Nov. General Meeting
Monday, Nov 28, 2022
9:45 AM, IN-PERSON
Rolling Meadows Library
and Online via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 896 1963 3607
Passcode: 219505
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NOVEMBER
November 28 Pre-Meeting Conversation, 9:00 AM
"AIM Exams, Theory and Beyond" with Helen Grosshans, Helen Chang, Vonnie Mrozinski
Come bring your questions about AiM exams to an informal chat before our regularly scheduled meeting.
PROGRAM
Susan Tang
“The Chicago Connection: Exploring the piano music of Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Betty Jackson King through the Keys to Inclusion Initiative”
Monday, November 28, 2022
Rolling Meadows Library and Online Zoom
9:45 A.M. Meeting
DECEMBER
Monday, December 5, 2022
Late Fee Deadline: Festival of Pianos
Monday, December 5,, 2022
Registration Deadline: January 16th Masterclass - enroll at nwsmta99@gmail.com
Thursday, Dec 15, 2022
Deadline: AIM Levels 3-12 Theory Exams
Mail check by deadline
JANUARY
REPERTOIRE APPROVAL
- For all levels, a repertoire substitution request to include any piece not found in the Syllabus must be made by January 15 midnight from Stephanie Myers (www.ismta.org/AIM).
- Program approval by Stephanie Myers (hisamimyers@gmail.com) is required for ALL Level 12 students 3 months before performance exam or recital date.
- Level 12 Recitals must be scheduled for dates before July 31.
PROGRAM
Susan Tang
"Masterclass: Music of Composers of Diversity"
Monday, January 16, 2023
Rolling Meadows Library and Online Zoom
9:45 A.M. Meeting
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A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT |
Dear NWSMTA members,
What is your biggest challenge in teaching? My biggest, and constant challenge is how to motivate the students and how to keep them motivated. In the past, I have tried stickers and small toys in treasure boxes. These last few years, I’ve found my dogs (Mocha and Emma) have been a great motivation to my students. Some students agree to take piano lessons with me only after they hear that I have a dog. I am thinking of a new advertising headline: piano lessons and dog. Kids get the warmest welcome from the dogs when they come to lessons. They also get to play their songs for the dogs. My dogs are great listeners and make the perfect audience. Often, I get the students to agree to repeat practicing a song or a passage by asking them to play for the dogs. My students are always very happy to do so and do it without any objection. And if they pay attention and do well at the lesson, they might even get a chance to feed the dogs as a reward. I wonder if I can count my dogs as a business expense. (ha-ha) What are some of your tricks?
The ISMTA 2022 conference was held last weekend, November 4th, and 5th. I had a great car ride to and from Charleston, IL. I met some new people. I enjoyed the concert by Sean Chen. I was also inspired by the master class and several presentations. At the banquet, we celebrated Michelle Ryder being named Member of the Year for our chapter and Janice Razaq receiving the honor of the 2022 ISMTA Teacher of the Year.
Thanks to Lily Zhang who agreed to be Chairman of the Publicity Committee. Would you like to connect more with other members? Join a committee! Each year our association holds many student and teacher events. We need your help to make these events go smoothly and successfully. Both you and your students will benefit greatly from your involvement.
The November meeting will be held on Monday, November 28th at the Rolling Meadows Library. Please mark it on your calendar. I am looking forward to seeing you there.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Chyi-Ling Evans
President NWSMTA
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November 28 Pre-Meeting Conversation, 9:00 AM
"AIM Exams, Theory and Beyond" with Helen Grosshans, Helen Chang, Vonnie Mrozinski
Come bring your questions about AiM exams to an informal chat before our regularly scheduled meeting.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO JANICE RAZAQ! |
Janice Razaq has been selected to be the MTNA Teacher of the Year for 2023. The award will be presented to her at the National conference in Reno Nevada on March 29th .
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This year’s holiday party will be a post-holiday celebration on Thursday, January 12, 10:00 AM, at Nancy Dempsey’s home, 4461 Dawngate Lane, Rolling Meadows. This will be a time to kick back with your teacher friends and breathe easy after the holiday rush. We are hoping the Thursday date will allow some of you who are unavailable for our meetings on Mondays to attend. We miss seeing you!!!
Please bring a breakfast food to share, beverages will be provided. If you have an amusing story about a student interaction, we hope you will share. If not, no stress! Your presence will be your contribution to the merriment!
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NOVEMBER PROGRAM: DR. SUSAN TANG
”The Chicago Connection: Exploring the piano music of Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and Betty Jackson King through the Keys to Inclusion Initiative"
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Please note that we will be meeting the FOURTH Monday this month!
The session will focus on introducing the “Keys to Inclusion Initiative” through highlighting a selection of early intermediate through advanced repertoire of three incredible women musicians who were composers, mothers, teachers, and performers; all of different generations but who shared a history rooted in our beautiful city of Chicago.
BIO:
Susan Tang is Associate Professor of Piano at Northeastern Illinois University, artistic director of the Chicago Chamber Music Festival (an intensive summer workshop for young artists) and a founding member of Keys to Inclusion (an multi-institutional initiative to explore the piano repertoire of Black American composers).
An active professional performer, Susan enjoyed a successful New York solo piano debut at Carnegie-Weill Hall. New York Concert Review has described her playing as having “well-grounded technique…fluid, elegant readings…highly effective interpretations” a pianist “with an assured playing that sparkled" by the Baltimore Sun and a “fluent pianist” by the Chicago Tribune. In a recent piano duo performance the Chicago Classical Review noted, “The piano four hands team of Louise Chan and Susan Tang literally threw themselves into their amplified instruments, making the dislocated rhythms, explosive roars, glistening high notes and low rumbles speak with acute beauty and concentration.”
Susan Tang has performed and toured with Mabou Mine’s Dollhouse, been featured live on New York City’s WQXR and Chicago’s WFMT, performed with the Eastman Symphony Orchestra along with receiving the coveted Performer’s Certificate. Invitations to perform and teach have taken her throughout Canada, United States, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Colombia where she has performed at festivals such as the Ravinia Festival, Jewel Box Series, Dame Myra Hess, Savannah Music Festival, and Shriver Hall Concert Series. She is also the co-editor with Marc Ponthus of Elliot Carter: A Centennial Celebration, has published articles in Clavier Magazine and has presented at both the MTNA and College Music Society’s national conferences, the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy and is a member of the Royal Conservatory Of Music's college of adjudicators.
Susan Tang received her BM and MM degrees from the Eastman School of Music studying with Nelita True and DMA from Manhattan School of Music with Nina Svetlanova.
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JANUARY PROGRAM: DR. SUSAN TANG
MASTERCLASS, MUSIC OF COMPOSERS OF DIVERSITY
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January 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday)
Deadline to enter students: Monday, December 5
The deadline to enter your students in a masterclass presented by Dr. Susan Tang from Northeastern Illinois University featuring “Music of Composers of Diversity” is Monday, December 5. Please send your questions and your entries for the masterclass to nwsmta99@gmail.com. Please include: teacher’s name, student’s name, age, piece and composer. We are being flexible with time allotted to the masterclass, but Dr. Tang will choose the final program.
The Monday, January 16, 9:45 AM meeting will take place on a school holiday with a snow date scheduled for Monday, February 20 (another school holiday). "Composers of Diversity" are composers of standard piano literature who are underrepresented by virtue of their race, ethnicity, or gender. Composers who are well-known to piano teachers would be considered "well represented" and would not be included in this category, i.e., Scott Joplin, Granados, Ginestera, Mompou, Melody Bober, Catherine Rollin, et al)
Since much of this music has been forgotten or overlooked, Dr. Tang has referred us to a website which provides a database for many of these piano pieces.
Go to https://www.aseatatthepiano.com/database:
Search by title, composer, nationality, gender, level, etc
Click on a specific piece to see sources for scores, leveling, and, in some cases, recordings.
Dr. Tang also mentioned that the music of black composer Florence Price provides a large selection of repertoire with a wide range of playing levels for our students.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FZ5HMX9rzoglDzINamDMzIof-ZMwRZDE8ngnm9UnpsI/edit
AiM levels will be assigned to pieces by submitting a request to the AiM Committee. In addition, a category for “Music of Composers of Diversity” will be included for the new Awards event, “Midwest Keyboard Performers Challenge” and the points awarded will be doubled.
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NWSMTA has a new webpage featuring suggestions for resources from the membership. Thank you to all members submitting your suggestions to help your colleagues. If you have an idea or resource to share or notice a problem with the Colleagues Collection page, please notify Deborah Lynch, dlynch88@gmail.com.
Link to our new webpage.
November suggestions -
For an interview with Andras Schiff discussing Bach, click on this link.
For Andras Schiff giving a Schubert Lecture Recital, click on this link.
Bradley Sowash has many videos available about teaching jazz. Here is the link to one of them with many recomendations for resources to teach beginners learning to improvise.
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Federated Church of Wauconda is looking for a Music Director. They have a Rodgers organ and a Boston piano at the church and are looking for someone to play either or both instruments for their 9:30 A.M. Sunday services. The salary is competitive. They have a small women's choir.
Deborah Lynch has played at the church as a substitute and is familiar with the instruments and congregation. The congregation is appreciative of music and would love to have a musician to lead them. The church is welcoming and willing to be flexible to accomodate any musician hired. Feel free to contact Deborah Lynch if you have any questions about this opportunity.
If interested contact Chuck Burton at 847 494- 0983 or cburton6771@gmail.com
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Dear NWSMTA members,
Thank you, Nancy Dempsey, for your leadership in the “Rethinking NWSMTA committee. Your ability to organize, clarify and guide, kept us on track, yet free to fly.
I look forward to the changes that the board will make due to the comments of members during our phone conversations. We are always looking for feedback from our members. This is your chapter.
Chyi-Ling Evens, thank you for taking your presidency on with a fire in your heart. You demonstrate the power of working together as colleagues to achieve our goals. You are a strong leader and we are honored to support you.
And to the rest of the Rethinking NWSMTA committee; a huge thank you for your time, efforts and your belief that NWSMTA members would answer the call to share their ideas for invigorating NWSMTA. It has been a pleasure to work with a team that remembered a past with NWSMTA that helped form us as musicians and teachers.
Our longstanding members have expressed the desire to create a future for NWSMTA that will pass the knowledge that comes from years of teaching to newer members looking for support and practical ideas. These members are looking forward to hearing new ideas from members familiar with technology and creative approaches of their own. Together we can collaborate and benefit our students, who will carry on playing music that has been performed through the ages, and music that, until now has been rarely heard, plus music that has yet to be written.
Deborah Lynch
Newsletter Editor
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Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association | https://www.nwsmta.org |
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