Concert: Baroque Holy Week

On Saturday April 1 at 7 PM, and Sunday April 2 at 3 PM, I will be one of the featured performers in the Santa Fe Pro Musica’s Baroque Holy Week concerts.

The information below is from the SFPM website. The hyperlink will take you to tickets and other information. Hope to see you there.

Student tickets are available for this set. You will need to contact the box office about this and their cost.

Where: First Presbyterian Church, 208 Grant Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe Pro Musica Baroque Ensemble

• Stephen Redfield, violin and leader
• Michael Hix, baritone
• Kim Pineda, flute and recorder

Program

Graupner Overture in F Major (recorder)
Telemann Cantata: Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives
Graupner Flute Concerto in D Major
Graupner Cantata: Stop the arguments of Faith!
Telemann Ouverture-Suite in A Minor (recorder)

The Pro Musica Baroque Ensemble presents uplifting performances of cantatas and instrumental works by Telemann and Graupner.

Same Scholar, Different Tribe, Part 2

Why anyone would put a cat in a bag is beyond me. I’ve made not-so-subtle references to my new job but here it is (the releasing of the cat) in direct form.

The text for this post is extracted from an assignment in a class I am taking at Santa Fe  Community College’s Teacher Academy as part of the Alternative Educator Effectiveness Pathway Program for the State of New Mexico. It was a good way to tell the story of my change in teaching careers and joining a new tribe of educators.

Professor: “Tell me a bit about why you want to teach.”

KP: “For me, teaching is synonymous with helping. Helping people helps me in more ways than I can think of right now. At the base level it helps my emotional well-being and self-esteem. On a wide-reaching scale there is satisfaction that everyone I teach learns something positive from me and will transfer that to their own environment. I never felt it was a calling, or sense of duty, or that I would selflessly devote myself to the profession. I enjoy the interaction with other people, be they young students in my high school classes, my co-workers, my boss, or my private flute students. These relationships all have an exchange of information. It is not a one-way street. I had the same feelings while teaching college. The relationships were different because of the age of the students, but the same type of communication occurred; an exchange of information. They learned from me, I learned from them, I learned from preparing to teach them. Each day I wake up I think: “Let’s go!” I never say to myself, “I have to go to work.” Why do I want to teach? As I write this it seems selfish. To do something I enjoy and get paid for it. Who doesn’t want to do that?

“I want to be the kind of teacher who inspires students to learn, regardless of their learning style, reluctance, or recalcitrance in the classroom. I want the students to feel comfortable around me, to ask me questions in class, privately before or after class, and let them know that I respect them as people, that I will give them the opportunity to be heard. I also want to be the kind of teacher who does not tolerate whining or inappropriate behavior.”

In January 2020 I accepted a job teaching high school social studies (World History and US History) at Española Valley High School in Española, New Mexico. This is a big change from teaching musicology and music history at the college level, but when I thought about it, World History and US History are essentially courses in music history without the music (if you are doing your due diligence on the background of specific musics). This change in teaching is known as a career pivot; it is a path that I wish I had come to sooner. Teaching college was a rewarding experience, to be sure, but the hours are longer, the pay is less (especially when you break it down to the number of hours worked in a day or week), and the administration, in my experience, seems both Kafkaesque and Draconian. My limited experience with public school administration is that it is more open to public scrutiny than a university’s and, thus, more accountable. So far, the pay is better (having a PhD helps), the people are nicer, and it was not difficult to develop a relationship with the District Superintendent.

I’ve been given the go ahead by my Principal to start a culinary skills club next fall (for which I will be given an additional stipend until it becomes part of the curriculum, then it will be an elective class), as well the OK to start planning for a student-run community garden. The goal of the culinary skills club is to teach young people the necessary skills to get a job as a sous-chef, or at least the confidence to try to audition or apply for a job like that. I wanted to give them another path to explore. Plus, I like playing with knives and fire (in the kitchen). Click here for a glimpse at the backstory for why I want to have a culinary skills club.

I am not retiring from or forsaking musicology, and you’ll still see me on the concert stage as often as I can manage. I’m under contract for one book right now and as soon as the final revisions are off my desk I’ll be researching my second book. Funding for conferences will still be available to me but the conferences need to be relevant to what I teach. That means interdisciplinary conferences such as ASECS and WSECS and not the AMSor SAM (although if I get to teach an elective class on the history of rock and roll, jazz, blues, or hip-hop then I could justify one or both of these). Perhaps I will see you then and there.

Same Scholar, Different Tribe

A Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP) is just that, a visitor. No guarantee of a permanent position, although historically a VAP often becomes a permanent position. This was not the case at Texas Tech University, for reasons out of the control of those invested in the 2016-17 VAP. There are some certainties in the academic world and one of them is that nothing that happens on the administrative level can diminish the research, skill set, attitude, or relationships to, in my case, the greater musicological community.

Because of this, I am a member of another first-class university for the 2017-18 academic year, the School of Music at Sam Houston State University, in Huntsville, Texas. My faculty bio may be found here. It has been my pleasure to work with my new colleagues and friends and to mentor a new group of students. In the fall semester I taught these courses:

• Music History: Antiquity through Baroque
• Music History: Classic to Present
• Seminar in Twentieth-Century Music

This spring I do not have a graduate seminar and am only teaching undergraduates. All very rewarding, and I’ve been able to continue my various research projects, including a book, conference presentations, and providing peer-reviewing for significant journals in the world of musicology and American music. A good year, to be sure.

The position at SHSU is, regrettably, only for 2017-18. I do not know where my scholarship, teaching, performing, and mentoring will take me for 2018-19, but where I go so goes my work. Watch this space for details and updates.

Until then,

I remain,

YMH&OS,

Kim Pineda, PhD

The independent scholar joins a tribe

Give a person a fish and they’ll eat for a day. Teach a person research and writing skills and they’ll make a living without learning how to fish. For the past two years I have described myself at conferences as an Independent Scholar, as well as a scholar-performer. The former identifier is what every PhD recipient gets called in the time between commencement and getting hired in their field. The latter description has been part of my real and virtual existence since I graduated from Washington University, St. Louis, with a Master’s degree in Historical Performance Practices. The fundamental research skills acquired during that time were invaluable. My mentors were making significant contributions in the realms of musicology and historical performance and their respective areas of expertise had a significant impact on me. During my hiatus from the pursuit of a PhD I never stopped using those skills.

Every doctoral student knows when they begin their program that they will be looking for employment in another city, state, or country when they finish. In the competitive world of academics, where everyone who applies for your job is likely as qualified as you, everyone feels fortunate to have their respective teaching position. If you are really lucky then your work situation will include colleagues who respect you and what you bring to the institution and you will be welcomed by the department administration and the community in general. After living and working in the Willamette Valley for seven years I now consider myself to be beyond lucky. I am taking my skill sets and expertise (as well as my wife and our two dogs) to a new city, state, and institution (Lubbock, TX;
Texas Tech University). At this time, neither a single lecture has been given nor a single note played, yet my new colleagues, boss, department, university, and community has warmly embraced my wife and me. They have not yet met the sweet dogs but based on past experiences they will be equally welcome. A new job, city, USDA plant hardiness zone, and a switch from the quarter system to the semester system await us. I will be teaching two courses in the first term. Music History Review for Graduate Students (exactly what it sounds like), and . . .

Course Description: MUHL5334 (4300): Music in the Classic Period (Fall 2016)
Music in the Classic Period covers the period in music history from c.1730 to c.1810 and a vast repertoire that includes music of the Bach family, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, and their contemporaries. Within this repertoire we will examine the genres peculiar to the period, such as the symphony, opera, oratorio, and instrumental and vocal chamber music. We will identify those compositional elements that changed over time and those that remained constant across countries, within genres, and between generations of composers. By the end of the term you will be able to discuss the commonalities between composers such as Boccherini and Bach, or Beethoven and François Couperin, to give just two examples. The course work will include regular attendance at class lectures, a midterm exam, outside listening, in-class presentations, one substantial research paper, reading summaries, and a final exam.

The Chair of the Department of Musicology adds this to the course description, to help entice and recruit students to take a class from the new professor:
“In addition to his PhD in Musicology, Dr. Pineda is a professional performer of historical flutes and for many years has been the director of Baroque Northwest. With that in mind, I would like to add that this is a golden opportunity for performers and scholars alike to take a course on the Classic period with a professor who also specializes in the historical performance of baroque and classical era repertoire. For many symphony, chamber, and keyboard players, eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century music is a core area of your repertoire, and knowledge in this area will certainly be assumed out in the professional world (and on entrance and exit exams in just about every academic music program).”

The department attached this bio to the course announcement:
Dr. Kim Pineda received his PhD in Musicology and Historical Performance Practices from the University of Oregon, the Master of Music from Washington University, St. Louis, and the Bachelor of Music from California State University Northridge, and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas Tech University. He has presented his research at meetings of the American Musicological Society, the Society for American Music, the Society for Eighteenth-century Music, the Western Society for 18th-century Studies, and the Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference, as well as at chapter meetings of the AMS-Southwest, the Society for Ethnomusicology Northwest, and the MLA-Pacific Northwest. He has taught at the University of Oregon, Seattle Pacific University, North Seattle Community College, and Indiana University,

Research and performance practice interests:
• Music, race, gender, and empire in the eighteenth century;
• French and Spanish colonial and mission music in the Americas;
• rhetoric and music in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries;
• Improvisation traditions from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries;
• New music for historical instruments.

Recent publications include:
“Baroque Sister Act: Sacred Parodies in the Educational Outreach of the Ursuline Nuns in Eighteenth-century New Orleans.” Proceedings of the Seventh Biennial Conference, Society for Eighteenth-Century Music (forthcoming);
“Eighteenth-century real time composition: A guide for the modern flutist.” The Flutist Quarterly 40, no. 3 (Spring 2015).

As a performer Dr. Pineda has recorded on the Focus, Centaur, and Origin Classical labels, has performed as a flutist and conductor across the US, Canada, and on National Public Radio, and has given workshops and masterclasses around the country. For more information please visit http://kimpineda.com.

To say that I am excited is an understatement. I do not remember a time in my life when I have been so enthusiastically welcomed to any job. Pressure to succeed? No, not at all; with this much support how can I do anything but thrive? I cannot wait to get started.

Classical music is fun: new venues bring new accessibility

On 2 August 2015, at 3:00 PM in Kirkland, Washington, the ensemble Grand Cru Baroque (my band) is giving a concert. A formal concert with programs and program notes but not in a venue that is typical of chamber music recitals. We are playing in a place called Northwest Cellars, a wine tasting shop that accommodates larger groups of people for special events, with and without catering. The use of, for me, an unusual venue reminds me of a first-class concert series based in Los Angeles called Chamber Music in Historic Sites. No, the tasting room is not an historic site, and the reminder of the LA series is connected to an idea a colleague of mine had once upon a time, of producing discriminating, elegant, and cultivated music events in a counter-culture setting. He wanted to have a series called Chamber Music in Odd Places, and that the inaugural concert take place here.

Thanks to the dedicated and entrepreneurial work of my friend and colleague, harpsichordist Henry Lebedinsky and his Early Music Underground organization, classical music lovers in the Pacific Northwest may now experience high-quality performances in unusual and relaxing settings. It is also a way to bring in new audience members, people who did not realize that classical music, in particular so-called Baroque music, was accessible to them and that they could enjoy fine wine or craft beer in the process. In other words, classical music outreach is fun.

While our venue on 2 August is not as exotic as a high-rise fast food restaurant in the Mid-Wilshire /Koreatown district of Los Angeles, it does provide an elegant, intimate space for enjoying music, wine, and a conversation about how the two types of events go together.

Our event has fine wine but no catering. The wine will be served in conjunction with the program. The program, in fact, is somewhat designed to go with the wine offerings. The music is thus paired with the wine. Below is the description of the program on Facebook:

“Sample the exceptional Reserve wines of Northwest Cellars and enjoy live music by Bach, Blavet,  Jacquet de la Guerre, and more performed by Grand Cru Baroque (Kim Pineda, baroque flute; Gus Denhard, lute and theorbo; and Henry Lebedinsky, harpsichord). Baroque music blends the energy of Bluegrass, the soul of R&B, and the intellectual depth of Classical music. Early Music Underground’s Tasting Notes programs are the perfect way to enjoy great wine and great music, an unforgettable way to experience the finer things in life.”

Tickets are $25.00 and may be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets.

If you live in the greater Seattle area please consider sharing your Sunday afternoon with us.

The Third Annual Flute Extremes (FluX) Workshop Recital

“FluX: Where the worlds of Baroque and modern flutes, flute playing, and flute music come together.” The first line from the Flute Extremes website is the culmination of a series of brainstorming sessions that resulted in the creation of a new summer workshop for modern and Baroque flute players. Read more about it, including testimonials, here.

I do not remember the initial conversation I had with Molly Barth about collaborating on a summer workshop, but once it started an avalanche of ideas came pouring out and we began simultaneously scribbling notes about the many directions the workshop could take. Once we settled on a concept, the format could be flexible, adapted to the number of participants and the number of people playing modern or Baroque flutes.

The components of FluX are based, in part, on different parts of the definition of flux (fusion; flow, continuous change; or to strip away potentially harmful elements). The fusion of two different performance practices may at first seem confusing, manufactured, or non-existent, but when the players give the music, techniques, and methods used in interpreting the music a close reading, the connections become clear. Another part of the workshop experience is to strip away preconceived ideas about what modern and Baroque music and performance practices are, to help the participants approach the music with a clear vision. It also takes the players out of their respective comfort zones. For Baroque players it means exploring a repertoire that is based on a different tradition, one in which repertoire is built by composers willing to look beyond tonal models and forms, while still presenting music that can be interpreted, presented, and absorbed in a manner similar to the Baroque repertoire. The modern players studying Baroque music are presented with tools that are typically found in the study of classical rhetoric, vocal music, and music theory, and using these tools to help interpret, decipher, and create a piece that is unique to their respective experiences; the process of making each piece their own.

All of the players benefit from seeing how the others go through the process of acquiring new knowledge, techniques, and tools for studying and performing music.The teachers benefit from this environment as well. Each participant brings their own personal history as a musician to the workshop and I am always inspired by what they bring, as well as the wealth of information that my colleague brings to the workshop. The five days of the FluX experience inspire me to push myself and my horizons as far as possible. The effort put forth by the participants is inspiring and provides another level of intellectual and musical stimulation for everyone involved. If you know a flute player, please let them know about this workshop.

Our traditional conclusion to the workshop, a concert featuring the faculty and the participants, is on Sunday, 21 June 2015, at 14:00 on the campus of the University of Oregon, in the Collier House (the headquarters for the UO’s Department of Musicology during the academic year).

Here is our program:

Sunday, June 21, 2:00 PM.
University of Oregon Collier House
ADMISSION FREE

Seating is limited, please plan to arrive early.

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), Duet for two flutes, TWV 40:126
Kim Pineda, Molly Barth

Four Fantasias from 12 Fantasias for Flute without Bass, 1732
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, and Kim Pineda

Benjamin Krause (b. 1985), “Spirals” (2009)
Patricio da Silva (b. 1973), “Recursions,” (2007), movement IV
Kim Pineda, Baroque flute

Bernard Rands (b. 1934), Memo 4 (1997)
Asuncion Ojeda

Juan de Araujo (1646-1712), “Ay andar a tocar a cantar a baylar”
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, Molly Barth, Kim Pineda

INTERMISSION

Michael Fiday (b. 1961), Jim and John (2015)
Ramakrishnan Kumaran

Robert Dick (b. 1950), Lookout (1989)
Angela Froschauer

Lei Liang (b. 1972), Lake (1999/ rev. 2004)
Asuncion Ojeda, Kim Pineda, Baroque flutes

Diego Vega (b. 1968) “Wild Beasts”
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran

David Lang (b. 1957) Thorn (1993)
Marlos Nobre (b. 1939), Solo I (1984)
Molly Barth, flute

James Bean (b. 1989), “this is causing itself” (2013)
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, Molly Barth

Michael Fiday (b. 1961), I. High Dance, from “Five Monochromatic Dances,” (1994/arr. 2004)
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, Molly Barth
I conclude with another paragraph from the website:

“FluX, directed by Molly Barth and Kim Pineda, focuses on music from the 18th-, 20th-, and 21st-centuries. Baroque flutists work on the traditional repertoire for the instrument (and in-depth historical performance practices) as well as explore its ever-expanding repertoire of modern music. Modern players focus on the current repertoire for their instrument as well as discover the parallel performance practices in Baroque music.”

The concert program may also be found here.

Hope to see you at the concert.

Flute Extremes (FluX) summer workshop, 17-21 June 2015

Dear Flute Enthusiasts,

I want to spread the word about this upcoming workshop, the third annual Flute Extremes (FluX).

FluX: Where the worlds of Baroque and modern flutes, flute playing, and flute music come together.

FluX III is directed by Molly Barth (flute) and Kim Pineda (Baroque flute), and takes place June 17-21, 2015, on the beautiful University of Oregon campus.

Here is the blog site: http://fluteextremes.blogspot.com/

FluX is open to players of either modern or Baroque flute, and to those who play both instruments. Flutists of all ages are invited to attend, provided the repertoire listings are compatible with their playing level.

Please click the FluX Repertoire page for the performance expectations for Baroque and modern flute players.

To apply for admission, please click on the Application and Housing page.
Tuition: $400;with housing: $675

Auditors: $200, with housing $475

FluX focuses on music from the 18th-, 20th-, and 21st-centuries. Baroque flutists will work on the traditional repertoire for the instrument (and in-depth historical performance practices) as well as explore its ever-expanding repertoire of modern music.  Modern players will focus on the current repertoire for their instrument as well as discover the parallel performance practices in Baroque music.

May 15 is the deadline to submit a CD, DVD, YouTube link, or other URL consisting of one piece of your choice.

Here are some testimonials from the previous FluX workshops.

“I learned a great deal and had several epiphanies which were positive. I enjoyed all of the seminars and the speed at which we worked, and I was able to take away a few golden nuggets of musical and general wisdom!”
— Chelsea Czuchra (Switzerland), FluX II (2014)

“FluX is a world class Summer program that truly stretches the bounds of how we play, think, and engage with the flute. It is a treasure and an adventure to span over five centuries of repertoire in just a few days. My heartiest thanks and congratulations to Molly Barth and Kim Pineda for leading the way in creating such a powerful forum.”
— Shaun Barlow (Australia), FluX I, 2013

FluX III is limited to sixteen (16) participants, and as many auditors as space allows.

Please join us for five days of musical stimulation, inspiration, great music, and explore the commonalities between the performance practices of modern and Baroque music. Remember: Composers in the 18th century didn’t write Baroque music; they wrote modern music.

Le Concert Spirituel in Oregon

Earlier this month I had the privilege of playing on the Scaramella concert series in Toronto with a group of first-class players in a program built around Georg Philipp Telemann’s (1681-1767) collection of pieces known as the Paris Quartets. You can read a review of the concert here. We feel that the reviewer, as well as the audience, really enjoyed the program.

Two of the composer-performers on the program, Michel Blavet (1700-1768) and Jean-Pierre Guignon (1702-1774), were also regular performers at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. The Concert Spirituel ran from 1725-1790, and was created to provide entertainment during Lent when the Paris opera and other secular events were closed.

Speaking of the Concert Spirituel, next month, on Sunday April 19th, 2015, at 3:00 PM at United Lutheran Church in Eugene, Oregon, I’ll be playing a concert with first-class players who are also my friends and neighbors here in Oregon. Marc Vanscheeuwijck, Baroque cello, Margaret Gries, harpsichord, Ann Shaffer, viola da gamba, Sarah Pyle, Baroque flute, and from California, Michael Sand, Baroque violin.

The program is called “Music at the Concert Spirituel” and features music by composer-performers Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) and Blavet, both of whom were regularly featured on the series. A description of the concert is found here, as well as the location and a map.

The music performed at the Concert Spirituel was not exclusively French–the inaugural performance included music by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)–and our upcoming concert will uphold that tradition. In addition to Leclair and Blavet, the program features music by Simon Leduc (1742-77), Jean-Baptiste Barrière (1707-47), and Telemann (more Paris Quartets),

If you are in the area I hope to see you there.

Welcome to Kim Pineda’s blog on musicology, historical flutes, and performance practices

Hello everyone,

This blog site is where I will share current news and events about conferences, concerts, or other items that are not on my main website.

With that in mind, here is information about my upcoming concert with the Toronto-based organization Scaramella.

Saturday, March 7, 2015, 8:00 PM EST
Victoria Chapel, 2nd Floor, Room 213, 91 Charles St. W., Toronto, ON M5S 2C7

Concert Description:

In 1737 Telemann traveled to Paris to hear his Nouveau Quatuors performed to great critical acclaim by leading musicians of the day: Michel Blavet (on flute), Jean-Pierre Guignon (violin), Jean-Baptiste Forqueray (gamba) and Anne-Jeanne Boucon (harpsichord). We’re all in with four of a kind plus a kicker, rejoining several of Telemann’s dynamic quartets with music by, and inspired by, these celebrated French performers.

I will have the privilege of working with Edwin Huizinga – baroque violin, Sara-Anne Churchill – harpsichord, and my long-time friend and colleague, Joëlle Morton – bass viol. If you find yourself in the greater Toronto area on March 7, please consider attending the concert.

A brief word about not-for-profit arts organizations, such as the group presenting my upcoming concert:

“Scaramella is a small not-for-profit charitable organization, and we are always careful to keep our costs to a minimum. Though we attract a sizable turnout for performances and our audience numbers are consistently growing, the cost of producing our concerts greatly outweighs what we are able to take in tickets sales.”

This is a story shared by many other non-profit arts organizations in North America. I, therefore, encourage you to consider making a contribution to the upcoming event by clicking here:  Scaramella presents: Telemania

Thank you.

Until the next time,

kp