Classical music education: Let us now praise music teachers and their legacy

By Jacob Stockinger

By now, the school year is mostly over at all levels from kindergarten through undergraduate and graduate school at colleges and universities.

So are music lessons, both public and private, and student recitals and concerts. (Below is Madison and UW-Madison violin teacher Eugene Purdue with student Thomas Stringfellow during a lesson in 2011.)

So now is the perfect time to talk about the legacy of creativity that music teachers have in our lives.

Here is an essay that The Ear finds to be one of the best appreciations of music teachers – even those famous teachers at Juilliard who taught violinists Itzhak Perlman, Anne Akiko Meyers and Midori — that he has ever read. It covers different methods and styles of teaching and learning. And it is filled with gratitude from students toward their teachers.

It appeared in The New York Times and was written by critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim.

Here is a link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/arts/music/immortal-fingertips-music-teachers-live-on-through-their-students.html?_r=0

If you have an appreciation or memory of, or a tribute to, a music teacher and music lessons, leave word in the COMMENT section.

The Ear wants to hear.

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Posted in Classical music
Tags: Anne Akiko Meyers, Arts, Bachelor's degree, Chamber music, Classical music, college, Creation, creative, Eugene Purdue, Graduate School, Itzhak Perlman, Jacob Stockinger, Juilliard, K-12, legacy, lesson, Madison, method, Midori, Music, Music education, Piano, private, public, recital, style, Teacher, The New York Times, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin