May our words be Dolce, Our hearts be Giocoso, Our spirits, Con Fuco, And all our teaching, Con Amore Raleigh Piano Teachers Association Affiliate of North Carolina Music Teachers Association Number 76 wwwraleighpianoteachersorg Yahoo group: raleighpianoteachers Inside this Issue 1 2 3 4 5 Message from the President Change the Date NCMTA Conference Information October Program RPTA Scholarship Auditions RPTA Yearbook Teacher Referral Important Dates and Events Ensemble Festival Ruggero Piano Teacher Merit Award s Community Outreach Musicale A Friendly Reminder Independent Music Teachers Forum YAA Information Condolence RPTA September 2010 Meeting Minutes Message from the President Margaret Anne Smith It was wonderful to see so many members at our first meeting of the year! Please continue to support RPTA with your presence whenever possible We count on you; Amy Gardner has set up some wonderful programs, which I'm sure you won't want to miss Speaking of whichweren't the breakout sessions good? There were so many favorable comments, so thank you - Chris, Dottie, Jeanine, Kathleen and Maxine Three cheers for that dynamic duo: Haigler and Thomas and their inspired rendition of "We've Got Music" You two are welcome to come back any time! We are proud of our five new members and hope that everyone will make an extra effort to get to know them As I write this, I'm packing to attend our NCMTA State Conference in Wilmington which takes place from Oct 7-10 Diane Blanchard and her team have worked tirelessly to prepare an outstanding group of performers plus speakers at excellent and informative sessions, which we all will enjoy I hope to see many of you there For our October program, we look forward to hearing Diane Higgins speaking to us about composing I hope to see you there Margaret Anne CHANGE THE DATE!!! NCMTA District Piano Festival has been moved to Saturday February 19 th Come to the NCMTA 2010 State Conference - October 7-10 in the beautiful new Cultural Arts Building on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington This year promises to bring you a large variety of sessions from which to choose, with exceptional speakers, such as James Giles, Marvin Blickenstaff, Brenda Dillon, Nancy King, Pawel Izdebski, Douglas Weeks, Cathy Albergo, Sherrill Martin, Chris Goldston, Yoram Youngerman, Christina Placilla, and Judy Zahrndt There are sessions on pedagogy, composition, music history, computer technology, and ensemble music We will learn about Orff, RMM, compositional tools, Horowitz, jazz, music games for your studio, and contemporary music We will feature sessions for teachers of voice, strings, composition, and piano We will be presented with performances by our Conference Artist, Dr James Giles, as well as the Durham Children's Choir singing the 2010 Commissioned Composition by Andy Beck, and also the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and the faculty of UNCW under the direction of Dr Steven Errante!! We will hear performances by our NC students as they compete in the MTNA Competitions, share their own compositions in the NC Young Composers Recital, and perform for us in 3 Piano Contest Recitals Come be refreshed and renewed Come catch the wave' of enthusiasm as you enjoy the surroundings of the coast of North Carolina Come to see friends - old and new For more detailed information, visit wwwncmtaorg or check your NCMTA September Journal
RPTA October Program: "Get Out of that Musical Box: Teach Students How to Compose!" (Exploring Student Creativity in Your Studio from Start to Finish) Diane W Higgins, NCTM, presenter Have you ever had a student who wanted to compose a piece of music but did not know how? Has a student ever walked into your studio, and wanted to play a piece that he/she had made up in their head? Do you ever have students who fool around on the piano when they should be practicing their assignment? If so well, this session is for you! Come learn how to get your studio ready for teaching composition! You will learn how to get started, develop tips for sparking creative ideas, secure equipment on a budget, explore composition contests, andlaunch your own composition camps! RPTA Scholarship Auditions: If you are anticipating on registering any of your students for the RPTA Scholarship Auditions (Feb26), please email Marie Willett mewsicats@aolcom with the following information: 1-Teacher name; 2-Number of students in Lev I; 3-Number of students in LevII Note that these are not commitments, only estimates to help us in the planning of the day and the number of judges to hire RPTA Scholarship Auditions: Check the guidelines in the yearbook if you have any questions regarding which level to put your students Teacher Referral Do you need students?!? Please contact Ellen Scott, Referral Chair, for your listing on the RPTA website ellenscott@ncrrcom or 831-9167 Ensemble Festival Are you getting your students ready for the Ensemble Festival? Please read the guidelines and if you still have questions please email Maxine Salvatore at mdsalvatore@attcom (Please only call if you do not have email access 919-847-5656) If you did not pick up your 2010-11 RPTA Yearbook at the September meeting, we still have some left If They will be available at the October meeting, or you may contact Marie Willett (mewsicats@aolcom) and make arrangements to get yours otherwise Apologies are owed to the following RPTA members whose names did not appear in the directory: Robert Baldwin; Betty Bodkin; Joan Boettger; Marilyn Brown; Wilda Brown; Charity Daniel; Hyun Kim; Shanda Proctor There were some problems attaining the entire membership list from Nationals until after the printing of the yearbook Please consult the new and improved website for the most current and accurate information Ruggero Piano Teacher Merit Award If you would like to nominate anyone for the Ruggero Piano Teacher Merit Award, please do so by December 31, 2010 The application form is in the yearbook and also on the Yahoo Group site Both places contain the criteria by which the award winner is chosen The Deadline for turning in the applications to the RPTA President is December 31 IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS October 7-11, 2010 NCMTA Annual Conference January 30, 2011 RPTA Ensemble Festival ***FEBRUARY 19, 2011*** NCMTA DISTRICT PIANO CONTEST-FESTIVAL RPTA Scholarship Auditions February 26, 2011 February 27, 2011 RPTA Scholarship Auditions Winners Recital March 11-12, 2011 Young Artist Auditions PLEASE NOTE: The Winners Recital for the RPTA Scholarship Auditions will be on Sunday February 27, 2011 2
RPTA Monthly Meetings October 20, 2010 Diane Higgins presents Get out of that Musical Box: Teaching Students How to Compose! November 17, 2010 Karen Beres presents On the Road to Practicing Effectively January 19, 2011 Shelia Page presents Leaps February 16, 2011 Tom Lohr presents Compositions of Tom L Lohr: An overview of 35 years of composing April 20, 2011 Akiko Yamazaki presents Let s Play Games: Promoting Independence and Creativity Through Mini Games Community Outreach Dear Colleagues, Our Community Music School project is becoming a huge success; we are delivering approximately 500 pieces of music to them Saturday morning October 2 nd We will continue to collect and deliver your donations throughout the year Theory, scales and cadences, and technic books are needed as well as method and performance material Thank you for your generous support; CMS truly appreciates our interest and participation in their work NEWSLETTER RPTA members interested in teaching or substituting at CMS may phone the Program Director at 9198320900 ext 3 You may need to leave a message; their hours are somewhat irregular Our October project is a we have to start now so we ll be ready then kind of project Most of us teach seasonal music to our students, and I want us to share that music, as well as our other repertoire, with our community this season Our students need all the opportunities to perform that we can give them It is good for them to understand that they have something valuable to share with others There are people of all ages who are sick, injured, lonely and forgotten, and they would all be warmed and encouraged with the gift of music we can bring them this holiday season So, I m asking you to take your show on the road and your students to a facility where they may play their music for others We have over 160 RPTA members; I m thinking at least one third of us can make this happen We have Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year s Eve as well as half a dozen other holidays I ve probably forgotten, that we can celebrate with others Please help me make this happen by year s end I ll have an information and tracking handout at our October meeting, and I ll make it available online too Thanks so much! Ann Patterson Musicale Here s hoping that you are getting ready for our first Musicale of the school year! It will be at Hopper Piano Company on Sunday, November 7 at 3:00 pm Come early at 2:30 so your student(s) can warm up at the piano Deadline for entering is Saturday, October 30 Please refer to page 9 in the yearbook for guidelines Here are some of the most Important: Only an original published composition performed by memory for soloists The use of music is permitted for ensemble performances, except for concerto soloists Please read the dress code and be sure parents understand An entry form is in the yearbook, as well as on the RPTA website Moira Conolly and I look forward to lots of performers and an interesting program Thank you, Alma Sparks A Friendly Reminder: Please check to see if you have books, DVDs, CDs or tapes that have been checked out from the Lending Library that need to be returned 3
YOUNG ARTIST AUDITIONS Young Artist Auditions will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, 2011 at Meredith College Everyone was pleased with the results of our schedule and general experience at last Spring s auditions so we are proud to offer this opportunity for our students again this year New for this year: 1 Composition Entries will be judged on Saturday, March 12 th at Meredith College on the day of the regular auditions We anticipate a better experience for teachers and students in making the adjustment We have eliminated the need for a separate fee sheet but you will still put the compositions in individual packets 2 There will be only ONE deadline, Friday, January 7 th at Meredith College from 1-6 pm 3 When you receive your YAA Packet in September, please take not that you should make TWO copies of the participation sheet as in the past Please be careful that all the information from the original transfers onto the copies Information in the margins of the original often do not make it onto your copies Try to reduce to 90-95% on your copier Independent Music Teachers Forum Dottie Buster, Chair At the September meeting, many teachers expressed interest in resuming our Question/Dilemma of the Month As I mentioned during our small group time, in order for any IMTF activities to be successful, you must be willing to participate/share Question of the Month The first question of the month is actually from last year regarding the various school calendars and how you accommodate different schedules Do you reschedule or offer make up lessons for students that are in a year round school or a non-traditional calendar? Please feel free to share any specific strategies for accommodating special scheduling requests from parents Please email/mail your advice/suggestions/policies on this situation to: dottiebuster@gmailcom Or send to Dottie Buster, 8516 Riddle Place, Raleigh, NC 27615 I will print a summary of the responses in the newsletter (let me if it s okay to print your name with your advice) and will also share the solutions at the monthly meetings I also will need a new question/dilemma each month so please send those to me also!!! Also teachers ask that we resume the teaching and/or business tips at each monthly meeting So you have a quick tip to share, please contact me (see above contact info) It is with sadness that we note the death of Charles Nakarai, longtime member of NCMTA and very good friend of our organization Charles in particular served for many years as a judge at our Young Artist Auditions He was an exemplary musician whose integrity impressed all who knew him and he will be missed by all of the musicians who had the privilege of calling him their colleague 4
RPTA September 15, 2010 General Meeting Minutes: NEWSLETTER Meeting was called to order by Margaret Anne Smith at 9:50 AM Margaret Anne Smith made the motion to accept the minutes of the May 16 th meeting and it was seconded Membership: Marlowe Carruth presented three new members with a brief biography of each They were Sigrid Meyer, Lindsay Brooks, Julie Billheimer Debbie Kim and Sarah Brooks are also new members who were not present (Debbie Kim was introduced later in the meeting) Marlowe received 17 inquiries for new membership, and there were several visitors present at the meeting She reminded members to wear their name badges and she also asked for mentors An honorary membership and certificate to RPTA was presented to a very surprised Allen Herther of Burrage Music Allen Herther of Burrage Music graciously accepted the honorary membership to RPTA He also gave an overview of several new publications available at Burrage Music Certification: Kathleen Vockeroth stated that Terry Thompson of St Mary s College faculty is newly certified She encouraged all to become certified She has printed a flyer with the latest dates for the district NCMTA contests in the spring Courtesy: Donna Naeser asked the membership to let her know whenever someone is sick or has a death in the family or other needs that we can help with Email/Telephone: Dotter Buster encouraged all members to sign up for the RPTA Yahoo group so that we can keep up with what s going on She also discussed IMTF (Independent Music Teacher s Forum) on the MTNA website Treasury Report: Melissa Jeffreys gave a brief report that the checking account has a balance of $572266, the money market has $1351709, and the certification fund has $1500 Reimbursement forms are on the website Ensemble Festival: Maxine Salvatore gave a brief history of the Ensemble Festival which is sponsored by the RPTA biannually This year is the 35 th ensemble At one time, there were 34 participants on 17 pianos For many years, the Festival has been held in Jones Auditorium with four pianos Due to scheduling, it will be held in Carswell Recital Hall with only two pianos There will be either two or three performances on Jan 30, 2011 depending on how many sign up The rehearsal will be on Saturday, Jan 29 th History: Faye Ward and D Patton will be keeping the RPTA history A notebook of programs/pictures of our events is being prepared and with be given to the state archives when finished Library: Diana Thomas and Sharon Haigler performed a lively little skit plus song and dance routine to Gershwin s I ve Got Music to advertise the need for music to be donated to the Community Music School, to check out materials from the RPTA library, and to be sure and return all library materials Musicales: Alma Sparks discussed the upcoming dates for this year The first Musicale will be at Hopper Piano on Sunday, November 7 th at 3pm with warm-up at 2:30 Deadline for entries is Oct 30 th The second musicale is at Ruggero Piano on Sunday, April 3 rd at 3pm with warm-up at 2:30 Deadline for entries is March 26 th Rules, guidelines, and application form are in the yearbook Solos must be memorized Newsletter: Dana Mallory has posted the newsletter on the RPTA website and it has a new, updated look It can be printed and mailed to you if you don t have internet access Past President: Diane Blanchard gave an overview of the upcoming NCMTA conference in Wilmington next month There will be a silent auction to raise money to help pay for the conference, and she is looking for donated items for the auction MTNA audition numbers are up, lots of students The auditions may need to start earlier or start on Thursday The composition chairperson is Debbie Titlow She s doing a fabulous job putting together sessions for the conference We have an original composition for the conference with a children s choir that will perform it She gave a comprehensive overview of many of the wonderful sessions planned RPTA Scholarship: Marie Willett presented an overview of this yearly event The date is February 26 th and recital on the 27 th There are some changes and details/application are in the yearbook They would like an idea of how many plan to participate 5
Referral: Ellen Scott is the person to contact if you would like your name on the website under teacher referral Scholarship Funding: Claudia Hinson is sending out to the typical sponsors She is open to ideas and suggestions for new sponsors Last year, we looked for quarters, this year, we re looking for dollars She put a dollar in the basket to start us out Events Coordinator: Kent Lyman welcomed us to Meredith and expressed that Meredith wants us and welcomes us Meredith faculty must be a sponsor to events happening on the campus Scheduling is handled through a central events office which you can contact at events@meredithedu Special Committee: Community Outreach by Ann Patterson Our project this month is to collect music or anything that might be useful for the school There will be a basket to put music in for the Community Music School at every meeting Chris Dodson from the Community Music School made an impromptu statement about the Community Music School and to let us know how much our donations mean to the teachers and students Website: Marie Willett spoke for Rebekah Taylor The site is newly updated and will be up in the next week or two Please provide feedback on the site, and pictures for the history page The web page also has links and videos Old Business: call for monitors at the recitals at the NCMTA conference was made New Business: Olga K from NC State announced the Chopin Festival October 15-17 at NC State Tom Lohr announced the Schumann Festival at Meredith College to take place Friday Nov 19 th, and Saturday November 20 th There is a possibility that Ann Schein will do a master class Yearbook Presentation: Marie Willett presented Bonnie Walker to the RPTA membership as the person to whom this year s yearbook is dedicated Marie gave an overview of the yearbook Young Artist Auditions: Jeanine Skinner pointed out a few changes in the YAA list: out-of-print pieces in gray on the list and will be deleted next year Deadline is Jan 7, 2011 Recital will be March 27, 2011 Three recitals are planned Committee members were introduced Program Chair: Amy Gardner briefly explained the program that would begin after a short break There were 68 members present of which 19 were Meredith alumni, 3 were Meredith faculty, 4 have attended Meredith previously, and 1 is a current non-credit student Respectfully Submitted by Recording Secretary, Debra Heath 6
Raleigh Piano Teachers Association 7 NEWSLETTER