American Music Teacher articles from August 2005

American Music Teacher archives from August 2005

Inspire! What great teachers do.(Dear Reader)
August 1, 2005... Recently, I was invited to attend a Forum on Leadership and Management hosted by the American Society of the Association Executives and the Center for Association Leadership. The two-day workshop featured four sessions led by renowned speaker...

Visions.(In Unison)(Music Teachers National Association)
August 1, 2005... My ideals for the next biennium presidential "In Unison" columns are to inform, to advocate, to challenge and to question. "In Unison" may not always be an appropriate heading. In Fact, some of my contributions might more accurately be...

Schott signs deal with Hal Leonard.(Schott Musik International)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Hal Leonard Corporation now has exclusive North and South American distribution rights to the classical and educational music catalog of Schott Musik International. Schott, based in Mainz, Germany, is the original publisher of Beethoven...

University of Texas to research Texas School music education.(Items of Interest)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Texas Music Project has teamed up with the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin to research whether Texas school children have access to quality music education programs. The benchmark survey is the impetus of Bruce...

Pearl River Pianos names new digital sales manager.(Rich Pritikin )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Pearl River Piano Group American Ltd., has announced the appointment of Rich Pritikin as sales manager for the digital piano division. The new position was created as Pritikin readies the introduction of Pearl River's first line of digital...

Roberto Diaz named Curtis president/director.(Items of Interest)(Curtis Institute of Music)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Roberto Diaz has been named president/director of the Curtis Institute of Music. In addition, Diaz was voted onto the board of trustees. Principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, member of the Diaz Trio, and a Curtis Faculty member...

Fifth anniversary of Piano Day Spa.(Items of Interest)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Hal Leonard has announced plans for its Piano Day Spa programs. Events for 2005 are planned in Denver on August 6, Milwaukee on August 20, Los Angeles on September 17 and Memphis on October 1. Piano teachers from the United States and...

NAMM director appointed to White House council.(National Association of Memorial Masons appointed Mary L. Luehrsen )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... NAMM, the International Music Products Association, announced today that Mary L. Luehrsen, director of public affairs and government relations, has been named to the steering committee for the Mini-Conference on Creativity and Aging, an...

Yamaha donates over $100,000 to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.(Yamaha Corporation of America. Band and Orchestral Div.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Yamaha's Band & Orchestral Division recently provided a number of instruments to The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation (MHOF). The donation includes 110 marching drums of various colors and sizes, as well as 66 student snare drums. The percussion...

ASTA with NSOA releases CD.(Music Merchandise)(Ultimate Strings, Volume 1: Alternative Styles)(Audiovisual Review)
August 1, 2005... American String Teachers Association, 4153 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030; (703) 279-2113, Fax: (703) 279-2114; www.astaweb.com. $11.95. The American String Teachers Association (ASTA) with National School Orchestra Association (NSOA)...

New Music Ace Maestro.(Music Merchandise)(Harmonic Vision)
August 1, 2005... Harmonic Vision, 155 N. Wacker Dr., Ste. 725, Chicago, IL 60606, (800) 474-0903; www.harmonicvision.com; Current users of Music Ace or Music Ace 2 can apply a credit of 60 percent of their installed product's retail value to an upgrade purchase...

MakeMusic! Releases Finale Songwriter.(Music Merchandise)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... MakeMusic, Inc., 6210 Bury Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55346; Finale SongWriter is available for Windows and Macintosh computers; www.finalemusic.com; www.makemusic.com. MakeMusic! Inc. announced today the release of Finale Song Writer, the...

Music making made easy with Sibelius Student Edition.(Music Merchandise)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Sibelius, 1407 Oakland Blvd., Walnut Creek, CA 94596; www.sibelius.co; infoUSA@sibelius.com; (925) 280-0600. Created specifically for students in fourth grade through college, the Sibelius Student Edition completely eliminates the...

Kingsville International Competition 2005 results.(Competitions)
August 1, 2005... Jonathan Ware, a 20 year-old pianist from Dallas, Texas, won first place in the 2005 Kingsville International Young Performers Competitions. Ware will receive a total of $5,900 cash and will perform with the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra...

The 7th National Chopin Piano Competition winners announced.(Competition)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... A jury of nine internationally acclaimed artists selected the winners of the 7th National Chopin Piano Competition. The four medalists were Mei-Ting Sun, Rachel Kudo, Sean Kennard and Esther Park. Sun, 24, is a student at Juilliard School...

Gordon Shaw dies at 72.(physicist)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
August 1, 2005... Gordon Shaw, a physicist whose research on classical music's effect on the brain produced an often-quoted study suggesting that listening to Mozart raises I.Q., died April 26 at his home in Laguna Beach, California. Shaw gained national...

Ruth Laredo dies at 67.(pianists)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
August 1, 2005... Ruth Laredo, a pianist known for her recordings of Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, died May 25 at her apartment in New York. She was 67. Laredo played her last concert on May 6 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of a series she had given for...

Pianist Sylvia Zaremba remembered as grand player.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
August 1, 2005... Concert pianist Sylvia Zaremba, former chair of the keyboard department in the Ohio State University School of Music, died in June. She was 74. Born Jan. 15, 1931, in Chicopee, Mass., she was a prodigy who began performing publicly at age...

5 minutes with ... L. Rexford Whiddon.(Professional Resources)(Interview)
August 1, 2005... Since 1976, L. Rexford Whiddon has held nearly every position within MTNA and was this year awarded its first Distinguished Service Award. For most of his career Whiddon was at Columbus State University's Schwob School of Music, serving most...

Working for a more musical tomorrow.(Essential Skills for Promoting a Lifelong Love of Music and Music Making: PART 4 OF 4)
August 1, 2005... Between the two of us, we went to a lot of graduation ceremonies last spring. Students, children of friends, a teenage nephew... even a 5-year old godson put on cap and gown to progress from pre-school to kindergarten. And, we heard a lot of...

What do you think about when you play?
August 1, 2005... This a question every musician has been asked, yet it can be embarrassingly difficult to answer. By the time we perform a piece of music from memory, we are no longer consciously thinking of the mechanical means of playing it: fingering, arm...

Accele Rando! Picking up the pace in our private teaching.
August 1, 2005... The combination of a busy teaching schedule and back-to-back private lessons often can yield a trance-like teaching pace where students seem to run together into a stressful blur. Reflecting upon this tendency, I began to wonder how more...

Yamaha Music Education System: celebrating 50 years of growth.
August 1, 2005... Tokyo 1954: Yamaha Corporation of Japan opens an experimental "Music Class for Pre-School Children." The curriculum centers on teaching musicianship through solfege and keyboard. Fast-forward 50 years: The Yamaha Music Education System...

MTNA/RPMDA partnership action plan.(Music Teachers National Association)(Retail Print Music Dealers Association)
August 1, 2005... Our MTNA motto is "Working For a More Musical Tomorrow." In addition to working together within our association, MTNA has continually sought to further the advancement of music study and music making through shared goals and partnerships with...

Directory of new music & instructional materials.(Directory)
August 1, 2005... Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. 16320 Roscoe Blvd., Ste. 100 Van Nuys, CA 91406 (818) 891-5999 Fax (818) 891-2369 customerservice@alfred.com www.alfred.com Take Note--Books 1, 2, 3, by Robert D. Vandall. Robert...

MTNA to partners with other music associations for research project.(National Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... In September, MTNA, along with the Piano Manufacturers Association International, will sponsor the 21st Century Piano Project, a survey to gather statistics about the piano market and music makers in general. This collaborative research effort...

MTNA partners with ARTS competition.(National Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)(Arts Recognition and Talent Search)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... A partnership between MTNA and the Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS) once again gave MTNA state performance competition winners an opportunity to be named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. This ongoing partnership enables state...

NW Division Competitions.(National Association News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Northwest Division MTNA Student Competitions will be held January 13-15 at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Additional details on all Division Competitions will be in the October/November issue of AMT and on the MTNA website...

StAR Award recipients announced.(National Association News)(Student Achievement Recognition)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Student Achievement Recognition (StAR) Award is given to outstanding graduating music students intending to become independent music teachers or collegiate music professors. Faculty and music administrators of community colleges, colleges...

MTNA piano competition winners to perform at NCKP.(National Association News)(National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... National winners of the MTNA piano competitions will perform in a recital August 4, 2005, at the opening of the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) at the Doubletree Inn in Oak Brook, Illinois. The performers are Grace Ma,...

MTNA staff reorganization.(National Association News)
August 1, 2005... Executive Director Gary Ingle recently announced a staff reorganization. Brian Shepard, director of marketing and public relations, now has the additional responsibilities of meeting planning and special projects following the resignation of...

Eastern division.(Division News)
August 1, 2005... This month, we hear from Maine President Christine Kissack: In March, Maine MTA held its annual Student Evaluation Program in five central and southern locations around the state. Many thanks to Vice President of Student Evaluations Martha...

East Central division.(Division News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Michigan MTA held a state summit April 23, 2005, in Lansing. The sessions, attended by current and past officers, were thought provoking and productive. Several recommendations were generated regarding various aspects of the association,...

Northwest division.(Division News)
August 1, 2005... As another school year approaches, our fall schedules will begin to fill with many eager students anxiously waiting for their fall term to begin. Hopefully, we teachers have had the opportunity to refresh ourselves with new ideas and motivation...

South Central.(Division News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Guest artists and presenters at the Arkansas MTA State Conference were excellent, as were the student winners of the ASMTA State Student Auditions. Jeanne Hurst was named "ASMTA Independent Teacher of the Year." A pinning ceremony for newly...

Southern division.(Division News)
August 1, 2005... In this article, we will make several stops in our division tour within the Carolinas. In North Carolina, the Durham MTA held a performance festival and recital during the spring. Students in the Chapel Hill MTA participated in a spring student...

Southwest division.(Division News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... The Arizona state conference was held June 1-4 in Tucson. Presenters for the conference included Robert Vandall, George Litterst and James Giles. We extend our gratitude to President June Chow-Tyne for her gracious leadership over the past two...

West Central.(Division News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Where do MTNA members go during the summer for renewal, refreshment and recharging? If you live in Colorado, Iowa or Minnesota, the first answer might well be "to the annual state conference." Can you think of a better place for networking with...

Foundation fund: meet the 2005 foundation fund fellows.(MTNA FOUNDATION FUND)(Music Teachers National Association)
August 1, 2005... James Breckenridge, of Weatherford, Oklahoma, is on the music faculty of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he teaches courses in applied piano, piano pedagogy and musicology. In the 1980s, Breckenridge operated his own music studio,...

Professional certification: certification--making it a group project.(Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)
August 1, 2005... MTNA professional certification--like performance area practice--can be a lonely pursuit. Vitalize the process by making certification a group project. Whether you are a state or local association certification chair or an individual NCTM,...

MTNA Division candidates.(Music Teachers National Association)
August 1, 2005... MTNA members will be electing Division officers and directors beginning in February 2006. Included here are the nominees as recommended by the MTNA Nominating Committee. The committee nominates two candidates for each position. MTNA...

Polyphony: Pitfalls to Avoid.(Professional Resources)
August 1, 2005... The end of the spring semester has come and gone. Commencement has come and gone. I watched a number of students graduate and know they are now beginning their teaching careers. I have so many things I would like to tell them about the future,...

Random access: all musical knowledge available at all times.(Professional Resources)
August 1, 2005... Think back to those heady days of your undergraduate or graduate music education. No doubt you were excited about your musical studies and soaked up as much knowledge possible. New information was available everywhere you turned: your...

It's all your business: invigorating our studios.(Professional Resources)
August 1, 2005... We all want our studios to be thriving centers of learning and enthusiasm. Yet at times, boredom, stress or exhaustion can creep into the studio of even the most enthusiastic among us. In the business world, companies constantly evaluate...

Uniting mind and music: Shaw's vision continues.(Forum Focus: Arts Awareness and Advocacy)
August 1, 2005... Gordon Shaw, best known to the public as a leader in the discovery of the "Mozart Effect" died in April [see obituary on page 20]. But his legacy uniting music and brain function will live on. Shaw led a number of landmark studies that...

Certification and the college student.(Forum Focus: Collegiate Chapters)
August 1, 2005... Invite collegiate faculty and students to take advantage of the MTNA Professional Certification program in order to recognize collegiate students' academic, performance and teaching competencies. Although I am the collegiate chapter advisor and...

Inside-out: a look at the MTNA Assessment Tools for the Independent Music Teacher.(Forum Focus: Independent Music Teachers)(Music Teachers National Association)
August 1, 2005... In preparation for the IMT Forum meeting held during the 2005 Conference, and because it also provided certification renewal points, I recently decided to take the Assessment Tools for the Independent Music Teacher in hand and evaluate it by...

Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall.(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Classical Music in America: a History of Its Rise and Fall, by Joseph Horowitz. W. W. Norton (500 Fifth Ave., New York, NF 1010), 2005. 606 pp. $39.95. This is a big book--a substantial account of concert music in the United States by an...

Voice and the Alexander Technique: Active Explorations for Speaking and Singing (w/CD).(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Voice and the Alexander Technique: Active Explorations for Speaking and Singing (w/CD), by Jane Heirich, Mornum Time Press (381 Bush St., Ste., 500, San Francisco, CA 94104). 171 pp. $49.95. Many books have been written about the art and...

The Artist as Citizen.(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... The Artist as Citizen, by Joseph W. Polisi. Amadeus Press, LLC (512 Newark Pompton Tnpk., Pompton Plains, NJ 07444), 2005. 178 pp. $2.95. Joseph Polisi has served as president of the Juilliard School in New York City for the past two...

Getting the Most out of Mozart: The Instrumental Works (w/CD).(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Getting the Most Out of Mozart: The Instrumental Works (w/CD), by David Hurwitz. Amadeus Press/Limelight Editions c/o Hal Leonard Corp., Inc. (7777 W., Bluemound Rd., P.O. Box 13819, Milwaukee, WI 53213), 2005. 185 pp. $19.95. The ability...

Making Music with Samples: Tips, Techniques, and 600+ Ready-to-Use Samples (w/CDS).(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Making Music with Samples. Tips, Techniques, & 600+ Ready-to-Use Samples (w/CDS), by Daniel Duffell. Backbeat Books (600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107), 2005. 208 pp. $39.95. In the introduction, Daniel Duffell explains that...

Piano Music by Women Composers, vol. 2.(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Piano Music by Women Composers, Volume II: Women Born After 1900, by Pamela Foungdahl Dees. Praeger Publishers (88 Post Rd., W., Westport, CT 06881), 2004. 306 pp. $94.95. Piano music by women composers is an all-too-often neglected...

What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body.(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body, by Thomas Mark, with supplementary material for organists by Roberta Gary and Thom Miles. GIA Publications, Inc., (7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638). 155 pp. $29.95. Since the number of...

Fantasy and Fairy Tale: 9 Pieces for the Intermediate Level Pianist.(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Fantasy and Fairy Tale: 9 Pieces for the Intermediate Level Pianist, by Jane Trotter. Willis Music Company (P.O. Box 548, Florence, KY 41022), 2004. 24pp. $4.95. Intermediate. Jane Trotter's Fantasy and Fairy Tale, a collection of nine...

Micro Meowings.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Micro Meowings, by Victoria Sabo. Willis Music Company (P.O. Box 548, Florence, KY 41022), 2004. 20 pp. $3.95. Late elementary to early intermediate. Victoria Sabo has added yet another set of solos to her Micro collection: Micro Meowings....

Shoukei: Seven Early Intermediate Level Piano Solos, Book 1.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2005... Shoukei: Seven Early Intermediate Level Piano Solos, Book 1, by Naoko Jkeda. Willis Music Company (P.O. Box 548, Florence, KY 41022), 2004. 19 pp. $4.95. Intermediate. Shoukei is a Japanese word that can refer to either a "short rest or...

Leadership.
August 1, 2005... Paul Stewart, NCTM President University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music Greensboro, NC 27402-6167 Home (336) 299-7118 Work (336) 334-5380 Fax (336) 334-5497 pbstewar@uncg.edu Gail...

Music for everyone.(The Back Page)
August 1, 2005... Although it's been a few months since my spring recital, I'm still dwelling on how well it went. Every student who played did his or her very best, and brought along a fan club of parents and friends. A recital is a wonderful tribute to a...