YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC AND ART WEEK 7 from Pam and Wendell, February 10, 2019

Dear Friends,

WEEK 7 - YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC AND ART features 1 of the 19 paintings Wendell created for our 2014 performance/exhibition NIGHT MUSIC, held at the FROM WARSAW TO WINSTON-SALEM CHOPIN BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL.  This was our first collaboration, with Pam recording all of the 19 Chopin Nocturnes and Wendell creating  a painting for each nocturne. This week features  Pam’s performance of Chopin Nocturne in B-flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1 with Wendell’s painting of the same title (acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40”).

 Wendell says:  “For that project, I did a fair amount of reading about what colors are associated with what keys, according to a number of prominent synesthetes.  I found that there really is no consensus, but I did use this as a guide to my choice of colors.  In the case of Nocturne #1, I chose deep green for B-flat minor, the main key of the piece, and a rose/purple for the D-flat Major of the B section.  I found that, for me, the music calls to mind certain shapes and types of movement.  The haunting, almost improvisatory melody of the A section is represented by the looping, ribbon-like brushwork of the central section of the painting. 

 Pam says:  “Our first collaboration showed us that I do not see like Wendell does, and he does not hear how I do – resulting in many lively conversations!  But, this video certainly gives the sense of journey that I feel when I play this first nocturne of Chopin’s, so full of mystery, sadness and joy (no matter how fleeting).  

 We hope you will enjoy this. Please share with friends.

Until next week,

Pam and Wendell

Pamelahowland.com

Wendellmyers.com

WEEK 7 - YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC AND ART features 1 of the 19 paintings Wendell created for our 2014 performance/exhibition NIGHT MUSIC, held at the FROM WARSAW TO WINSTON-SALEM CHOPIN BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL. This was our first collaboration, with Pam recording all of the 19 Chopin Nocturnes and Wendell creating a painting for each nocturne.

YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC AND ART WEEK 6 from Pam and Wendell, February 3, 2019

Dear Friends,

February has us continuing on with Chopin's music. Pam has always associated this month with Chopin's birthday, although there has always been a disagreement about his actual birth date - February 22 or March 1. Our friends in Poland at the Chopin Salon in the Chopin Boutique B and B-the BEST place to stay in Warsaw- (http://bbwarsaw.com/en/chopin-salon/ ) have a solution for this… instead of picking just one date to celebrate, they take it to the next level with 8- days in a row of all-day concerts and programs for young people!

Week 6 combines Chopin's "Farewell Waltz" (the first Chopin piece that Pam fell in love with at 8-years old) with Wendell's newly completed "October Tree Line #1" (24 x 24 acrylic on canvas). We hope you enjoy our continuing explorations combining music and art. We are certainly learning a lot!

You can see more at wendellmyers.com and pamelahowland.com, and please feel free to share with your friends.

Happy February!

Pam and Wendell

YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC AND ART-WEEK 5, from Pam and Wendell, January 27, 2019

Dear Friends,

WEEK 5 gave us new challenges and we hope that you will enjoy the pairing of Wendell's "Winter Marsh" (acrylic on panel, 4” x 8”, wendell myers.com) with Pam's version of Chopin's A Minor Mazurka, Op. 17 No. 4.  The combination has the feel of a journey, both in the varied subtlety of Wendell's landscape and in the form of the music itself.  It is written in an A-B-A form, beginning in the somber minor mode, switching to A Major in the more hopeful "B" section, only to return to the melancholy minor key.  This musical darkness, full of Polish żal, with a ray of light in the middle, only to return to darkness is something that Chopin does a lot in his pieces.

Please share with your friends and subscribe to our Youtube Channels.

Wishing you a great last week in January, 2019!

Pam and Wendell

Week 5 gave us new challenges and we hope that you will enjoy the pairing of Wendell's "Winter Marsh" with Pam's version of Chopin's A Minor Mazurka, Op. 17 No. 4. The combination has the feel of a journey, both in the varied subtlety of Wendell's landscape and in the form of the music itself.

YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC and Art from Pam and Wendell, January 14, 2019

This week features Pam's version of Chopin's Mazurka in G Minor, Op. 67 No. 2 and Wendell's "Evening Approaches." About this collaboration: Pam says: "This mazurka is an example of the kujawiak type of mazurka - slow and melancholic- from the Kujawy region of Poland. One of my favorite things about it is that Chopin interrupts the main melody with a mournful little solo line for right- hand only, before returning to the main theme." Wendell says: "I chose 'Evening Approaches' to accompany this mazurka because I think this bleak landscape visually echoes the slow, melancholic nature of the piece. I pared the short, blues-like right hand solo melody with a focus on a relatively empty section of the horizon in the left-side of the painting, visually reflecting the spare, mournful character." Please enjoy and share with your friends!

This week features Pam's version of Chopin's Mazurka in G Minor, Op. 67 No. 2 and Wendell's "Evening Approaches." About this collaboration: Pam says: "This mazurka is an example of the kujawiak type of mazurka - slow and melancholic- from the Kujawy region of Poland.

Your Moment of Music and Art from Pam and Wendell, January 7, 2019

Welcome to Week 2 of our challenge - to combine our talents to deliver a regular moment of beauty to you in 2019. This week’s "Moment" features Mazurka in B Minor, No. 19, Op. 30 No. 2 by Chopin in a one-take musical performance by Pamela Howland The painting by Wendell Myers is “Ridgeline with Red Trees.” (acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30, www.wendellmyers.com). Please enjoy, share, and have a great week!

YOUR MOMENT OF MUSIC AND ART from Pam and Wendell - January 1, 2019

Happy New Year and welcome to 2019! We are taking on the challenge of combining our talents to deliver a regular moment of beauty to you in 2019. Each "Moment" will feature a one-take musical performance by Pamela Howland and a painting by Wendell Myers. This week features Chopin's E Minor Mazurka, Op. 17 #2 paired with "Mountain Mists." (acrylic on canvas, 20 x 40, www.wendellmyers.com). Please enjoy and share!

Welcome to 2019! We are taking on the challenge of combining our talents to deliver a regular moment of beauty to you in 2019. Each "Moment" will feature a one-take musical performance by Pamela Howland and a painting by Wendell Myers. This week features Chopin's E Minor Mazurka, Op.

"Silent Night" for the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2018

“Silent Night” for the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2018

As my way of thanking you for following my blog this past year, I wanted to share with you a simple little one-take version from my living room of “Silent Night.” May you find peace, calm, love, and joy as we turn back to the light.

In Memory of Michael Gilmor, 1995-2018

It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of my fellow Fulbrighter, Michael Gilmor - just short of his 23rd birthday.  Michael was with us in Poland this past year, and easily was one of the brightest, kindest, most caring and giving people we ever met, in a group full of exceptional people.  He also met the love of his life, fellow Fulbighter Briana Krewson, during this past Fulbright year, and they had a glorious time together.

In their honor I have composed a piano piece that invokes that Polish żal I am always talking about - the beauty and sadness of things that have been lost to us.  But, Michael's spirit lives on in the countless people whose lives he touched in his short life, as well as in this music- "Golden Summer (Michael & Briana's Song)".  

It is now available on Spotify for free listening, as well as on CD Baby and Amazon, for download purchase (links below).  Proceeds will go to the Michael Gilmor Scholarship Fund. 

Please listen to this piece to honor the beautiful life of Michael Gilmor.  My hope is that this music brings comfort to his family and Briana, all who knew and loved Michael, as well as anyone who has lost someone they love.

Free on spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/505upmTZKRiucIwT3Vxslh

Please feel free to download the song; proceeds will go towards Mike's scholarship:
1. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/pamelahowland19
2. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss…

LAST FULBRIGHT POST, 2017-18

It is hard for me to believe not only that I have finished my Fulbright grant for 2017-18 at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, but that I have now been back in the U.S. for two weeks. 

.As a means of thanking all who made this possible and as a way for me to try to absorb this momentous last year, I would like to share some of my thoughts with you (and pictures too!). The words that come to mind in describing this experience are life-changing, amazing, inspiring, and challenging - sometimes very challenging!   But, this will always be one of the great highlights of my life.

Being the only musician in the English Faculty (WydziałAnglistyki) at Adam Mickiewicz University took some initial adjustment, for sure, but it proved to be a wonderful and meaningful year.  Through the Dean, Professor Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kołaczyk 's invitation to take part in this interdisciplinary experiment, I functioned as a sort of resource person or artist-in-residence, and this gave me contact with so many more people, than if I had just been in one classroom. I would say that this innovative, cutting-edge approach to learning was a remarkable and deep experience which was a “win” for everyone involved.  

Due to the flexibility of the Fulbright program and the Dean herself, I was really able to do everything that I had hoped to - teaching about American music and culture, continuing my research on the great Polish pianist and composer, Frederic Chopin, in his home country, and performing concerts.  But, in addition to these things, I had no idea before I went to Poland that I would be able to present an extra 35 performances, lecture-demonstrations, workshops, and conferences in 8 Polish cities and even in 1 other country, Denmark.  This was truly exciting for me.

Specifically, in the English faculty, I taught two classes on American music and culture, "The Musical Legacy of Immigration," and "Music and The Movies."  My WA students were great, the courses were a lot of fun to teach, and I believe and hope that I helped increase the students’ understanding and awareness about the American music and film culture that they love so much.

I was also able to give a huge variety of other presentations, usually involving me taking my keyboard along so I could demonstrate how music, language, and culture intersect.  I did things like visit graduate seminars, first-year English classes, the Culture Vultures Club and the Language, Gender, and Sexuality Club.  I also played the English Faculty Christmas party, several faculty recitals and lectures, and participated in American Education Week.

But, the thing of which I am most proud and which has most meaning for me is that - through music - I was able to reach hundreds and hundreds of Polish people.  I was able to visit Polish primary and secondary schools, play several U.S. Embassy events, form a choir with some of my fellow Fulbrighters, and even play a concert in the unlikely and unusual venue of the Stary Browar shopping Mall in Poznan!  All of this reconfirming for me that music truly is the universal language.

Most importantly, this Fulbright year and my Adam Mickiewicz experience has reaffirmed for me the great power we have as individuals to reach out to people across the world to find our similarities and the things that we share in common.  This is needed now more than ever in this world.

I would like to thank the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission, Dean Dziubalska-Kołaczyk, and especially you, my readers, for going on this journey with me.  Below you will find some photos from May and June, including the memorable Fulbright Graduation Ceremony on June 8. 

Wishing you all the best,

Pamela Howland

Poznan Spring, 2018.  View on the River Warta, behind our apartment.

The famous Poznan Mural on the side of a building.

Two different groups on May 21 visit to Katolicka Szkoła Podstawowa i Liceum, Poznan - high schoolers, and dancing 4th-6th graders.

Playing for the English Faculty Graduation at AMU, May 26.

Images from May 28 "A Fusion of Two Musical Worlds" concert at AMU Aula, with Stan Breckenridge.

I presented at the "Nostalgia in Contemporary Society" Conference at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, on June 3-4, and we loved Copenhagen also:  mural on the side of a building en route to Odense, rhubarb and asparagus in a market, and the Copenhagen Opera House.

On June 10 I had the honor of playing a concert at the Piotr Janowski Festival in Grudziadz, Poland.  I played solo and four-hand with Piotr's widow, pianist and  Frederic Chopin University of Music Professor, Joanna Maklakiewicz, in a beautiful park named after my former beloved chamber music professor.

June 17, on my last research trip in search of Szafarnia. The town is close to Torun, and the scenery was not only beautiful but took us back in time.  This is where Chopin spent his summers when he was 14 and 15 and where he learned so much about mazurkas.

On June 8 we celebrated Fulbright Graduation.  I had the honor and pleasure of being in Poland this year with about 35 other Fulbrighters who are not only wonderful human beings, but brilliant and talented, too! We performed music, accepted diplomas from Justyna Janiszewska, Director of the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission, Alesander Danda, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and John C. Law, U.S. Embassy Warsaw.  And finally, we spent our last time together - especially our little Polish family, including, Sasha Whitaker, Olivia Schimmel, Wendell Myers, Deanna Segal, and Hannah Gill.  We have definitely made some new friends!  

(This site pamelahowland.com is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author Pamela Howland and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.)            

POLISH POSTERS & CONCERTS in April & May

During April and May I have had the great pleasure of giving several concerts and interacting with students at both the University of Warsaw and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, my host institution.  

The ingenuity of Polish designers of posters never fails to amaze me.  So, I have included a few here, along with several accompanying photos and links from these very diverse performances, in hopes that you will enjoy them too!

Concert at Łaźnia Galeria, Radom, April 16, 2018.   Thanks especially to Karolina Adamczyk & Ula Malmon, American Corner Radom, and Beata Drozdowska, Dyrektor at Łaźnia Galeria.

Radom community audience, and Steinway instrument, April 16, 2018. Photo:  Joanna Gołąbek/Echo Dina Radom.

Performance Talk for Students of American Literature Studies & Department of Cultural Studies at The University of Warsaw, April 18, 2018.

With students, my host Professor Justyna Włodarczyk. and colleagues, and Dan Hastings, Cultural Attache, U.S. Embassy, Warsaw (left), plus a podcast of the event:  https://programrozszerzony.podbean.com/e/pamela-howland-on-the-american-musical-tradition/   Photo:  University of Warsaw.  Podcast:  Professor Piotr Szymczak.

Concert for the public at Poznań's most elegant shopping Mall - Stary Browar (the old renovated brewery).  I truly enjoyed sharing my music with the many people who stayed for the entire show, as well as the many people passing through.  It is great to be able to bring music to people in such an unusual venue.  April 28, 2018.

Two views of this concert, and an article by the U.S. Embassy, Warsaw   https://pl.usembassy.gov/ 

Photo:  Jakub Krzyżanowski

Masterclass/workshop given with Stan Breckenridge for one of the many active clubs at Adam Mickiewicz University's English Faculty, the Culture Vultures.  It was fun to share our process in performing four-hand piano music, and to listen to students perform.            May 8, 2018.  Photo:  Lisa Konczal/Vérité Creative.

A happy student group.  Photo:  Wendell Myers

(This site pamelahowland.com is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author Pamela Howland and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.) 

SPRING COMES TO POLAND

SPRING COMES TO POLAND

Easter comes to a market in Poznan, March 2018.

As I write this, spring has begun coming to Poland and it is welcome!  The last 3 months – January, February, and March  have reminded us of the power of wintry weather in the North.  Having grown up in a very similar climate to Poznan, but then having lived in the South for 30+ years, it has been a challenge for us this year.  Having made it to April, we are now confident in the joy of the rest of the Fulbright experience, with just 11+ weeks left.

Here are highlights from this winter:

In January, I visited a lively, creative, and nurturing primary school in Lubon, a suburb of Poznan.  I presented 2 different classes for 6-9 year olds, and 10-12 year olds (1st to 6th graders).  The students were completely charming, and wonderfully fluent in English for their young years.  I performed American music for them and taught them a few American songs, and we talked about music’s power.  I also answered their many questions in English as they “interviewed” me; for example, “Do you like strawberries?” “ Do you like blueberries?” “Do you have a dog?” and
“Do you speak other languages,?” These questions were put to me by brave and serious students!  And finally, I was gifted with a beautiful bouquet at the end of my time there, along their wonderful original art renditions of me playing the piano.

The Polish University system has a very different calendar than the U.S. system.  Nearly the entire month of February is an exam period and a holiday time. 

So, we took advantage of this for a needed 5 day vacation to the enchanting (and warmer) Portugal.  This was our first of many visits, we hope!

At the end of February, I performed at the 9th edition of the annual Chopin Birthday Concerts festival in Warsaw.  Following a solo concert on February 26, I had the fun of performing some 4-hands with fellow Fulbright chemistry scholar and pianist, Jiwon Park. *** In addition, my new class on American Movie Music began, and I am able to share my love of great movie music over a chronological survey of wonderful movies/scores spanning “The Wizard of Oz” to “Dunkirk.” In late January, we traveled to Sopot/Gdansk up on the Baltic, to see a screening of  “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings,”  complete with full symphonic orchestra and 100 piece choir rendering Howard Shore’s accompanying score live.  It was a wonderful way to prepare for my class!*** Pictures from these***events appear at the end of this blog!

On March 8th, I gave a Distinguished Faculty Recital for the Faculty of English at Adam Mickiewicz University, Lubranski Hall.  The hall was packed with both older and younger listeners coming together to hear my combination of Chopin and The Beatles.  I was humbled and delighted by their enthusiasm, the beautiful bouquets, and the attendance of some of my little students from Lubon. What a wonderful audience!

 

I greatly look forward to many more exciting events for the last part of my Fulbright, but am also aware that I will be missing some parts of Poland when I return!  Stay tuned for more spring updates to follow.

Wishing you a beautiful spring,

Pam

Two views from our apartment in Poznan, March 2018.

Sopot, Poland - snow on the Baltic beach, January, 2018; Solo Concert, Warsaw, February 26th, 2018; Fulbright Reception after Concert on February 28th, 2018 with Jarek Cholodecki and Jiwon Park (Fulbright student scholar).

(This site pamelahowland.com is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author Pamela Howland and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.)