April General Meeting
Monday, April 18, 2022
9:45 AM
*** IN PERSON ***
Countryside Church, 1025 N. Smith Rd., Palatine
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APRIL
PROGRAM
Eunjin Lee
"Dalcroze Eurhythmics for your Beginning Students"
Monday, April 18, 2022
At Countryside Church, 1025 N. Smith Rd., Palatine 9:45 A.M. Meeting
AWARDS COMPETITION
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Location: Harper College
SPRING POP & JAZZ RECITAL
Sunday, April 24, 2022
"Live" performance on Zoom
3:30 p.m.
SPRING CLASSICAL RECITAL
Sunday, April 24, 2022
"Live" performance on Zoom 1:30 p.m.
AWARDS COMPETITION WINNERS RECITAL
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Location TBD
MAY
Monday, May 9, 2022
Deadline: Annual Report/Budget Request
Forms Due for 2022 events
LUNCHEON / BUSINESS MEETING
Monday, May 16, 2022
10:45 AM
Location: BURGER BARON
132 E. Golf Rd.
Arlington Heights.
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A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT |
Hello NWSMTA members!
Did you join in the virtual MTNA National Conference? I hope you were able to see the presentations and performances. Their online format is greatly improved now, and it’s more like “the real thing”!
I attended, along with many others, the East Central Division meeting on March 27. The meeting was hosted by Lynette Zelis and the energy was high! MTNA membership is up, as well as that of ISMTA and some of the other states in our region. Some are still feeling the effects of Covid, but overall, everyone is ready for a new year and looking forward to progress in 2022.
until Dec. 15 and I understood Gary Ingle to say that you can still register for the conference! The topics of the sessions vary greatly by topic and content.
As we move into April, I hope we have seen the last of the snow for this season! I am looking forward to the Teachers Musicale and the Classical/Pop & Jazz Recitals this month. In my own studio, I am not only preparing for AIM (Levels 1-2, 10-12) but Pop & Jazz, and the Spring Recital – which will be our Studio Ensemble Workshop. Students will play duets, etc., with other students and/or their teachers. My students are always eager to do this and look forward to this rather informal performance opportunity which includes drums, guitar, piano, and even parents playing with their students.
Please join us in our next meeting which will be LIVE at Countryside Church in Palatine on N. Smith Road on April 18 at 9:45 am.
Brenda Buchanan, President NWSMTA
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Linda Strickland is an accomplished pianist and experienced teacher who has studied music at Harper College in Palatine, IL and Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Having studied under the American concert pianist Denver Oldham, she has developed a love for classical music – especially Beethoven sonatas. She is also adept at teaching and performing other styles of music, including jazz, blues, folk, rock, ragtime, and show tunes. Mrs. Strickland is a member of MTNA and the NWSMTA Chapter of ISMTA. She has coached several students through AIM evaluations, recitals, and competitions with successful outcomes. She enjoys one-on-one teaching best where she can help develop the student’s talent and skills, giving them the confidence to shine. She currently teaches students in her home studio as well as in Notes 88 Music Studio.
Welcome to NWSMTA!
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APRIL MONTHLY MEETING IN PERSON AT COUNTRYSIDE CHURCH |
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Our next monthly meeting is Monday, April 18, 9:45 AM, and will take place in person at Countryside Church, 1025 N. Smith Rd, Palatine, IL. 60067. Bring your mask.
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PROGRAM - FUMI NAKAYAMA
"Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Piano Students"
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Our next monthly meeting is Monday, April 18, 9:45 AM, and will take place in person at Countryside Church, 1025 N. Smith Rd, Palatine, IL. 60067. The topic is "Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Piano Students" presented by Fumi Nakayama of Carthage College. MASKS WILL BE REQUIRED.
Let’s experience music and discover how we can translate what we hear into what we can see!
Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a playful, discovery-based teaching method that aims to connect mind and body, awakening innate musicality and developing musicianship through musical games, rhythmic movement, ear training, and improvisation. Please wear something comfortable to participate in musical games!
Fumi Nishikiori-Nakayama earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano and Harpsichord degree from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, and Master of Music in Piano and Early Music/Harpsichord from Indiana University, where she was the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Rudolph Ganz Memorial Award, and Willi Apel Scholarship. She has studied piano with Ludmila Lazar, Shigeo Neriki, harpsichord with David Schrader, Elisabeth Wright, fortepiano with Elizabeth Wright and Kenneth Drake, chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky, early chamber music with Stanley Ritchie, and conducting with Thomas Baldner and Imre Pallo.
As a conductor, she has conducted Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, IU Ad-hoc Orchestra, and IU Opera Workshops. Her love for vocal music and theater lead her to remain as one of the opera coaches for Indiana University Opera Theater for 6 years.
Currently Ms. Nishikiori is an adjunct faculty member of the Carthage Music Department and teaches for the Carthage Arts Academy. She is a Juilliard School Dalcroze Institute certified instructor of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and often gives demonstrations and lectures to music teachers and students in the Midwest. She frequently performs as a member of Cecilia Trio, and also collaborates with greater Milwaukee and Chicago area artists.
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The Spring Classical Recital will be held on Sunday April 24, 2022 1:30pm. It will be live performance via Zoom (online). All music must be performed from memory. Looking forward to your students’ performances.
Yoko & Chyi-Ling
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I’m happy to announce that the luncheon is back!
It will be held at the BURGER BARON in Arlington Heights, 132 E. Golf Rd.
Please mark your calendar’s for May 16th at 10:45 am. All members will choose from the extensive menu and pay for their own selections. Looking forward to seeing everyone in person.
Justyna
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The 4th Annual "All that Jazz" event will take place on Sunday, June 12, starting at 11:30 A.M. Teachers are invited to enter students of all ages and levels. Please read and review rules and suggestions for how to prepare a lead sheet, and work with your students on counting in, on our website, at https://www.nwsmta.org/jazz-combo-experience.html
The musicians who back up our students are professionals who perform regularly, and are also teachers, so they have been wonderful and understand how to work with young children.
Online registration is available on the website. Deadline for entry (including lead sheets) is Sunday, May 29th.
This is an invaluable opportunity for students to perform on stage with a live jazz trio. We are hoping for more teachers to be able to share this experience with their students! Please email or call Maureen P. Flood at 847-208-4518 or Justyna Weirich at 847-322-4393.
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"Rick Lowe & Friends" will be performing in a coffeehouse performance on Friday, April 22nd at Wildwood Presbyterian Church, 19630 W. Old Gages Lake Road in Grayslake. The coffeehouse will start at 7pm.
I will be performing classical, jazz, showtunes as well as a set of songs from the Carpenters. Joining me in performance will be a few of my piano students as well as 3 of my friends (trombone and voice).
Hope to see you there. Free admission.
Rick Lowe
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Congratulations to the students who participated in the AIM exams on April 10th. 98 students from 28 teachers took part in the Levels 1-2 Complete and Levels 10-12 Performance AIM exams. Thank you to the volunteers who made the exam possible.
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OAKTON PIANO ENSEMBLE LIVE IN CONCERT APRIL 23 AND APRIL 24 |
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Join us for the Oakton Piano Ensemble’s live performance! The Ensemble conducted by Glenna Sprague will present concerts on Saturday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 24 at 3:00 p.m. in the Footlik Theater at Oakton Community College, 1600 East Golf Road, Des Plaines.
The group is founded by Glenna Sprague, Professor and Coordinator of Music at Oakton, where she also teaches piano. Performing at the multiple pianos, the group performs not only traditional classical piano music; but also, symphonic literature as well as ragtime and jazz music. The rich, layered sound of the Piano Ensemble compares to that of an orchestra, with each member playing a different part of a composition as the melody transfers from pianist to pianist. At this year’s concerts, the Ensemble will perform works by Beethoven (Märsche, Op. 45, No. 2), Haydn (Symphony No. 104); Piazzolla (Libertango); Ellington (Satin Doll); Joplin (Ragtime Dance) and other composers.
Tickets are $17 for general admission and $14 for seniors and students. There will be limited seating so get your tickets early! COVID-19 protocols will apply. For ticket information, call the Oakton Box Office at 847-635-1900 or order tickets online at www.oakton.edu/tickets.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most unique music groups in the world, the Oakton Six Piano Ensemble has performed in Europe and the United States, including the 32nd World Conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow; the College Music Society International Conference in Vienna, Austria; MTNA National Conference in Atlanta; numerous MTNA state conferences; National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Chicago.
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Dear NWSMTA members,
I like to listen to podcasts on a variety of topics at night, as I unwind from my day. If my mind is racing from one thing to another, I appreciate someone who seems to know what they think. A few weeks ago, I was listening to a podcast on brain health. Unfortunately, I have no longer remember who it was. The speaker used rock star- Sting, authors – Mike Lankford and Stephen King, and magician- Glenn Falkenstein to illustrate his ideas. I was filtering what he said through the lens of my life and thinking about how it applied to music.
Falkenstein was a mentalist, who did an amazing trick with his partner. He would be blindfolded completely while his partner would have an audience member choose an item for Falkenstein to identify and describe. For instance, a credit card, the type of card (Visa), the bank (Chase) and the expiration date. Before he passed away, Falkenstein passed on his secret to the host of the podcast. The magician and his partner worked two hours a day for five years to develop the code they use to pass information. His partner might say, “Are you ready?” to mean a credit card. Their code was extremely elaborate. The host pointed out that consistency makes it possible to become the best you can be. How many students stop practicing, because they discover they will never be a concert pianist?
Mike Lankford, also a drummer, wrote an insightful biography of Leonardo da Vinci; Becoming Leonardo. As the author, he made seventy-five revisions before the book was published. Like Leonardo, Lankford preferred to leave something unfinished until it was the best he could do. Another author, Stephen King goes for a walk every day before writing to jumpstart his creativity. Walking actually grows your hippocampus. I remember reading that you don’t stop walking because you get old. You get old because you stop walking. The Japanese refer to it as “forest bathing.” Some friends call and ask if I’d like to take a bath with them. I am always ready for that.
When Sting is on the road performing, he takes a couple of hours each day to do yoga and to play. He’s an unusual performer, because he is the bass player and the soloist. He’s also the leader of the group. Being the bass player puts him in control of all the harmonies. And being the soloist, allows him to drive the artistry.
“Limb independence” in drumming refers to creating complex rhythms with multiple limbs. Certainly, music is a way to grow these brain skills. Just learning to use the technical skills to play an instrument and the knowledge and creativity required to shape the performance at the same time creates many brain connections. Teaching your brain to do that requires slow, deliberate practicing.
I heard Sting, in an interview by Rick Beato, describe how he and another member of his band start each day playing Bach. They do it very slowly, eventually turning it into an exercise. You can find the Bach influence in some of their riffs. At seventy, he is still creating music that will influence others in the future. Bach is still doing the same thing.
I think curiosity is another element driving our brain health. The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don’t know. Certainly, the people listed above are examples of how it contributes to a life long passion with a healthy brain.
Deborah Lynch
Newsletter Editor
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Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association | https://www.nwsmta.org |
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