This past March, independent music teachers from all over the U.S. gathered in Orlando, Florida, for the 2018 MTNA national conference. Held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, the conference proved to be informative and inspiring on many levels.
I was delighted to hear the keynote speaker – Dr. Eckart Altenmuller from Hanover University in Germany – talk knowledgeably about music-related injuries. He detailed various studies of a musician’s brain and body, the relationship of emotions to brain chemistry, and the process of learning music with an instrument. What did I take away from his extensive presentation? Many things, of course, but to me, his most important assertion was that the optimal time to start a child’s music education is between the years of four and six-and-a-half.
Two other informative presentations concerned teaching students who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. In recent years, I personally have taught several students with ASD; thus, I was eager to hear what experts in the field could tell me. A basic tenant was that the teacher can teach the same lesson to both normal and ASD children but use different means to do so. And, no surprise, the techniques of the Suzuki Method are ideal for ASD students.
On a personal note, I ran into a student I taught 10 years ago when I lived in Utah. She now attends Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and was one of the MTNA national finalists. It was a pleasure to hear what a beautiful flute player she has become in the intervening years. I encourage each member to plan to attend the national conference. It is one of the best ways to infuse your teaching with fresh ideas, new approaches, and lots of important and useful information.
See you in Spokane in 2019!
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2018-19
VMTA Calendar
Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference September 29
VMTA
Competitive Auditions
November 11
Richmond Library
NH Fall Conference
TBD
MTNA National Conference
Spokane Convention Center
Spokane, Washington
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2018–2019
MTNA STUDENT COMPETITIONS
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Make sure you are ready for the MTNA National Student Competitions!
The entry deadline for the 2018–2019 MTNA Student Competitions is Wednesday, September 12, 2018, 3:00
P.M.
Eastern Time. Online applications will be available in August.
NEW THIS YEAR:
- Division competitions will be an ONLINE-ONLY VIDEO round.
- Accompanist fee for national finals will be $115 for junior string and woodwind entrants.
- Accompanist fees for national finals will be $100 for senior voice entrants.
For further information, contact:
Linda Stump, NCTM
MTNA Director of Competitions
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President
Laurel Maurer
802-881-9153
laurelflutemaurer@yahoo.com
President-Elect
TBD
Secretary
Sarah Vanegas
541-745-8387
sarah.m.vanegas@gmail.com
Treasurer
Sarah Williams
802-223-5307
sarah5432@gmail.com
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Conference Chair
TBD
Non-Competitive Auditions
Lilly C. Ramsey
802-879-7425
cldkramsey@comcast.net
Competitive Auditions
TBD
Certification
Sylvia Parker, NCTM
802-223-1172
sylvia.parker@uvm.edu
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Newsletter
Jina Smith
802-318-1776
jws682@gmail.com
Membership
Patricia Cleary Bergeron
802-878-9873
pcberg@myfairpoint.net
Web Publicist
Samuel Whitesell
802-461-6676
sam_whitesell@yahoo.com
Composer Commissioning
TBD
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MTNA Member News
Paul Orgel
will perform on the opening program of the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival's Faculty Series on June 27th (UVM Recital Hall), and will play several concerts in July with Counterpoint, Vermont's professional vocal ensemble, featuring music by Janáček, Vaughan-Williams, Bloch, and Matt LaRocca
His student Sebastiaan West will participate in the Oberlin Conservatory's Piano Festival in July. He is a winner of this year's Vermont Youth Orchestra's concerto auditions, and will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the VYO next season.
Two other students Henry and Nathan Wu will return to the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival this summer as interns, as will Ivan Voinov (UVM)
Stuart Carter's
studio, Octavemode, offers a Spring Recital, June 3, 2018 at 5 PM,
Elley-Long Center. 6 students will perform on trumpet, piano and voice. All ages.
There is a new website,
www.octavemode.me
, with a blog and bibliography containing lesson materials, resources, and research materials on the Psychology of Music, used in Octavemode lessons. You may book a lesson online from the website. Blog entries also appear on the Octavemode Business Facebook Page. Subjects include "
Difficult Students," "Technique, Attitude and Practice Strategies for All Musicians," "Phrasing and an Enjoyable Life" and "An Introduction to Octavemode Philosophy"
for prospective students. More entries are planned.
Bartok, a Golden Retriever, has begun to complain when Stuart’s piano, trombone or trumpet playing is not up to his standards. Some former students will recall -- shades of a previous dog, Cooper, who helped to train students with his commentary. Stay tuned.
Memphis Everest, trumpet, has been playing bugle for his scout troop.
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ATTENTION!
Volunteers are needed to serve on the VMTA board! We currently need to fill the positions of President-Elect for 2018-2020, Competitive Audition chair, Conference Chair, and Composer Commissioning chair. Come and join our wonderful group of board members and see how your organization works!
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VMTA programs are partly funded by sponsorships.
Being a sponsor is great way to advertise your business to your target audience and help support music education in Vermont.
Sponsorships are ever present in every VMTA newsletter and on the VMTA website. If you know a person or a business that could benefit from more exposure, please refer them to Laurel Maurer at Laurelflutemaurer@yahoo.com. And please support our sponsors yourself!
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CRANE PIANO PEDAGOGY CONFERENCE
Save the date! The sixth biennial Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference will be held Saturday, September 29, 2018, at The Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam. This
free
one-day event focuses on piano teaching for the elementary and intermediate level student.
We are delighted to have Dr. Vanessa Cornett, Director of Keyboard Studies and Associate Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at The University of St. Thomas (MN) as our guest clinician. Author of the forthcoming book,
The Mindful Musician: Mental Skills for Peak Performance
, Dr. Cornett specializes in topics related to performance psychology. Her sessions for our conference will illuminate how research in neuroscience, sport psychology, and cognitive-behavioral psychology can inform and enhance our everyday music teaching.
In addition to Dr. Cornett’s sessions, we will have a workshop on navigating the transition from method book to repertoire, a poster session featuring collegiate piano pedagogy scholarship, and an open lab time for participants to explore Crane’s piano pedagogy library.
Please visit our website for full conference information, including online registration, session descriptions, travel information, and presenter biographies. The Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam is located 2 hours from Ottawa, 2.5 hours from Montreal, 2.5 hours from Syracuse, and 3.5 hours from Albany. We hope to see you there!
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Why get Nationally Certified?
It’s quite simple. Because it makes each of us a better teacher.
Over the years I have developed an Excuse Limit of Zero. is is my spiritual mantra after hearing how students don’t have time to practice, or money to upgrade their instruments. The truth of the matter is that we can all find time and money for what is important to us. For me, that mission is to become a better teacher.
Teaching can be exhausting, so we have to constantly fill our vessel by having a growth mindset. We need to be learning about what, why, and how we do things. In our techno-fast world we need to prioritize more than ever before. We need to be constantly adapting to our ever-changing job description of “teacher.”
MTNA has put National Certification in place to help us reach our goals. Beginning our transformative NCTM journey is a sure way to start! But HOW do we do this? e same way that we teach - one step at a time:
◆ PLAN
There is strength in numbers! Work in groups! Sit down and make goals for each of the 5 projects to be completed. Get fellow teachers in or out of your state to work with you. This will hold you each accountable for getting the work done. You will enjoy the benefits of both sharing and accountability.
◆ DIVIDE
NCTM requires 5 projects. Take small steps and work on one at a time.
◆ REFLECT
NCTM is all about making discoveries about your teaching, self-reflecting, and evaluation of your profession. There is always insight to be acquired at any stage of a teacher’s career.
Time to set YOUR Excuse Limit to Zero, so you will be successful with the goals that you set. Get rid of the “SHOULD”s, turn them into “MUST”s and start your NCTM journey. I guarantee that by working on your NCTM, you will become an even better teacher!
Terri Hlubek, NCTM
MTNA South Central Certification Commissioner
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SPRING FESTIVAL 2018
On Saturday, March 31st, 2018, the VMTA held its annual Spring Festival at St. Michael's College McCarthy Arts Center. Once again, we are grateful for the sponsorship of Susan Summerfield, who as Department Chair of St. Michael's College Fine Arts Department, has sponsored us for the last nine years. We congratulate her on her retirement from St. Michael's earlier this month.
Eighty-five students from the studios of 12 member teachers participated. This event requires many people in order to run smoothly. I would especially like to thank the following VMTA members for their invaluable help as judges and monitors: Lisa Goodrich, Emily Mott, Mary Anne Samuels, Paul Orgel, Elizabeth Metcalfe, Sarah Williams, and Sam Whitesell. Without their help this event would not have been possible.
This is always a great day for the VMTA and for students who prepare programs. It was my privilege to chair the event for the 16th year. I hope we will have even greater numbers of participants next year!
Thanks to all!
Lilly Ramsey
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Congratulations, Students!
Thank you, Judges!
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NOTEFLIGHT LEARN
VMTA offers online tools for students and teachers to work with composition, performance,
theory, and more. The program has many exciting features - click for details and resources at the
following links:
Be inspired with the possibilities! In-person support and training is available as needed. More
details can be found on the
VMTA website on the TEACHERS RESOURCES page. Contact
Sarah Williams to register for this exciting resource.
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NEWSFLASH!
Our newsletter is now mobile friendly. Try reading the VMTA newsletter on your smart phone or mobile device!
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Polly van der Linde's
Summer Sonatina International Piano Camp students will be performing every Thursday from June 28th through July 26th at 7pm at the Southern Vermont College's Laumeister Art Center in Bennington, VT. These concerts are free and open to the public. If you are unable to attend, the concerts are livestreamed and later archived on the Summer Sonatina website at
www.sonatina.com
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Stellaria Trio Presents: Dark Horses
Violinist Letitia Quante, cellist John Dunlop, and pianist Claire Black perform Beethoven's Piano Trio No. 6 in E-flat Major and Dvořák's Piano Trio No. 3 in F Minor—two robust, delightful and yet lesser-known works by these celebrated composers.
10% of proceeds will be given and matched by Vermont Republic Landscaping and Patents as a donation to the Vermont River Conservancy.
Sunday June 10, 2:30 pm, Shelburne United Methodist Church
30 Church Street, Shelburne, VT 05482
Free admission. Donations welcome.
Suggested: General: $20. Children & limited means: $5
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Name | Company | Phone | Fax | Email | Website
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Sponsors
Allan H. Day, R.P.T. Piano Service
8 Lincoln Road
Williston, VT 05495
(802) 879-4338
pianomanday@comcast.net
http://www.pianomanday.com
Advance Music Center
75 Maple Street
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 863-8652
(802) 660-8652
American College of Musicians
P.O. Box 1807
Austin, TX 78767
(512) 478-5775
Ellis Music Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 437
Bethel, VT 05032
(802) 234-6400
Hilbert Pianos
40 Pleasant Street
Bristol, VT 05443
(802) 453-3743
Vermont Virtuosi
Laurel Maurer
96 Tremont St.
Barre, VT 05641
(802) 881-9153
Little Valley Piano Service
Greg Moore, Jr. RPT
1863 Howard Hill Road
Benson, VT 05743
Office: (802) 438-5279
Cell: (802) 247-4266
Piano Service by Rose Kinnick, RPT
(802) 598-3385
roselynkinnick@comcast.net
www.rosespianoservice.com
St Michael’s College
1 Winooski Park
Colchester, VT 05439
(802) 654-2580
http://www.smcvt.edu
Vermont Piano Service
Ben Giroux
64 Paquette Road
St. Albans, VT 05478
(802) 343-1333
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