Allison Gagnon
Comprehensive performance experience
Intensive personalized instruction - Preparation for career success
This innovative graduate program prepares students for the variety and intensity of performance as a collaborative pianist in both the vocal and instrumental spheres. When students enter the program, they become part of a team providing piano support to the entire School of Music.
The mentoring system characteristic of the North Carolina School of the Arts is particularly important in the collaborative program. Majors not only study the repertoire with their teacher, but also apprentice alongside the School’s professional pianists and assist with the collaborative training of undergraduate piano majors. Weekly collaborative piano lessons are complemented by regular work in student partners’ lessons.
Students in the collaborative piano program perform frequently with their vocal and instrumental partners in recital, jury and master class setting. Repertoire assignments for students in the program are chosen with students’ needs and interests in mind. Recitals presented as part of the collaborative piano degree comprise a selection of repertoire from projects undertaken during each year.
Ensemble participation is varied and comprehensive, with opportunities for experience
in piano chamber music, opera workshop, orchestra and contemporary music projects.
New Curriculum
COLLABORATIVE PIANO
Year One Course Credits
MUS 600 Lessons
MUS 601 Masterclass
MUS 610 Recital
MUS 611 Large Ensemble
or
MUS 612 Chamber Ensemble
MUS 630 Support Skills for Collaborative Pianists
MUS 631, 632, 633 Instrumental Literature for Collaborative Pianists
MUS 645 Career Strategies: Portfolio
MUS 646, 647, 648, 649 Career Strategies
(a minimum of two courses are required):
Outreach, Entrepreneurship, Auditions and Recording
MUS 691, 692 Library and Internet Research Lab
MUS 694, 695, 696 Diction
MUS 599 Intensive Arts Workshops
Year Two
MUS 600 Lessons
MUS 601 Masterclass
MUS 610 Recital
MUS 611 Large Ensemble
or
MUS 612 Chamber Ensemble
MUS 634, 635, 636 Vocal Literature for Collaborative Pianists
MUS 661, 662, 663 Research Topics in Analysis
or
MUS 681, 682, 683 Research Topics in Musicology
MUS 693 Quick-Study Examination
MUS 599 Intensive Arts Workshops
Requirements for the Master of Music in Collaborative Piano
Foreign Language: Entering collaborative piano students are expected to have a minimum of one year of college-level language instruction in one of the following: French, German or Italian.
Students who do not meet this requirement upon entering the program must take the appropriate course (FRE 101, 102, 103 for French; GER 101, 102 103 for German; ITA 101, 102, 103 for Italian) or its equivalent to fulfill the requirement before the degree can be granted.
In addition to the core courses of the graduate program, two seminars unique to the collaborative program are offered. Literature study is presented over two years: one year each of vocal and instrumental literature for collaborative pianists. The Support Skills Seminar trains students in a full range of professional skills (quick study, concerto reductions and score reading, communication and organization) and handling situations that require them.
To enhance the vocal component of this program, students enroll in the diction classes for singers. Students in the collaborative piano program are encouraged to include organ, harpsichord and/or conducting electives in their course of study.
The North Carolina School of the Arts - School of Music offers facilities for pianists that foster excellence in music making. Not only do students in the collaborative program have exclusive access to studios for rehearsal and practice, but they also have ample opportunity to play in Watson Hall and Crawford Hall in the course of their studies. Facilities are equipped with the finest Steinway concert instruments and well-maintained studio grand pianos.
Students in the collaborative piano program at NCSA develop their musical and pianistic skills together with their collaborative abilities. At the same time, they learn the components of professionalism that lead to excellence in their chosen discipline.
A special feature of the collaborative piano program is the quick-study examination. At the end of the second year the student, with the assistance of his or her partner, presents a major instrumental work or song cycle. The exam comprises the juried performance of this previously unstudied work, prepared for performance within seven days without coaching. Successful completion of this exam is a degree requirement; it acknowledges the student’s ability to enter the profession. A student will be given two chances to pass this exam.
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