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Robert Bedford
Professor – Piano
Room 321, Swope Music Building
Phone: 610-436-2821
rbedford@wcupa.edu
www.bedford-alexander.com
Education
Artist Diploma - The Juilliard School
Doctor of Musical Arts - The Catholic University of America
Certification - Alexander Technique International
Master of Science - The Juilliard School
Bachelor of Music - The Juilliard School
Thoughts on SOM
When I think back over my
40-year
career, I recall my mission since I was a young professor. I have
continued to serve at West Chester University, always with the
objective of generating enough enthusiasm in my students and myself to
advance the process of learning piano performance, while helping
students improve as they learn. It is still imperative for me to foster
safe learning, while building a positive relationship with each student
I encounter, all of whom must cope in unique ways with the excitement
and inevitable frustrations that come from progressing toward
excellence.
Mission
at SOM
Our culture both feeds
and
challenges music education and performance. Students and teachers
engage in a duet of edification and effort, even struggling at times,
often moving from the unknown to the known and onward toward the next
unknown. When all is right, we learn, unlearn, and then relearn better
ways to approach mastery in both education and performance.
I am most fortunate to have been
trained
in dual roles of teacher and facilitator; my specialized training has
prepared me well to advance on the journey.
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Robert Bedford is the winner
of many
competitions and awards including the Piano Guild International
Recording Competition, the Gottschalk International Competition for
Pianists and Composers and the National Federation of Music Clubs Award
of Merit. (Bedford) He has been soloist with the Delaware Symphony, The
Little Orchestra Society of Philadelphia and the Catholic University
Orchestra. Bedford’s distinguished mentors include Guiomar Novaes,
William Masselos and Sascha Gorodnitsky. Prize winning students have
performed with the Hershey Symphony, Newark Symphony, Kennett Square
Symphony, Bridgeton Symphony, Pottstown Symphony, and performed
frequently with the West Chester University Symphony.
Over the last 40 years, Dr.
Bedford’s
Master degree graduates have secured tenured positions throughout the
country as University Faculty members. They have served as chairs and
supervisors of music faculties in prestigious public and private music
schools including the Upper Darby School district and the Wilmington
School of Music in Delaware. His graduates have established
assistantships and full tuition scholarships at many Universities
including Florida State University and Cincinnati University. One of
his graduates, Barbara Mason Benglian, B. Mus. Ed., WCU, 1970, M. Mus
Ed.., WCU, 1973, District Music Supervisor for the Upper Darby School
District, was recently named 2006 Pennsylvania Teacher Of the Year.
Tangential to his teaching
responsibilities
at West Chester University, Dr. Bedford directs the Alexander
Technique Center for Musicians in West Chester, PA, a distinctive
private piano teaching setting featuring week-long summer workshops for
musicians. As a member of the Music Teachers National Association, he
frequently adjudicates piano competitions and festivals.
Wellness Health for Musicians
Dr. Bedford shares an
approach to
learning that (appeals) applies to all teachers. A working knowledge of
the physical basis for gaining mastery of human coordination offers
several advantages for teaching. As one of the few professors of piano
nationally certified to teach the Alexander Technique, pianist Robert
Bedford’s DVD
leads students through exact routines for teaching and performing using
the principles of the F.M. Alexander Technique.
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