Student and Teacher Workshops with Brian Parks @ Marietta First UMC
Oct
27
to Oct 28

Student and Teacher Workshops with Brian Parks @ Marietta First UMC

In the family of keyboard instruments, the modern piano is one of the very last to appear. Pipe organs, harpsichords, and clavichords pre-date the piano by hundreds of years; and much of the canonical Suzuki repertoire was originally played on these other keyboards – all the Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, and Daquin for certain. Moreover, these instruments still play vital roles in contemporary music, with several of the world's great pipe organs located in Metro Atlanta. In this workshop, students will play their piano repertoire on a harpsichord built by the legendary New England builder Tom Pixton as well as on the brand new pipe organ at Marietta First United Methodist Church, constructed by the Glatter-Götz organ-building firm from Pfullendorf, Germany. Brian Parks is the clinician, and two of his personal instruments will also be available for students to try. The primary organ-builder himself will also be on site to give insight into the superb instrument we will hear and play. This workshop is open to non-Suzuki teachers and students. 

About Brian:

Brian Parks is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists and holds advanced degrees in Composition and Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University.  A native Atlantan, he grew up studying Suzuki piano with Leah Brammer and took several lessons with master teachers Haruko Kataoka, Seizo Azuma, and Karen Hagberg. He gave the first Level X graduation concert at Spivey Hall in 2001, performing the complete Bach d minor concerto with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra. While at Wesleyan, he was Teacher of Harpsichord and filled multiple visiting faculty appointments in Ghanaian Drumming and Tonal Music Theory. As a keyboardist, he has concertized throughout the U.S. and gone on four tours throughout France and Germany. On the most recent of these trips in 2021, he gave solo harpsichord and organ concerts at various churches and museums, including at the Basilica of the Holy Apostles in Köln as part of its 1,000th anniversary celebration. His album Tastaturstücke Vol. 1 was recorded in Germany in 2019 and released on the TAL Music label (Düsseldorf) in 2020, and is available through online retailers and at Sweet Melissa Records on the Marietta Square. Since 2015, he has served as the Associate Director of Music and Organist at Marietta First United Methodist Church, where he directs children's, youth, and handbell choirs. He is the founder and co-director of Quadratum, an auditioned ensemble for children interested in rigorous doings; and he maintains a studio of private keyboard and composition students.  He lives in Marietta with his spouse and three children. 

View Event →