In addition to teaching students, university music instructors often continue to work on their own projects and performances. Performances can be original compositions or pre-composed pieces they modified to let their creativity and talent show through.
On Thursday, Sept. 22, Western Kentucky University viola professor Andrew Braddock and pianist Bernadette Lo performed three pieces for APSU students in the concert hall. The pieces were written in the 18th and 19th centuries by French, Austrian and Russian composers. Each piece was composed of four parts separated by a brief pause, each part consisting of a different volume and tempo than the one before. Since the pieces were comprised for other instruments, such as the cello and guitar, the guest musicians performed viola and piano adaptations of them.
Braddock is a viola instructor at WKU and works with their Pre-College Strings program. According to his profile on WKU’s website, Braddock has played in orchestras and performed around the world.
“Andrew has presented pedagogy sessions at the Kentucky and Tennessee Music Educators Association conferences (KMEA and TMEA), and currently serves as the New Music Reviewer for the Journal of the American Viola Society,” his profile on WKU’s website said.
Braddock has a master’s degree in viola performance and received an award of excellence while earning his bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University.
In addition to performing, Braddock teaches masterclasses to music students at Tennessee and Kentucky universities. Braddock gave a free and open to the public masterclass the day of his performance. APSU students, a soloist and a trio, got to play for him during his session. Braddock prepared his performance and came to APSU in his attempt to play it across the regional area.
“We hadn’t met in person, but I knew enough about his pedagogical background that I invited him to give a masterclass for my string students,” APSU Coordinator of Orchestral Strings Emily Crane said.
APSU music students, especially string musicians, were given the opportunity to learn from his years of experience. APSU faculty, students and the Clarksville community could come watch his performance.
APSU music majors and students taking music classes are required to attend a certain amount of APSU hosted musical events. Students can choose from student, faculty and guest performances. Guest performances such as Braddock’s, give APSU students exposure to the different types of music careers available and gives them insight into the progress and resources of music programs at nearby universities.
For more information on Braddock, go to WKU’s Music department website at www.wku.edu/music.
