September 2010, Presentation at Westfield Center Conference, Yale University

September 24-26, 2010

Invited speaker at this conference on historic keyboards. I will be discussing the characteristics of the pianos of Chopin’s time and after and how they affect performance and interpretation of his music. Demonstrations will use the instruments at the Yale Musical Instruments Collection.

For more information see:
http://westfield.music.cornell.edu/chopin/

Vienna Talk 2010 Presentation

September 19, 2010

Presenting “Impact Dynamics of Felt Piano Hammers” with Dr. Stephen Birkett at Vienna Talk 2010 in Vienna, Austria

For more information, see:

http://viennatalk.mdw.ac.at/

Harmoniques 2010 Lausanne

September 8-12, 2010

Attending Harmoniques 2010 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Topic is Chopin and his Temps

For more information see:
http://www.harmoniques.ch/

American Musical Instrument Society Presentation at Library of Congress

May 29, 2010
Presentation of “Piano Touch and Tone: The Unanswered Question” as part of the American Musical Instrument Society Annual Conference held at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

September 2008 – Lecture Recital on Music of Revolutionary Georgia

September 2008, Lecture Recital on Music of Revolutionary Georgia as part of the Coastal Heritage Society Revolutionary Perspectives Lecture Series. http://www.chsgeorgia.org, Savannah History Museum, 303 Martin Luther King Blvd, Savannah, GA date tba.

May 30, 2008 – Presentation at American Musical Instrument Society annual meeting

Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Musical Instrument Society held at the Cantos Music Foundation, Calgary, Alberta ,Canada on the use of high speed video photography techniques for analysis of 18th and 19th century piano actions.

June 20-24, 2007 Piano Technicians Guild National Convention Appearances

At the 50th Annual Piano Technicians Guild Convention in Kansas City

Conservation Panel Discussion

Anne joins a select panel of other conservators and specialists in antique keyboard instruments to examine the state, treatment, and future of antique pianos.

May 20, 2007 Music for an 18th Century Drawing Room

May 20, 2007, 4 p.m. Savannah College of Art and Design, Kiah Hall, Martin Luther King Blvd, Savannah, Georgia

Anne will play harpsichord and fortepiano, and discuss musical life in private homes in England and the colonies in the 18th century, in an afternoon program for the English Speaking Union, Savannah, Georgia Chapter.

English Speaking Union website

Review from the ESU website
Our own Anne Acker was the speaker and performer for our meeting this month. To see Anne, one would hardly expect to see her moving pianos and other heavy musical instruments about, but that was exactly what she does for a living. Anne brought a Piano Forte and a Harpsichord to the meeting with her.
After our president Barbara O. Smith introduced her, Anne answered a few interesting questions about the instruments that she brought with her. These were beautiful pieces of woodworking craft that were either built or restored by Anne at her shop. Anne then began the meeting with what everyone present agreed was a stunningly beautiful demonstration of each instruments capability. It was actually more than that. It was a wonderful concert presented for our pleasure. Everyone sat spellbound while listening and watching Anne’s nimble fingers dance across the keyboards of the two instruments as she performed music by famed composers of the time. For a short time we could get the feeling of being back in the 18th century listening to a typical performance of the time. No one would have believed that just a month before, she had to postpone this performance due to a severely injured hand.
Anne, thanks a million for a wonderful meeting.

May 20, 2007 | In Lecture, Performance

March 29, 2007 Savannah Music Festival

Savannah Music Festival, Savannah, Georgia, 12:30 p.m. on March 29, 2007 at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Troup Square. http://savannahmusicfestival.org

Georgian On My Mind Anne plays a recital on harpsichord and fortepiano, and discuss on keyboards and music in Georgia, 1760-1820. Sponsored by the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Savannah Morning News.

November, 2006 Recital / Lecture on Federal Era Music in Georgia

Recital / Lecture on Federal Era Music in Georgia. Details tba.

Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Macon, Georgia