On my drive home last night, I had an opportunity to listen to a Radio National Big Ideas program Composition, Modernism and Philosophy.
In it Martin Bresnick talked about his work with Nikolas Kompridis. Martin is a Professor in the Practice of Composition at the Yale School of Music. His teachers have included György Ligeti, John Chowning, and Gottfried von Einem.
I thought it was a fascinating conversation. Martin talked about his development as a composer and a teacher of composition. The podcast of the program can be found here.
I think anyone interested in teaching, learning and coaching can draw important insights from composers, conductors and musicians. I like Martin’s discussion of how he taught.
He said:
I take my students from where they are to where they want to go, constantly trying to discover from them if where they want to go is only where they want to go or whether there are more places they might want to consider and then … are they going in the best way possible.
Driving down Lark Hill into Bungendore thinking about inviting students to consider alternatives was a perfect end to an exciting, hectic day.
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Seminar 18 Flyer
