Teacher Spotlight: Patrick O'Malley, recorder
May 2nd, 2015
Interview by Erin Cano
Patrick O’Malley has been a Suzuki recorder instructor at MIC since 2002. He also teaches chamber music and is the Evanston Campus Director
What led you to become a Suzuki teacher?
When I first became a recorder teacher, I felt very comfortable working with students who were already playing the instrument. I was good at identifying problems and working together with each student to solve them. Over time I realized that there must be a better way to start beginners from zero, and consciously avoid problems. I’d heard of the Suzuki Method for violins. I was teaching recorder at a workshop in Wisconsin. A participant from Iowa was familiar with Suzuki recorder, and she essentially recruited me! I took training at summer institutes in New York, California, and Iowa. It’s made me a better performer and a better teacher to my non-Suzuki adult students.
What is your favorite piece to teach?
Dieupart’s Menuet from our Book 2 always reminds me of my very first Suzuki student, who was a natural “reader” and struggled with memorizing pieces. We used the ancient Greek memory technique of associating with a familiar place. The menuet has four sections, which we associated with the corners of the room where I taught. Every time I play it, I picture the window blinds on the downward scale!
You received a Fulbright Fellowship to study with Han Tol at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. What were some of your biggest takeaways from that experience?
They say, “Wherever you go, there you are.” I learned that the further you go, the more true it is! I also learned to speak Dutch, which has a slightly different sentence order, halfway between English and German. Now when I read Shakespeare, it sounds totally normal. As a musician, I learned how to be more consistent, which then allowed me to trust myself and be more free.
You've studied instruments and skills from the baroque period including harpsichord, basso continuo, and baroque dance. What inspired your interest in this time period and style of music?
I’ve played many instruments (brass, winds, strings, etc.) but the recorder is special. It’s like there’s a spotlight in my head that zooms toward the recorder sound, even in big mixed ensembles. My love of the recorder brought me to early music, because so much of our repertoire is Renaissance and Baroque. I didn’t really understand Baroque music until I took a basso continuo class – it’s all about the bass line. Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach all wrote amazing music for the recorder.
What’s on your iPod right now?
Shuffle, of course, all styles! When I clean my house I listen to Bic Runga, a pop singer from New Zealand.
