goldansky institute

[bluepianist]

Has anyone ever attended the summer session of the Goldansky institute in Princeton NJ?  Is it worth the tuition charged?  How does the week work?  etc.
I'm open to all and any comments.  If I attend this I won't be able to attend the MTNA conference in the spring.  $$$ of course.
thanks,
bluepianist

[keyofc]

No - but I've attended the Balanced Pianist conference
which is also taubman.
It really depends on what you're going for -
if your main thrust is technique - and you have tons of patience
with yourself and with egos
you can get a lot out of it.

[bluepianist]

I guess I 'm confused....isn't all that we are able to do due to technique and soul?  About egos...how do they fit into a conference?

[keyofc]

Blue,
Maybe I didn't word things well - but they really left out any soul.
I love developing better technique - but not at the expense of everything.
They spent a whole hour teaching how to place the thumb on a white note.
It did not make any sense to me - I tried to do what they said - finally I gave up
and just did
it the way I always do and then they said, "Ahh!....NOW you've got it."  I did not
tell them that it was the only way I knew how - I just let them go to the next person.
But in that whole hour - I learned nothing and wondered if others really did.
And this was for a whole roomful of piano teachers, most with music degrees or certifications.

There was no soul - I'm serious.
However - if you can just be mechanical for a week- you can walk away with some things you can
actually use in your own creative time.  But I really need the balance. 

What I meant by egos - was that although they do have a very good method - they did not
seem to think any other method had anything to contribute to them.  And of course - everyone
had learned different methods and were merely trying to improve.

I walked away with a couple pointers, but it was very disappointing.
Even their recital was playing C - D superbly for some.  And these were piano teachers
who taught in a university that were playing C - D so proudly. It blew my mind!

But this was NOT the Golandsky institute.  They were just some people who had learned from it.
So it might be a much better experience there.