Prof. Michelle Gott,
Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona:
It was an exceptional honor to host Willi Maerz at the University of Arizona in November 2019. As part of his 10-day visit to Tucson, Willi provided a wonderful lecture for the public on arranging music for harp ensemble, detailed lessons on arranging for my students and myself, coaching sessions for HarpFusion (our university harp ensemble) on the style of his own publications, and a joint lecture-performance that included samples by the students as well as several of Willi’s arrangements for harp ensemble. As a teacher and lecturer, Willi has a captivating style that is both incredibly focused on specific details but also wildly creative. My students and I grew so much in our knowledge and process of working on arrangements because of Willi’s dedicated, inspiring, and patient teaching. We are deeply grateful for this experience, and we look forward to many more seasons of collaboration with Willi!