Information About Residencies
Althea Waites
Althea Waites is a distinguished pianist who has championed the music of American composers for over 25 years. Her extensive repertoire introduces students to music which is rarely heard, and includes works by composers of Asian, Latin-American, and African-American descent.
A graduate of the Yale University School of Music, Ms. Waites has been artist in residence at numerous institutions throughout the United States, including Smith College, Spelman College, Hartnell College, Virginia State University, and Virginia Polytechnic University.
Her previous experience includes performances in schools with Young Audiences, Inc., Chamber Music in Historic Sites, and Performing Tree, a Los Angeles based organization of artists who perform in local schools.
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A Residency may include the following presentations:
Solo Recitals
Master Classes
Lectures (music of American composers, music of women composers, piano literature, specific topics in black music history, the role of the piano in improvisation)
Teaching classes
The length of a residency may vary from a few days to several weeks, with extended residencies of a month, semester, or year. In addition to her continuing work in the schools, Ms. Waites is involved in community outreach and service programs in retirement homes, prisons, hospitals, and religious institutions.
Topics for Residencies
- Master Class - Students prepare works for performances in class followed by coaching and discussion about the repertoire.
- Music of African American Composers - A brief survey of composers such as Scott Joplin, Chevalier de St. Georges, William Grant Still, Julia Perry, Florence Price and Tania Leon. Includes recorded and live performances of the music.
- Women in Music - A survey of music by women composers from the Middle Ages to the present; includes music of Hildegard von Bingen, Clara Schumann, Elizabeth de la Guerre, Cecile Chaminade, Louise Talma, Fanny Hensel, Joan Tower, Amy Beach, Ruth Crawford and others.
- Florence Price - The life and work of Florence Price with focus on piano music; performances of selected examples followed by discussion.
- Improvisation - A lost art? Role of improvisation in early music, European composers, opera, 19th century and new music of the 20th century; improvisation inspired by nature, human experience and daily life.
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