Continuing Professional Development

For the private teacher of music there are many new and varied shifting landscapes of continuing professional development but a rather patchier picture emerges for the teacher who wishes to really put their musical skills to the test as there is little other choice than to offer oneself for the incomparable personal experience of sitting a somewhat prestigious performance diploma.

In the summer of 2011, Dr Michael Spacie sat the DipABRSM diploma in piano performance (Diploma of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) at the ABRSM's diploma centre in York on the July 2011. The two qualified diploma examiners present (the chief examiner in one's discipline (i.e. piano) and a further qualified diploma examiner placing your achievements in a broader musical context) were complete strangers to Michael as was a third examiner in the exam room who was training under the ABRSM's rigorous examiner training programme. All diploma examinations are digitally recorded and have to be ratified by, and placed before, the ABRSM's diploma board. Michael achieved the diploma first time without re-sits of any of the components involved (Recital; Programme Notes and Viva Voce; Quick Study – involving previously unseen music). All components have to be passed before the diploma can be awarded. The report form contained some very positive comments. The DipABRSM is quite an achievement as the ABRSM diplomas are toughly marked and are arguably the most valued in most parts of the world and that is because the ABRSM diplomas are perhaps the hardest to pass. In addition to the recital, you need to have a vast amount of knowledge and know your facts very well (as you never know what will be asked in the Viva Voce) and not least an ability to cope admirably under intense pressure and scrutiny. You also need to have a clear, valued, justified and convincing opinion about everything you play and say, irrespective of whether you feel others will agree with you or not. You cannot just train for this diploma, you have to think.

The repertoire chosen for this exam was exciting, extensive, challenging and exacting which included a complex pair of Prelude and Fugue from ‘The 48' ‘Well-Tempered Clavier' by J. S. Bach. Other repertoire performed for the exam included ‘Three Novelettes for Piano' by Poulenc and also the entire complete ‘Sonatine' by Ravel which was successful in the exam in spite of the last movement of which being rarely performed by Ravel himself in concerts across Europe due to its high degree of complexity which is little comfort to an exam candidate during preparation! Also performed were a couple of involved pieces from Janacek's Piano Cycle ‘In the Mists' and a collection of numbers from Bartok's ‘Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm' from ‘Mikrokosmos' to complete the programme.

Michael says: ‘I think the performance diploma proved to be a perfect hook for the testing of musical skill, particularly after many years of teaching (since 1987) and where confirmation and reassurance of a standard above Grade 8 is still very much intact. I think it also helps in exploding the myth that you only teach music if you can't perform it. Whilst there are many music teachers who are not performers, there are a number of musicians who teach (with enormous input and relentless self-discipline into their own development as musicians) and incidentally as you may have gathered from some of the repertoire given above, I like neo-classicism and also the sensory element in music but not sentimentality. Furthermore, Ravel, Janacek and Bartok were all composers who integrated in their music various highly complex elements of folk song such as modality combined with harmony, pentatonic influences, speech-tunes, speech-rhythm etc., and all aimed for a realistic impact far removed, for example, from the high-flown sentiments of much nineteenth-century opera – which is one reason why I chose those composers as part of my recital programme. Moreover, they all transfigure piano music with pianistic orchestration; their use of colour creating a new relationship which has nothing to do with unnecessary or unjustified virtuosity but everything to do with music. (I'm sure Mozart would have agreed!)'

Finally, Michael's success gives an assurance to students wishing to partake of his tutelage that they are not only taught by an experienced teacher but also by a highly competent performer and professional musician and by one who after many years has been reminded of what it feels like for a student to sit an exam!

In addition to the above, on Saturday 10^th December 2011, Michael sat a challenging piano recital diploma from the London College of Music at the LCM diploma centre in Nottingham. This qualification comprised of a piano recital lasting 45 minutes which included as part of the programme Prelude and Fugue No. 5 in D major BWV 850 from ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier' Book I (the fugue being fully ornamented in the recital performance) and the Italian Concerto BWV 971, both by J. S. Bach. Essentially, this latter work is a transcription/translation of the orchestral genre to keyboard – a practice that was not uncommon in the Baroque era – and using such dichotomies as tutti and soli (the orchestral model of ripieno and concertante ) through the ritornellos/episodes scheme of the first and last movements. In essence, the keyboard piece ‘versus' the orchestral genre with ‘loss' in baroque times somewhat compensated by tutti sections being performed by coupling the manuals together on a two-manual harpsichord; the beautiful second movement being in arioso style. Further to the aforementioned; contemporary pieces where the composer is still living (a mandatory requirement) and works by Ravel et al were also performed. The recital was followed by an in-depth viva voce of approximately 20-25 minutes' duration which included such questions as stylistic analysis and comparisons of the styles of Ravel and Bach; a full theoretical analysis of the fugue that was played; the placement and musical development of the composers and their works in music history; one's personal response to learning the piano works performed and strategies used for the recital etc.. In addition to this, a written programme had to be compiled for the recital and presented to the examiners.

There were two specialist qualified diploma examiners present, one of them being a senior examiner and moderator: both were complete strangers to Michael. The exam was something of a tour de force which resulted in the successful awarding of this recital diploma qualification from the London College of Music by the University of West London which is respected and recognised internationally as well as in the UK. Again, Michael achieved this recital performance diploma first time without any re-sits. The diploma taken was the LCM ‘flagship' Associate ‘recital' diploma which involves more playing with more involved viva voce analysis than the Associate ‘standard' diploma in performance.

Michael says: ‘studying for the viva voce sections and learning two different sets of repertoire for the performance of two different recital diplomas within the same calendar year was at times, in addition to my self-employed busy teaching schedule, demanding and tiring, but also rewarding and successful as continuing professional development and made easier by the never ending support and encouragement from my lovely wife Sandra.'

Acknowledgement

Dr Michael Spacie would like to acknowledge Rotherham Minster Authorities for granting permission to regularly practice using the Minster Grand Piano which transpired to be essential in the preparation for both the DipABRSM piano performance diploma and the ALCM (Recital) piano performance diploma; not least in achieving mastery of the prevailing acoustic, but practising using an instrument similar to that on which the exams were taken proved to be invaluable.

The C. Bechstein Grand Piano situated in the North Aisle of Rotherham Minster