Practicing Perfection: Music & Dance #251

Elizabeth Drucker:

It surprises you sometimes to see how much physical strength it demands, so I think it does attract a person who tends to be athletic and like to push their bodies in different ways.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

The training in classical music is so intense that as you're learning, you spend a lot of time in a room by yourself and chamber music allows you to get out of that and share some of what you've done.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to Love Maine radio show number 251, practicing music and Dance, airing for the first time on Sunday, July 10, 2016. Artists know that their craft can be both an aesthetic and a kinesthetic experience. Our brains and bodies change as a result of time spent practicing and performing. This is especially true for children. Today we explore these ideas with Elizabeth Drucker, owner and director of the Ballet School in TopSham, and with Dr. Anastasia Antonakos, award winning recitalist and professor of music at the University of Southern Maine. Thank you for joining us.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

My next guest is an individual that was introduced to the Maine Magazine Group by one of our photographers, Aaron Little, who we love, who really gives us beautiful photos for Maine Magazine and Old Port Magazine and has done some wellness shoots with me. But our guest today is Elizabeth Drucker. She is the owner and director of the Ballet School in Topson, Maine. She received her training from Nancy Bielski at the School of American Ballet in New York City and went on to dance professionally with the New York City Ballet. She's been teaching ballet in Maine and New York for 23 years and works with all ages and abilities. When not in the studio, Elizabeth enjoys being outside, raising chickens, running with her dogs, riding her bike, or gardening. She lives in Topsham with her husband, Derek Treadwell. Thanks so much for coming in.

Elizabeth Drucker:

Thanks for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And Erin could not have spoken more highly. Erin Little, our photographer, and I believe that you said that her daughter also named Elizabeth.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Does some training with you at your school?

Elizabeth Drucker:

She does.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

From what I hear, you are doing very interesting things in Topsham.

Elizabeth Drucker:

You know, it's a small. We have our studio set in a converted barn in the back of our property. And I think it's a surprise sometimes to drive down this sort of rural road and find that there are many, many students who are training there every day and training very seriously back in our little hole in the woods back there.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How did you first become interested in ballet yourself?

Elizabeth Drucker:

I started when I was nine, I think, like many, many young, young kids, I started with tap dancing. And within. Within about three weeks, I think I was doing tap, jazz and ballet. And then within a year, I'd really just focused in on ballet, fell in love with it. I think I was taking lessons every day at that point. It was a. My studio was right around the corner, so it was easy to take that often. But I really quickly fell in love with the work in the studio. I kept dancing. I moved to Maine after that, but then went back to New York City to start training with the School of American Ballet when I was about 12 years old, and full time when I was 15, went on to dance with New York City Ballet for when I was 17. And then it didn't take me long to realize that I really loved the work in the studio more than I loved the work on the stage. So that's what made me shift from that professional performance career to a teaching career. Came back to Maine in 1993, started teaching then and never stopped. But I would say the first few years, when I came back to Maine, I was still sort of finding my way. It was a big adjustment stopping training at such a high level to switch to teaching. But when I started with my own school, with the ballet school, it was like I'd really found home for myself and finished teaching the first day and just couldn't wait to get back in the studio the next day and do it again. And I still had that feeling.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

But why ballet? You know, you're 9 and 10 years old. There's something about that particular form of dance. It's so specific.

Elizabeth Drucker:

It is very specific. And I think it attracts a specific type of person. I think it's it demands a lot of physi. It surprises you sometimes to see how much physical strength it demands. So I think it does attract a person who tends to be athletic and like to push their bodies in different ways. But I think it also really attracts a person who likes details and is excited by little progressions. The students who. For instance, Erin's daughter Elizabeth, she's now at that age where she comes a couple of times a week, and her class this year just, really just came together in terms of loving those little details. So we can spend, you know, all this time in class focusing on the intense classicism of ballet. And that's not for everybody, but when you get a group that loves that, there's just no stopping them, I feel. So I think there's also a tremendous love of music if you love ballet, because it's such a pivotal part. But I'm surprised also how many students really do find something to love in it, because you're right, it is a very specific kind of training.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It seems as though many parents are interested in having their children do ballet, but that at some point, it has to really be about the child. Him or herself.

Elizabeth Drucker:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What is that pivot point? What do you see in kids who make the decision to move forward themselves?

Elizabeth Drucker:

That's a good question. I think that they start to feel how much success they have in the studio. And by success, I mean that for them, finding achievement in those small changes, because it's a small progression. It's not like you walk in one day, and then the next day you're doing, you know, triple pirouettes, and you've got your split, and it's such a small, slow progression. But they start to. The aha. Moment that I think I see in my students is when they've been working at something for a period of time, and it might be something small like, you know, holding their arm at a certain level, and then they just. They get it. They get it that day, and you see their. This light go on behind their eyes, this smile. Even the shy students who, you know, their smile is sort of repressed a little bit, but they can't keep it contained because they've worked at something and they've seen the achievement in it, and that's so rewarding. And so that's what I try to find for my students. And that's why I think that ballet is something that everybody can be successful in. If you look at the standards of success being broad, being about. About little details as well as big details.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You described a point in your own career, where you went from performance to studio and to teaching. Yeah. Explain to me the differences between someone who might go in one direction versus another direction.

Elizabeth Drucker:

I think you have to. One thing that I saw in my fellow performers that I didn't see in myself is that we'd be backstage getting ready for a performance, and they were brimming with excitement. They were like, I can't wait to get. I can't wait to get on stage tonight. Yeah, I have to go to class tomorrow, the next day, and the rehearsals. But it's just to get on stage, that. That was the reward for them, and that was really enjoyable for them. For me, that was a little bit more of the. That was the hardest part in the day for me. Whereas that time in the studio, where there's so much discovery, so many opportunities to try something new in the studio and see how it worked, and I think that you can get that way on stage for sure. I think that there are factors that stood in my way a little bit, and some of it was being healthy, being physically and mentally healthy to have the confidence to take those sort of risks on stage that I felt I could in the classroom. I think the dancers that are so successful performing really find a balance in their life that they can handle the stress of performing, but that they. But that the love of being on stage really pushes them through, helps them. And so I see that in both in my students. I have some students who they get through their classwork during the year so that they can be rewarded at the end of the year with a spring production. And then there's others who I think would be happy being in class every day and not ever having to step on stage. And, you know, I think that's one of the things that in a smaller school like mine, we're trying to find. Trying to find that balance for all students because it is different for each of them.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It seems to me as a parent that we've evolved into a very performance centric world and that it's not even just the spring performance of, say, ballet. It's also the sort of daily on stage of Instagram or social media. And so there's always this sense that you have to have your game face on.

Elizabeth Drucker:

You're absolutely right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So how do you step back from that and encourage this joy that you're describing in just your own small accomplishments?

Elizabeth Drucker:

I think I'm very lucky in that the. The older students in the school sort of. It trickles down. Their beliefs and their philosophy and their work ethics trickle down to their. To the younger students. And I think the older students really understand that everything really happens in the classroom and it also happens outside the classroom. The work they do at home, the. The time that they put into thinking about class. So when you see that modeled for you every day, I think that. And then for the parents to also see that these older dancers are doing really well. They can see the product on stage every year. But they also see that these older dancers are gaining recognition elsewhere. They audition for summer programs throughout the country and are accepted. So they see that the course of ballet in particular, more so in ballet than some other forms of dance, really is a classroom based activity. And so I think that helps. I don't know if that answered your question, but I think it's sort of building that culture within the school that the value happens every single day. And then we also get to see that and celebrate that in a performance. That the performance is sort of a celebration rather than a given that that's just going to happen. It seems to flow really nicely that way. I think we have a great parent base and student base that appreciates that. So I don't have too many questions about that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Part of my work over the years as a physician has been in teaching medical students, teaching residents. Prior to that, I taught swimming lessons and I was a camp counselor. And I think there's something very different in the teaching. I think there's very intricate and specific skills involved in teaching that are different than the doing of it. Because especially in your field, you're trying to help kids incorporate a new muscle memory and you're trying to talk to them and show them something that they need to pull into their own bodies and create new neural pathways. How have you gone about doing that?

Elizabeth Drucker:

Well, that's something that I think sometimes keeps me up at night thinking of how the best ways to do that, because it's so different for every student. And you know, for some students, and I think this is what you're describing, for some students, it's really very, very hard to even find those muscles. So there, you know, ballet is such a traditional art form. There's sort of set combinations that we do every day and variations within those exercises that are the building blocks for progression. So relying on those building blocks really does set up each student to make those leaps. But I think that some students love ballet, but it's hard for them physically. And I think that just takes time. There are students that I have now that four years ago if you said they'd be doing what they're doing now, I would have said, we'll see. And they surprised me constantly. So it's sort of just being patient and sticking with it. And, you know, I love to work individually. Unfortunately, we don't have that much time to work with each student individually. We're working in group classes. So finding ways that everybody can profit from a combination, like the ones that are really working on just pulling up their quad muscle and the ones that are working on more refined details like arms and music and timing, if you can find combinations that address all of that all at once, you're going to get. You're going to get gains from all your students.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, it's interesting to hear you say that, because I think, you know, when I have taught myself over the years, what I notice is there's so many different ways to approach learning something. You know, you might have somebody who's more visual, somebody who's more auditory, and if you're in the medical field, somebody who's more kinesthetic. And sometimes that means they actually have to go out and do stuff, which maybe isn't the best thing if they're. They don't if they're brand new, but it is. It just is what it is. Yeah, you have all these different learning styles, and sometimes you're not entirely sure which I guess, path to take in.

Elizabeth Drucker:

No, you're totally right. And one thing that I think we spend a lot of class time doing is teaching students how to figure out how they learn.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So

Elizabeth Drucker:

we'll teach a combination, and then I'll speak, and then I'll say, okay, give it a try. And then I'll ask them, how did it go that first time? Did anybody get it right that first time? And very rarely does someone say, oh, yes, I got it perfectly right that first time. And so we talk about that. You have to find the skills to figure out how to do these combinations. So for some people, it's stopping and thinking and sort of drawing a mental picture out. But for many people, it's actually just doing that one sort of transition from one step to another eight times in a row. And if they get that eight times in a row, then. And then it sort of gets ingrained in them. But I think that. And that's one of the parts I love about it, is helping students figure out how do they learn, how do they learn in this environment? And then remembering to do that when I'm not reminding them to do that. And again, that sort of building that culture and trickling down, watching older students do that Younger students do that. But I love that aspect of it. But it's challenging.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, it is. And I think sometimes as a teacher, actually even as a doctor, I think about. Because that part of that is also teaching. There is the sense that you want people to succeed and sometimes it doesn't happen or doesn't happen quickly. And so there is that state of tension and that state of like, am I, is there something I could be doing differently? But sometimes it's not about what you're offering as a teacher, it's more about what their receptivity is or when things start to line up.

Elizabeth Drucker:

Exactly.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So I'm interested in also the notion of body awareness because I think again, another thing that has happened in our culture, my observation is that people are increasingly. Well, it's sort of a dichotomy. Some people are so much more aware of their bodies that the physicality becomes their entire. And then other people are so disconnected from their bodies that they have no sense of awareness. And as a doctor, I see both. And I think there can be significant issues with both extremes. How does that impact your field?

Elizabeth Drucker:

Well, I think it's, I think you're right that especially in these, in this generation when there's so much, so many superficial ways of looking at our body pictures, selfies, especially with our young, our preteens and our teens, that. Finding a way to appreciate what their bodies, how their bodies perform, looking at their bodies not just by their appearance, but thinking of their bodies as enabling them to reach goals is really helpful. That we are, we break things down a little bit in the studio. You know, you're getting all the dancers come in, these students come in and they're all wearing leotards and tights. And so you're getting rid of sort of the how do I look today in terms of how are my clothes, what am I wearing? And we're all sort of sitting in this sort of vulnerable position in class and getting comfortable with that, getting especially young women comfortable with who their bodies, who they are in their bodies and then, and then learning to take care of their bodies, learning to appreciate how they, what their preparations, how that makes them feel. You know, we talk a lot about long term, long term gains. If a student has an audition on Saturday and they come in on Monday with a cold, maybe it's more valuable to go home and get their homework done and go to bed early and so that they're feeling better at the end of the week. So that sense of responsibility towards their bodies, what's going to help in the long term fueling and hydration and all those things contribute to their performance physically, but also mentally their confidence level. And so to me that and I think for my students that they would say the same thing, that it gets them away from that culture of always having to be to look a certain way because it's much more about feeling a certain way and having physical goals for themselves that they're trying to meet. And I think you think of ballet sometimes as, you know, really obsessed people, obsessed with their bodies. And I don't think they are. I think they are passionate about finding new skills in their bodies, finding their potential in their bodies and that actually can be a really healthy outlet.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I really am enjoying this conversation and I know we could have lots of other things, directions we can go. And for people who would like to learn more about the work that you are doing in Topsham at the ballet school where you are the owner and director, where would you send them?

Elizabeth Drucker:

Probably to our website, which is justtheballetschool.com we have classes all year round and and classes for all ages. So we have a wonderful adult group that probably 20, 25 adult students who come in regularly and children who start at about 5 years old start taking classes and we go throughout the year.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I encourage people to learn more about the work that you're doing at the ballet school In Thompson, we've been speaking with Elizabeth Drucker who I think I'm really enjoying the point of view you have on ballet and kids and their bodies. So I appreciate your coming in today and I appreciate your working as a teacher. Thank you so much having found that calling for yourself.

Elizabeth Drucker:

Thank you. I appreciate you having me here. It's been great to talk to you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

who is not only bringing joy to the world through her own music, but also is a teacher and bringing joy to the world through the music of others. This is Anastasia. Dr. Anastasia Antonakos, who is a pianist on the faculty of the University of Southern Maine and a frequent recitalist, chamber player, and concerto soloist. Anastasia, also called Annie, has played in Greece, Russia, France, and Belgium, as well as various places in the United states, including Washington, D.C. where she testified for funding for the National Endowment of the Arts. Annie lives with her husband and daughter in Portland, where she was named one of the hundred most influential people of Portland by a local publication, and she is in the process of launching the nonprofit 240 strings. Thanks for coming in today.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you have so many names. I can call you Dr. Antonakos. I can call you Anastasia. I can call you Annie. I mean, it's good that you have so many different identities.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

You can call me any of those. People have used all of them. Most of my friends know me as Annie, I think, on the stage often. The program will be published with Anastasia, but one of the things that I'm trying to do with this nonprofit is get a little bit away from the elitism that's been associated with classical music. So I'm finding that we use Annie a lot more often.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What is a very regal name? Anastasia? It's a very. And. And your last name is actually. It's just very. I don't know, melodic. Is that a word?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Thank you. It was my grandmother's name. There's a tradition in Greece. I'm half Greek. So you name your kids after your parents. So first children after the father's parents, next children after the mother's parents. Then you're free to name them anything you want. But I'm an only child, so it worked out great.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

That's good. So how about your Greek heritage? How has that influenced the work that you do now?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

That's a great question. I don't know that I've ever thought about it as it applies to my profession specifically. I mean, I feel a lot of support, for sure, from my. You know, all the things you see in my big fat Greek wedding are true. I have a big extended family, and the Greek community functions as an even bigger representation of that. And so, for sure, when I play, the audience is full of Greek Americans, which is great. I love Greek food. I love Greek dancing, I love Greek music. I have played some settings of some Greek folk songs in concerts before. And I did do some concerts in Greece in 2004, which was a great experience. It ended up to be aligned with the Euro cup and that was the year that Greece won. And it seemed like every town that I played a concert in that concert lined up with either the quarterfinals or the semifinals or the finals. So there was a lot of spirit in the air.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, that's interesting because they're two very different cultural entities, I would think, the music and the sports.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Yeah, But I think it's a small enough country so that people are, you know, people are interested in everything. I mean, they had a lot of national pride. And so, you know, I made sure to say, okay, we're going to end the concert by 8:15 or whatever, so you can go see the most of the game. Don't want to miss the game.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So how did you get into. Into being a pianist and being interested in music as a child?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

So I think I showed a lot of interest in the piano. My dad is a very accomplished pianist. He never did it professionally, but he took lessons from fifth grade through college. And I think I heard him playing for fun and asked for piano lessons. So when I was almost six, he sat down with me and gave me some lessons. And then I, although we have a great relationship, otherwise, did not work very well at the piano. So he sent me off to some other teachers. And there were definitely times as a kid, I mean, I did not like practicing. There are very few children who will sit down and practice productively for a long time. But I loved performing ever since I can remember. So my parents would have friends over and say, annie, why don't you play something? And there were times when I wanted to quit or take some time off, but I stuck with it. And by the time I was a teenager, I knew that that's what I wanted to do. One of the things that influenced me was seeing groups of young kids playing chamber music together. And they were just having so much fun. And that's one of the things that I have in common with my co founders of 240 Strings. Ben Noyes, cellist and Tracy Yasses Hardel, violinist. We all love chamber music and that's what got us really excited about it as young people.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So tell me, what is the definition of chamber music?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

So chamber music is a small ensemble, doesn't need a conductor. Ours is a piano trio, violoncello piano. A string quartet counts as chamber music Piano quintet, anything that's probably under seven or eight players, a duo, I also count as chamber music. People disagree about that. Is violin, piano, chamber music, or is it a pianist accompanying a violinist? But I would define it as anything between two and seven or eight players without a conductor.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what is it about chamber music specifically that you and the co founders of 240 Strings Love so Much?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

I think it's mostly the exchange of ideas. You can play something one way and somebody else can react to it, or vice versa. The training in classical music is so intense that as you're learning, you spend a lot of time in a room by yourself. And chamber music allows you to get out of that and share some of what you've done.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, that's an interesting idea. That there is a certain amount of both that you need to actually be very dedicated to your own practice and your own practice time in order to be a good member of a group. But you also have to be able to be a good member of the group.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Right. And it is not too common to find people that you can work with, you know, openly and get inspiration from and stick with it for a long time. I'm always in awe of the great string quartets who stay together for 25, 50 years. Sometimes it's like another marriage. It's being married to three people.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. Which sometimes, for some people, being married to one person is hard enough as it is. So to have that ongoing exchange of ideas and music, I would think it would be both extremely. Sometimes very difficult, but also extremely rewarding.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Yes, exactly. You work on your own part by yourself. You bring it together, and you just see this piece grow over the weeks or months that you're rehearsing it. And your concept of the piece can change, everybody else's can change, and you just kind of. It just morphs into. I was gonna say a final production, but nothing is ever final. You perform it once and then it changes more and you perform it again.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I like what you said about enjoying the performance itself and knowing when you were very young that you like to perform. Because I don't think everybody has that love, has that love of performance. I absolutely understand that. And not everybody gets it right.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

I have some adult students who will only play by themselves. They don't want anybody to listen to them, and that's fine, too. That feeds some other part of their spirit. I don't know that I was aware of it as a kid, that I loved it, but. But it just kind of. When I realized it, it had been there all Along, I think, and more. You know, it's just a. It's a neat thing to share with people. People always like to hear music in any, any stage. And I see it now with my daughter, who's almost seven, and taking violin. And we think, are people going to want to, you know, support these squeaky sounds coming out of this little violin? But they love watching people share their skill, I guess.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. And having sat through a number of children's concerts all the way from young and squeaky to high school and college, there is also. There's a wanting for the people that are performing to do well.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

For most of us, at least. I mean, I guess it depends. If you're paying a $200 ticket for a squeaky violin, maybe that doesn't work out. But, you know, there is a. There's a buy in, there's an investment, and we really. We're there.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We want the performer to. To, I guess, create for us.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Right. That's what I tell my students, that everybody out there is on your side. Nobody's coming to watch you get nervous or mess up, or they all want you to do as well as you want to do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So is it the sharing for you, the sharing of music? What is it about the performance itself that really appeals to you?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

I think it's a big part of it is the sharing and hearing people's reactions afterwards and knowing that, you know, I've made a difference for those people on that day. It's also the process of getting to know that repertoire so well over the course of those months or that year or whatever. And this is the culmination, you know, this is my art exhibit. This is my. That you can't really. That's not tangible. You can record it, but it's the culmination of all those. Of what's. Not only what the composer has indicated, but how I. How it makes sense in my own head and the work that I've done with it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, that's an interesting idea. Because when we see a score, a musical score, we think, well, there's certain notes and they're going to sound a certain way because it was written a certain way. But there is that. That interpretive aspect that maybe we don't. We don't think about.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Right. Yeah. You can hear the same piece played by 10 different people 10 very different ways, which is great. You know, even for the composers who are very, very specific, like Bartok was an early 20th century composer who wrote almost everything. This measure has to be this loud or this Soft. This note has to be halfway between short and long. Even for a composer like that. There are many, many different ways that each person makes sense of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How has this shifted, do you think, in the last, I don't know, say 40 years when recorded music, digital music has really become so much more readily available than it ever was?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Yeah, it's, it's changing so fast. I, I know that, you know, decades ago it was part of conservatory classes or you know, even people would talk about it in lessons. Well, why don't you go home and listen to, to establish, you know, compare the Arau recording of this Beethoven sonata with Gillel's recording or something. And there were, it seemed there was less to keep track of. I guess now there are. You can call up anything, any performer playing any piece of music from a four year old to a professional and it's just so readily available. There are positives and negatives. I think for my, I'm just going through this for myself. I recorded a solo CD a couple years ago with Bob Ludwig from Gateway Mastering Studios and was very happy with it. We've been shopping it around to some labels and it's very difficult now to get any kind of agreement that works for everybody. There were some labels interested but they wanted me to pay them and so it's just easier to go self publishing route, I think. But that's all, I think part of the easy, you know, everything being more easily accessible online and it's not good for record companies, it's not good for performers, maybe not good for listeners. It's great that there's more available, but it's also kind of sensory overload sometimes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, that's a good point. And, and I also think that there is something about doing the practice and about the refining of whatever it is. And in this day and age it's like you can put your rough draft out there and say, okay, I did it and now it's done. As opposed to the time that it takes, the hours and hours that it takes to actually bring something to some place of semi completion, I would think.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Right, yeah. And for me it's more about. This is, yeah, this is at a stage of completion. I'd like to show it, I'd like to get it out there and doesn't matter, you know, how much money it makes or any of that other stuff.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Why Portland? What is your connection to Portland?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

So I grew up in saco from age 7 on. My dad was born in Biddeford, my mom's from Oregon, so it was come Back to one of those two places. And so we came back to Saco. And so almost everything musical for me happened in Portland as a kid. And then, you know, I tried to leave a couple times, but the quality of life here is so great that I just kept getting pulled back. And I think my cellist, Ben Noyes would say the same thing. He grew up in Portland. And we both. I don't think either of us imagined ourselves back here, but. But here we are and we love it. And I don't think anybody has any plans to leave anytime soon. I love the cultural diversity. I love the landscape. There's just so much to enjoy around here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what is it about the teaching for you that is so important? Your. You're doing this nonprofit, you're in the process of launching this nonprofit. 240 strings. And this is to make available lessons for children. Why is that so important to you?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

I think, I mean, I've always loved teaching. That is another thing that took me a little bit by surprise. I thought that I wanted to be a performer and travel around the world and do only, you know, solo piano music. But I came back to Maine for a semester to teach for Laura Cargill at University of Southern Maine and fell in love with teaching. And so I've been teaching all ages ever since. And this specific project, I think it was about nine or 10 years ago, I was teaching up at Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, and I met some people from the Providence String Quartet who started the pilot program. You know, now there are many programs like this around the country, but they started Community Music works with a $10,000 grant, 10 violin students. And now I'm gonna. It's about 20 years later. They've got, I think, a million dollar budget, a MacArthur Award. They've got so many students they needed to hire more musicians. And they've got a bunch of students testifying that, you know, this is the program that made the difference in their lives between being stuck in a ghetto and coming out and being able to attend an Ivy League school. I think one of the classical music is so good for the brain. There's more and more research that shows that musicians have brains that communicate really well between left and right side. And there are some little videos you can see online about how that works. But so it's great for brain development. And I thought, you know, why not Portland? Portland has such a diverse population. There's a high poverty rate. This is, you know, there are families coming here, trying to get settled in a new country. Can't afford any extra activities for their kids. This is a great way to kind of give back to the community.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Growing up in Saco, did you have a sense of the greater world? When I look at your very extensive bio, you won first place at the International Young Music Artist Music Competition in Bulgaria. You hold prizes from the Cap de para International Piano Competition in Mallorca and the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale competition. And in 2004, the Greek Women's University Club of Chicago awarded you the Canelos Award. Did you have any sense that the world was this big and that you would be out there doing this type of work all over the place?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

I. Well, some of those things, like when I testified before Congress, I was about 15, I think. And that was also because of my association with Bay Chamber. They had gotten some funding from the NEA and wanted to show somebody who had. That had made a difference in their life. So. So that was. That kind of opened some doors for me as well as playing at Lincoln center in a piano trio when I was a teenager. And I guess I also attended Bowdoin International Music Festival as a kid. So I saw. I guess I did. You know, I would go through my. My academic year in Sacco and just be practicing piano and doing my homework and the normal things that kids do. And then these other opportunities would open up in the summers. And I think summer is when I kind of got a glimpse of how the rest of the world works.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And do you think that with your 240 string nonprofit, are you hoping that these types of doors will be open for the children that will be impacted?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Yeah, absolutely. I hope that they will be able to perform often for people locally. And if we can set up some other exchange opportunities, that would be great. I think all of the experiences that we can bring to them will broaden their horizons for sure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

240 strings is the number of strings that collectively equals your instrument and the instruments of your two co founders of this organization.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

That's right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Are a lot of people surprised to learn that pianos have strings?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Probably. I haven't heard anybody express surprise, but we actually had to debate about the number because the number varies depending on whether it's a nine foot Steinway or a tiny CO I or whatever. So 248 strings, we thought sounds better than 238 or 242. But yeah, I don't know. So the basic way a piano works is there's a set of wooden hammers inside that come up and hit the strings. And in the middle of the Piano, there's one string. I'm sorry, there are two strings. In the high register, there's three. And in the bass, there are these really thick, just sets of one string. So it's been called a string instrument. It's been called a percussion instrument. It's kind of in its own keyboard family.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you play other instruments as well?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

As a kid, I played flute for a few years and cello. And I'm glad that I got that experience to see a little bit more how a wind instrument works in a string instrument. But I don't call myself proficient at anything other than piano.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We have the opportunity to hear some of your work. Tell me about the piece that we will be listening to.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

So the CD that I recorded includes a premiere of some work by Cecilia McDowell, who's a British composer. She's composed a lot of choral works. And also on the CD is a lot of other new music. Some Messiannes, some Radhavara, who's a living Finnish composer, then some older stuff. But Cecilia has been great. It's always nice to be able to be in touch with a living composer. So we've emailed back and forth about her music and she wrote a set of pieces. CD opens with a set of pieces based on experiences she's had. Like one is called Vespers in Venice. And the CD closes with a piece called Color is the Keyboard, which I'm naming the album for. And that is the piece you're going to hear. It is based on a Kandinsky painting, and she's thinking of all the colors that you can get out of the timbre of the instrument.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

If you're listening to this interview, make sure that you wait till the very end, because that's where we're going to be playing. Anastasia Antonakis piece that you can also, at some point in the future, you can also purchase. So make sure that you stay tuned. In the meantime, how can people find out about 240 strings or the music that you do?

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

So we have a website that's 240-strings.org we post any concerts that we have coming up. We do have enough. We've gotten enough donations so far to start three students in the fall. So that just recently happened. We'll have to work very quickly to set that up, but we're really excited about that. And I'm meeting later with a woman who's been donating instruments to children all around the country, so hopefully we can do some partnering with her. I have my own personal website, which is just my full name, Anastasia Antonakis.com and I try to list my upcoming concerts there too.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So yeah, we have been speaking with Dr. Anastasia Antonio Tanakos, also known as Annie, who is a pianist on the faculty of the University of Southern Maine and a frequent recitalist, chamber player and concerto soloist and also the co founder of a new nonprofit in the Portland area, 240 strings, which will be educating young students in music. And you're a busy lady, so I really appreciate your coming in and having and my having the chance to talk with you today about all of this.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You've been listening to Love Maine radio show number 251, practicing perfection music and Dance. Our guests have included Elizabeth Drucker and Anastasia Antonakos. We love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of Love Maine Radio. We welcome your suggestions for future shows. Also let our sponsors know that you have heard about them here. We are privileged that they enable us to bring Love Maine Radio to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Bellio. I hope that you have enjoyed our Practicing Perfection Music and Dance show. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. May you have a Bountiful life.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Sa. Sa. Sa.

Dr. Anastasia Antonacos:

nice yeah

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