Scott's Studio

scott · Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 817

I want to thank Peter Zisa, Portland guitarist, performer, and teacher who graciously visited the Kritzer Studio on Saturday March 7th for a performance and masterclass.

Peter worked with Karla Fisher, Lee Hess, Brittian Jacobs and Allen Mathews. He's a thoughtful player and musician. It's not surprising that he is also a warm and insightful teacher.

Post performance most of us headed out for some great Vietnamese food and more guitar talk with Peter! It was the first of a series of guest appearances at the Kritzer Studio. I heard great comments from everyone! Thanks again Peter......

Peter and Brittian
www.scottkritzer.com/Teaching/Photos/Peter&Brittian.jpg

Peter and Lee...
www.scottkritzer.com/Teaching/Photos/PICT0003.JPG

Scott

kfisherx · Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Posts: 753 Location: PNW

It was so much fun to be able to learn with Mr Zisa. I have been a fan of his playing and his students for years now so this was a real treat. One of the things I admire most about Peter is his inner quiet and peace. When he plays the guitar I am always drawn to the peace and joy and soulfulness of his music. I found his teaching style soft and informative. He loves the historical part of the music and he also loves the music. He taught me to "let go" a little bit to what it is that I feel inside of me when I play the music. I have been inspired to play more from my heart since the class yesterday.
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Only when knowledge is thoughtfully absorbed can it become your own wisdom - Tranquility comes when the mind concentrates

Lane · Joined: 05 Nov 2005 Posts: 83 Location: Corvallis, OR

Loved his improvised opening. The path he took was from early music up to Bach and back. Found that facinating. Not to many classical players improvise in public. Loved his tone also - it filled the room with a rich velvet sound. The main things I took away were, the words describing tempo were not a number but more and thinking of some words or an emotion for a piece we play.

Lane

lmh · Joined: 16 Jan 2006 Posts: 95 Location: Pdx

I very much enjoyed playing at Peter's master class. His own playing, which I always find very inspiring, gives his teaching a great deal of authority. He has a great focus on musicality and a great understanding of the music. That, of course, means that he is capable of teaching way beyond my level and maybe he did a little (what great teacher doesn't push the envelope) but he also had a lot to say and illustrate that was right on point and very useful for someone at my level.

I also want to thank Scott for setting this up. I think his idea of cross fertilizing between local teachers is a great one and I hope he is able to continue it.
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lmh

Brent · Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 407 Location: Oregon

Peter's master class was different from all the other master classes I've attended. While he did offer some instructive suggestions for holding notes and following important melodic lines (Allen's session, particularly), he mostly taught about connecting with the music and bringing out the feeling that the performer was feeling. When Karla said that the Sor Bm study was to her tragic, Peter helped her focus on how to bring out the tragic sound of the music. He also said that this was not the only way to interpret that (or any piece), and said that he would give different instructions to another player who had a different idea of the music. He emphasized (I'm paraphrasing here) that music is personal, and each performer brings something unique to the music. That we should be open to interpreting the music in a way that brings out our own feelings about it, rather than be dishonest to ourselves and audience by trying to simply copy some other player's interpretation.

In many ways, Peter's teaching seemed to border on the simple. He teaches mostly young people. On reflection, though, music is emotional and affects us directly. Perhaps the greatest lesson I can take away from this experience is to relax when I play in the way he seemed to, to let my feelings inform my interpretation, to let the notes connect and crescendo as if they are being sung, and to let the music flow.

Thanks, Peter, and thanks, Scott, for setting this up for us. I look forward to the next one.

Brent

guitardzs · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 341 Location: Thousand Oaks

I enjoyed reading through this. I've had the opportunity to hear Peter play many times when I went to the Handmade Instrument Shows in Portland. He is a beautiful player, and it doesn't surprise me that his main topic was connecting to the music. As usual, wish I could have been there!

Donna

KenRhodes · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:46 pm Post subject:

Every time I read the threads on this forum, I'm truly grateful to have found such an inspiring group of players to associate with. The insights and interpretations that are given here speak volumes to me.

Thanks so much to you folks in Portland for sharing this with the rest of us. And thank you, Scott and Karla, for making all of this happen in the first place.
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Ken
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