Diana Fanning
Piano
Teaching philosophy
I have always loved teaching and enjoy engaging the student’s interest, helping to develop a lifelong love of music, and guiding each student to become the best musician that he or she can be. From the first lesson, I put a strong emphasis on technique. I want my students to develop a repertory of scales and other skills to help in navigating the geography of the keyboard. Younger students especially feel a great sense of accomplishment when they can play a scale up and down the length of the keyboard!
Through thoughtful choices of pieces, I aim to develop interest and love for many different styles of music, and I assign my students several contrasting pieces at a time. I encourage them to think about how the music makes them feel, or what they love about a piece, and then to try to communicate those feelings in their playing. Sometimes we make up stories inspired by the music, and then bring those stories to life through performance.
I introduce music theory to develop an appreciation of what makes the music great. This also helps the students acquire a vocabulary for talking about music. Sight reading and duet playing are also encouraged.
I am especially interested in working with students on how to practice efficiently, to make the best use of their time at the piano. I want my students to learn to solve problems independently of me, and I spend a lot of time in lessons demonstrating how to break down and work on musical challenges
I wish for all of my students to develop an appreciation of music, to experience the joy of music-making alone and with others, and to be enriched for the rest of their lives by their love of music.
What inspires you about teaching?
In teaching, my own work at the piano to prepare for concerts spills over into my work with my students. I am inspired by the beauty of the music itself, by the possibilities I see in my students, and by the often surprising and thoughtful insights they offer. It is especially exciting to introduce a favorite piece to a student and see that student”s eyes light up with enthusiasm.
What has lead you down the path of teaching your musical specialty?
My earliest memories are of singing and picking out melodies at the piano. I realized the value of a good teacher very early, and by the age of six I was begging my parents for piano lessons. I have been fortunate to study with inspirational and devoted teachers, and I try to share the best of what I have learned from each of them with my students. Teaching is a way for me to pay forward the generosity and caring attention I have received from great teachers throughout my life.
Teaching Bio
I have over 40 years of teaching experience, and love to start young children on piano as much as I enjoy working with intermediate and advanced young people, college students and adults. For ten years, I taught and coached chamber music for students ages 8 to 17 at Point Counterpoint Chamber Music Camp, which I owned and directed with my husband Emory Fanning, and I have been invited back to PCP to teach and give masterclasses. In summer of 2019, I was a founding faculty member of Pianos on the Point, a program at PCP for adult pianists. I have taught piano at Middlebury College for over 40 years.
Performance BIO
As an active concert performer myself, I feel that performance is tremendously important. I work carefully to prepare students to feel comfortable and happy getting up to perform in front of an audience. This is a skill that is helpful in so many other aspects of life.
I have toured extensively throughout the U.S. and in Europe as a soloist and in duo recitals with cellist Dieuwke Davydov. Some favorite solo concerts were at the Schloss Leopoldskron (“Sound of Music” castle) in Salzburg, and in Prague at the invitation of the International Dvorak Society. After a solo recital in Munich, a critic wrote that "Diana Fanning stunned her listeners with the rich spectrum of subtle colors and tonal nuances she revealed. Her recital seized the audience with a veritable deep magic."
I have performed on numerous occasions as a concerto soloist with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, starting when I was an undergraduate at Middlebury College. Vermont Public Television featured me in a program of works by Scarlatti, Ravel and Chopin, and I have performed on radio programs in the US and Europe. My CD of solo piano works by Janacek, Chopin, and Debussy received enthusiastic reviews in England and the U.S. Cellist Dieuwke Davydov and I have released a CD of live concert performances. http://www.middlebury.edu/~fanning