Presentations

Engaging talks equip youth and adults to explore music and make it their own.

Career Pathways in Music

Students 5th grade through high school - and adults involved in their education - can learn about the many ways you can work in the world of music (some you might not expect!) and what students can do now and in college to be ready for those opportunities. Information about Appalachian State University’s music programs and alumni will help illustrate the many paths and possibilities.

Music History and Theory Stories

Learn about the history of music, why we love it, and how it works. Choose from some existing themes or inquire about a specific musical topic of interest to your group. These are adaptable to various ages and levels of musical knowledge or experience!

  • Emotion and Affect: Explore how and why we perceive certain kinds of music as sad, joyful, dramatic, and more - and how composers through the centuries employed techniques of their time to evoke specific feelings.

  • The Elements of Art and Music: Break down the magic ingredients of music and visual art to see some striking parallels in how composers and artists use their different materials in similar ways. This presentation draws from my graduate research project in which I surveyed and interviewed composers and artists.

  • Concert Talks: Request a pre-concert talk, lecture, or activity to go in depth about a musical work your ensemble plans to perform.

I have given combined presentations and performances at…

  • Large auditoriums

  • Recital halls

  • Churches

  • Elementary schools

  • Retirement homes

  • Private residences

  • Parties

Ideas for future venues include…

  • Community centers

  • Libraries

  • Homeschool groups

  • Summer camps

  • After-school programs

  • Local shops, restaurants, businesses

  • A series of multiple talks/classes

  • Street festivals

Enough things have happened to me that I could entertain people for an hour or so if requested. Stories may include the ominous, hand-hewn ROUGH ROAD sign (it was right), small children “helping” operate my bow like a two-person saw, being roped into signing someone’s marriage certificate, mistakenly driving onto someone’s homestead in the most rural NC because it had the EXACT SAME address as the wedding venue 30 minutes away, the Star Wars and Legend of Zelda weddings, a class of Japanese children in Osaka howling with laugher over my very serious pizzicato, the time someone kicked my D string peg out of tune, literally getting lost in a bathroom, rescuing several salamanders in between playing country songs, and how dressing up as the App State mascot on a parade float sparked a semi-viral cello video 6 years later…

Gig Tales / Cellists in Predicaments