Schedule (Venue: TBD)
10:00–10:30 a.m. – Business meeting and social time
10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. – Presentation by Dr. Ricardo de la Torre, NCTM
Refreshments: Snacks will be provided. Please bring your own beverage.
Essential Elements of Music Analysis as a Resource in the Studio
Having a basic understanding of how a piece of music is constructed is an essential step toward delivering a convincing performance, yet students' understanding of this knowledge is often incomplete.
This presentation focuses on simple elements of formal analysis and common harmonic progressions, providing teachers with practical tools to help students:
Determine the formal design of a piece
Understand the essential elements that hold a composition together
Learn and memorize music more efficiently and confidently
Drawing from his performing and teaching experience, Dr. de la Torre will discuss topics including mapping out a piece of music, creating formal diagrams, and identifying common harmonic procedures and keyboard textures through examples from the standard repertoire. A bibliography will be provided.
Presenter: Dr. Ricardo de la Torre, NCTM
Dr. Ricardo de la Torre is an active performer, teacher, adjudicator, curator, and scholar. He has performed throughout North America and Europe and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Mexico and the United States. A finalist and prize winner in numerous competitions, he has received grants and scholarships from a variety of cultural and government institutions.
He performs regularly as one half of Duo Powers–de la Torre with Dr. Lark Powers. The duo's first album, featuring the music of Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila, will be released this year.
Dr. de la Torre serves as an instructor at Pacific Lutheran University, the Community Music Program at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, and Concordia Arts & Music Academy. He previously taught at East Central University in Oklahoma, where he instructed a variety of music courses.
An active scholar, he has presented lectures and lecture-recitals at local, regional, national, and international conferences. His articles have appeared in peer-reviewed journals in Mexico, Colombia, and the United States, and he regularly writes program notes for the National Autonomous University of Mexico's professional orchestra, OFUNAM.
Born in Mexico City, Dr. de la Torre attended the pre-college program at the Escuela Superior de Música before earning his bachelor's degree with honors. He later received a Master of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he served as a teaching assistant and collaborative pianist. His principal teachers include Ana María Tradatti, Fernando García Torres, Evelyne Brancart, and David Korevaar.
In addition to his teaching and performing, Dr. de la Torre has served as Curator of Art and Music at Lakewold Gardens, coordinated Tacoma's Listen Live at Lunch summer concert series, serves on the board of Early Music Seattle, and directs Orquesta Northwest's Latino Chamber Music Festival in Seattle each fall. He is also in demand as an adjudicator throughout Washington and the Pacific Northwest and currently serves as a Visiting Artist for the Washington State Music Teachers Association's Music Artistry Program.