Martha Blackman taught me Baroque guitar when I was 11. I REALLY only wanted to learn to play guitar better for my rock & roll group... I was a terrible student. She was a wonderful teacher. I have written quite a lot of music for guitar since then. She played and recorded many instruments with the prestigious Pro Musica and started the early music program at Stanford University, CA. Through the years, she remained a dear and close friend to me. She helped me decide on the period dance titles for my opera "Edward II."
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Dr. Marilyn Keiser: My first composition teacher: from ages 12-15 I studied one year each of private harmony, counterpoint and composition with Professor Keiser. At the time she was the assistant organist at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC, under under Alec Wyton, who performed my unison Mass, written on my 12th birthday. Professor Keiser taught for many years at The University of Michigan and, according to Steven Elger in The Diapasan, she is "one of our country's foremost concert organists." |
Dr. John Moriarty is a great teacher, accompanist, coach and director. He taught me more than he will ever know about about opera, and I am eternally grateful. He is the artistic director emeritis of Central City Opera, and was the chairman of the Opera Department of New England Conservatory; running a program with Boston Conservatory which I attended. He studied piano with Carlo Zecchi (who studied piano with Busoni and Arthur Schnabel) and French vocal literature with Pierre Bernac.
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