AMTA NEWS Coffee and Meeting: 10 AM, Sep 11 Program: Kevin Chance, Paving the Road to Chopin Location: Piano Distributors President s Corner It is hard to believe summer is over and we are already into our busy Fall schedule! Let s begin this season with a great turn-out to hear Kevin Chance present his Program for us September 11. Nancy Elton has worked hard to put together a wonderful series of Programs for 2015-16. I know you are busy, but it would be great to see more of you attend these Programs. We need volunteers to bring refreshments to the meeting please contact me if you can help. We have many important events coming up, (check out our Calendar of Events) including our Romantic and Impressionistic Piano Competition. The Application Deadline is fast approaching September 26, 2015. We thank Raisa Issacs for all her past work forming and running this competition. We hope to honor her work by continuing the success of this event! We will need all hands on deck to keep the RIPC running smoothly.
AMTA Newstetter September 2015 President s Corner Continued I have included the What s New for 2015 page in this Newsletter, but please refer to our Website to find applications, guidelines, and all the other pertinent information. www.atlmta. The Website looks beautiful and works well! Since this event is now for Pre-college applicants only, we are able to increase the cash awards and prizes. YEARBOOK: I will upload the Yearbook soon. Please renew your membership ASAP to be included in the Yearbook and on our Website. I plan to update the Website and remove those who are not current members. Please check the Website and be sure all information for you is correct! The Website works really well; those interested in contacting a teacher can simply click on the email tab and voila! You are sent an email directly. So check your contact information. GMTA News: Ø Please note that the GMTA Conference has separated the Auditions from the Conference this year, and that they are held in two different locations. (See, Calendar of Events) Ø GATE Theory Test must be passed before student may proceed to Regional Auditions Ø Oct. 15, 2015 Pre-registration Deadline for GMTA Conference Ø March 19, 2016 GMTA Regional Auditions Ø April 16, 2016- GMTA Pre-College and Concerto Auditions at UGA Ø GMTA is in the process of implementing online applications for Auditions. Target date for this is 2017. Last but not least the MTNA Conference is in beautiful San Antonio April 2-6 2016! I was there a few days this summer, and it is a great place to visit. AND Emanuel Ax is a recitalist! He is one of my favorite pianists. Do any of you remember when he presented a Master Class at Skyland Piano back in the day?! See you next Friday, Kathy
AMTA Newsletter September 2015 Dr. Kevin T. Chance: Assistant Professor of Music, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Kevin Chance has been hailed as a superlative musician playing with musical conviction and muscularity. He has performed throughout the United States and abroad as both soloist and collaborator, including concerto appearances with the Magic City Orchestra of Alabama and the Brevard Music Center. In 2003, he was invited to the Lake District Summer Music Festival in England where he was featured on both of the festival s gala performances. Recent engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven s Choral Fantasy with the Athens Chorale in Georgia as well as the Baton Rouge Symphony, a recital at the Des Moines Symphony Academy in Iowa, and concerts for the Mobile Opera, the Mississippi Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, the University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of South Carolina, Columbus State University, Auburn University, Millsaps College, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Alabama. Dr. Chance has been a prizewinner of several regional and national competitions including the National Society of Arts and Letters Career Awards Competition, Music Teachers National Association Competitions (MTNA), and the Brevard Music Center Concerto Competition. Dr. Chance is a member of the Semplice Duo with flutist Cristina Ballatori. In August 2004, they were named the winners of the Notes at 9,000 Emerging Artist Series Competition in Colorado. Past seasons have taken them to Texas, Colorado, New York, and Louisiana, and they were selected as artist fellows for the 2005 Hampden-Sydney Music Festival in Virginia, where they returned for a series of performances in 2008. They have twice performed in recital on the Live from Hochstein series, which were broadcast live on WXXI radio in Rochester, NY, and in 2014, they will make their European and Asian debuts in Paris and China. A successful teacher, Dr. Chance s students are frequently named winners and finalists in local, state, regional, and national competitions, including the 2009 Music Teachers National Association s National Competition Finals in Atlanta. He serves on the faculties of several summer festivals including the New Orleans Piano Institute, the Huntingdon College Piano Academy, the Samford University Senior Piano Seminar, and the Tennessee Valley Music Festival. Pellentesque: In demand as a clinician and adjudicator, he regularly presents workshops and lectureperformances on repertoire and pedagogy throughout the country, including presentations at the 2008 MTNA National Conference in Denver, the 2008 College Music Society (CMS) National Conference in Atlanta, the 2009 CMS National Conference in Portland, Oregon, and the 2012 American Matthay Association Conference at Union University. He is a past Past President of the Alabama Music Teachers Association and currently serves on the boards of the Alabama Music Teachers Association and the Southern Division of MTNA.
AMTA Newstetter September 2015 Atlanta Music Teachers Association Romantic and Impressionistic Piano Competition NEW APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS for 2015 The AMTA Romantic and Impressionistic Piano Competition celebrates the Romantic traditions established in the 19 th century, and the Impressionistic emphasis on the interplay of colors. Performances of Romantic music require an emphasis on sensitivity, individuality and expression together with the value of piano technique. The tradition of bel canto singing legato on piano -- will be established as the most important factor in the definition of the Romantic style of performance. Variety in tone and rubato will be evaluated during the performances as an inseparable part of Romantic expression. Impressionistic performances will be evaluated with the ability of expressing the subtle ranges of nuances along with the quality and interplay of colors. NEW FOR 2015: 1. This competition is open to Pre-College contestants only. We will no longer include adult or college levels. Teachers and Contestants must be residents of Georgia. 2. All contestants are required to play TWO compositions. They may choose to play either: Two Romantic Compositions of contrasting styles or One Romantic Composition and One Impressionistic Composition 3. Contestants will fall into one of six levels, determined by their current Grade in School. They may perform music considered to be Elementary, Intermediate or Advanced at any of these Six Levels: Level One ------ Second Grade and under Level Two ------ Third and Fourth Grades Level Three ----- Fifth and Sixth Grades Level Four ------ Seventh and Eighth Grades Level Five ------ Ninth and Tenth Grades Level Six ------- Eleventh and Twelfth Grades 4. All contestants will be judged with their peers who fall into one of the levels listed above, regardless of whether they choose to play two Romantic compositions or one Romantic and one Impressionistic composition.
AMTA Newsletter September 2015 Calendar of Events 2015-16 Sept. 11, 2015. 10:00 Meeting and Program: Piano Distributers, 1736 Cobb Parkway SE, Marietta Kevin Chance: "Paving the Road to Chopin" Sept. 26, 2015. Postmark Deadline for Romantic and Impressionistic Piano Competition Oct. 9, 2015. 10:00 Business Meeting: Kathy Ackermann s 3248 Embry Circle, Atlanta 30341 Oct. 24-25, 2015. Romantic and Impressionistic Piano Competition, Steinway Piano Galleries Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2015. GMTA Competition at Clayton State University Nov. 5-7, 2015. GMTA State Conference at Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA Dec. 11, 2015. Holiday Luncheon TBA Jan. 8, 2016. Robert Henry Master Class at Piano Distributors Feb. 12, 2016. 10:00 Meeting and Program at Piano Distributors: Marjorie Whatley: "Piano Bon Bons of the Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century Jewels." Feb. 7, 2016 Music Fest. 1:00-5:00 England Piano Feb. 27, 2016. UGA Piano Pedagogy Symposium Athens, GA Feb. 28, 2016. Local GMTA Auditions at Georgia State University Standard Building Apr. 3-6, 2016. MTNA Conference, San Antonio, TX Apr. 8, 2016. Meeting and Program: Piano Distributors Lois Finlay: "Beyond I IV V I. Some of composers most expressive adjectives." Apr. 9, 2016. GMTA State Auditions May 13, 2016. Spring Luncheon with Warren Woodruff