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Just back from my Summerkeys vacation and I had a great time again this year.

If you don't know what Summerkeys is, it's a music camp for adults in far northeastern Maine in a little town named Lubec. A good intro is my report from 2011: What I did on my Summerkeys vacation

This is my third year. It was a different experience this year because I went the third week in June, the very first week that is is open for the summer. It was a much smaller crowd of only 6 piano students and 8 cellists. I actually liked this much better than the larger classes in July. I got to talk to every piano student and hear them all play several times during the week, which really created a sense of a shared experience between us.

The skill levels varied from beginner to fairly advanced. The most advanced student was playing a Chopin Etude, but there was also Chopin, Bach and Satie among others. There were no popular/jazz players. Ages ranged from twenty-something to senior citizens.

The format was the same as previous years. There were three piano classes during the week that everyone attended as a group. We discussed theory, playing problems, and played for each other (no pressure!). We also had 2 performance classes with no faculty allowed where we could play for each other - that's always a lot of fun and much-needed practice for playing in front of people.

There were 2 faculty recitals. Richard McIntyre played an organ recital on the old pipe organ in the Church (a 1912 Moller) on Wednesday night. He played pieces by Mendelssohn, Halsey Stevens, Samuel Barber, Charles Stanford, Brahms, Buxtehude, Respighi, and Bach. Also an original composition. Very impressive. I took an "intro to organ" lesson from him and got to play on the big pipe organ, which was a lot of fun. I was terrible! Too many keyboards, plus pedals!

Then John Newell, one of the piano teachers, played a piano recital on Thursday night. His theme was "American Landscapes", and he played all American music by Barber, Ives, Feldman, Gershwin, Glass, Pace, Brickman, and an original composition which was variations on Amazing Grace. Another excellent recital. I was particularly impressed by the Barber (Excursions), and I know that the Gershwin preludes are playable by many here on the ABF.

Then on Friday night we had the "recital". I played Schumann's Arabeske, and it went better than it did at my teacher's recital. Not perfect, but I was happy with it. I used a mixture of memory and playing from the music this time, and that seemed to work much better for me.

My teacher this year, for the first time, was Bruce Potterton himself, the founder and inspiration behind the Summerkeys program. He is an excellent teacher, and he helped me with many things that were puzzling me about the Arabeske and a Chopin Nocturne I am working on.

So I had a great time. I hope I get to go again next summer, and if I do, I think June will be my first choice.

Here is the Summerkeys web site: summerkeys.com

And when I was done with Summerkeys, I went and hiked the 100 mile wilderness on the Appalachian trail in Maine. Yikes!

Sam

Thanks for the report!


Can you say what are some of the things that were puzzling you? Not for details for me about how to play these pieces, but because I'm wondering what kinds of things puzzle a pianist who is at a level to be able to approach these.


Yikes indeed! That's amazing! Congratulations!

Sounds like a great time. Thanks for the report.
BTW: I understand the trails in the north east are rather rocky. Is it true where you went?

Thanks for the report! Glad you had a good time with good lessons and a positive recital!! During a year we don't have a major vacation planned, I really want to think about doing this.

This is one of the trouble spots in the Arabeske. It's difficult to make musical sense of this section. The top notes need to be connected (legato). That requires finger substitution - for instance, the first b is played with 5, but then, while holding it down, 4 is substituted for 5 so 5 can be free to play the following d. Then the c is played with 4 and 5 is substituted so 4 can play the b. And so forth. I also had difficulty playing the 16ths, usually making them into triplets.

Things like this are very subtle, and not obvious at first glance. It's much easier to just connect things with the pedal (which is what I was doing). In fact, it didn't really occur to me that I should connect the top line. This is something I need to learn to recognize for myself without a teacher pointing it out.

Sam

Yes, the trail in Maine is mostly roots and rocks. In places it's closer to rock scrambling than hiking. And then there are the bogs.

Can you find the trail in this picture? Notice the white blaze in the lower right corner!



Sam

Sam S.
2 years ago your detailed story of the Summerkeys experience inspired me and intrigued me. I am here in Lubec at a rental home on Main Street (internet is really the only connection with the outside world--cell service is spotty here). Last night was the orientation for newbies. There are four of us this week. A couple from Vermont (she plays piano and he plays cello) and a woman from Boston who sounds like an advanced pianist. Two spouses (mine and Boston's) heard the orientation and realized that we will be VERY busy this week. We start today (Monday) with a piano class and then I have practice time in M6 and a lesson with John Newell in the middle of the practice time. Tonight we'll have a get together at the restaurant at the wharf...lasagna can you believe? We've been here since Tuesday and according to the natives this is unseasonably cold weather...52-60 degrees and with the humidity that feels bone chilling. So far this morning the fog is still heavy and I can hear the fog horn from West Quoddy Light warning the ships. I'm fascinated by high and low tide (I'm an inland girl from Colorado so tides are a novelty). The tides here in the Bay of Fundy are the highest in the world up to 20 feet change every 6 hours.

My fingers are anxious to have some piano time this morning. The adventure begins and I hope Jim finds something to do. :-)

Hope you have a wonderful time! Is Jim a walker? There is a public beach (a stony Maine beach) that you can walk to by going down Water Street on the other side of the bridge. And lots of trails over on Campobello Island and out at East Quoddy lighthouse. And a trip up to the lighthouse at the tip of Campobello is a must (at low tide, the only time you can walk out to it).

If you make it to Eastport, be sure to check out Ray's Mustard Mill - and buy some mustard.

Sam

We came last week to get to know a bit of Maine before my SummerKeys experience. Lubec is a very small town with warm, friendly people and this week a lot of chilly, wet, foggy weather. The house we're staying in is an old one with recent remodeling...hardwood floors, IKEA furnishings, and beautiful yard. It smells old...an unusual phenomenon for someone from Colorado where that is rare.

Sunday night I found myself anxious to get started. One of the SummerKeys folks pointed me to a piano I could play and that felt good after five days with no keys. The official week started yesterday at 9 am. We met at the main house and then split into two groups for Group Class: performance or theory. I chose performance and we walked over and up (lots of hills here) to the Summer Street house. SummerKeys owns a couple of houses in town and at the Summer Street house there is a grand in the living room, an upright in another room and a Baldwin grand in the kitchen. The kitchen is not used for cooking up anything but music. We introduced our backgrounds, our hopes and our fears and then played a bit for the instructor. There is a lot of opportunity to confront the nervousness about performing here and it is all very supportive..relaxed. After group class I went to the shed...like a TUFFshed with two piano practice rooms in it. Mine was a Yamaha grand and I practiced for two hours on the music I'd brought with me. In the middle of the session the sun came out for the first time since we've been here and I stood outside in the flower filled yard to enjoy the moment. Inside the house is a library of music available for use during the week but I think I'll be too focused on what I brought. My teacher, Mr. Newell, came for my one hour private lesson and he looked through my working music and wants me to play a movement from the Mozart Viennese Sonatina on Friday night. In the one hour he dissected the first two pages of the allegro and worked with me on tension, hand placement, aural awareness, with a goal of articulating Mozart more musically. It was intense but not intimidating. I had another hour of practice time and came back to the house tired and hungry. Today I'll make sure I take a cushion for the piano bench. :-) Hope I can absorb some of the wisdom into my playing

Thanks for the report Wisebuff - seems like I'm still there. I spent many hours on those pianos. One of the highlights for me of Summerkeys is playing on all the different instruments. As pianists we need to be able to cope with different actions and pedals and so forth. I think the Yamaha C7 at Summer Street has the most even action, although the pedal gave me some trouble. The Baldwin in the kitchen is nice too, but once again, I had to adapt to the pedal. Wait till you play the Steinway in the Church! It's loud...

Keep the reports coming!

Sam

Sam and Wisebuff - thanks for sharing your experiences - it sounds like a wonderful place, with great programmes and teachers!

..and a beautiful location too!

Yes, thank you both!

I'll be going to Summerkeys for the first time in a couple of weeks; I can hardly wait!

Maybe you'll see FarmGirl when you are there!

She'll be the one being chased around by security guards!

I'll second that! It sounds like a great experience. I hope this thread stays active for awhile and everyone who attends will report on their fun and learning. Pictures would be a big + too
The EPP as well, on a different thread of course.

Let me add my thanks to Sam and WiseBuff. Keep it up guys.

Oh, yeah, FarmGirl is gonna tear that place up!

Sounds fantastic, Sam!

And, as someone who has heard you play in person, you were probably the most advanced player there!

Sam is modest, ya'll, but he's a great classical performer! And, his wife plays the flute like a pro!

And, to top it off, he's a great guy!

All the best!

Rick

I enjoyed reading this and I am intrigued about the possibility of going next summer.

Thanks for posting the report.

Thanks for the report Sam and Wise Buff. I was there last week with a friend, It was my second time and my friend's first. She loved Summerkeys as much as I do and we are hoping we may be able to come for the two weeks in June next year. We both had Bruce as our teacher. I had him last year and liked him so much that I requested him for us both this year. We live about 3 hours north of NYC where Bruce teaches during the year. She liked Bruce so much that she is thinking of going down to the city a few times during the year to take lessons with him. In her words, "He is the most inspiring and motivating teacher that I have ever had." One of the things that I really like about Bruce is how he can figure out what is causing you problems and then break it down and make exercises out of the part of the piece to help you get it. I asked Bruce what he suggested for technique and he said scales and Bach. I also need to improve my sight reading which is pretty bad. Bruce's suggestion was to play a lot of easy duets with my friend because you have to keep going when you play with someone else.

There was a range of skill levels from beginner to one student who was actually a piano and organ teacher. At the Friday night performance class, She played Brahm's Intermezzo in A. That is one of my dream pieces that I want to play before I die. I played a Chopin Waltz in b minor. Let's just say I was much happier with my performance of Consolation by Mendelssohn last year than I was this year. The waltz is not really a difficult piece but with the repeats it's about 7 pages long and I can't seem to keep my nerves under control that long. Sometimes I wonder why I keep trying to play in front of an audience. During the 2 performance practice classes, I played it just fine but during the performance on Friday, I messed up the chromatic part and had to start it over again. I know this piece so well but when I get nervous my memory goes out the window. During the spring, I was having my lesson and playing the waltz and I thought I heard someone else come in the room but I managed to keep my concentration and kept playing. When I finished, I looked up and a whole adult class and their teacher were standing there. My teacher said you did great concentrating but I thought you were going to have a heart attack when you saw everyone standing there clapping. Now if I could just have everyone go out in the hall until I get started and into the piece that would be great.

Bruce gave the faculty concert on Wednesday night. During the first half, he played pieces by Palmgreen, Mozart and Chopin.
The second half consisted of music by Debussy, Messiaen, and Poulenc. It was a great concert and I was so happy that I got to hear Bruce play.

Summerkeys is such a great experience. Everyone from the other students to the teachers to even the people who live in the town are so nice, We went to services at the Congregational Church before we left on Sunday and they were very welcoming.
We exchanged e-mails and phone numbers with a retired gentleman at the church and he called to see if we got home alright.

The weather was not very cooperative for outdoor activities but we did visit Acadia on the way up and then visited Campobello Island on Saturday. We did the tea with Eleanor. It is free and the ladies who did the presentation were amazing.

Everybody please keep the reports coming. It' great to read them and it is like being back there again. I often read them over again during last year to get my Summerkeys fix.

Judy

Thanks for the compliments Rick, I only wish I played as well as you think I do!

Sam