American Music Teacher articles from December 2008

American Music Teacher archives from December 2008

MTNA membership: the best investment you can make.(Dear Reader)(Music Teachers National Association)
December 1, 2008... We are living in unprecedented economic times. Despite the doom and gloom, a few days after the stock market's nearly 800-point collapse, a commentator on CNBC injected a bit of humor into the otherwise bleak conversation. When asked to give...

The joys of making music with others.(In Unison)
December 1, 2008... "From the first note you play of the introduction, you are responsible for setting the mood for the rest of the song and providing the motivation for the chorus' entrance. Your entire focus must be on expressing the emotion of this song, not...

Manus honored by VanderCook College of Music.(Items of Interest)(Morty Manus)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The VanderCook College of Music, one of the nation's leading music education institutions, has honored Alfred Publishing President Morty Manus with an honorary doctorate degree in music. Manus was presented with the honorary degree at a...

Gioia to leave NEA.(Items of Interest)(Dana Gioia of the National Endowment for the Arts)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Dana Gioia, National Endowment for the Arts chairman, will leave his position in January. He will return to writing and will also join the Aspen Institute on a half-time basis as the first director of the Harman/Eisner (H/E) Program in the...

Leon Fleisher celebrates 80th birthday in concert.(Items of Interest)
December 1, 2008... Legendary pianist and 2000 MTNA Achievement Award honoree Leon Fleisher celebrated his 80th birthday with a weekend of concerts in New York City, Boston and Baltimore, October 2-5, 2008. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fleisher, who was...

Steinway creates music teacher directory.(Items of Interest)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Steinway & Sons has created the Steinway Music Teacher Directory, a free service available to teachers, students and parents. The directory allows music teachers nationwide to be listed in an exclusive index featured on the Steinway & Sons...

ACDA to host National Convention in Oklahoma City.(Items of Interest)
December 1, 2008... The American Choral Directors Association (AMDA) will host its 50th Anniversary National Convention in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 4-7, 2009. More than 4,000 choral directors, industry representatives, choirs and observers are expected....

Harmonic Vision offers Piano Studio Technology Guide.(Music Merchandise)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Harmonic Vision, (800) 474-0903; www.harmonicvision.com; sales@harmonicvision.com. Harmonic Vision, creators of the Music Ace family, and piano educator Michelle Sisler, have created a 16-page, Guide to Using Technology in the Piano...

Yamaha launches latest Junior Music Course.(Music Merchandise)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Yamaha Corporation of America, (714) 522-9011; ymes@yamaha.com; www.yamaha.com. Yamaha has launched the latest edition of its Junior Music Course at authorized Yamaha Music Education System (YMES) locations nationwide. The curriculum...

Kingsville International Piano Competitions.(Competitions)
December 1, 2008... The 2009 Kingsville International Piano Competitions will take place April 2-4, 2009, on the campus of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. More than $20,000 in prize money is available for distribution to winners in various contests. The...

Stravinsky Awards.(Competitions)
December 1, 2008... The Stravinsky Awards is sponsoring a piano recording competition for children and young adults in May 2009. Cash prizes will be awarded for first through sixth places in each of four age divisions: Division A, for pianists ages 10 and...

Festival for Creative Pianists.(Competitions)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The 2009 Festival for Creative Pianists will be held at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado, March 27-28, 2009. Applications are now being accepted for this competition, which combines classical and jazz idioms in a constructive...

Notes from a musician's journal.(Marking Time)(Personal account)
December 1, 2008... It is competition season around here, which has got me thinking. The idea that another person is about to take an objective look at my students makes me see them with fresh eyes. This is a good thing, but it does make me uncomfortable....

Evaluating teaching effectiveness in music.
December 1, 2008... All professionals must routinely go through an evaluation process to progress in their field. Likewise, teachers must assess their own level of effectiveness to develop their skills. This process allows even experienced teachers to underscore...

Repertoire and technical exercises: does the instructor's area of specialization affect the degree of emphasis on these skills?
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The importance of acquiring functional keyboard skills among undergraduate music majors has been highlighted in the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) requirements. (1) Such skills include, but are not...

A journey into composition.
December 1, 2008... On November 12, 2006, 63 early-elementary through high school piano students, their teachers, a composer of educational piano music and his wife, and enough audience members for a standing-room-only crowd converged upon the Mendelssohn...

A tribute to Henry Z. Steinway.(In memoriam)
December 1, 2008... Henry Z. Steinway, a 2007 MTNA Achievement Award recipient and the last Steinway to run the piano-making company his family started in 1853, has died. He was 93. "Henry Steinway was a visionary businessman, a passionate lover of the arts...

Music Teachers National Association 2009 National Conference.(Calendar)
December 1, 2008... March 28-April 1 * Atlanta, Georgia It's time for some sweet southern hospitality, as MTNA heads to the heart of the South-Atlanta, Georgia--for this year's MTNA National Conference, to be held March 28-April I, 2009, at the Westin...

Your MTNA dollar at work.(National Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)
December 1, 2008... MTNA spent $.76 of every dollar for programs and services to its members and the music teaching profession during fiscal year July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008. MTNA: The Best Investment You Can Make as a Music Teaching Professional. MTNA...

MTNA leaders attend summit.(Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)(Conference news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The 11th annual Summit for MTNA Leadership was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 5-7, 2008. Nearly 100 MTNA leaders, including state and division presidents, state and division directors-elect, program chairs and the board of directors,...

MTNA member contributes to feature film.(Association News)(Music Teachers National Association, Reservation Road)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Reservation Road, a film starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly and Mark Ruffalo, is now available on DVD, and it has an MTNA flavor. The film features a scene where a piano recital takes place with one of the movie's child actors,...

Competition winner takes top prize on NBC show.(Association News)(Neal E. Boyd wins America's Got Talent)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Neal E. Boyd, the winner of MTNA's 2000 Young Artist Voice Competition, was named the winner of NBC's America's Got Talent. The 32-year-old insurance salesman received $1 million and a headline show in Las Vegas, along with the title,...

MTNA partners with youngARTS competition.(Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A partnership between MTNA and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) will once again give MTNA state performance competition winners an opportunity to be named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. This ongoing partnership...

Foundation Fund: 2008 MTNA Foundation Fellows.(Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)
December 1, 2008... Carolyn Malnes Carolyn Malnes has been an independent music teacher since 1963, teaching piano, theory and composition in the state of Washington. She was an early member of the Seattle MTA and a charter member and first president of the...

2009 grant guidelines and forms now available.(Association News)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Guidelines and application forms for the 2009 MTNA FOUNDATION FUND grants are available on the FOUNDATION FUND website at wwwmtnafoundation.org. Teacher Enrichment Grants are provided to music teachers for private study, specific...

End of year giving.(Association News)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... At the end of the year, many people are searching for ways to reduce their taxable income. As a 501(c)(3) corporation, contributions to the MTNA FOUNDATION FUND may be tax deductible. Contributions to the fund may be made by phone at (888)...

Professional certification: exam preparation.(Association News)
December 1, 2008... You've decided that you want to become nationally certified and are ready to start preparing for your exams. Good for you! Just taking the first step toward certification by making the decision to apply for this professional goal is an...

It's all your business: a matter of time: the big rocks.(Professional Resources)
December 1, 2008... A common resolution at this time of year is vowing to make more time for things that are important. Wouldn't we all love to improve our time management, including the efficiency of our business practices? Executive Director and CEO of MTNA Gary...

Random access: confessions of a virtual packrat.(Professional Resources)
December 1, 2008... Getting ready for fall teaching often includes a little organizing. After a summer of group lessons, creative projects and teaching supplementary literature, all of your teaching supplies can be left in disarray! Scores have been loaned and...

MTNA and Playhouse Disney: making music together.(Forum Focus: Arts Awareness and Advocacy)(Music Teachers National Association)
December 1, 2008... MTNA has partnered with Playhouse Disney to help educate parents about music for preschool-age children. A section on the Playhouse Disney website at www.playhousedisney.com is devoted to answering questions that parents may have about music...

Completing the triangle: how students, college faculty and a local chapter formed an MTNA collegiate student chapter at Western Washington University.(Forum Focus: Collegiate Chapter)(Music Teachers National Association)
December 1, 2008... The academic year at Western Washington University began with our MTNA collegiate chapter, now in its second year, hosting a convocation for our entire music department on the second day of classes. Jonathan Metz, the savvy collegiate chapter...

Feeling $hort in the summer? A working summer strategy to have your cake and eat it, too!(Forum Focus: Independent Music Teachers)
December 1, 2008... A teachers, we love our students and they love us-but we must always remember that our relationship is primarily professional. In that regard, it is our responsibility to ourselves to keep our businesses solvent and protect ourselves from...

Model Music Programs: Ideas for Everyone.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... * Model Music Programs: Ideas for Everyone, by Michael Blakeslee, Linda C. Brown and Ashley Opp Hoffmann. Music Educators National Conference/Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007. www.rowmaneducation.com; (800) 462-6420; 128pp. $24.95. ...

Singing in Style: A Guide to Vocal Performance Practices.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Singing in Style: A Guide to Vocal Performance Practices, by Martha Elliott. Yale University Press (New Haven and London), 2007. yalepress, yale. edu/yupbooks/home.asp; (800) 405-1619; 368pp.; $20. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Martha Elliott...

Tunes and Grooves for Music Education: Music for Classroom Use.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... * Tunes and Grooves for Music Education: Music for Classroom Use, by Patricia Shehan Campbell. Pearson Prentice Hall, 200Z www.pearsonhighered.com; 508pp.; $73.33. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Who knew that Benjamin Franklin went to France...

Anyone Can Improvise.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... * Anyone Can Improvise, by Matt Dennis. Mel Bay Publications, Inc., 2008. www.melbay.com; (800) 863-5229; 88pp.; $14.95. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As a musician for whom improvising did not come easily, and as a teacher with adult...

Blues Time, Fourteen Pieces for Piano.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... * Blues Time, Fourteen Pieces for Piano, by Frank Wunsch. Zimmermann: Frankfurt/C.F. Peters Corporation, 2008. www.zimmermann-frankfurt.de; www.edition-peters.com/home.php; 21 pp.; $21. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Blues Time offers the...

Grand Staff Capers--A Musical Voyage Through the Lines and Spaces.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... * Grand Staff Capers--A Musical Voyage Through the Lines and Spaces, by Cynthia Pace. Lee Roberts Music Publications, Inc. (distributed by Hal Leonard Corporation), 2008. www.musicdispatch.com; (800) 637-2852; 24pp.; $10.95. [ILLUSTRATION...

Gumshoes: Piano Pieces for Jazz Detectives.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Gumshoes: Piano Pieces for Jazz Detectives, by Jason Sifford. The FJH Music Company, Inc., 2008. www.fihmusic.com; (800) 262-8744; 24pp.; $5.50. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jason Sifford has written a collection of 10 jazzy...

My Kind of Music.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2008... My Kind Of Music, by Kevin Olson. The FJH Music Company, Inc., 2008. www.fjhmusic.com; (800) 262-8744; 23 pp. $5.50. Early Elementary to Elementary. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With so many new books published each quarter, it's refreshing...

Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, Volume 3, compiled and edited by William H. Chapman Nyaho. Oxford University Press, Inc., 2008. www.us.oup.com; (800) 451-7556); 56 pp., $19.95. Early advanced. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Jambalaya--A Portrait of Old New Orleans, For 2 pianos, 4 hands.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Jambalaya--A Portrait of Old New Orleans, For 2 pianos, 4 hands, by Eugenie Rocherolle. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2008. www.musicdispatch.com; (800) 637-2852. 21 pp. $7.95. Intermediate. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As a tribute to her native...

Stories in Sound, Book 1.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Stories in Sound, Book 1, by Valerie Roth Roubos. The FJH Music Company, Inc., 2008. www.fjhmusic.com; (800) 262-8744; 23 pp. $5.50. Elementary. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Valerie Roth Roubos has composed different "sound stories" that we...

Move It 2! Expressive Movement with Classical Music (includes CD and 40 page guidebook).(Video recording review)
December 1, 2008... Move It 2! Expressive Movement with Classical Music (includes CD and 40 page guidebook), by Peggy Lyman Hayes & John M. Feierabend. GIA Publications, Inc., 2008. www.giamusic.com; (800) 442-1358; $44.95. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John...

Studio Makeover: Technology "Addition.".(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Studio Makeover: Technology "Addition," by Michelle Gordon and Michelle Sisler. Keys to Imagination, 2008. www.keystoimagination; (507) 455-9560; 39.95. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Technology "Addition" has a wealth of general information...

Leadership.(Directory)
December 1, 2008... BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers Gail Berenson, NCTM President Ohio University School of Music Athens, OH 45701 (740) 592-4661 berenson@ohio.edu Ann Gipson, NCTM President-elect 11500 Northview Dr....

iSwoons over iTunes.(ad lib)
December 1, 2008... Electronic technology pervades my teaching studio. At the hub (along with that most sophisticated and reliable piece of non-electronic hardware with thousands of precision parts--a grand piano) is a Mac laptop containing lesson plans, studio...