Hello John,

Just curious to know if you ever lecture or teach in addition to your online master classes. I play Oboe but just wanted to ask. Hope you don't mind hearing from a woodwind player. bye!

Blaine

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Originally posted by Blaine:
Hello John,

Just curious to know if you ever lecture or teach in addition to your online master classes. I play Oboe but just wanted to ask. Hope you don't mind hearing from a woodwind player. bye!

Blaine

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Yes, of course. I give master classes frequently. For more information, see my bio, which lists some of them.

John Bell Young

quote:

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Originally posted by John Bell Young:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blaine:
Hello John,

Just curious to know if you ever lecture or teach in addition to your online master classes. I play Oboe but just wanted to ask. Hope you don't mind hearing from a woodwind player. bye!

Blaine

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Yes, of course. I give master classes frequently, but I rarely teach privately. For more information, see my bio, which lists some of them.

John Bell Young

Curious to know why you don't take private students. Your concert schedule must be demanding so that you do not have the time or it's just not your shtick?

Forrester "Mac" McNeil

Oh no, my concert schedule is hardly demanding. I play relatively few concerts, in fact, as I also spend just as much time writing. The reason I don't teach privately is that it would not be fair to the student; a committed teaching relationship demands the teacher be available at all times and ready to devote years to a student and his interests, and to nurture a talent and cultivate it assiduously. I am not really willing or set up to make that kind of personal committment to any one person, nor do I want to; I prefer to be a free agent, much like in sports.

I know for example of a tremendously gifted and charismatic young pianist who simply was unable to rely on his globe-trotting teacher, who was never available and worse, considered his student as a principal competitor (they are both Russian, so the attitude is not all that unusual). My friend is very modest and self-effacing, qualities not shared by his egoistic teacher. And as extraordinary an artist as my friend is turning out to be, he still feels it's important to be heard and criticized by another pair of authoritative ears on a regular basis. Finally, since his teacher just didn't give a damn, and labored under the impression that to help his student would be to deny himself opportunities to get engagements, my friend just went to someone else, who does care, and has made a committment.

Anyway, for my part, the fount of information I can impart to students is best served in my master classes. One of the reasons I have resolved to work at carefully elaborating and explaining in detail so many complex musical and pianistic issues is precisely because, whoever works with me for even a short spell, should at least be able to take away something of real value and pragmatic use.

John Bell Young

[This message was edited by John Bell Young on October 17, 2003 at 01:57 PM.]