MTD Events
Guest Lecture/Recital: "Exploring the Piano Works of Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins" presented by Dr. Connor Austell
Date and Time
Thursday, March 13, 2025 5:00 PM
Location
Sherman van Solkema Recital Hall
Description
Thomas Green Wiggins was a visually impaired, neurodivergent American
piano virtuoso born into slavery in 1849. Most of the literature
written over the last two decades about Wiggins, or "Blind
Tom" as he was known, recounts his life story and places a focus
on his performing career. While this is certainly a fascinating topic,
there has been a notable absence of attempts to analyze his
compositions for piano in any depth. With his application of both
theoretical analyses and broader musicological considerations, Connor
Austell's 2024 article "Exploring the Compositions of Thomas
'Blind Tom' Wiggins" (due for publication in the academic journal
American Musical Perspectives) yields a portrait of an artist with a
distinct style and vision.
In this session, Dr. Austell will present the findings of his
research into Wiggins' piano works and his efforts to examine each
piece within its proper socio-cultural context. Key findings include
demonstrable likenesses to music of nineteenth-century European
composers and musical aspects that are distinctly the composer's own.
In addition, significant questions are raised concerning his
composition process. Dr. Austell will supplement his presentation with
musical excerpts from Wiggins' oeuvre.
Check out Dr. Austell's recording of Wiggins' music:
http://youtu.be/0yWJNzHeMPo?si=8soGcTwPdfMkpXEc
Based in Lancaster, SC, pianist Connor Austell is a versatile
musician and educator equally at home in the performance hall and in
the lecture hall. A firm believer that scholarship and musicianship go
hand-in-hand, Dr. Austell's teaching philosophy holds that decisions
made in musical performance should be grounded in a historical,
theoretical, and pedagogical understanding of the score. In 2022, Dr.
Austell's work in researching and recording the piano compositions of
Thomas 'Blind Tom' Wiggins was recognized with an award by the Willson
Center for Arts and Humanities at the University of Georgia. His debut
album Blind Tom's Creative Vision is available on all major streaming
platforms, and his recent article on the piano works of Thomas Wiggins
will appear in an upcoming edition of American Musical Perspectives.
Dr. Austell holds degrees from the University of Georgia, the
University of Michigan, and Grand Valley State University, where he
studied with David Fung, Arthur Greene, and Sookkyung Cho. He studied
chamber music under the tutelage of Katherine Collier, Helen Marlais,
and Pablo Mahave-Veglia, and has participated in masterclasses with
world-class artists such as Jonathan Biss and Martin Katz. His
enthusiasm for Baroque music was fostered by a study of harpsichord
and organ technique with Gregory Crowell. Dr. Austell currently serves
as Assistant Professor of Music at the University of South Carolina
Lancaster. http://www.connoraustell.com/
This event also appears on the main events calendar tagged as arts, concert, music, and performance.
Contact
Dr. Sookkyung Cho
[email protected]