Ep. 45 – Looking Ahead, Listening Back: Amy Ferguson’s Moonlit Cactus and Migration
Piano Pedagogy PlaylistShow Notes
This week, I present music of Amy Ferguson, a pianist, teacher, composer, and arranger whose self-published pieces grow from the practical needs of her own studio. Ferguson recently received wider recognition when her piece Relámpago won the 2026 Pianist magazine composing competition.
I perform two contrasting solos: Moonlit Cactus, with its cool-jazz harmonies, two-handed syncopation, and opportunities for creative pedaling and sound exploration; and Migration, a peaceful C Mixolydian depiction of birds in flight.
I’ll also give some observations on recording as a tool for honest musical evaluation, and using easier repertoire to help students develop good sight-reading habits.
Moonlit Cactus Amy Ferguson [Intermediate] - https://www.amyfergusonstudio.com/store/p24/Moonlit_Cactus.html
Migration Amy Ferguson [Late Elementary] - https://www.amyfergusonstudio.com/store/p50/Migration.html
More from Piano Pedagogy Playlist
Major and minor scales are the foundation of Western music- but what happens when you step outside them?
This week, I’m taking a little three-act adventure at the piano with music from Jason Sifford’s Beware the Jabberwock, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” from Through the Looking-Glass.
This week, I continue our journey through Chris Caine’s A Year in Twelve Keys with October- Modulations of Seasons and Time, a calm, expansive piece whose shifting pulse rewards careful counting with a wonderfully natural flow.
This week’s episode is a Halloween episode. Sort of. The three pieces I play don’t involve costumes or trick-or-treating, but they each feel right at home in October- and they’ll still be worth playing in November.
You can sense when a child’s enthusiasm and interest is beginning to wane. It could be for a variety of reasons, some of which we have no control over. But finding just the right repertoire for a student, that has the highest chance of making them eager to keep reaching for that next step- that is something we can influence.