2017 was the first year I did not go to New York City since 2005. When I started graduate school at Stony Brook University on Long Island, I first visited the city to celebrate my birthday...
Author: Ars Arvole
composer-pianist, teacher, poet
Inspiring Newspaper Ethics
I was not surprised at the clarity and depth of this reporting, but seeking the reason for the editor's note that balanced the op-ed led me to something impressive...
Black or African-American Friday
Instead of going to stores on Black Friday, my family and I went to the matinee performance of the new play Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole at People's Light in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
Valuing Homemade Music
"It's beautiful," I heard someone whisper as I performed one of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's songs for piano at The Trust Performing Arts Center. I had thought the same a few weeks earlier when I chose the piece. The opening and closing section features a gradually expanding melody whose phrasing I practice by singing, although high… Continue reading Valuing Homemade Music
Upcycling Leather
This post now appears on my other blog Waste Less Wares.
Escaping the Struggle of the Chord Machine
“The piano is not a chord machine,” I have said to myself and my composition students. I have experienced its effectiveness as a chord machine while accompanying art song, hymns, and indie rock, but I have played too much repertoire by Mozart, Chopin, and Debussy to be content with writing repetitive patterns of blocked or… Continue reading Escaping the Struggle of the Chord Machine
Commencing Music Theory with Meaning
In my first class session of first-semester music theory, I ask my students two questions: "Who are you?" and "What is music?" The first question usually takes the form of name, hometown, instrument or voice part, and a favorite of something. I answer with Dr. Krystal J. F. Grant, Birmingham, Alabama, composition and piano, and… Continue reading Commencing Music Theory with Meaning
Using T-shirts
They gave me the shirt, introduced me to what became my favorite band, and immersed me in rap and reggae...
Summer at the Mint Farm
The cafe's mint fragrance and their empathy helped restore me. They also encouraged me to visit the farm and taught me about the six varieties of mint grown on site, each with a unique flavor and leaf texture they let me sample.
Encounter at Mt. Gretna
Their careers are paradigms for my pursuits of contemporary and classical music in unexpected places and improvisation at the piano.
Ars Arvole 