DeBose Fine Arts Festival & National Piano Competition 2008

     Piano studies began at an early age with parental support and encouragement from Mr. and Mrs. Jesse D. /Naomi S. David, Jr. who realized the talent, drive and creative initiative that their daughter possessed; inherited from the maternal and paternal family.  Her formative piano teachers were: Annabelle Davis, Melba S. Simmons and Joyce L. Rochelle, from elementary through high school.  During this period, Myrtle David was a Louisiana First Place Winner of the Louisiana Interscholastic-Athletic and Literary Organization for three consecutive years; subsequently performing in area recitals in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  Upon entering college, performance experiences expanded, where she represented Dillard University in music competitions and at university sponsored cultural programs.  At this time, her piano teachers included: Marcia Pickwell, Hester Savage James, and Mildred Greenwood Hall.

     Graduate study in piano at Boston University included professors: Leon Tumarkin and Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy.  The private piano, master class and coaching experiences, specifically with Dr. Nagy, extensively influenced her musical perspective and concepts of performance and, later, teaching.

The Masters Thesis: Piano Pedagogy: A Comparative Study of Selected Methods includes a History of Piano Pedagogy from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century with a comparative analysis of Tobias Matthay, Theodore Leschetizsky, Alfred Cortot and Isidor Philipp.  This comprehensive document has been consistently used as a resource for Boston University piano performance and pedagogy students.

     Additional documents of research and authorship include: A History of Microtone Music which includes the theses of Jullian Carrillio, An Analysis of Study and Performance Problems of the Piano Major with special emphasis on style and interpretation, and a Principles and Procedures Manual for Piano Departments.  Non-piano performance documents include: The Black Woman and the Folk Music Tradition in collaboration with Alvin Batiste, Director of the Louisiana Music Program at Southern University.

     Significant early professional experiences include:(1) Concerto Performances with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra (Peter Paul Fuchs, Conductor) and Shreveport Symphony Orchestra (John Shenaut, Conductor), (2) featured soloist for Louisiana’s Premiere African American organization, the legendary New Orleans B-Sharp Music Club, and area South-Louisiana performances for cultural organizations, elementary/secondary schools, piano studios and related church/community events, and (3) other general university calendar performances and community observances.

     Since the establishment of the DeBose National Piano Competition in l974, Ms. David has guided the DeBose Piano Competition from its initial position as an extra-curricular activity of the Southern University Music Division, to its current position as a major arts festival of the Southern University Department of Visual and Performing Arts. In l986, the Tourgee DeBose National Piano Competition Foundation was established as an independent non-profit arts program.  This latter effort enabled the program to become the DeBose National Piano Competition Foundation, Incorporated with a recipient status of grants from:  (1)  The Sternberg Family Foundation (Goudchaux’s-Baton Rouge), (2) Freeport McMoran Foundation (New Orleans), (3) Louisiana Division of the Arts-National Endowment for the Arts, (2) Decentralized Arts Fund Programs, (4) Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge Programs, (5) Community Fund for the Arts Recipient Organization, (6) Baton Rouge Chapter of the Junior League, (7) Baton Rouge Area Foundation, (8) Milton J. Womack Foundation, (9) ExxonMobil Volunteer Involvement/Cultural Gift Matching Program(s), (10) Irene W. and C. B. Pennington Foundation, (11) Target Charitable Foundation-Siegen Lane Super Store, (12) Entergy Charitable Foundation, (13) Southern Arts Federation, (14) Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. debosefestival@aol.com