Pedagogy Saturday history: embracing all disciplines.(Music Teachers National Association program)

Editors Note: The December/January 2002/2003 American Music Teacher featured a "Meeting of the Minds" interview by Bruce Berr with MTNA Executive Director Gary L. Ingle and Louise Goss, renowned pedagogue, Frances Clark Center chair and co-founder of the New School for Music Study. Among the topics discussed during the interview was the establishment of MTNA's Pedagogy Saturday program.

Subsequent to this article, MTNA Past President and Chair of the first Pedagogy Committee Margaret Lorince offered a clarification of the origin of Pedagogy Saturday. It is printed here for your information.

"Pedagogy Saturday was the outgrowth of a decision by the MTNA Executive Committee in 1995 to form the MTNA Ad Hoc Committee for the Study of Performance Pedagogy Training. Four of the most eminent leaders in the fields of keyboard, strings and voice joined me, as chair, (Richard Chronister, Gail Berenson, Gerald Fischbach and William McIver) in organizing a meeting at the Kansas City National Convention in 1996 to discuss broad pedagogical principles applying to all disciplines. Over thirty outstanding pedagogues attended this initial meeting. The outcome was the establishment of the MTNA Pedagogy Committee and plans for the first pedagogical sessions for the members, presented in a concentrated format and based on exploring facets of a major topic. From the outset, the intent was to organize each session to include representatives of all the areas on the committee and to add areas as appropriate. Pedagogy Saturday did not "evolve" from a piano teachers conference idea. From the beginning, we understood and stood firmly by (despite some criticism from those who wanted in-depth piano "nuts and bolts" ...