After stroke, pianist still plays using only her right hand

Ingrid Clarfield, left, with Bryan College's Sigrid Luther.
Ingrid Clarfield, left, with Bryan College's Sigrid Luther.

A stroke leaving a pianist without use of the left arm would seem an obvious career-ender.

But not to Ingrid Clarfield, a celebrated musician and educator whose story to fight back and return to teaching after a debilitating stroke in 2007 was the subject of the documentary, "Take A Bow."

Eight years later, Clarfield maintains an independent piano studio in Princeton, N.J., and is professor of piano and coordinator of the piano department at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. She is a sought-after clinician for conferences across the country, has presented pedagogy sessions at the National Piano Teachers Institute, World Piano Pedagogy Conference and the Calgary Arts Summer School in Alberta, Canada.

photo Ingrid Clarfield, left, with Bryan College's Sigrid Luther.

If you go

* What: Tennessee Music Teachers Conference * When: Friday-Tuesday, June 6-9. * Where: UTC Fine Arts Center, corner of Vine and Palmetto streets, and Cadek Hall, 725 Oak St. * Free events open to the public: * 9 a.m. June 8: Ingrid Clarfield, " Preparing Students for Auditions and Competition - Turning Fear Into Fun," Cadek Hall. * 7:30 p.m. June 8: Concert by pianist Gloria Chien and violinist Soovin Kim, Roland Hayes Concert Hall in UTC Fine Arts Building; reception follows. * 9 a.m. June 9: Two master classes, Gloria Chien leads advanced piano class in Roland Hayes Hall in UTC Fine Arts Building; Soovin Kim leads violin master class in Cadek Hall Room 310.

Clarfield still doesn't play with two hands, only her right. But she still performs live, partnering with a local pianist who plays the bass registers of a piano's keys while she plays the treble.

"I've had 24 'left hands,'" Clarfield says. "The first was Dr. Sigrid Luther." Luther is a retired Bryan College professor of music.

The New Jersey pianist will be in Chattanooga June 6-9 as the featured clinician at the Tennessee Music Teachers Association's state convention. She says this visit to Chattanooga is "quite special" because this is where she first tried the concept of playing with her right hand while Luther played the left.

Luther says Clarfield had been scheduled to lead a Chattanooga Music Teachers Association workshop in 2008. Unaware of the 2007 stroke, she emailed the pianist about her upcoming appearance only to learn that Clarfield had canceled all appearances except Chattanooga, which had somehow been overlooked.

"She started thinking whether there was a way to do her presentation and get someone else to do her left-hand part," says Luther. "She consulted with a friend, who suggested I do it. When she came for the workshop, she was just as good as ever. In fact, she had almost more of an impact because we knew what she'd overcome. It was an emotional time for her because it showed 'I can still do this.'"

"If it weren't for Sigrid, I wouldn't be able to do what I do," credits Clarfield. "She was absolutely instrumental in my return to doing what I love."

Clarfield says she recently finished a series of books, "Classics for the Developing Pianist," designed for early intermediate through advanced pianists. At the local conference, she will speak on how teachers can prepare students for auditions or, as she adds, "turning fear into fun."

"Ingrid's funny. She's passionate. She is extremely creative," describes Luther. "She doesn't tell the story about her stroke because she is so intent on getting as much material across to the audience as possible. In fact, one time when I was introducing her, she cut me off because she was ready to go."

Luther says the Tennessee Music Teachers Association is trying to broaden its outreach to music educators at the conference by adding a master class for violin teachers and another class with Lee University's internationally-known pianist Gloria Chien. In addition to master classes, state competitions and a free concert Monday night, there will be a mini-session on sight reading and a session on the 21st Century Digital Music Studio.

Conference registration for members has closed, but there is a nonmember registration fee of $25 per day for area teachers who want to attend. Registration for these walk-ups will take place Monday and Tuesday, June 8-9, at 8:15 a.m. in the lobby of Cadek Hall on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus. Workshops get under way at 9 a.m.

For more information, check the TMTA website at tnmta.org.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.

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