Charlotte’s Dylan Savage And Markus Etzkorn Introduce “What’s Music Got to Do with It?”
The UNC Charlotte Department of Music kicks off the program series What’s Music Got to Do with It? with an interdisciplinary exploration of problem-solving.
Launching in October, What’s Music Got to Do with It? is a series of live performance programs that bring music into dialogue with other disciplines to explore universal skills. In each episode, UNC Charlotte Professor of Piano Dylan Savage and a guest professor from a non-music discipline will demonstrate how they use a specific universal skill in their creative work, research, and instruction. Each episode in the series will consider a different skill, revealing the benefits that can be gained by observing that skill applied in both disciplines. Live music will be a feature of each program because of its unique ability to illustrate universal skills in significant depth and in an entertaining way.
The first event in this series will take place on Friday, October 25, at 1 p.m. in Rowe Recital Hall. Pianist Dylan Savage will be joined by UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of Chemistry Markus Etzkorn to discuss and demonstrate the skill of problem-solving from the perspectives of their distinct disciplines. They will then discuss what new ideas they might use having observed each other. Faculty and students are welcome; the event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served in the lobby following the program.
The full What’s Music Got to Do with It series will take place over several years, with one program per semester. Each event is scheduled to last 90 minutes: a 45-minute presentation in Rowe Recital Hall, followed by an informal discussion period in the lobby. There, attendees are encouraged to talk with one another about the performance, what they might have learned from another discipline that could be applied to their own, and how greater interdisciplinary exchange on campus might benefit all.
About Dylan Savage:
Professor of Piano Dylan Savage is a Bösendorfer Concert Artist, a Capstone Records Recording Artist, and a winner of the Rome Festival Orchestra Competition. He is author of the book The Transposed Musician: Teaching Universal Skills to Improve Performance and Benefit Life, GIA Publications. It is the first book to present a comprehensive and systematic method for teaching universal skills within the context of the music lesson. Dr. Savage is co-author of the piano pedagogy book A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers: Strategies to Develop the Mind and Body for Optimal Performance, Heritage Music Press. He is the author of numerous articles found in Clavier, Clavier Companion, American Music Teacher, and Pianoforte magazines.
Dr. Savage pioneered the use of slow-motion video analysis to help pianists improve performance and minimize injury. His research in biomechanics, wellness, and entrepreneurship has resulted in numerous masterclasses at top music schools and national/international conferences. For decades, Savage has used live music performance to teach in-depth practices of universal skills and continuous improvement to people in non-music disciplines. Applying universal skills to the study of music and to life is the foundation of his studio teaching at UNC Charlotte. His work has been featured in television spots on NBC and PBS affiliates. Learn more about this work at his website, https://thetransposedmusician.com/.
Dr. Savage has degrees in piano from the Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Drawing inspiration from the outdoors, he can often be found skiing, hiking, biking, or canoeing.