- - - Mary Kay Kapustka’s
biography - - -
Ms. Kapustka was born August 1, 1941 on a farm in the middle
of cornfields in the
middle of Nebraska, USA. Starting piano
lessons at age 8, she considers herself to
be self-taught up to enrollment
at the University of Nebraska with a Major in Music.
Fortunately, while growing up, the small town she was closest to (Ord) had a competent
teacher who gave solid but limited guidance. Many holes
in Ms. Kapustka's training
were partially filled by her constant persistence. She loved
being at the piano for
long hours.
This led to much sight-reading, experimenting
and tackling pieces that
her teacher
felt were too complicated, conquering them on her own.
In addition to having no access to a solid musical foundation,
Ms. Kapustka’s pre-high
school years were lacking in social stimulation because of the isolated environment of
living on a farm. The Piano and the Radio were
her contacts with the “outside world”.
“Surfing the dial” on the Radio was her introduction to
the world of “ classical music”.
Youngest of five children, she managed to discover the joys
of "classical music" on her
own, gaining a deep appreciation and understanding
of this music that would blossom
as she continued her quest for more knowlege and exposure.
Many hours were spent listening to:
- The Bell Telephone Hour
- The Firestone
Hour
- Sunday afternoons
with the New
York Philharmonic
- Saturday afternoons
with the Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts
She met Van Cliburn, via Radio, when
he made his debut with the
New York Philharmonic
and also heard him play with the same orchestra after he won
the Tchaikovsky
Competition in Moscow in 1958. (In
later life she would hear him
play live in
numerous concerts.) Her interest in Opera
developed during this time in such depth,
she took out a subscription to Metropolitan Opera News before she was
in High
School. She continued her subscription
into her College years.
Her years in high school found her involved in every musical
activity and class, vocal
and instrumental, that was offered
by the small High School she attended. She was
excused frequently from her academic classes so she could “hang out” in
the music
department. She did everything from designing half
time shows for the band during
marching season (flute was her instrument) to planning special
programs for Choral
Performances plus providing the piano accompaniment
for every singing group, large
and small, as well
as for soloists. She also was organist for her church
and the church
choir from seventh grade through graduation from
High School and on through College
when she would return for weekends and breaks. (The "Little
Church in the Country"
is mentioned in the CD booklet for VIA
CRUCIS - LD003)
Keeping
up her solo playing many times took a back seat, being
pushed out by all the
other musical endeavors of which she was a part.
However, while robbing her of time
for solo practice, these many,
varied activities gave her a broad foundation on which
to build and develope her skill at the keyboard as well.
Music was established as a
primary life focus at a very early age. The accompanying
skills learned during the high
school years served
her well in College and on through her life.
Life at the University of Nebraska entailed lots of
self imposed hours of study and
practice with very little
time for leisure, a pattern she stills
follows to the current date.
She took her Piano
Major very seriously while working for a degree in
Music Education
which she earned With Distinction in 1963. For
her first love, which was piano, it was
too little too
late. Not being allowed to study with the teacher of
her choice until she completed her undergraduate study,
it was an easy decision for her to continue on,
without
any break in momentum, to
earn her Masters Degree in Music with a strong
focus on Piano in 1964. Finally being allowed to study
with the teacher of her choice
for three semesters and
two summers, when she finished her Masters
Degree it was
still too little, too late.
Frustrated, burned out and disappointed with the low (by
her standards) achievement
at the piano, she set the piano aside
for a number of years. It was expected by society
in rural America during that era that she use her Education
in Music to teach public school
music. Achieving a Masters degree
was “breaking out of the mold” thinking and behaving
for that era in rural, middle America. However, teach music she did and she loved
it – four
years
of teaching Junior High General Music,
two in Omaha and two in Colorado Springs.
She picked up the piano again more seriously than she had
ever before in 1972 after
attending a highly inspirational
seminar on Piano Pedagogy given in Pueblo, Colorado,
presented
by Frank Cedrone and Victoria Markowsky the summer of 1972. Her older
daughter was age two, the timing was right. Ms. Kapustka sensed that Frank Cedrone
was a teacher with whom she could work and be inspired by and
she commenced private
study the Fall of 1972. Being true
to the way she tries out new adventures, she devoured
her lessons and started practicing so seriously she had to keep track of
her hours so she
didn’t end up spending too much
time at the piano and start neglecting her role of wife,
mother and private piano instructor. Mr. Cedrone believed
that anyone studying seriously
had a duty to perform. Starting with small
performances for local music clubs, she worked
up a Solo Recital which she presented in 1978. Finding the whole
process so rewarding
and fulfilling, she started working on a second solo recital
which she presented in 1979.
1981 was to be her next concert which she played in numerous
communities in Colorado
as well as Nebraska.
1981 found the family moving from Salida where five happy
years were spent cherishing
the small town atmosphere, spending
every Sunday picnicking in the Mountains from May
to October, and teaching many, many students. Ms. Kapustka was the only piano teacher
in the small Mountain town. Her recitals in those years were presented in Salida for very
appreciative audiences. She was able to continue her study with Mr. Cedrone during that
time because of the ease of the commute from Salida to Pueblo.
Moving to the Denver/Boulder area in 1981 meant the happy,
fruitful years studying
with Mr. Cedrone came to an end.
A fine teacher at the University of Colorado, Boulder,
was
selected with whom to continue studies, Dr. Peter Amstutz.
Much was absorbed by
studies with Dr. Amstutz who had a completely
different approach from Mr. Cedrone.
An unforeseen series of events forced Dr. Amstutz to leave CU prematurely and
accept
a position at Oklahoma State University just as a comfortable
teacher - student
relationship was developing. Very productive lessons continued
via commuting between
Oklahoma State and Bolder for five
years. A mastery of Beethoven Sonatas opus 110
and opus 111, plus the Bagateles opus 126 represented the
fruits of those labors.
When her younger daughter started studying with Francisco
Aybar in 1986 she was
working on her own. She too started
studies with Mr. Aybar which would turn out to
be the most intense and serious study opportunity of her life. These lessons
continued
into the 1990’s and were the source of the
insights and skills she needed to study,
with utmost
interest
and passion,
the music of Franz Liszt, who was becoming the
driving force in her life.
The mid 1980’s found her focusing on the compositions
of Liszt that she discovered
early on to be a deep and mysterious
expression of her own deep and mysterious
psyche. Full mastery and understanding of Années
de Pelèrinage, Troisième Année
was a life changing event. She was privileged to perform
this great work in Boulder,
1994 as part
of the Boulder Library Concert Series.
After that concert, all playing came to a halt because
of serious health problems
that overtook her without warning signals that were recoginized.
She found that
she had lost the
ability to play. Struggling to regain stability with her health took
all her time and efforts excepting the time she faithfully filled
teaching private piano
students. Epiphany, 1999, found
her cautiously returning to the piano, hopefully
to do some serious playing again. Her efforts met with
success and soon after,
The Denver Center for Liszt Studies came
into being and plans were made for a
significant Concert which would take place on the first
Sunday of Lent, 2001, the year
Ms. Kapustka was to
turn 60. The concert would consist of the complete performance
of her beloved Années
de Pelèrinage, Troisième Année and
the first performance
in the Denver area of VIA CRUCIS,
utilizing the exceptional talents of Richard Robertson
and the Church of the Holy Ghost Choir and Soloists. By
the Grace of God, that landmark
concert renewed, refreshed
and energized Ms. Kapustka to dream dreams that would
have never entered her mind previously. LISZT DIGITAL was founded and the results
are posted for all to see.
Consecutive performances of VIA CRUCIS have
taken place every year since that
concert
in 2001. February, 2005, marked the 5th annual performance
in the Denver
area. It was
a concert presented in a spirit of celebration and thanksgiving,
praising
God for his goodness and mercy.
™
