Newsletter
Volume 22, Issue 4 | December 2020
Kristen Normann, President
Olya Katsman, Vice President
Michelle Chi, Second Vice President
Millie Chiem, Treasurer & Parliamentarian
Fonny Chandra, Corresponding Secretary
Ruth Zhou, Recording Secretary
Katherine Valdez, Membership Secretary & Referrals Chair
Grace Cheng, Director
Gloria Ho, Director
Maria Ehlert, Director
Karen Wolff, Director
David Ross, Director & Student Recitals
Lu Huang, Director & Website Administrator

Sandy Fong & Maria Ehlert, Hospitality
Sr. Andre Marie Fujier & Ruth Zhou, Historian
Carmencita Aspiras, Sunshine
Lu Huang, Composer Today
Olya Katsman, MSSL Community Outreach
Dr. Jiang Wu, VOCE

Gloria Ho, CM Chair and North Region Chair, (Piano, Strings, Woodwinds and Voice)
Grace Cheng, CM South Region Chair
Millie Chiem, North Region Honors Recitals
Karen Wolff, South Region Honor Recital
Katherine Lee & Ruby Cheung, Theory Site Coordinators
Important Dates
January 23 (Sat)
  • Peter Mack Master Class at 4:00 pm
  • ZOOM information to follow

Virtual Student Recital dates *(Board decided to waive the recital fee for students)
  • December 13 (Sun) at 4:00 pm**, deadline to apply November 29
  • January 30 (Sat) at 4:00 pm, deadline to apply January 16

**time has changed
MTAC - SACB website
password: mta1
Peter Mack's Master Class Guidelines
  1. Application deadline is December 1, 2020
  2. There will be a total of 8 students and 2 alternates selected for the master class
  3. Selection is on first come first serve basis, but the repertoire will be considered for a balanced program
  4. One student per teacher
  5. One piece per student
  6. Level 7 and above
  7. The participation fee is $30, non-refundable in case of cancellation by the student.
  8. Pay through Zelle at: mtacsacb@gmail.com. First name only: mtacsacb
  9. Each student will receive 25 minutes (+/- a few minutes) of instruction
  10. Please email your student name, age, the piece they will play and the duration of the piece to: Olya Katsman at ok4misha@hotmail.com

Peter Mack's Master Class will be on Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 4:00 pm via ZOOM
Student Zoom Recital
Note from CM Chair
Dear Teachers,

You should have received an email on December 5, regarding video recording guidelines for your students' CM exam. Please read them very carefully if you have any questions, please see below.

For questions about the syllabus, level, or policies, please follow up with your teacher. They can reference the CM syllabus and CM Policies and Procedures.

If you have any technical questions, you can contact the MTAC STATE OFFICE at support@mtac.org They are available Monday-Friday from 9 am - 5 pm.

For policy and procedures, I can look up the answers for you, but I urge you to download the 2021 CM policy and procedures to find your own answers. And all syllabus questions can be answered in your syllabus.

You have until January 15 to put in or change repertoire sign up for convention.

Gloria Ho
CM Chair
CM Dates to Know
  • Last Day to Add Repertoire - January 15
  • Media Submission Due Date - February 15
New Branch Honor Requirements
The CM council has decided that the evaluators will no longer be evaluating for branch honors, since it is not a Certificate of Merit program. However, as a branch we will adapt.
The new requirements for branch honors is:

  1. Performance, Technique, and Sight Reading must be good or excellent
  2. All pieces must be memorized
  3. Theory Exam must be 80% or better
  4. There will be no rating.
  5. The student will choose the piece.

This year due to the pandemic, there will be no branch honors recital. Branch Honors ribbons will be given if they meet the requirements. Because a student cannot sign up for BH, like the State Honors sticker, the Branch Honors will be automatically given.

However, when and if everything goes back to normal and we have live in person recitals, then Branch Honors ribbons will only be given if the student performs and stays for the whole recital to accept the ribbon when they are presented after the recital.
MSSL News
Hello everyone!
Music Students’ Service League (MSSL) is a student-run group of volunteers with the mission to promote happiness achieved through musical entertainment as well as developing musical appreciation for the underprivileged members of society, especially our elderly citizens. Despite the ongoing pandemic, we still host recitals by pre-recording performances and send them to senior living centers to brighten up our elderly’s day. We are planning to host monthly recitals in this coming year via online or in-person if permitted by health experts.

If you’re interested in joining us, please print, fill out, and follow the directions on the form:

Students of all skill levels are encouraged to join! Not only is this opportunity a great way to fulfill your service hours requirement, but you also get some well-needed practice for recitals and competitions!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Brooke Zheng (zheng.brooke@gmail.com), Erin Yu (erin4yu@gmail.com), or Andrew Gao (gao.andrew@yahoo.com).
Technology Corner
  • Gooseneck iPhone holder from Amazon, which can be attached to the piano lid to provide a top down view of the keyboard
  • New online platform: www.rockoutloud.live, better sound quality for online music teaching. Must use Google Chrome to have the best experience. You also can book a free demo to experience the sound.
  • Free video service, Flipgrid, is helping students to record online easily. Some school uses it, because it is super user friendly. Once you sign up, you create a topic (for example CM piano recording 1) and add verbal instructions, create an example video, etc. Next, set the parameters, for example, how long the video could ne, which students can access it, and send a join code to the students. They don't have to create an account. On their side, they open the video, click record and viola! (*Tips from Maretha Davel)

Have more ideas you would like to share? Please email Fonny Chandra at fonny_chandra@yahoo.com
Accepting New Students
Joy Fisher
Piano
Phone: 510-862-6485
Email: joydarlenefisher@gmail.com
Location: Castro Valley, CA 94546

David Ross
Piano
Phone: 510-586-9163

Alice Huang
Piano
Phone: 510-709-8293
Email: hyh0118@gmail.com
Location: Castro Valley, CA 94546

Julie Chang
Piano
Phone: 510-366-2193
Email: Juliechangpiano@gmail.com
Address:716 Solstice Court, Fremont, CA 94539


To put your name on (or take your name out of) the list, please contact:
Fonny Chandra at: fonny_chandra@yahoo.com