Ambuter students take field trip

VERNON — A field trip to a professional piano recital was taken by some students of piano teacher Cherwyn Ambuter of Vernon.

Olivia Becker of Wantage, and Kristen I. and her family of Vernon, accompanied Mrs. Ambuter to the Discover Dueling Pianists concert on Feb. 28 to see and hear music of Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff at Drew University in Madison. Discovery Orchestra conductor George Marriner Maull shared with the audience all the things for which to listen in the pieces of music (with examples played ahead of the full performance) which were presented by pianists Fei-Fei Dong and Solomon Eichner.

Several of Chopin's and Rachmaninoff's most well-loved pieces were offered, to the great pleasure of the listening audience. Both students and their family members were exhilarated by this first experience of a professional piano recital and the passion and drama contained in the music. Afterwards, the studio members discussed their observations of the different manners onstage of the two young pianists in connecting with the audience, and what "worked" and what didn't work for this purpose.

In other studio news, Ambuter was selected for the honor of playing in a special piano teachers' master class which will be presided over by Joseph Kalichstein, piano professor at The Juilliard School. Kalichstein has performed with most of the world's great orchestras and is a founding member of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio (piano, violin, and cello). The master class takes place on March 17 in Madison. Ambuter will play the Brahms Intermezzo Op. 117, No. 2 and Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla's Adios Nonino, a piece written for Piazzolla's father after his father's death. As with many other pieces by Piazzolla, this piece incorporates the dramatic music of the tango.

Ambuter has purposed to begin exploring learning about jazz after receiving numerous requests to teach it. She successfully completed a course this January in Jazz Improvisation with The Berklee College of Music and earned the course certificate. Kristen I. prepared with Mrs. Ambuter to audition for her school's jazz band and was admitted to the band. The band teacher was impressed with Kristen's playing.

To learn more about piano lessons, visit www.cherwynambuter.com.