Nikhil Hogan Show

Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra is an accomplished and acclaimed Organist & Historic Keyboardist, Liturgical Musician, Composer, Pedagogue, Improviser, Conductor. She holds degrees in organ performance and pedagogy, choral music education, and emphases in music theory, sacred music, and conducting at Dordt College (BA) and the University of Iowa (MFA, DMA). From 1996–2002, Dr. Ruiter-Feenstra served as Senior Researcher at the Göteborg Organ Art Center in Sweden. As Professor of Music at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas (1989–1996) and Eastern Michigan University (1996–2008), Ruiter-Feenstra taught organ, harpsichord, theory, improvisation, sacred music, and directed the Collegium Musicum. A founding member of Voci dell’Anima, she conducts and collaborates choral and chamber ensembles. She is one of a select prestigious group of Fleur de Son Classics artists, where her “Bach’s Teacher Böhm and Improvisation and Froberger on the 1658 De Zentis Harpsichord” CDs are available. Her Bach and Improvisation and Tunder Organ Works are available on the Loft-Gothic label. She has launched many creative projects, such as liturgical and improvisation events, books (Bach and the Art of Improvisation Vol 1 & 2, Muse in Peace, Muse at School, Muse for the Soul, Muse at Work, and Improvisation Endeavors), articles, compositions, and CDs in love.” We talk about Johann Sebastian Bach, classical improvisation, figured bass, improvising fugues, Italian partimento, the great organists in history, her 2 volume series “Bach and the Art of Improvisation”, her acclaimed organ and harpsichord recordings and much, much more!

Dr. Johnandrew Slominski is a distinguished performer, theorist, author, speaker, and pedagogue. By 21, Dr. Slominski earned three degrees from the Eastman School of Music including a Master of Music in Performance and Literature, a Master of Arts in Pedagogy of Music Theory, and a Bachelor of Music in Performance; his first professorship followed two years later. He received Eastman's coveted Performer's Certificate in recognition of outstanding concert artistry—the youngest individual to have received that honor. While completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Eastman, he was awarded the Prize for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student and the Jerald C. Graue Fellowship in recognition for his musicological research. A specialist in the field of eighteenth-century music, Slominski is the founder and director of “Classical Music on the Spot”, an institute dedicated to the research, pedagogy, and performance of eighteenth-century style improvisation at the keyboard. As a competition laureate, Dr. Slominski was awarded first prize in the Chautauqua International Piano Competition and was the silver medalist in the inaugural International Keyboard Odyssiad Piano Competition. Praised for his virtuosity, innovative programming, and broad repertoire, Slominski performs throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. We talk about the Galant style and music of the 18th century, how musicians centuries ago improvised and learned differently from today, we talk about his approach to improvisation in classical music, improvising cadenzas and much, much more!

Daniel Spreadbury is the product marketing manager for Dorico, the revolutionary new music software that changes the game when it comes to digital music notation. No stranger to industry, Daniel has worked in the music notation software field for nearly 20 years and was an integral part of the Sibelius team before starting the Dorico project in 2012. We talk about his past work in Sibelius, amazing new features of Dorico, exciting future Dorico features and much, much more!