Following doctoral studies with pianist and Professor Emerita Jane Coop, Dr. Terence Dawson (MMus, DMA) joined the UBC School of Music faculty in 1991, and served for nine years as Chair of the Keyboard Division and Division Coordinator for 19 years. He taught piano, chamber music and collaborative studies at the UBC School of Music.
We caught up with Dr. Dawson to chat about his mentors, learning Rzewski’s De Profundis and the joy of experiencing his students’ performances.
What is your origin story as a pianist and/or teacher? Who were your mentors?
I was always drawn to music. When I was three-years-old, I played and listened to records on an old gramophone my Grandad gave to me. I knew what each record was from their centre labels. I was lucky to have had great mentors in my early years of piano lessons, and I include public school music teachers and church choir directors/organists when reflecting on those who shaped my earliest experiences in music performance. My university piano professors were of paramount significance, as were those I coached within other performance areas, including directors from ensembles such as choirs and bands. I learned important and influential things from every one of them.
What are you most passionate about now as a musician?
I feel it is important for me to find passion in my own creativity. If I am not personally inspired by my own playing, I will likely not be satisfied with my interpretation. That is one reason why music is such a wonderfully rewarding pursuit….the passion we discover within each piece, and in us.
Professor Emeritus Dr. Terence Dawson
Professor Emeritus Dr. Terence Dawson
Professor Emeritus Dr. Terence Dawson
What advice do you have for students pursuing a career in composing, music technology or teaching? What is it that you wish someone had told you?
My advice would be to embrace all types of music. Take your ears to places that they do not normally live. Pursue repertoire of all kinds and don’t be too quick to decide you don’t care for it. Give it a chance to be understood. I feel that I always had lots of support and advice along the way. But I don’t think I would have done things differently. Except practice even more!
“My advice would be to embrace all types of music. Take your ears to places that they do not normally live.”
Looking back, what’s been the biggest challenge of your career, what about your biggest success?
Definitely it was balancing teaching and being the Chair and Coordinator of the Keyboard Division with a performing career. It is a challenge to teach for four or five hours and then have to practice the same amount of time. But we all just do it. Certainly the biggest success for me as a pianist was learning and performing Rzewski’s De Profundis. At first, I had to learn how to learn the work, if that makes sense. It was a technical challenge to play, whilst simultaneously expressing the spoken words in the composer’s notated rhythms of speech. On top of that, one has to sing as well as perform other expressive physical actions, all of this dealing with the emotions of the work. It really was a tour de force, but so very rewarding to play it at various universities and colleges from the West to East Coast.
Below: De Profundis by Frederic Rzewski | Terence Dawson piano, Barnett Hall, UBC
What are some of your most memorable experiences teaching at UBC School of Music?
The school has grown in so many ways. It has been my privilege to teach alongside my many great colleagues who have contributed to the school’s reputation of excellence. This has been the result of a long history of memorable discussions when we all recognized the things we have in common. On a more personal level, I recall many students who have given particularly memorable performances of works we have studied together. I am grateful to have been present with them, sharing in those accomplishments.
“I recall many students who have given particularly memorable performances of works we have studied together. I am grateful to have been present with them, sharing in those accomplishments”
What projects are you looking forward to working on now?
Quite honestly, I am looking forward to just settling into my new home, just outside of Ottawa, Ontario. I also look forward to doing more master classes and workshops etc., and perhaps even finding an amateur theatre group and exploring some acting. It will also be rather odd to practice whenever I want to, without a lot of time restrictions. I hope I can get used to that luxury. I think I will!
What music are you listening to and what are you reading these days?
I have recently discovered the New York jazz pianist Bill Charlap. He plays with such creativity and finesse. I have just begun to read The Class by Ken Dryden. Don’t get me wrong – I am not a huge hockey fan. But I am interested in the personal perspectives in the book as he describes his high school days in Toronto, reflecting with some of his classmates on their individual journeys and how they have ended up where they are now. I think when one is about to retire, it is important to prepare for the changes that will come with this new stage in one’s life, which I am ready for. It’s an exciting time!
