If you go
“The score is alive . . . with the sound of music,” lecture and performance by CU Distinguished Research Lectureship recipient David Korevaar of the music department on Friday, Feb. 24, 4-6:30 p.m. at Grusin Music Hall. This event is free; registration is requested, colorado.edu
“Wildfire regime shifts in Patagonian-Andean forest ecosystems: Feedbacks and consequences in the face of climate and land-use changes,” lecture by CU Distinguished Research Lectureship recipient Thomas T. Veblen of the geography department on April 25, 4-5 p.m., in the Glenn Miller Ballroom
University of Colorado music professor David Korevaar said that while staying up (“way too late after a recording session”), he was listening to a BBC Radio program that discussed how humanities bring empathy to the world.
“I think that points to something that’s very important,” said Korevaar. “What makes us human — rather than being machines — is art, is philosophy, it’s all those things we group into humanities more broadly.”
Korevaar, the Helen and Peter Weil Professor of Piano at CU, was named one of the university’s 2016 Distinguished Research Lectureship recipients, along with Thomas T. Veblen of the geography department. The recipients present a lecture and receive a $2,000 stipend.
Korevaar’s lecture and performance, “The score is alive . . . with the sound of music,” details research on Poland’s famed pianist Frédéric Chopin, American composer (and Korevaar’s friend) Lowell Liebermann, and Italian composer Luigi Perrachio. The talk will be presented Feb. 24 from 4-6:30 p.m. in the Grusin Music Hall.
Veblen’s talk, “Wildfire regime shifts in Patagonian-Andean forest ecosystems: Feedbacks and consequences in the face of climate and land-use changes,” will be presented April 25 in the Glenn Miller Ballroom.
The award, dating back to 1980, is among the highest honors bestowed by the faculty for the faculty at CU.
“The thing that makes this award distinct it gives the faculty opportunity to be recognized for their creative works and research by their peers,” said Chris Yankee, CU’s director of research communications.
Every year, CU’s Research & Innovation department has faculty submit nominations and a faculty review panel recommends the recipient. Terri Fiez, vice chancellor for Research & Innovation, wrote in an email that the department is “delighted that Dr. Korevaar has received this honor from his colleagues.”
“David’s contributions to the university, the Boulder community and the world music stage make him an incredible ambassador for the College of Music and the university,” Fiez wrote.
And in 37 years of the award’s existence, Korevaar is the first recipient from the College of Music, according to the Research & Innovation department. Korevaar’s contributions include actively performing around the world, a passion for teaching and his scholarly publications, officials in the department said.
“It’s really, really cool — but intimidating,” Korevaar said, laughing. “The recognition is wonderful for all of us who teach applied music.”
Korevaar, a musician with numerous awards and a large discography under his belt, started playing piano at age 6. By the time he was 20 years old, he had his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, with a doctorate from the school that came later. Collaborating with many top composers and renowned musicians, aside from teaching, Korevaar has a pretty extensive touring schedule at times.
“What motivates me? The short answer is love,” he said.
Quoting his teacher at Julliard, late-pianist Earl Wild (renowned as a significant virtuoso of his generation), he said: “Being a musician is like marrying the church. It is a calling to do this.”
“At some point in my early teens, I knew that this was something that I wanted to do,” said Korevaar. “I was lucky enough to have the right opportunities to get to where I am.”
Korevaar said his lecture will focus on what makes him passionate about music.
“As a musician, you get to take the black dots on a page and you get to make them come to life as music,” he said. “The power of music … is something that works at a level that words don’t work at. It’s a very direct communication for those who hear it. And for people who perform, it’s a wonderful way of sharing, as concerts are a form of communion — a way of having community.”
Charles Wetherbee, assistant professor of violin at CU, has collaborated with Korevaar in the past for an album of music by Hungarian pianist Tibor Harsányi.
“David Korevaar — well he is just fabulous,” Wetherbee said in an email. “Every time I have an opportunity to work with David, I learn something new, and feel I am the better for it. He is a truly remarkable musician for both the breadth and depth of his knowledge.”
And although Korevaar’s achievements in music run high, he said he’s still learning every day — with much of his new knowledge coming from teaching, and his students.
“I am sharing what I love to do and I learn more all the time,” Korevaar said. “Teaching turns out to be a collaborative endeavor between the student and the teacher. I will confess to learning plenty from my students over the years. Some of what you learn is just from the act of teaching. Teaching requires you to put into words the things you might not otherwise have to put into words.”
Korevaar said he’s using this opportunity to talk to his colleagues across campus about his passion for making the “black dots” come to life.
And while he may be a performer at heart and at ease standing on stage, it’s the lecture that’s a bit daunting to him, he said.
“You hear on the radio people giving TED talks and they always sound so darn perfect. I don’t sound like that when I’m lecturing,” he said, laughing. “I have plenty to say, sometimes too much to say, but the presentation aspect of it can be challenging.”
Christy Fantz: 303-473-1107, fantz@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/fantzypants
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