Effortless Artistry Music

2025 EAM Fundraiser Concert
2025-01-25 19:00 (America/Denver) | Center for Musical Arts, 200 E Baseline Rd, Lafayette, CO, 80026, United States

EAM Teacher Training Session 1
2024-10-05 09:00 - 17:00 | WA
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SCHEDULE

Time
Teacher Training Schedule

8:45 AM
Arrive, coffee meet and greet, gather materials

9:00
Course 1- Teaching Balance, Alignment, and Unified Motion

10:30
-break-

10:45
Course 1- Teaching Balance, Alignment, and Unified Motion

11:30
Technique clinic- work with students Master Class-style

12:15 PM
-lunch-

1:30
The 3D Path – Seamlessly integrates 3 movements for quicker passage solving!

3:00
-break-

3:15
Technique clinic- work with students Master Class-style

4:00
Questions and Finish!

EAM Artists Concert
2023-10-14 18:30 | The NiCHE Event Space, 4571 Broadway, Boulder, CO, 80304, United States
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*The concert is included for workshop participants
PROGRAM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sonata in F Major K. 332
Enrique Granados: Allegro de concierto, Op. 46
Darren Wirth, piano
Cordelia Zars/Alex Walker: “Going Down” from We’re Still Here
Cordelia Zars, piano
Free Improvisation
Ron Stabinsky, piano
Jazz Standards
The Atom Collective

2023 Colorado Taubman Approach Workshop
2023-10-14 08:00 - 2023-10-15 17:00 | The NiCHE Event Space, 4571 Broadway, Boulder, CO, 80304, United States
Technique ClinicRon and BarbaraPedagogyMasterclassDarren WirthTechnique ClinicAtom CollectiveJazz LessonSlide

REGISTER (IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE)REGISTER (ONLINE ATTENDANCE)PURCHASE CONCERT TICKETS
* Concert attendance included for workshop participants.
Want to acquire fantastic new tools for playing, teaching, and overcoming challenges at the keyboard?
Come join us for our bigger and better Colorado Taubman Approach Workshop at the foothills of the Rockies! With two days of presentations, master classes, pedagogy classes, passage-solving clinics, artist concerts, public lessons, and optional private lessons, this workshop will be full of amazing insights and tools. Multiple tracks of presentations will cover Taubman experience levels from newcomer to advanced. This is an amazing value!
Pricing

$225 IN-PERSON attendance, live questions and participation in group classes included (with access to recorded sessions after the workshop)
NiCHE Event Space, 4571 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304
$200 ONLINE attendance, pre-submitted questions only (livestream and access to recorded sessions after the workshop)
Students 50% Discount
Concert attendance is included for all workshop registrants

Information

Hotel information for out-of-town attendees
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
CONCERT PROGRAM

WORKSHOP PRESENTERS, PERFORMERS, and DIRECTORS

Brenna Berman
Presenter, EAM Founder and Executive Director
Golandsky Institute Associate Faculty
EffortlessArtistry.com

Barbara Banacos
Presenter
Golandsky Institute Adjunct Faculty
Greater Boston
BarbaraBanacos.com

Beth Grace
Presenter
Golandsky Institute Instructor, Master Level
BethGrace.com

Ron Stabinsky
Concert Artist, Presenter
Northeastern PA
Photo credit: Jochen Fleeth

Darren Wirth
Concert Artist, Presenter

Atom Collective
Concert Artists
Atom.Band

Cordelia Zars
Concert Artist

Sonja Toutenhoofd
Workshop Director
EAM Co-founder, Treasurer

Nancy Seller
Workshop Director
EAM Co-founder, Secretary

Michelle Mark
Workshop Director
EAM Vice-President

TOPICS AND SESSIONS

Title / Description

Presenter

The Taubman Approach and Arpeggios
The tools to play even, smooth arpeggios is a skill every pianist should have. Barbara Banacos will walk participants through key components needed for beautiful arpeggios.

Barbara Banacos

Pedagogy Clinic: How to incorporate elements of the Taubman Approach into your teaching
With so much to teach to students, it can be difficult to know how to incorporate elements of technique and what skills to prioritize. Barbara Banacos will share strategies on teaching the Taubman Approach with a focus on beginner and intermediate-level students. She will also work one-on-one with students of workshop attendees.

Barbara Banacos

Getting to Know the Taubman Approach
The Taubman Approach has positively influenced countless pianists worldwide. Join Elizabeth Grace as she discusses the foundational elements of this amazing problem-solving approach to piano playing. Through musical examples, she will demonstrate accessible strategies to implement key principles and open the door to playing with freedom.

Beth Grace

Octaves without Obstacles
Playing octaves with ease is an essential skill for every pianist, but unwanted and unnecessary obstacles can often arise. In this lecture, Elizabeth Grace will discuss practical guidelines to playing octaves with freedom. She will also address the vital stepping stones to teaching octaves to students of all ages and levels. Join us and say goodbye to awkward octaves!

Beth Grace

Optimizing Taubman Learning and Practice – Part 1
Working memory and Procedural memory
Learning to play the piano is very good for the brain because we use so many parts of the brain at different stages of learning the piano and at different stages of learning each piece. Gaining a better understanding of 2 main types of memory: working memory (holding things in mind with focus) and procedural memory (“muscle memory”) can help us know how and when to harness the strengths of each type, from learning to play one note, to performing on the Carnegie stage.

Brenna Berman

Optimizing Taubman Learning and Practice – Part 2
The master checklists for technical and musical solutions
Many students struggle with efficient learning knowing what to do next, especially in the middle stages of learning each piece. Technical checklists that are passage and context-specific can shorten the length of time between problems and their solutions. Brenna will cover checklists in contexts such as passagework, octaves, leaps, alternating single notes and intervals, among others.

Brenna Berman

Advanced Choreography: Patterns
We all have a strong instinct to detect and recognize patterns. This can be beneficial in piano playing, as music is full of patterns and repetition, but often we have to use different techniques to play similar passages. Darren Wirth will show how the Taubman Approach can be used to analyze and solve these types of pattern passages and aid us in quicker learning and memorization.

Darren Wirth

Master Class

Brenna Berman and Beth Grace

Open Lessons and Free Participation

Brenna Berman, Barbara Banacos, Beth Grace

Taubman in the Jazz Setting
Ron will work with individuals in front of a class to solve pianistically jazz contexts using Taubman tools.

Ron Stabinsky

Support Group
This group will connect participants going through similar experiences and is geared towards attendees who are new to the Taubman Approach, currently retraining their technique, or are recovering from an injury. The session offers a safe place to get questions answered about the retraining method, or simply express their feelings about the process in general.

Michelle Mark

HOTEL / TRAVEL INFORMATION

To assist with your stay, we have reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express Longmont. Since it is also Parent/Family weekend at CU Boulder, rooms are going quickly.
This is the closest best priced hotel. It is a 16-minute drive from the Niche Event Space. In order to secure the reservations we have paid in full to reserve any available rooms. If you would like to stay at the Holiday Inn Express Longmont, contact them by phone at 303-684-0404 or email them at lcohiexpress@yahoo.com and have them change the credit card they have on file to your own. It is reserved under Nancy Seller, confirmation 88229383. The cost for Friday and Saturday are $250. each night plus tax and Sunday night is $130. plus tax.
We also recommend securing your rental car if needed. Carpooling with other attendees may be possible.
Feel free to also look for other options on AirBnb, VRBO, etc. that are available. If you would like any help with finding accommodations or have any other questions please feel free to contact us.

CONCERT PROGRAM

October 14, 2023 at 6:30 PM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sonata in F Major K. 332
Enrique Granados: Allegro de concierto, Op. 46
Darren Wirth, piano
Cordelia Zars/Alex Walker: “Going Down” from We’re Still Here
Cordelia Zars, piano
Free Improvisation
Ron Stabinsky, piano
Jazz Standards
The Atom Collective
Concert tickets: $15, included for workshop registrants
PURCHASE CONCERT TICKETS

The 2022 Colorado Taubman Approach Workshop
2022-10-15 08:30 - 2022-10-16 16:30 | Center for Musical Arts, 200 E Baseline Rd, Lafayette, CO, 80026, United States
Darren WirthBrenna BermanSonja ToutenhoofdRon StabinskyKyle BankerBarbara BanacosEAM BoardBarbara, Brenna, and RonThe cast and crewBrenna giving a lecture

Master Classes – Pedagogy clinics – Presentations – Artists Concert – Jazz Clinic – Private Lessons

“Taste of Taubman” for first-timers! “Transcending Tradition” for everyone! “Integration” for intermediate Taubman students!

Many thanks to our generous Donors, Volunteers, and Sponsors of this Workshop!This happened because of your generosity!

Donors

Brandon Berman, Brenna Berman, Brian Berman, Cynthia Betts, Magdalena Cole, Renato Magalhaes de Paula, Michelle Mark, Stefan and Anjali Maus, Maxine Seller, Nancy and Michael Seller, Sonja Toutenhoofd, Stephen Trainor, Anonymous, Anonymous

Workshop Presenters, Performers, and Directors

Presentation Descriptions

Pricing

Schedule

Workshop Presenters, Performers, and Directors

Brenna Berman

Presenter, EAM Founder and Executive Director

Golandsky Institute Associate Faculty

EffortlessArtistry.com

Barbara Banacos

Presenter

Golandsky Institute Adjunct Faculty

BarbaraBanacos.com

Ron Stabinsky

Concert Artist, Presenter

Photo credit: Jochen Fleeth

Darren Wirth

Concert Artist, Presenter

Atom Collective

Concert Artists

Atom.Band

Sonja Toutenhoofd

Workshop Director

EAM Co-founder, Treasurer

Nancy Seller

Workshop Director

EAM Co-founder, Secretary

Michelle Mark

Workshop Director

EAM Vice-President

Presentation Descriptions

Transcending Tradition – The Joy of Being Wrong

Dorothy Taubman instinctively knew it was important to rethink ideas, whether they were her own or others’ pianistic dogmas passed on through tradition. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant inspires people to rethink their views and shows how rethinking enables greater learning, knowledge and well-being. Brenna Berman will draw parallels between Taubman’s innovative musical solutions and the research that supports such innovations.

Taubman Pedagogy for Kids

Barbara Banacos will share strategies on teaching the Taubman Approach to children and adult beginners. She will also work one-on-one with students of workshop attendees.

Taubman Basics

Brenna Berman will cover the science behind the Taubman basics for alignment and putting the piano key down effortlessly, and will demonstrate how to incorporate these movements into playing. She will also explain simple thinking techniques that make learning easier.

Choreography Integration

Barbara Banacos will present short musical examples that integrate skills of the Taubman Approach. Through the examples, one will gain experience with how elements of the approach work together and the process of how to practice.

Technique clinic for jazz and improvising pianists

Ron Stabinsky will invite participants to the piano to present questions or problems encountered by jazz pianists and improvisers. Solutions will demonstrate the practical application of the basic principles of the Taubman Approach.

What’s with all those bench pads?

Sonja Toutenhoofd will work one-on-one with participants to help them (or their students) get set up properly at the piano. She will address subjects such bench distance, bench height, and healthy alignment of the fingers, hand, forearm, and torso.

The Line of Inspiration

Pianist/composer Darren wirth will present a lecture recital in which he reveals influences from the standard repertoire on his compositions. He will also demonstrate how elements of the Taubman Approach lead to musical expression.

Problem-Solving Session

Participants are encouraged to come to the piano with any questions regarding basic Taubman Approach, problems in their music, as well as any pre-submitted questions. Brenna will work with them one-on-one to find solutions.

Open Discussion Group

Michelle Mark will lead a group discussion for any participants wanting to talk about technique retraining, injury experiences, how to find further resources, and any topics they wish to discuss.

Pricing

All Saturday presentations, clinics, Master Class, lectures, and concert are included with Registration Fee of $175 ($150 with early bird discount).

Private lessons (45 minutes) with Brenna Berman or Barbara Banacos may be added for $90 more and will take place on Sunday, 1:30-4:30.

All events take place at Center for Musical Arts in Lafayette, Colorado 80026

Schedule
