Hafey teaches, performs, and presents during European tour

In Romania, Hafey presented a Masterclass June 23 for piano students ages 12-17 at the Sigismund Toduta School of Music in Cluj-Napoca. A day later at the same location, he performed a concert with three colleagues from the University of South Dakota including Dr. Ioana Galu, a Romanian violinist and professor, Holly Haddad, a staff member who played clarinet, and Antonio Ferraro, a student who played violin. Hafey has performed at CSC previously with Galu and Ferraro.

In late June, Hafey taught a second Masterclass for teenage piano students in Bistrita, Romania, at the Tudor Jada School of Music.

He said it was interesting to learn about the music education systems of other countries.

“In Romania, music students receive three private lessons per week on their instruments from a young age, far more than American students,” Hafey said.

Standout experiences for Hafey include the warm audience reaction to his two performances in the historic Bistrita Synagogue, which was damaged in WWII and still shows scars from that time. Hafey said it was especially memorable to see the audience’s response to a piece by Ukrainian Valentin Silvestrov, an 85-year-old Ukrainian composer currently exiled in Berlin.

“Audience members were very touched, and many were crying with joy. I imagine the audience’s strong emotional response was due to the setting, the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine, the nostalgic mood of the music, and hopefully the beauty of my playing,” Hafey said.

From July 2-10, Hafey attended College Music Society International Conference events while traveling through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. He said U.S. music faculty and administrators, as well as some doctoral students, attended the conference.

On July 7, Hafey and Dr. Rachel Bergman from Augsburg University in Minneapolis gave a presentation about the music by Pēteris Vasks, in Riga, Latvia. Bergman has performed previously at CSC with Hafey.

Vasks attended the presentation and spoke with Hafey and Bergman.

“He provided us with positive feedback on our performance,” Hafey said. “He is one of Latvia’s most distinguished composers whose music is frequently inspired by nature and environmental causes.”

During the CMS Conference, Hafey attended the Latvian Song and Dance Festival which takes place every five years in Riga and includes tens of thousands of singers.

The importance of learning to embrace a wide range of musical genres and performance practices is a takeaway from the summer tour that Hafey plans to share with his students this academic year. Additionally, he plans to remind his students about the crucial aspect of building and maintaining networks in the field of music. Hafey plans to continue strengthening his international ties in 2025, by performing in Germany and attending the CMS conference in Colombia.