Show Notes and Links

Thank you for showing up at Key Ideas wherever you find your podcasts like Apple and Spotify.

A couple of weeks ago, my Aussie friend Sam Coates of Blitz Books invited me to be part of a webinar she held called “Preparing Your Best Performance.” I was honored to be one of four adjudicators she interviewed and our conversation went longer than the allotted ten minutes she reserved for me.

Yeah, we got a little carried away!

Since Sam could only use part of our talk in her webinar, I’m pleased to share our entire conversation here on the podcast.

Sam asks questions about what I look for when evaluating a performance and she asked me if I had any tips on how to prepare performers..I couldn’t stop at just a few as I’ve got ten.

If you have students performing soon, I think you’ll find the interview enlightening and packed with actionable steps.

About Samantha

Samantha Coates is a Sydney-based pianist and pedagogue. She holds a Bachelor's degree and several performance diplomas, however, her passion is holistic music education. She has been teaching for over 35 years and embraces a repertoire-rich and multi-skilled approach - prioritizing improvisation, composition, and reading – all of which enable recreational music-making and a long-term love of piano.

Samantha is always striving to create resources that support the whole musician. She is the author and publisher of BlitzBooks, the music education series that has transformed the teaching of rote repertoire for piano, music theory, and sight-reading.

Her popular and entertaining presentation style has made Samantha a sought-after speaker on a wide range of pedagogical topics. Her other passions in life are long walks, Disney movies, and dark chocolate.