Internationally-recognized Italian pianist, Gloria Campaner, recently visited our campus to inspire LMU Music students by sharing her passion and talent. Among other titles, Campaner is a laureate of the Paderewski International Piano Competition in Los Angeles and the Ibla Grand Prize winner in Sicily. Since she will be touring in the United States this year and promoting her latest CD on EMI Classics, LMU Clinical Professor of Music Wojciech Kocyan invited her to stop by campus during the Los Angeles leg of her tour, for an intimate workshop with students followed by a public recital.
“I wanted our students to be inspired by Gloria’s artistry, insights and wonderful personality,” said Kocyan. “I also had in mind that considering her still young age, Ms. Campaner will connect well with the undergraduate students in our department.”
During the workshop, students received world-class technical training on piano performance. Campaner shared breathing exercises, techniques to deal with stage fright, and the importance of using one’s imagination to stimulate artistic creativity. For students of music and non-music majors, it was invigorating to learn skills drawn from the personal experience of an internationally-accomplished pianist.
Campaner also performed a free recital of Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen and Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Preludes in Murphy Recital Hall. For the student performers who attended her workshop, watching Campaner’s recital was inspiring and allowed them to think critically about the essential mechanics of performance that they must address in the course of their studies.
The pianist concluded her visit by meeting with audience members and signing CDs following the recital. “Students walked away stimulated by the workshop and inspired and dazzled by the beautiful piano recital,” said Kocyan. “It was certainly one of the artistic highlights of the year on LMU’s campus.”
