Enter as non-competitive or competitive. Competitive students will be considered for a showcase performance in mid-December.

Teachers are inspired to guide students through the nuances of baroque ornamentation, as well as modern and contemporary repertoire that indexes the baroque in all of its counterpoint, fancy.

For instance, consider this about the use of ornaments in Music History

When the “pianoforte” was introduced at the end of the Baroque era, loud and soft dynamics and the use of the pedal changed the entire character of keyboard music. With the introduction of such an expressive instrument, the use of many additional ornaments became “out of fashion”. The Classical era, as we have come to know it, is marked (in part) by this change of expression.

As a music educator who champions the piano and the voice, strings, and small ensembles - I love the idea that the performer is in part a collaborator with the composer. This impulse remains at the heart of music - its inception began with baroque performance practice.

I hope you will encourage your students to be part of the dynamism that is baroque and baroque-inspired repertoire.

Shad Wenzlaff

music educator, independent pianist, founder & administrator for the Suite of Seasons Festival and the Suite Autumn Music Festival.