tag:maevebrophy.com,2005:/blogs/maeve-solo?p=1Maeve2021-05-03T10:51:47-05:00Maeve Brophy, Pianistfalsetag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/66316912021-05-16T08:37:16-05:002021-05-16T08:37:16-05:00Premiere of Piano Music by Non-Binary Composers - You Can Still Watch!<p>The premiere of my concert video of piano music by non-binary composers for chatterbird’s spring virtual concert series was a success! The video premiered on Facebook Live on May 7 at noon. You can watch the concert, along with all audience commentary, here:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="https://www.facebook.com/achatterbird/videos/217319729823310" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/achatterbird/videos/217319729823310">https://www.facebook.com/achatterbird/videos/217319729823310</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/900cc35d2e597e7d16031a4185e901074e735121/original/9e0dd649-2898-4f4a-b8f3-3b7ea13a9dae.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>My performances of the piano works are interspersed with commentary from each composer about music and gender. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/6441f3791d2fd4558a4f561d3f3f2afcc7a4bc49/original/1d6095b9-8016-498c-8aef-1da3128d472f.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>The four pieces included two world premieres and were very much enjoyed by the virtual audience. All works can be purchased from the composer.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/c727031129ad01e753fcf3db2121e08f411422c6/original/254426c6-c2d2-474f-9005-aa07b1173300.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The premiere was followed by a lively virtual afterparty where composers Ahmed Alabaca, brin solomon, and Joshua Dent all got to meet for the first time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/62723339ee60d4c0084b7a4cbd04691d4c833b89/original/175666a9-1d74-4c41-a8a6-952383782100.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I am honored to have been able to work with these talented young composers who are brave enough to be their true selves in a world that does not ackowledge their reality. We have much to learn from the gender non-conforming community. And on top of all of that, they were just awesome and fun!</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/66201772021-05-03T10:51:47-05:002021-05-16T08:04:29-05:00My recordings featured on WXNA’s Fearful Symmetries<p><em>Fearful Symmetries</em>, an edgy classical music show on Nashville’s WXNA-FM, featured my recordings of <i>Summer Interlude </i>and <em>Autumn Dance </em>by Betty Jackson King and <em>Barcarolle </em>by Florence Price on their May 2 show. Listen here - my segment starts at the 59:00 mark</p>
<p><a contents="https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20666" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20666">https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20666</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/472154452885367192298f0398866366cc01100f/original/4d41585d-e6e5-4490-aaf2-ac8553eda95a.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Update: My recording of Florence Price’s Until We Meet was played on the May 9 program at the 1:21:00 mark</p>
<p><a contents="Fearful Symmetries May 9" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20761?fbclid=IwAR3iG2d-P7WYxg0F06rz1UDKXXvJxjXbCmjbGFVEmb0NlfCBf_XK7WHnVJY#volume" target="_blank">Fearful Symmetries May 9</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/16d37703b7d291e87f1b4578d028fd9049d897ae/original/6d2f3875-df9e-4db7-b9be-d4523bf418ee.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you to John Pitcher for including my recordings on the program!</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/66189772021-05-01T09:04:20-05:002021-05-01T09:04:20-05:00Two paragraphs about me in the Nashville Scene<p>For the first time, the Nashville Scene has acknowledged me as a solo artist! Thank you to John Pitcher for mentioning my recent work in his article about chatterbird’s social justice concert series. My concert video will premiere May 7!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/14505cafa58243c97ab5a1ee256efabe7474eb14/original/b0d789af-1713-48b3-abce-002e32484d23.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/66092772021-04-20T11:11:34-05:002021-05-03T19:57:01-05:00Piano Music by Non-Binary Composers Premieres May 7<p>I am doing a video mini-concert of music by non-binary composers, in partnership with chatterbird and <a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.genderspectrum.org/" target="_blank">https://www.genderspectrum.org/</a>. The concert will feature works by Ahmed Alabaca (they/them), Chrysanthe Tan (she/her), brin solomon (it/itself), and Joshua Dent (they/them) with video introductions by each composer and will premiere Friday, May 7th at noon on chatterbird’s <a contents="Facebook page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/achatterbird">Facebook page</a>. It will be available for viewing after the fact as well, and I will post it to my Youtube channel along with videos from the composers about music and gender. </p>
<p>More info:</p>
<p><a contents="https://events.scenethink.com/piano-music-by-non-binary-composers-may-7-2021" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://events.scenethink.com/piano-music-by-non-binary-composers-may-7-2021">https://events.scenethink.com/piano-music-by-non-binary-composers-may-7-2021</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/113a54000f94f1cb6e11afb183a6943e80d7fcd7/original/8033f60d-60bc-4241-98c3-2bcbdcc18c80.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/65620612021-03-01T16:17:53-06:002021-03-01T16:58:14-06:00Listen to me on the Sonosphere podcast!<p>I made a recent appearance on Sonosphere, an eclectic music podcast recorded at Crosstown Concourse in Memphis. It was broadcast on 91.7FM Memphis on Feb. 15, 2021 and is now available on the Sonosphere website, Soundcloud, and wherever podcasts are available. The episode is dedicated to Florence Price, and I talk about the discovery of her work in 2009, her posthumous publication by G Schirmer, and how John Michael Cooper found me on Youtube and asked me to help him edit some of the newest releases. I also talk about my own history of learning about Black composers from working at an HBCU, how it changed the course of my life, and the need to integrate Black composers and all marginalized composers into the standard repertoire.</p>
<p>Also featured on the podcast is Dr. Douglas Shadle from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt (incidentally where I worked as a collaborative pianist for 8 years- but at that time I was busy doing just that nonstop and our paths never crossed). Dr Shadle, Karen Walwyn, and A. Kori Hill talk about Ms. Price’s life and the state of music by Black composers today, and I am honored to appear beside these three .</p>
<p>Our dialogue is interspersed with some of the best current recordings of her work and that of her student Margaret Bonds. The podcast itself is a beautiful work of art and I invite you to listen and learn about this important composer!</p>
<p>Listen here:</p>
<p><a contents="https://sonospherepodcast.com/2021/02/28/birth-of-modern-music-series-part-7-florence-b-price/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://sonospherepodcast.com/2021/02/28/birth-of-modern-music-series-part-7-florence-b-price/" target="_blank">https://sonospherepodcast.com/2021/02/28/birth-of-modern-music-series-part-7-florence-b-price/</a></p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/65448222021-02-09T18:00:00-06:002021-02-10T12:50:13-06:00New Split Screen Videos on YouTube!<p>Check out my YouTube channel for split screen videos of piano music by marginalized composers. I edited the video to show my hands playing in one half of the screen and the (public domain) sheet music in the other, thus providing the viewer with the ultimate classical music discovery geek out experience.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/8303d27b54cdfdeea10bc3ee198053b334866a5e/original/791ecd7c-9546-4c01-99ac-e7910266f873.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Here’s links to the <a contents="Chaminade Ballade" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZzsPIyl1Ug">Chaminade Ballade</a>, <a contents="Aubade by Chaminade" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6-nRk9JiLM">Aubade by Chaminade</a>, <a contents="Piece Romantique by Chaminade" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf92hSWg0pA">Piece Romantique by Chaminade</a>, <a contents="Pensees d’Automne by Mel Bonis" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FRXas6MG5s">Pensees d’Automne by Mel Bonis</a>, and <a contents="Reverie by Paula Szalit" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi2o2tmHwRo">Reverie by Paula Szalit</a>. <br> </p>
<p>I am pleased with how they turned out and plan to do more!</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/65413902021-02-06T11:08:09-06:002021-02-06T11:12:20-06:00World Premiere on Valentine’s Day!<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/39d19dc56e82e5284ab87ccb87a75afe081b0c89/original/ee62cc56-6fde-4637-8c6a-2c3859ac4ffb.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Florence Price is my valentine this year! This brilliant woman spent many Valentine’s Days single, and it’s in those years that she wrote some of her best work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anyway, tune in to my performance of “A Pensive Mood”, from the set <em>Seven Descriptive Pieces </em>which I helped edit, on Feb. 14, 2021 at 5:30pm. My pre-recorded video will stream live on the YouTube channel of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Germantown, TN (<a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/StGeorgesGermantown">link</a>). The Price piece will be the prelude of a special online evensong service dedicated to Absalom Jones (1746-1818), the first Black Episcopal priest. I am honored that Rev. Dorothy Wells and Music Director Lucas Fletcher asked me to contribute to the service with a Florence Price piece.</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/65413702021-02-06T10:53:40-06:002021-02-06T10:53:40-06:00More Florence Price music with my tempo markings!<p>Florence Price’s <em>Six Pieces for Piano Solo (1947)</em> is now available from G. Schirmer. I was again asked to contribute tempo markings and this time I was paired with the legendary Althea Waites, whose landmark recordings I studied when I first began researching Florence Price- back when all Schirmer was publishing by her was the Sonata.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/4b1641cb4a53398b8b0ae0ee02f49fff138cbe19/original/39f869e4-21ad-4115-aada-e0a6b3767512.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />It is an honor to appear in print next to her.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/49860073ef9fd5bf2413cf37f737c8b892ece6ae/original/1f5b3d11-0d4f-455e-adf6-c481c91bac9d.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Price’s style is recognizable here, and the pieces capture the complexity of emotion that was her writing genius. For the second piece of the set, I assigned the marking “Capriccio espressivo”, in an attempt to capture the winsome “tears behind the laughter” nature of the piece.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/227aae5c3fe84283eda2ece3aed897484d924b1d/original/db4b7f1b-7262-46e9-8b97-81ca399879c9.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The set is lovely and less technically difficult than <em>Seven Descriptive Pieces. </em>You can purchase it for $18.00 plus tax <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/61431/Six-Pieces-for-Piano-Solo--Florence-Price/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/65302332021-01-25T15:11:31-06:002021-01-25T15:14:39-06:00New Florence Price music with tempo markings by me<p>I was very honored to be asked by musicologist and editor John Michael Cooper to contribute tempo suggestions for “Seven Descriptive Pieces” by Florence Price, recently published posthumously by G. Schirmer. Ms. Price left the manuscript without tempo or stylistic markings so Dr. Cooper asked me, along with pianist Jonathan Bellman (UC Greeley), for suggestions.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/90074db375ac3056baea207759eb8dc2e0266dfb/original/385d0567-9ac1-4cd6-94f8-b891a3cf2d1a.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Our tempo suggestions are presented at the beginning of each piece as two options for the performer to decide from. I love how Dr. Cooper asked two different pianists and included both of our suggestions together in the new edition. Mine is the second suggestion in each instance.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/0b75381b6208f749f6b0110413cebe7d003ed9eb/original/a1a64fa6-6874-41c6-8b1a-b7b644589f2c.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The score can be purchased from Wise Music Classical:</p>
<p><a contents="https://classicalondemand.com/price-seven-descriptive-pieces.html#_ga=2.74841618.1498972437.1611605094-1356009109.1611605094" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://classicalondemand.com/price-seven-descriptive-pieces.html#_ga=2.74841618.1498972437.1611605094-1356009109.1611605094">https://classicalondemand.com/price-seven-descriptive-pieces</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Florence Price left a large body of work behind that was never published. It has been sitting in university libraries and in one miraculous case, an <a contents="abandoned house" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/after-lost-scores-are-found-abandoned-house-musicians-give-life-florence-prices-music">abandoned house</a>, and I am so excited that this work is being published now, thanks to the advocacy of John Michael Cooper and pianist Lara Downes. I plan to record the <i>Seven Descriptive Pieces</i> as well as several more of her now-available works, and have a commercial recording available for purchase by the end of 2021. In the meantime, you can check out my performances of her work on my Youtube channel.</p>
<p>I will be premiering “A Pensive Mood” from the <i>Pieces</i> on February 14 as a prelude to a special virtual evensong service at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Memphis. It will begin at 5:30 CST and will be livestreamed from their Youtube channel: <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/StGeorgesGermantown/featured">St. George’s Youtube channel</a></p>
<p>Please check out the new pieces, as well as all of her other work that is now being published thanks to Dr. Cooper and G. Schirmer. Florence Price is now getting some much needed and long-overdue attention, and it is my hope that one day, maybe not too far in the future, she will take her rightful place among America’s great composers.</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/64929012020-12-06T13:05:40-06:002020-12-06T13:12:56-06:0055 Videos and 4 Concerts Later, Crosstown Residency is Complete<p>My artist residency with Crosstown Arts in Memphis came to a close last night with my 4th livestream concert. Thank you to all who attended! The concert can still be viewed on <a contents="Facebook" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/maeve.brophy.5/videos/702945905267">Facebook</a> and <a contents="Youtube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtV1Doo-fec">Youtube</a>. Highlights were selections from Florence Price’s newly-published <em>Village Scenes </em>and <em>Scenes In Tin Pan Alley</em>, and the premiere of a piece I commissioned from my friend and colleague, <a contents="https://joshuadent.bandcamp.com/album/synesthetic-moon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://joshuadent.bandcamp.com/album/synesthetic-moon">Joshua Dent</a>.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/08050c2f6d0654eea94c3b0ebd72d17e078b33ee/original/a3db9e4d-1592-4b5a-9fd6-00c32ee6dbfe.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I have been posting videos of individual pieces on <a contents="my Youtube page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBvLezW8jHjUj99T5lWb5oA?view_as=subscriber">my Youtube page</a>, 55 in total from this fall. There will be more to come, as I have barely begun to learn and document all the repertoire that I want to. The next step will be to set up my living room for livestreaming so my project can continue. Stay tuned!</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/64821062020-11-20T10:42:48-06:002020-11-20T10:42:48-06:00Watch for Popups!<p>I have started doing rock and jazz improv popup livestreams on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. My favorite rep to choose from is jazz standards, 90’s rock, Broadway, and Disney, but my setlists are quickly expanding and who knows what I will decide to add next! Last night I did a little 20 minute popup of three songs- jazz standard Love For Sale, Let It Go from Disney’s <i>Frozen</i>, and the classic hymn Shall We Gather By The River. I threw in quite a bit of pure improvising to transition from Let It Go to Shall We Gather- listen <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/maeve.brophy.5/videos/702115464477">here</a><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/2d8be074877d718719d31cca1fa7defea269d2ec/original/a4d35ace-ef4f-44dd-aa38-830269ff06ae.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> </p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/64820862020-11-20T10:05:22-06:002020-11-20T10:11:58-06:00Second, Third, and Fourth Livestreams<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Livestream No. 2: November 7, 2020</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>My Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 2 happened the night of Joe Biden’s acceptance speech. It was definitely an unforgettable night. You can watch it <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/maeve.brophy.5/videos/701380761827">here</a>. Works by Billie Holiday, du Ciel, Nannie Louise Wright, Marion Bauer, Philippa Schuyler, and Amy Beach.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/c824f035aad07b1c3e4d87a4c3bb2ee076cafb72/original/7ae3e546-38d1-4a97-b455-ecdc969acd91.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Livestream No. 3: Nov. 21</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My third livestream concert is tomorrow, Nov. 21. This program has 14 different women composers, heavily representing France and the United States. It will be on live on my Facebook page, Instagram (@memphispianowoman), and my Youtube channel.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/65768dae5682ad3042a3f61dc611e5725d5f3ed6/original/466f2525-56dc-4c53-8929-2efb69d31eeb.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Program:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Act 1- Venezuela, Italy and England: </p>
<p>Plainte! and Sommeil De L’Enfant by Teresa Carreño </p>
<p>Memories by Valentina Crespi </p>
<p>Prayer Before Battle by Amanda Aldridge (Montague Ring) </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Act 2- France </p>
<p>Prière de Sainte Cécile by Amanda Courtaux </p>
<p>Méditation and Tango-Habanera by Marguerite Casalonga </p>
<p>Cloches dans la Brume and Cloches au Soleil by Blanche Selva </p>
<p>Impromptu and Rêverie by Germaine Tailleferre </p>
<p>3 Petites Pièces by Nadia Boulanger </p>
<p>Thème et Variations by Lili Boulanger </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Act 3- United States </p>
<p>Prelude by Julia Perry </p>
<p>A Summer Day by Lena McLin </p>
<p>Starlight and Twilight by Margaret Ruthven Lang </p>
<p>Billies Song and A Taste of Bass by Valerie Capers </p>
<p>De Novo Adagio and As I Am by Alicia Keys</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Livestream No. 4: Dec. 5</p>
<p>The fourth livestream will be Dec. 5. I don’t know 100% what I will play yet, but I would like to include some works by French composers Mel Bonis and Cecile Chaminade, and English composer Ethel Smyth. There may be several premieres on the program as well, more info TBA!</p>
<p>There is enough unknown repertoire by women, nonbinary composers, and nonwhite composers to fill several lifetimes.</p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/64603532020-10-21T09:34:53-05:002020-12-06T11:38:19-06:00First Livestream of My Project!<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream Oct. 24 at 7pm CST</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/507a7f1135260688cd0cc791b71bc00bb49f16e4/original/e2f50e3f-7416-4257-a0de-7e3d68a13bcb.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>My first livestream will be on Facebook on Oct. 24 at 7pm CST. You can find the public livestream right in the event page <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/at-grandmas-house/Content?oid=24025085">here</a>. Works by Fannie Mendelssohn, Florence Price, and Betty Jackson King</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/51689dd081530b196b1dbd4c328570e25666d405/original/e8efbcdb-5c53-4313-a656-f68c11e1c9fd.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/64375242020-09-18T14:36:50-05:002020-12-06T11:36:02-06:00MY LIFE PURPOSE<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/5bb5b7b808b68f345e4c0fca2955c027ca3aeffa/original/utmc.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">Classical Music Should Be Ashamed of Itself</p>
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<p>When I was young, I trained heavily to become a concert pianist, and I had a successful (and VHS-documented) regional concert career as a teenager. I then pivoted to collaborative and ensemble playing, which I still do a lot of. Perhaps you know me as a piano teacher. I’ve been doing more of that lately, especially in the pandemic. Am I your piano teacher? Good on you. Take a day off practicing, keep reading, and look up everything I’ve done. Just one day, though.</p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/f567d83978088f9fc9e80684880d5d97f8818381/original/fblg.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<p>I’m returning to my solo piano beginnings, but differently now. A couple years ago, I became aware, for the uncomfortable first time, of the scope of racism and sexism in classical music. I had started working as a collaborative pianist at Fisk, a historically Black university in Nashville, and I found myself playing composers I had never heard of. That led me to a lot of research as I learned there were giant gaps in my own classical education, and filled me with resolve to change the system that taught me. There are thousands of deserving works by <a contents="womxn" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womxn" target="_blank">womxn</a> and composers of color that are left out of the canon. For me personally, it was very upsetting to learn of the existence of these works and to ascertain their quality, and to come to terms with the fact that I was not taught or encouraged to play a single one in my training. I’ve also had to grapple with my own assumptions, namely my assumption that if something was worth playing, it would be included in our hallowed "standard repertoire". The only conclusion one can draw from this faulty assumption is that womxn and nonwhite composers either wrote nothing good or nothing at all in the history of western classical music, at least until modern times. This is of course not true, but it is the assumption that tends to be made, whether consciously or not, whether we admit it or not.</p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/c7bf6eded1316f6d4fb6f141f7cde8d2aa2dd03d/original/efhl.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<p>Let’s look at Fannie Mendelssohn. I used to think she must not have been a “serious composer”. I assumed there was nothing there since I had never heard her work played. No one told me that before the end of her short life, she wrote a massive piano cycle entitled “The Year”, a behemoth hour-long multi-movement piano work that is larger in scope and frankly more inventive than anything her brother wrote for piano.</p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxlMuaO5hng" style="" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxlMuaO5hng</a></p>
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<p>This piece belongs alongside the large-scale works of Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert and Frederic Chopin that all pianists know and love.</p>
<p>Women were not taken seriously as composers until the 20th Century, and even in the 20th Century, their work was largely neglected after their passing. Black composers suffered the same fate. Why is this gorgeous piece, just to name one example, not more famous?</p>
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<p>”Mystic Pool” by William Grant Still</p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2vm381VCho&list=PLNLGBjcKNQkdngGWV6uyrPRMyTIbfTHeg&index=2" style="" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2vm381VCho&list=PLNLGBjcKNQkdngGWV6uyrPRMyTIbfTHeg&index=2</a></p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/515055/b44bf9cd34bde5152703afd8f2cc18e54ad993b6/original/cwgm.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<p>America has yet to deal with her racist past, and yet to repair the present, which cannot definitively be called "better". Systemic racism in this country and Europe is inextricable from Western Classical music. It would behoove all of us, especially if we are white or otherwise privileged, to take a long look at ourselves and our field and see what our part might be in righting the historic injustices that have kept worthy artists oppressed and neglected.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>...</strong></p>
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<p>At the moment, America is in pandemic semi-lockdown, which has bought me a bit more time to practice and make videos. I’m not running around collaborating and teaching as much as usual, and my plan for this fall is to get as much unknown rep on Youtube as I can. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading, thanks for visiting, and come back.</p>
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<p><a contents="My Youtube page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBvLezW8jHjUj99T5lWb5oA?view_as=subscriber" style="">My Youtube Channel</a></p>
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<p>Someone else doing it too: <a contents="Piano Music She Wrote" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp2N1n1LHkVkCmefsoXemXg" style="">Piano Music She Wrote</a></p>
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<p><a contents="110 Women Composers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thinglink.com/scene/1022922291387826177" style="">110 Women Composers</a> with Youtube and wikipedia links</p>
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<p><a contents="Institute for Composer Diversity database of 400+ Black composers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.composerdiversity.com/composer-diversity-database">Institute for Composer Diversity database</a></p>
<p> </p>Maeve Brophy, Pianisttag:maevebrophy.com,2005:Post/64444542020-09-15T06:30:00-05:002021-05-03T20:13:54-05:00Links<p>Episode of “Fearful Symmetries” on WXNA-FM Nashville that features my recordings of <i>Summer Interlude </i>and <em>Autumn Dance </em>by Betty Jackson King and <em>Barcarolle </em>by Florence Price. May 2, 2021</p>
<p><a contents="https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20666" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20666">https://www.wxnafm.org/broadcasts/20666</a></p>
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<p>Article about chatterbird social justice concert series in the Nashville Scene which mentions my work as a solo performer</p>
<p><a contents="Chatterbird’s Virtual Chamber Music Series - Nashville Scene" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/features/article/21147276/chatterbirds-virtual-chamber-music-series-showcases-musics-healing-power">Chatterbird’s Virtual Chamber Music Series - Nashville Scene</a></p>
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<p>Buy “Six Pieces for Piano Solo (1947)” by Florence Price, with tempo suggestions by me and Althea Waites</p>
<p><a contents="Buy Six Pieces for Piano Solo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/61431/Six-Pieces-for-Piano-Solo--Florence-Price/">Buy Six Pieces for Piano Solo</a><br> </p>
<p>Buy “Seven Descriptive Pieces” by Florence Price, with tempo suggestions by me and Jonathan Bellman</p>
<p><a contents="Seven Descriptive Pieces from Wise Music Classical" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://classicalondemand.com/price-seven-descriptive-pieces.html#_ga=2.74841618.1498972437.1611605094-1356009109.1611605094">Seven Descriptive Pieces from Wise Music Classical</a></p>
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<p>New Years Pop Up on Facebook Live: my piano renditions of Head Over Feet by Alanis Morissette, Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis, In Bloom/Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana, Nothing Else Matters by Metallica</p>
<p><a contents="2021 NYE Facebook Live" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/165600394/videos/704525120507/">2021 NYE Facebook Live</a></p>
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<p>New Years Pop Up on Instagram Live: my renditions of Black by Pearl Jam and Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis</p>
<p><a contents="NYE IGTV" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJfskVGnrZp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">2021 NYE IGTV</a></p>
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<p>Facebook Christmas Livestream- me playing Christmas songs from my parents’ living room </p>
<p><a contents="FB Live No. 3" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/165600394/videos/704171783597/">Xmas FB Live No. 2</a></p>
<p><a contents="Xmas FB Live No. 1" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/165600394/videos/704152612017/">Xmas FB Live No. 1</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Talk Dec. 3, 2020. I present my Residency project and a selection of works including “Night” by Florence Price to a live audience on Zoom.</p>
<p><a contents="Crosstown Artist Talk" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://vimeo.com/488218757">Crosstown Artist Talk</a></p>
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<p>Q&A for Crosstown Arts newsletter and website</p>
<p><a contents="Crosstown Arts Q & A" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://crosstownarts.org/residency/resident-artists/maeve-brophy/">Crosstown Arts Q & A</a></p>
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<p>Review of my Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 2 in a blogpost by John Michael Cooper, editor of the new Florence Price Schirmer publications</p>
<p><a contents="Michael Cooper blogpost" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://cooperm55.wixsite.com/jmc3/post/there-s-glass-everywhere?fbclid=IwAR1TX1c3Wxq0Yd1XPdcozt1wNpCod2YJALd5Oo1-Zbg_clyrx3sAXRFfkBI">Michael Cooper blogpost</a></p>
<p><a contents="Medium article by Michael Cooper" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://link.medium.com/cFw5h98c0bb">Medium article by Michael Cooper</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 4 on Facebook</p>
<p><a contents="Facebook Livestream" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/165600394/videos/702945905267">Facebook Livestream</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 4 on Youtube</p>
<p><a contents="Youtube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtV1Doo-fec">Youtube</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 3 on Facebook</p>
<p><a contents="Facebook Livestream" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/maeve.brophy.5/videos/701380761827">Facebook Livestream</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 3 on Instagram TV</p>
<p><a contents="IGTV video" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CH4JQZ1H0Jn/">IGTV video</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 3 on Youtube</p>
<p><a contents="Youtube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiG5LVIR-qw&t=6383s">Youtube</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 2</p>
<p><a contents="Facebook Livestream" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/maeve.brophy.5/videos/701380761827">Facebook Livestream</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 1 on Facebook</p>
<p><a contents="Facebook Live Event Page with Livestream" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/794468057986939/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22plan_user_associated%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&notif_id=1603218615143979&notif_t=plan_user_associated&ref=notif">Facebook Live Event Page with Livestream</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 1, Part 1 (Fannie Mendelssohn) on Youtube</p>
<p><a contents="Youtube video of commentary and performance" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM1O2Wkvd9Q&t=5s">Youtube</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 1, Part 2 (Florence Price) on Youtube</p>
<p><a contents="Youtube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b1AhtdX_GM">Youtube</a></p>
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<p>Crosstown Artist Residency Livestream No. 1, Part 3 (Betty Jackson King) on Youtube</p>
<p><a contents="Youtube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-NuaIA-ZnI">Youtube</a></p>
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<p>Article in the Memphis Flyer about my Crosstown Artist Residency project to promote womxn composers</p>
<p><a contents="At Grandma’s House" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/at-grandmas-house/Content?oid=24025085">At Grandma’s House</a></p>
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<p>My Florence Price videos featured in a blogpost and Medium article by John Michael Cooper, editor of the new Florence Price editions:</p>
<p><a contents="THE MUSIC WILL NOT BE SILENCED blogpost" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://cooperm55.wixsite.com/jmc3/post/the-music-will-not-be-silenced">THE MUSIC WILL NOT BE SILENCED blogpost</a></p>
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<p><a contents="THE MUSIC WILL NOT BE SILENCED Medium article" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://medium.com/@michaelcooper_38640/the-music-will-not-be-silenced-e9c668a07c9d">THE MUSIC WILL NOT BE SILENCED Medium article</a></p>
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<p><a contents="My Youtube Channel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBvLezW8jHjUj99T5lWb5oA?view_as=subscriber" style="">My Youtube Channel</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Facebook Public Profile" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/maeve.brophy.5/">Facebook Public Profile</a></p>
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<p><a contents="My Instagram" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/memphispianowoman/">My Instagram</a></p>
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<p><a contents="My SoundCloud" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/maeve-brophy">My SoundCloud</a></p>
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<p>...</p>
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<p><a contents="Brophy Sisters website" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thebrophysisters.bandzoogle.com/">Brophy Sisters website</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Brophy Sisters Youtube Channel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF5ZUsaNwH1jxDv5PscjbZg/videos">Brophy Sisters Youtube Channel</a></p>
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<p><a contents="chatterbird website" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.chatterbird.org/">chatterbird website</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Crosstown Arts Resident Artist page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://crosstownarts.org/residency/resident-artists/maeve-brophy/">Crosstown Resident Artist page</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Beethoven Club website with virtual Brophy Sisters Beethoven Concert" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.beethovenclubmemphis.org/">Beethoven Club website with virtual Brophy Sisters Beethoven Concert</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Leila Adu website mention" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.leilaadu.com/belvedere-chamber-music-festival/" target="_blank">Leila Adu website post</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Belvedere Chamber Music with videos from 2020 virtual festival" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://belvederefestival.org/">Belvedere Chamber Music with videos from 2020 virtual festival</a></p>
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<p><a contents="My Against the Grain page at Crosstown Arts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://againsthegra.in/products/maeve-brophy">My Against the Grain page at Crosstown Arts</a></p>
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<p><a contents="My jazz home video featured in UM Midday Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TYs3X_qy_4">My video of The Girl From Ipanema featured in University of Mississippi Midday Music</a></p>
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<p><a contents="My video featured in Memphis Flyer Article about Crosstown Art’s Against the Grain Series" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.memphisflyer.com/MusicBlog/archives/2020/04/07/crosstown-arts-creates-against-the-grain-platform-for-local-musicians">My video featured in Memphis Flyer Article about Crosstown Art’s Against the Grain Series</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Brophy Sisters featured in University of Mississippi Midday Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xziszm3Sho">Brophy Sisters featured in University of Mississippi Midday Music</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Brophy Sisters featured in the Memphis Flyer" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-brophy-sisters-schooled-for-music/Content?oid=22133399">Brophy Sisters featured in the Memphis Flyer</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Commercial Appeal article about Crosstown Silent Film Series, Oct. 2019" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/10/09/memphis-musicians-play-along-scary-silent-movies-crosstown/3907842002/">Commercial Appeal article about Crosstown Silent Film Series, Oct. 2019</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Soundcloud: Blueshift Ensemble Plays Classical Metal" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/hstafylakis/flows-obsidian-2019-for-9-players-live">Soundcloud: Blueshift Ensemble Plays Classical Metal</a></p>
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<p>...</p>
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<p><a contents="chatterbird in the Nashville Scene April 2019" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://local.nashvillescene.com/event/wo-smith-school-of-music/chatterbird-plays-alex-temples-tribute-to-frank-zappa">chatterbird in the Nashville Scene April 2019</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="Nashville Scene Article on chatterbird’s Hello Gold Mountain" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/features/article/21047080/wu-feis-hello-gold-mountain-illuminates-a-lesserknown-story-of-the-holocaust">Nashville Scene Article on chatterbird’s Hello Gold Mountain</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="New York Times article mentioning Hello Gold Mountain" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/nyregion/jewish-refugees-shanghai.html">New York Times article mentioning Hello Gold Mountain</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Hello Gold Mountain website" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.hellogoldmountain.com/">Hello Gold Mountain website</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Video: Wu Fei’s Farewell to Cambridge with Rebekah Alexander, soprano" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehw3ZgWqGEs">Video: Wu Fei’s Farewell to Cambridge with Rebekah Alexander, soprano</a></p>
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<p>WKRN Nashville “Weekend Extra” features on the historic pipe organ at East End United Methodist Church, where I worked as an organist. The organ was destroyed 14 months later in March 2020.</p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/weekend-extra/get-in-the-spirit-of-christmas-with-famous-carols-on-a-historic-pipe-organ/">Get in the Spirit of Christmas With Famous Carols on a Historic Pipe Organ</a></p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/weekend-extra/tis-the-season-for-some-beautiful-christmas-music/">Tis the Season for Some Beautiful Christmas Music</a></p>
<p><a contents="Music to Get You in the Christmas Spirit" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/weekend-extra/music-to-get-you-in-the-christmas-spirit/">Music to Get You in the Christmas Spirit</a></p>
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<p>Collaborating with Vanderbilt Students:</p>
<p><a contents="Performance of Kol Nidre with Blair Student Emily Groff" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsSwUe7oQOY">Kol Nidre with Emily Groff</a></p>
<p><a contents="Prokofiev Sonata No. 2 with Kaili Wang" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZI29fHcfUU">Prokofiev Sonata No. 2 with Kaili Wang</a></p>
<p><a contents="Hot Canary with Jenna Mangum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SANGvRC3NHE">Hot Canary with Jenna Mangum</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Memphis Suzuki Institute Faculty" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://suzukimemphis.com/faculty/">Memphis Suzuki Institute Faculty</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Vimeo: chatterbird plays The Island of the Sirens by Eve Beglarian" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://vimeo.com/281535893">Vimeo: chatterbird plays The Island of the Sirens by Eve Beglarian</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Sheet Music Video of David Sartor’s Trumpet Sonata" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uhUQxDOmPA">Sheet Music Video of David Sartor’s Trumpet Sonata</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="Flickr: chatterbird plays Katrina Ballads by Ted Hearne" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/karenalisa/36616782015/in/photostream/">Flickr: chatterbird plays Katrina Ballads by Ted Hearne</a></p>
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<p><a contents="Sheet Music Video: “The Woods” by JD Ruff and Aaron Scott" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IlUlYFdQoc">Sheet Music Video: “The Woods” by JD Ruff and Aaron Scott</a></p>
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<p> </p>Maeve Brophy, Pianist