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THE ALLEYNIAN 709
MUSIC
Piano teaching during lockdown has presented many challenges, but, nonetheless, it has provided a fulfilling and productive experience for both pupils and teachers alike, writes Luis Parés
lockdown
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As the piano is quite a sonorous instrument, where multiple layers of pitch are played at the same time, often quite fast, early versions of Teams/Zoom made it quite challenging for accurate listening on either side of the screen. Microphones and software updates, however, have made our lives a lot easier. It has been fascinating for teachers to see such a wide range of pianos at Dulwich College homes, varying in size, age, colour and tone. It has not only enabled us to correct many bad habits in our pupils when practising at home (height of the piano stool being the most common one) but has also allowed students to understand how to approach their own instrument and get the best out of it. There has been a renewed sense of common purpose in the Keyboard Faculty, where we have shared ideas, collaborated in numerous new ways and solved IT problems in record time, mostly thanks to Mr Barber’s WhatsApp group, aptly named ‘Finger 4 on F sharp’. We have an extraordinary and dedicated team of piano teachers at Dulwich and I cannot thank them enough for their commitment and professionalism. Looking at the glass half full, all that free time at home allowed our pianists to do more practice than ever before! A team of 32 pianists took on the challenge to record Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor, and it was exciting and moving to hear the final result, which captured the drama of this piece with great musical integrity. More than 50 pianists took advantage of the newly released Performance Grade exams from ABRSM, achieving a 100% pass rate, and plenty of Merits and Distinctions, including three Distinctions at Grade 8 by Bobby Han, Niccolo Smith and Alex Hemple, with Alex achieving an impressive 147 out of 150. Ho-Tin Loke became the latest DC musician to achieve a Distinction at his ARSM Diploma (Associate of the Royal Schools of Music).
WE HAVE SHARED IDEAS, COLLABORATED IN NUMEROUS NEW WAYS AND SOLVED IT PROBLEMS IN RECORD TIME
The Keyboard Faculty dominated this year’s Bach Competition, where four out of six prizes went to pianists: Felix Patten and Joshua Leong (Highly Commended), Bobby Han (Runner Up) and Finlay Johnston, the overall winner, for an outstanding performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor from Book 2 of the Well-Tempered Clavier . Numerous pianists, from the Junior School up to the Senior School, recorded their performances at home for online concerts and we were delighted to feature two pianists in the Winter Concert: David Wu in his polished continuo playing of Vivaldi’s Three Violin Concerto and Bobby Han for his masterful performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 3. It has been a busy year, despite missing our annual Piano Competition and other concerts, but we look forward to the time when we can resume live performances.
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