

58th ANNUAL BACH PIANO FESTIVAL IS MARCH 3

The Kilgore College Bach Festival is held annually to offer area piano students the opportunity for formal adjudication of an original composition by J.S. Bach. The 2012 Festival will be Saturday March 3, 2012, on the Kilgore College campus. Auditions will be from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Saturday, in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Building. Outstanding students will be chosen to perform on the Bach Festival Performers’ Concert at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, March 3rd, in the Van Cliburn Auditorium. Winners will be posted Saturday afternoon. It is the responsibility of the student or teacher to check the posting of performers.

Any original composition, excluding concerti by J.S. Bach is acceptable for the Festival. Music must be memorized. Each student should bring an original copy of the music for the judge. Xeroxed music will not be allowed. Participants will receive a written critique and a certifi cate of participation. Trophies will be awarded to those selected who play on Saturday’s concert.

Each student entering the Festival should send the following information on a 3 x 5 index card: name, age, telephone number, teacher's name and mailing address, and name of composition. A non-refundable entry fee of $15 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope must accompany each index card.

Failure to send in an index card for each student will result in disqualifi cation of the student. Entries must be postmarked no later than February 18, 2012. Late applications will not be accepted. Checks should be made payable to Kilgore College Piano Club. Inquiries and entries should be addressed to Sandra Siler, Department of Music, Kilgore College, 1100 Broadway, Kilgore, Texas, 75662-3204. Phone: 903-983-8120.

KILGORE COLLEGE PIANO DIVISION
PRESENTS J. BRADLEY BAKER OCT. 27

The Kilgore College Piano Division and the Varied Arts Club of Henderson are pleased to welcome pianist, J. Bradley Baker in a recital, Thursday, October 27th @ 2:00 p.m. in the home of Sandra Siler. Following the program selected Kilgore College piano students will perform in a Master Class conducted by Mr. Baker at 4:00 p.m. in the home of Mrs. Siler. All piano students and teachers are encouraged to attend. For more information contact Sandra Siler, Head of Piano Instruction at Kilgore College, 903-983-8120 or e-mail Kjcsiler@aol.com.

J. Bradley Baker began studying the piano at age 15 in his East Texas hometown with Sandra Siler. He continued study at Kilgore College with Mrs. Siler as the recipient of the Van Cliburn Piano scholarship. Brad went on to complete his Bachelor of Music degree at North Dakota State University in 2006, graduating magna cum laude. While at NDSU, he studied with Dr. Robert Groves and served as a baritone and accompanist for the Concert Choir, opera productions as well as for numerous vocalists and instrumentalists. Brad received the Theodore Presser award in piano while at NDSU.

He continued study at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Dr. Daniel Shapiro. While at CIM, Brad collaborated with other artists in chamber music groups, studying chamber music with Peter Salaff and Virginia Weckstrom, and studying collaborative piano with Elizabeth Demio and Anita Pontremoli. Brad was awarded the William Kurzban prize for outstanding piano performance while at CIM. He completed his Master of Music degree in 2008.

Brad is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the University of Alabama, studying with Dr. Noel Engrebretson. He is the collaborative pianist for the opera program, and is in high demand as a collaborative artist. Brad has also had lessons with Paul Schenly, Dr. Robert Roux, and harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper. He has been in Master Classes with Olga Kern, Alessio Bax, and collaborative artist Warren Jones.

Brad has performed a wide-ranging repertoire throughout the Midwest as a soloist, and presented performances with orchestras, chamber music groups, and collaborators in multiple venues.

2012 DAVID KARP PIANO FESTIVAL IS APRIL 14

The David Karp Piano Festival is hosted each year by the Piano Division of Kilgore College. It is an opportunity for all area piano students to prepare and perform for formal adjudication. The 2012 Festival is scheduled for auditions from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2012, in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center. Selected students will perform in a recital at 2:00 p.m. in the Van Cliburn Auditorium.

David Karp, nationally known pianist, composer, educator, lecturer, and author, holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music
and the University of Colorado. Dr. Karp is professor of music and director of the National Piano Teachers Institute at the Meadows School of the Arts. He teaches courses at Southern Methodist University in piano performance, composition, theory and aural skills, improvisation, and class piano techniques for the college teacher. His former students are now professionally engaged on college
campuses throughout the United States. He has performed, lectured, and conducted workshops and seminars at many colleges and universities from Alaska to New Hampshire and as far away as Taiwan. In 1993, Dr. Karp was honored with the establishment of the David Karp Piano Festival, an annual event held at Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, in which over two hundred students perform and are judged on Karp compositions. When not teaching, Dr. Karp enjoys spending time at his cottage in Maine, reading books, listening to music and playing tennis. Dr. and Mrs. Karp have three married children and six grandchildren.

A list of selected repertoire for the Festival may be found at Mundt Music in Longview or Tyler or on the Kilgore College website. Students may enter in only one solo category: Division I, II, III. Soloists may also enter in the Duet Division IV. Required pieces will be performed from memory (excluding duets). An original copy of the music must be provided for the judge. Xeroxed music will not be allowed. Each student will receive an adjudication sheet with a rating and a ribbon. Preliminary judges will select fi nalists from each division who will perform in a recital on Saturday afternoon, in the Van Cliburn Auditorium. At the recital, Dr. Karp will award trophies to fi rst, second, and third place winners in each division. He will be available to autograph music after the recital.

Each student entering the Festival must send the following information on a 3 x 5 index card: name, age, telephone number, teacher’s name and mailing address, division entering, and name of composition. A non-refundable $15 entry fee and a self-addressed, stamped envelope must accompany each index card. Failure to send in an index card for each student will result in disqualifi cation of the student. Entries must be postmarked no later than March 30, 2012. Late applications will not be accepted. Checks should be made payable to Kilgore College Piano Club. Inquiries and entries should be addressed to Sandra Siler, Department of Music, Kilgore College, 1100 Broadway, Kilgore, Texas, 75662-3204. Phone: 903-983-8120.

MASTER CLASS WITH DEAN PEISKEE IS MARCH 2

Galen Dean Peiskee, Jr. has worked as a freelance pianist in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for over fi ve years. He has performed
in numerous recitals, mainly providing accompaniment for students at Texas Christian University. Mr. Peiskee has also been the
accompanist for the Singing Girls of Texas – sister choir to the Texas Boys Choir – for fi ve years.

Mr. Peiskee has an Artist Diploma from Texas Christian University, where he earned his bachelor of music degree in 2005. His past teachers include Sandra Siler, John Owings, and Jose Feghali. Mr. Peiskee has attended AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies) in Graz, Austria, both as a student and as a staff pianist. In May 2008, he was part of one of ten pianist-singer teams selected to participate in the Baldwin-Wallace Art Song Festival. In March 2009, he traveled to the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, Poland to perform a program of American art songs with students of Texas Christian University. In the spring of 2010 he was awarded the Texoma NATS Accompanist of the Year award, and the first ever Judith Solomon Award for Vocal Accompanying from Texas Christian University. This spring he had the pleasure of collaborating with Jörgen van Rijen, principal trombonist of the Royal Concert Orchestra, in a guest recital at Texas Christian University. In July, he visited Greece to be part of the 2011 International Festival of the Aegean.

On Friday, March 2, Dean will be conducting a Piano Master Class at Kilgore College beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Technical Vocational Building, Room 201. This Master Class will feature Kilgore College Piano Students performing works representing the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods. Students and teachers are encouraged to attend this monumental musical event. For more information contact Sandra Siler, Head of Piano Instruction, at Kilgore 903-983-8120 or e-mail Kjcsiler@aol.com.

PERFORMING ENSEMBLES AT KILGORE COLLEGE

The Kilgore College Piano Ensemble is comprised of freshman and sophomore exceptional pianists from all over the world! The group performs a vast variety of music ranging from traditional orchestral work to contemporary sounds of today. The Ensemble has presented sessions at the Music Teacher’s National Conventions in Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. They will be opening at this year’s Texas Music Teacher’s State Convention as well as presenting a session on Keyboard Technology.
The Red Hat Keyboard Supremes are a group of eight talented musicians that perform on keyboards capable of producing over 600 different sounds – from rushing water and dogs barking to a full symphonic orchestra. The group began in 1998 when Sandra Siler, Head of Piano Instruction at Kilgore College, offered area piano teachers the opportunity to come together weekly to play piano ensemble music. Members have come and gone, but after several successful public performances, Siler had to begin a waiting list to join the ever growing group. When the group became members of the Red Hat Society, they decided to call themselves “Supremes” because like the Supreme Court – they are members for life!
Decked out in their purple dresses and red hats, the “Supremes” have performed for the National Piano Teacher’s Institute at SMU, Dallas; the Texas Music Teacher’s State Convention, Corpus Christi; as well as many Red Hat Conventions throughout the Ark-La-Tex. They have also been featured on KLTV’s “Changing our World” with
Joan Hallmark.

Decked out in their purple dresses and red hats the “Supremes” have performed for the National Piano Teacher’s Institute at SMU, Dallas; the Texas Music Teacher’s State Convention, Corpus Christi; as well as many Red Hat Conventions throughout the Ark-la-tex. They have been featured on KLTV’s “Changing our World” with Joan Hallmark.