Piano with Terrance J.

Hello! Here is a quick description of my studio information: I have been teaching private piano, voice and music theory lessons for over 18 years. While I consider myself foremost a performer and composer, I love sharing the joy and understanding of music with students young and old. With 25 years of performance experience, I have a wealth of knowledge and excitement for the art to share with my students from both the classical and musical-theatre repertoire. Voice – all ages (15 and older) focusing on bel canto techniques, predominantly utilizing the Marchesi Method (importance on intellectually understanding both the technical and the aesthetic nature of vocal music, from grand arias, show stopping Broadway solos to simple vocal exercises) Piano – all ages (5 and older). Preference for beginning to intermediate students. A strong emphasis on music theory and harmony is taught from the very first lesson. While I am not the best technical pianist, my forte lies in understanding how the instrument is played and the foundations of reading/understanding music. In case you are interested in a "little bit" more reading, here is my extended biography: Terrance began his musical career at a young age with numerous roles with his local theatre and opera companies in Pensacola, Florida and the surrounding Gulf Coast region. His memorable opera and stage roles include (chronologically) Beppe (I Pagliacci), Frederic (Pirates of Penzance), The Defendant (Trail by Jury), Spoletta (Tosca), Alfredo (Die Fledermaus), Ottone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Sam Kaplan (Street Scene), Freddie (My Fair Lady), Grail Knight (Parsifal). Not in the previous list are a number of barn-yard animals, bar patrons, street urchins, ghosts, and a lizard. His education includes the University of West Florida (studying voice with Dr Joseph Rawlins and orchestration with Dr Greer Williams), Loyola University School of Music, New Orleans (MM in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting 1993) and the Prague Conservatory (Certificate in Vocal Interpretation 1995). Having a great love for ensemble singing, early in his career Terrance joined the Gregg Smith Singers (New York City) where he took part in dozens of recording projects and countless tour dates during his tenure with the ensemble. It was with the Gregg Smith Singers that he made his first Carnegie Hall appearance in a performance of Dave Brubecks To Hope, To Glory, with the composer at the keyboard. Since moving to the Washington DC area in 2000, Terrance has found himself center stage with many of the area€™s professional musical ensembles (Woodley Ensemble, Washington Master Chorale, Cathedral Choral Society, Washington National Opera Company, etc). His most notable performance was as tenor soloist in the National Symphony Orchestra'€™s world premiere of Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 7 – “A Toltec Symphony”, conducted by Maestro Leonard Slatkin and attended by the composer. His personal greatest achievement was to sing for His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama. Since that time, Mr. Terrance has performed numerous concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra both at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Although the list is long, Mr. Terrance has sung under the baton of such conductors as William Christie, Lorin Maazel, Plácido Domingo, Heinz Fricke, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Leonard Slatkin. Trust him when he tells you not all conductors are equally adept at their craft. In 2005 he co-founded, with soprano Melissa Coombs and pianist Virginia Sircy, Words&Music Inc. This vocal quartet specializes in not only performances of traditional repertoire so well-known in that genre, but also musical theatre, opera and jazz standards. Most importantly, Words&Music€™s mandate is to seek out and commission new music written for vocal quartet and piano. As a composer, Mr Terrance€™ music has been heard in many churches and concert venues. His output focuses mainly on vocal art song, choral motets, anthems and ballet scores. Ever expanding his catalog, he has just completed a new opera (with fellow artists at the Silver Finch Arts Collective) "A Fire in Water" exploring the intertwining lives of Achilles, Alexander the Great and the Goddesses Artemis and Thetis. The opera had its Washington DC premier in September of 2013 and is slated to be featured in the 2014 Capital Fringe in July of this year. *** Lesson Details *** A strong foundation in sight-reading and basic music theory is of utmost importance to me as a teacher and is a predominant focus during the first year(s) of both vocal and piano lessons. Voice – (15 and older) focusing on Bel Canto techniques, predominantly utilizing the Marchesi Method (importance on intellectually understanding both the technical and the aesthetic nature of vocal music, from grand arias, show stopping Broadway solos to simple vocal exercises). Piano – (5 and older). Preference for beginning to intermediate students. A strong emphasis on music theory and harmony is taught from the very first lesson. While I am not the best technical pianist, my forte lies in understanding how the instrument is played and the foundations of reading/understanding music. *** Specialties *** Baroque vocal interpretation and technique (strong focus on French and Italian repertoire) German Lieder interpretation English language Art Song interpretation (strong focus on 19th and 20th century)