Dr. Kumiko Shimizu, associate professor of music (collaborative piano, piano), recently had the opportunity to tour Scotland's beautiful countryside while participating in a masterclass for singers and collaborative pianists.
In February of 2015, Dr. Kumiko Shimizu, associate professor of music (collaborative piano, piano), participated in a masterclass for singers and collaborative pianists held in Scotland.
The masterclass was conducted by Malcolm Martineau, one of the internationally renowned collaborative pianists/vocal coaches, and Matteo Dalle Fratte, professor of Italian and a research fellow in Italian phonetics for opera, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.
“As I work as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach at Delta State, and as it is not common to find a faculty development opportunity for a collaborative pianist to apply without being in a team with a singer, I was very grateful to be selected as one of the three collaborative pianists and seven singers through the international audition process,” said Shimizu.
The class focused on Italian diction utilizing arias and art songs in various languages.
“Listening to British art songs sung by British singers was one of my interests since I had been selected to participate in the masterclass,” added Shimizu. “As I was assigned to two British singers, I had a great chance of hearing the sound of British English in discussion and singing.
“Before attending the masterclass, I was questioning how much American voice students should care about the differences in diction between American English and British English when singing British art songs — which are often studied in this country. Familiarizing my ear to the sound of British English, I have understood that it is necessary to employ the correct diction for British art songs to express the text with the true color of the language as authentically as possible.”
While traveling before and after the class, Shimizu was able to observe several differences about life in Scotland, including appearances of houses due to materials used to build them, what nature offers, geographical features, weather, and the color and height of the sky.
“The accumulation of these small things seems to give us a better understanding of the culture which British art songs likely reflect,” she said.
Shimizu said the master clinician of collaborative piano/vocal coach was a great inspiration for the participants. Some had watched and listened to his performances through recordings before attending the class.
“Actually watching and listening to his playing and singing live and hearing his comments on the information and the performance of those songs during the masterclass were not the same as watching and listening through recordings,” said Shimizu “It added another dimension and reinforced my understanding and respect toward the fields of collaborative piano and vocal coaching.
“A collaborative pianist does not accompany but equally present the music with a singer by understanding the text and music — and occasionally leading the singer for better collaboration.”
Shimizu said the experience gave her a valuable experience because it was full of great performances and learning opportunities.
“I have been applying the information to my teaching of collaborative piano class, coaching sessions with students and performances,” she said.
