Ana María Otamendi
Research
Ana María’s interests range from Neuroscience and Psychology applied to learning and practicing an instrument, to Latin American art song and chamber music.
She has presented lectures and workshops about these topics around the world, including Cambridge University, Yale University, Wolf Trap Opera, University of Michigan, Universidade de Sao Paulo, the International Keyboard Collaborative Artists Conference, SphinxConnect Conference, Diversity and Belonging: Unsung Keyboard Stories sponsored by the Westfield Center for Keyboard Studies, and many more! Discover her different lecture and class topics below.
1. Learning and the Brain
A tour of how our brains work, the latest neurological and psychological research about learning, and how to apply their findings to musical practice and learning of any new material. This is helpful for all music students. The lecture can be adjusted to last anywhere from 50 minutes to two hours.
She teaches a class at Louisiana State University called Learning Effectively, in which she helps students:
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Improve their overall approach to learning and practicing, by understanding the latest psychological, neurological and pedagogical research on the science of learning.
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Evaluate their current habits (not just those related to learning, but to life in general), and find ways to change the bad ones and enhance the good ones
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Improve their memory and your ability to focus on the task at hand.
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Put all this knowledge into practice from Day 1, and evaluate their progress in all these different areas.
Watch the Full Lecture here
2. Latin American Art Song
A lecture that presents an overview of nationalism in Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina and how it inspired their composers. Examples by Juan Bautista Plaza, Ernani Braga, Jaime León, Guastavino and Ginastera. This lecture can also last between 50 minutes and two hours.
3. Latin American Chamber Music
An overview of the vast world of Chamber Music written in Latin America. This lecture is aimed to not only introduce musicians to this wonderful repertoire, but also to help them access resources for its study, scores, recordings, stylistic considerations, etc. See handout below.
