Clavinova Festivals
Soar to New Heights
Nothing is more powerful in motivating a child to make music than when his or her creativity
and imagination are stimulated by the instrument the child is playing. The Clavinova
digital piano expands students' creative expression and, as a result, adds to their
overall excitement of playing the piano.
Kathryn Brisnehan, a 9-year-old fourth grader, was one of more than 90
participants at the Clavinova Festival hosted by Good News Piano & Organ of Colorado
Springs, CO. Brisnehan received the Best Use of Clavinova award with her composition,
"Wouldn't It Be Great If I Could Fly Like a Bird." Although the piece was written for
piano, Brisnehan modified it to the Clavinova for the Festival. Taking advantage of the
digital piano's multitude of sounds, Brisnehan
recreated the chirps of different birds throughout the composition.
"It was fun to modify my piece
to the Clavinova," says Brisnehan.
"I enjoyed using the Clavinova's really weird sounds in my composition. Next year I'm
going to write a song about someone hunting in the woods. It's going to have gunshots
and dogs barking and other neat sounds. I can't wait to play again
in the Festival."
Clavinova Festival Coordinator Lori Frazer is at the helm of the program, travelling
across the country sharing her enthusiasm with dealers planning on hosting their own
unique Festivals. Frazer's first piece
of advice to dealers is to schedule teacher tie-ins. "Training the teachers
is absolutely critical," says Frazer. "Whether group seminars or private one-on-one
sessions, teachers need to understand the technology behind the Clavinova and how that
technology can be incorporated into their students' lessons."
According to Frazer, it is also through these training sessions that
the dealers receive feedback as to the format their Festivals should take,
such as competitive, non-competitive or monster concerts. "Dealers have
a much clearer focus of what their
community is looking for," continues Frazer. "That's the first step towards
a successful Festival."
The success is spreading, too. Recent Festivals, including Senseney Music, Inc. in
Wichita, KS, and Trombino Piano Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA, are creating plenty of
excitement for children and teachers alike. Senseney Music held its first Clavinova
Festival in May. Kathy Fehrmann,
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