Thermopolis, Wyoming
Was it close to a big city?

No it was very rural.

It was very free spirited, lots of play, education wasn’t too focused – they still don’t have a string program there. But you weren’t locked into a square-box pressure cooker of going from activity to activity because, well, there wasn’t much. Drove once a month for piano lessons 130 miles away. Her parents made the trip “ritually”
Was your family concerned with current events?

Never thought of it as a profession, never occurred that she would live without music as part of her life.
When did you decide to become an expert in your field?

Yes. At first took lessons in the town. Later parents drove 2-3 hours each way to lessons once a month
Did they support your interests?

Absolutely, spent time in Denver with her mother to take lessons with a prominent teacher.

During college, drove her to school and were glad that she was at a good place to learn. Father liked it when she was in the newspaper

Woman in Casper 130 miles away. Brenda Layman(?) went to royal music academy in London. She got her the first concerto to play at. Amber Concerto. Definitely inspiration, allowed her to get good enough to go to Oberlin.

She didn’t compare. She just played to see what happens and often won. She also didn’t have too many similar-minded pianists around (she works with classical music).

Her father played clarinet in a band, but without formal lessons. He clearly had a natural knack for music – he could play almost any piece by ear. But he never learned to read music.

Couldn’t find this

Mentor at Juliard told her it would be nice when she got her feet on the ground – so she never really thought about when things were hard, easy, just was doing her thing and turned out this way.
Do you enter a state of flow?

N/A

3mo pregnant, went to an event in Texas. Morning sickness all day, still determined to play. Performance wasn’t too good, went straight back to NY, have had performance anxiety issues to deal with ever since.
About five years ago she got in a horrible ski accident and had to have her entire left hand reconstructed in surgery. She lost her entire playing ability. Over the course of two years at she relearned to play piano, one 5-finger scale at a time. “I never thought in negative terms. I always trusted that it was going to be fine. I remember telling people about you asking ‘well what can you do this week, Janet?’ because I was doing a very feeble five finger pattern. My students helped me a lot. I don’t ever remember thinking it’s not going to go back and be just fine. That didn’t enter my mind – I didn’t let that possibility enter my mind.”

A great deal because of having young children to raise, so yes.
She also said around 29:30 she had obstacles yet they didn’t keep her away from piano. She followed husband from job to job but that didn’t necessarily hold her back.
What were those?

Ability to listen well and distinguish between tone quality and musical phrasing and effect of a particular piece of music. Inherent in this is so much more than reading the notes.
How do you compare against those criteria?

Didn’t understand her answer but I kinda zoned here.

I wasn’t always a solely serious musician. I was seriously being president of a nursing school for awhile. I was seriously involved on the pediatric floor. Life hasn’t been a direct route in any way whatsoever. It’s been like they describe the artists journey: a winding path.

She approaches music in a different way now than in the past. Since the performance blunder in TX, “I require myself to be able to mentally play a piece entirely in my head – not even using my fingers – all 45 minutes of it. Being able to do that, it means I know every key area, every note – that internal map that’s embedded in me. It’s very different, because I trusted myself before. When you can no longer trust something, you have to find another way to go on, otherwise you have no choice but to stop.”

If I didn’t have [mastery of interpretation and understanding of the music ] I don’t think I would do it because it wouldn’t be meaningful to me. I wouldn’t care if I just had something technically fine – it would be pretty boring to me. You might as well just play scales.

Never pursued something specific, knew that after touring she wouldn’t pursue getting a manager for future touring, she knew she wanted to teach.
What is your next step?

What motivates you?: Certainly if there is a performance or responsibility/obligation. Aside from that, “I can’t imagine not performing or being with students or music. Being without music would is sort of like how it feels yucky if you don’t brush your teeth in the morning. You brush your teeth because if you didn’t, it wouldn’t feel right. Without music – without piano and without my students – I would feel empty.”

Absolutely. In the past she knew nothing compared to now, there are things she would do differently. She wouldn’t have had that flop at the competition, she would have still had her child, but not as bad of an experience in TX.

“I’m always rethinking things and learning from my students. Indeed there are many layers of learning, and there are so many layers to music that it would take lifetimes to explore them all.”

Yes she has her own students. See above.

No favorite, they all become favorites.

Can’t really give much consideration for what the public thinks. When it’s another pianist that complements that means so much more. The public in general doesn’t appreciate quite on the same level though.