tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post8257405562525408266..comments2023-07-26T09:16:53.067-04:00Comments on photocynthesis: Bonifant RoadCyndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-60435133341700658082023-01-26T12:47:54.982-05:002023-01-26T12:47:54.982-05:00I'm a friend of Cyndy's and after meeting ...I'm a friend of Cyndy's and after meeting her at Montgomery college in 1973 I found out she had studied with Mr. Pries as I had and like her, I too switched to Bass .I started very early with him as a five year old. I think because of his memorization thing, it has helped me with so much both with music and with life. The Bartok also prepared me to accept just about any tone cluster or even noise as music. I wouldn't be who I am as a musician today without his guidance. He was a top tier musician and music teacher and it does seem that everyone responding hear carries something of him through life. He was a gift that found me and I'm most thankful<br />January 26 2023Jon Nazdinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-6622158166368168252022-10-12T08:24:30.778-04:002022-10-12T08:24:30.778-04:00I just found this blog today 10/12/22 and had to a...I just found this blog today 10/12/22 and had to add a few stories of my own! I remember Mr. Pries as a bit of a saint in the late 60’s-my mom dropped me off to go shopping and sometimes i was a stranded 9 year old feeling a bit embarrassed to be there long after my lesson. I remember Michelle was there sometimes after (or before) having a lesson. The great part of spending extra time with him was hearing those stories about the family. And I believe Michelle’s grandmother was there too, Mr.P watched after her too because she had been hurt in a car accident years ago. How many people had a teacher with 2 grand pianos anyway? And I think I must of had special treatment because after a while, I got to choose my poems that I would recite. Mr. P had seasonal recitals which started with beginners and ended with the more proficient. And I think he had Shirley MacLaine as a student back in the 50’s(celebrity sighting!). I remember him on his riding lawn mower wearing a straw hat in the summer keeping his large lawn clear-that is one of my fondest memories. I knew he was special from the moment I met him and I’m not surprised at all that people are trying to find information about him. And lastly, it was great fun to hear him play.Karen Lukasiknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-54550788708431838682021-04-11T17:14:27.221-04:002021-04-11T17:14:27.221-04:00This looks like a thread that will live forever 🙂...This looks like a thread that will live forever 🙂. I just came upon it when looking up my old piano teacher, Harold Pries, of whom I have wonderful memories. I started with Mr. Pries in around 1963, after my good friend and high-school classmate David Dudley recommended him. (I’d been taking lessons from a woman my mother found who was more interested in teaching me songs from the 1940s, my mother’s preference. I wanted to get more serious.). I studied with him for 3 years, after which I went off to college in Rhode Island. I really enjoyed the poems, though I’m afraid I often memorized them while driving up Bonifant Rd. to my lesson.Chris Braunnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-37093251735102858562018-01-28T18:39:44.626-05:002018-01-28T18:39:44.626-05:00Wow everyone, this post has certainly taken on a l...Wow everyone, this post has certainly taken on a life of its own! I don't do much blogging anymore so I was amazed to see that people are still checking in here. It is so much fun to read all the comments from other students of Harold Pries from so long ago who had similar experiences. And Michelle - I heard your dad play a concert at the house one time. It was so inspiring. I'm so sorry he's gone. Helen Smith Tarchalski was a colleague and friend of mine during the years that I taught piano, but our paths rarely cross these days since I switched over to being a bass player a number of years ago. I am glad that your grandfather's house is still standing. I always thought that "Wolf's Den" was the same house, but a friend of mine, another Harold Pries student, temporarily convinced me that his house had been where the Trolley Museum now stands. I'm very happy that he was wrong about that because I always felt that the house that is still there is where I took my lessons. And all those legends about John Colianni and Emmy Lou Harris, LOL. I guess that was back in the 70s or 80s. Who knows - might have been a different house. I am Facebook friends with John Colianni - played a gig with him once, so I guess I could ask just ask him.Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-77367054112174836722017-01-14T13:31:59.008-05:002017-01-14T13:31:59.008-05:00I was a student of Harold Pries 1970-75. First at...I was a student of Harold Pries 1970-75. First at the old white house with dark green shutters on Bonifant Road, and later in the smaller house in Cloverly off New Hampshire Ave. I believe McNeil Lane, second right past the Southern States store.<br /><br />We had to copy the poem or quote from the blackboard in the waiting room into our composition book. Then we had to recite last week's poem. He had the cello standing in the corner with the back facing out. He had to give up cello due to arthritis. He had a great garden in the smaller house with plum or prune trees and other edibles.Tony Dziepaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-27519277554785534502016-06-22T00:32:35.920-04:002016-06-22T00:32:35.920-04:00I studied piano with his son, Roger Pries for many...I studied piano with his son, Roger Pries for many years. Not as quirky and no poems! He had us do the Bartok Rumanian Folk Dances ... Which were much more fun! AimeeAimeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03391898313511327907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-48834057518713915862013-10-29T11:11:24.676-04:002013-10-29T11:11:24.676-04:00You guys are too much after all these years! I am...You guys are too much after all these years! I am Michelle Pries; Roger was my father (he died of lung cancer in 2002--his faithful student, Helen Smith, was at his memorial service. Harold Pries was my grandfather; after a stroke in the seventies, he came to live with us and fully recovered. He contiued to teach and hike and recite until age 93, when he literally died at his desk with his head fallen forward into a volume of poetry he was reading. WANDA, I bet you are(were) Wanda Huff, aren't you? I also heard from Debra Shapiro, right around the time dad died. Luke Patterson, a pupil of Roger's, is still a friend. ANyone remember either of Harold's: Glenn Walp; or Ami Cohen? That would have been around '68 to '70. I was also a student, and doing a lot of riding of my pony out back. I scarcly doubt that Colliano or EmyLou practiced in the shed out back, as there were 100 pigeons in 1, and my pony in the other. But anything's possible, I guess, as the house still stands and is now called Wolfs Den. It's 525 Bonifant Road. To whoever asked, Harold Pries was largely self-taught; his father was a cigar maker in Connestoga, PA and while wholly uninterested in his music, allowed him to have an old upright from the church. He ran away to Philadelphia and studied at the Settlement School of Music. Then he fell under the tutelage of Hans Kindler, cellist and conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, and after the great flood of the forties in WIlliamsport,Kindler brought the family to the Washington area. My father studied with Olga Samaroff Stowkowski and then later with Leonard Shure in New York City. I should stop, because I'm probably up over my space limit. But I have a fine memory of you all. Just "thanks" and wanted you to know.<br />Michelle Pries, also<br />Mpries21701@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-78806683482727081032012-12-25T01:21:18.031-05:002012-12-25T01:21:18.031-05:00I was reminiscing today about my piano lessons wit...I was reminiscing today about my piano lessons with Harold Pries during the 60's and was interested to find this blog with everyone's comments. I also still have my black lesson plan books and my book of copied poems. He was an unforgettable man and teacher. I haven't played the piano in years but am thinking about getting back to it. My father was one of the founders of the trolley car museum.Sharonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-80031233556467332142012-10-02T17:26:25.989-04:002012-10-02T17:26:25.989-04:00Also, I would love to find out from the person who...Also, I would love to find out from the person who posted about Harold Pries' teacher...where those lessons occurred and where he received his instruction.Wandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-75500612003622569832012-10-02T15:54:16.503-04:002012-10-02T15:54:16.503-04:00I found this post while I was looking for the line...I found this post while I was looking for the lineage of piano teachers going back from my teacher, Roger Pries. I knew his father had grown up in Germany and I was curious who he studied with as well. I lost track of Roger many years ago, but it appears he is still alive from my research and I would love to find him. I teach piano and voice in Lakeland, Florida and just recently unearthed my shiny black lesson books as well.Wandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-81777211970177684802012-07-26T21:38:39.942-04:002012-07-26T21:38:39.942-04:00Hi Al - It seems like the student of Harold Pries ...Hi Al - It seems like the student of Harold Pries are everywhere! It's so much fun to read about these experiences from his other students because it gives my mind fodder for daydreaming whenever I drive past his house. And that's pretty often since I still live in the area. We were luckier than we all probably realized at the time to have had such a wonderful and inspiring teacher.Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-14480821000851307812012-05-16T10:10:00.085-04:002012-05-16T10:10:00.085-04:00I too found these messages from Googling Pries. I...I too found these messages from Googling Pries. I studied piano with Harold for 7 years in the 1950s, and used to go plinking around the farm with Roger while my sister took her lesson. Roger had a brother who was a true prodigy but unfortunately died young of leukemia. I retired to Mississippi with an appreciation of music and an earworm, "while I wandered weak and weary."Al Sollodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-84071908025786904912012-02-26T11:46:39.656-05:002012-02-26T11:46:39.656-05:00I remember that poem - thanks so much for sharing ...I remember that poem - thanks so much for sharing it! I hope Mr. Pries is as thrilled as I am that so many of his former students have shown up on such a random blog posting. I'm sure that he must be proud of what they all have accomplished.<br /><br />I think the experience of studying with him was memorable for every single one of his students, even those who only lasted a year, like me. I went on to major in piano in college and then taught piano for more than 25 years. I'm just working as a bass player these days, but when I get back to teaching piano I think I'll try to incorporate poetry into the lessons. It's one of those things, like music lessons, where the benefits spill over into many other areas of a child's development. Now that I have some hindsight, hahaha!<br /><br />Recently my mother found two of those shiny black lesson plan books down in her basement. If I ever get myself organized maybe I'll post one of the pages from it. I was in that Gala***jkian book too. I have no idea how it's spelled because I still can't read all of Mr. Pries' handwriting. The assignment book is full of his comments and grades for each activity, written in red and blue pencil and sometimes what looks almost like a very sharp crayon! But always red and blue.<br /><br />My mother had tucked several programs into one of the books and one of those programs was for an entire recital given by David Dudley.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment and for stopping by! I think I might just go ahead and write a followup post one of these days that is just about Mr. Pries. Stay Tuned!Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-4922612113481196672012-02-24T03:52:55.905-05:002012-02-24T03:52:55.905-05:00Mr. Pries was one of my first piano teachers, ca. ...Mr. Pries was one of my first piano teachers, ca. 1964. I was only 5 years old and he spent most of the time talking to my mother. I remember a sculpture of stairs and a stick-figure child walking on it. And I still have the Gallejkian (sp!) primer and his red and blue pencil scribbles "F-A-C-E" for the treble spaces and "G-B-D-F" for some of the lines. I also remember a much older student, David Dudley, who was very good at that time. Anyway, I went on to get a doctorate in Music years afterwards and I still remember some of the foundations from him. He tried poetry with me. I still remember something about a ladybug.. <br /><br />Down in the hollow,<br /><br />Not so far away,<br /><br />I saw a little ladybug<br /><br />When I went to play.<br /><br />Swinging on the clover<br /><br />Up in the air.<br /><br />I wonder if the ladybug<br /><br />Knew I was there.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03420707366047821197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-12278579867424830562011-07-01T23:59:40.374-04:002011-07-01T23:59:40.374-04:00Rick - Ouch! Poor Mr. Pries! I guess he was pret...Rick - Ouch! Poor Mr. Pries! I guess he was pretty tough. That's one way to prove that curved fingers are stronger than straight ones, hahaha!<br /><br />I'm sorry I didn't see your comment right away - I should check back here more often. Thanks so much for sharing your story.Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-77584045590359908272011-05-15T10:15:06.708-04:002011-05-15T10:15:06.708-04:00I took piano lessons from Harold Pries in the mid ...I took piano lessons from Harold Pries in the mid 60's for a couple of yrs. At the first meeting as a prospective student with my parents he wanted to demonstrate the strength of his hand. He got down on his hands and knees and stretched out his cupped hand, palm down, and said: "Go ahead, step on my hand." I lightly tapped it. "No, harder, what are you, a weakling?" I wound up (as much as a puny 12 yr old could wind) and stomped on his hand as hard as I could. My parents were aghast. He rubbed his hand and said "very good, now let's continue" without missing a beat although I was pretty sure his hand hurt alot.ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-6187197937347876972011-04-21T01:15:25.634-04:002011-04-21T01:15:25.634-04:00Lisa, it's so nice to hear from other people w...Lisa, it's so nice to hear from other people who studied with Mr. Pries. I never became acquainted with any of his other students during my short year of study with him, but since then I found out that one of my bass-playing buddies also had piano lessons with Harold Pries, and one of my piano teaching colleagues studied with Roger Pries, probably around the same time you did. It's a small world, isn't it?<br /><br />In another interesting twist, I ended up working with John Colianni (mentioned in the comments from about a year ago) this past New Years Eve in a mostly New York band that had come down to play in DC for the night. It was a total coincidence. I had an absolute blast playing with him - best New Years Eve gig ever!Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-40262231923180256052011-03-27T18:21:04.686-04:002011-03-27T18:21:04.686-04:00Cyndy,
I came across your blog when looking up Mr....Cyndy,<br />I came across your blog when looking up Mr. Pries. I was curious if he was mentioned anywhere on the web. I studied with hm from 1965 until probably 1970, when he had his stroke. I learned much of the same music that you mentioned (and more), and I still have my notebook with all the poems that I memorized. He influenced me a great deal even though I was so young (6 years old when I started studying with him). After he had his stroke, I because a student of his son, Roger Pries, who used to be a concert pianist. <br />Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the photos. I don't live in the area anymore, but I am there occasionally and will check out the scenery. <br />--LisaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12517377911881508947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-28022885929187584382010-03-26T10:48:54.672-04:002010-03-26T10:48:54.672-04:00That's the house. I had no idea John grew up ...That's the house. I had no idea John grew up there. I didn't really know him but early on I used to play in a trio with his not-yet girlfriend, several years before she moved up to live with him in NJ. Now I've totally lost touch with her, but isn't it a small world?<br /><br />Also, I rented my bass to his bass player one time for a show at Blues Alley a while back (a WHILE back) and stuck around to hear it. All I can remember is that I'd never previously heard any piano player swing as hard as John Colianni did that night. Ever. It was astounding.Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-84184731137824156632010-03-25T11:41:45.560-04:002010-03-25T11:41:45.560-04:00No, I wasnt in Emmy Lou's band. John Coliann...No, I wasnt in Emmy Lou's band. John Colianni the jazz pianist grew up in that house. A musical address, which is currently 1111 Bonifant I believe.E Scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-24250037169214107502010-03-25T10:57:53.309-04:002010-03-25T10:57:53.309-04:00E Scott - It's so wonderful to hear from peopl...E Scott - It's so wonderful to hear from people who have had far more experience with Mr. Pries than I did. I only studied with him for a year, but it made a lasting impression. I think about him every time I drive on Bonifant Road, which has been almost daily for the past four years.<br /><br />Thanks so much for letting me know that the house is still standing - I'm pretty sure I know which one it is now. I'd heard that his property had become the old trolley museum and figured I'd been thrown off in remembering exactly where it was after they straightened the road. But the terrain around that house with the radio tower totally matches what I had remembered, especially the way the driveway curves as it goes up the hill. They changed all of the house numbers on that stretch of road so I could never really tell for sure. I'm so glad to know the house is still there!<br /><br />There was another old house just to the east which is probably gone - the entrance is almost completely covered by underbrush. Things look so different around there now with all of the new neighborhoods, and now the ICC.<br /><br />That's so cool that EmmyLou Harris used to rehearse there - I had no idea! Were you in her band?Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-472959317749937002010-03-24T12:42:22.956-04:002010-03-24T12:42:22.956-04:00I studied piano with Harold Pries as a boy in the ...I studied piano with Harold Pries as a boy in the late 50's and during most of the 60's. The house is still there, about 1/4 mile from the trolley museum site, and I spent time at the house in later years (Emmy Lou Harris used to rehearse her "Angel Band" in a shed behind that house, before she was signed to Warner Bros. I loved the poems, and still remember the lessons as very intense but Harold Pries as a most memorable person in my childhood.E Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00924607529858660226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-23464048192561025342009-12-22T12:42:13.902-05:002009-12-22T12:42:13.902-05:00mjn...LEPS - Thank you so much for this fascinatin...mjn...LEPS - Thank you so much for this fascinating information! I had no idea Harold Pries was a cellist, and played under Stokowski no less. I'm definitely going to take a closer look at that very interesting book when I get a chance. I love that while you were doing geneology research some musical lineage came up as well. Now I want to know more about your great grandfather too! I have this hazy notion that I've heard of him somehow, but it's a very vague feeling. Thank you again for commenting.Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-9767538726183139862009-12-21T11:16:19.493-05:002009-12-21T11:16:19.493-05:00cindy, this may seem odd but while researching my ...cindy, this may seem odd but while researching my great-grandfather, Wassili Leps, i came across one of his piano students, Harold Pries, therefore here i am at your blog...found info about pries/leps http://www.archive.org/details/musicanddanceint001427mbp...read online pg.248-249mjn...LEPSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6906849261938947265.post-78558646914412441102009-12-15T16:37:16.028-05:002009-12-15T16:37:16.028-05:00Yeah, they'll probably have to put in a four l...Yeah, they'll probably have to put in a four lane highway/entrance road to accomodate all the traffic from that huge new development.Cyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11787927933858782267noreply@blogger.com