Pianist Teresa Walters played a recital and taught a
masterclass in Clarksburg, while cellist Stephen Ballou presented a workshop
and played a concert at the Landes Arts Center in Petersburg.
Walters’ recital at First
United Methodist in Clarksburg was the first of the
Highland Fund concerts. It included music by Rachmaninoff, Bach, and Franz
Liszt.
In addition to performing, Walters
enjoys coaching music students wherever she travels:
“We all know realistically
that the great teaching happens week by week, with those teachers who really
mentor the students over the period of years. This is a small opportunity for me to spend a few minutes with each
student, make a few comments, and hopefully give them a few ideas.
"And I
cherish the opportunity, because, I travel so much, I am not in one location
long enough to have students of my own.
So, I really am grateful to those across the country and around the
world who share the privilege with me of working with their students for a
short period of time."
Stephen Ballou doesn’t get to
travel as much – he is kept busy playing cello in the Metropolitan Opera
Orchestra, where they have, “a very consuming schedule of rehearsals, and
performances.”
“Normally I collaborate with
anywhere from 100 to even 400-500 other musicians and singers and
costume designers and ushers and many, many other people involved with the
opera. For me, to be on stage with
myself, with the cello, is kind of a declaration of independence. So for me, it’s nice to be able to make my
own statement with the instrument."
Ballou performed music by
Johann Sebastian Bach and West Virginia native George Crumb, at the Landes Arts Center in Petersburg, a relatively new venue, just under two years
old.
“I’m so pleased to find that
in a rural town of 2000 people they have this state of the art facility with a
300 seat auditorium, with all the lighting one could ask for, and a green room. It’s an absolutely beautiful facility, with a fantastic art exhibit up
from the local 5th and 6th grade students.
“And it is of great
encouragement to me. It sometimes gets discouraging
when in this culture that we live in, that arts and music, particularly
classical music, gets undervalued I believe, so I feel very happy to be here.”
Extended interviews with
Teresa Walters and Stephen Ballou can be found on the Classically Speaking blog.