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September 21 Meeting:
Celebrating Mendelssohn
Our opening meeting of the year at The First Parish Church of
Watertown will take place on Monday September 21, at 9:30am. Our invited
speakers, Phyllis Alpert Lehrer and Ena Bronstein Barton, will present "Celebrating Mendelssohn: Performing and Teaching the Duet and Solo Literature," a very pertinent event as we celebrate Mendelssohn's 200th birthday this year.
Please join us prior to the meeting starting at 9am for coffee and socializing in the meeting room adjacent to the church. |
Membership Renewal Deadline
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Miriam Pizer Award
The Miriam Pizer Award created in memory of Miriam Pizer, was established for students in Grades K-5 who are in need of assistance for lesson tuition or other essential expenses. Each teacher may submit one student's name for a lottery drawing. The prize is $250.00 and the submission deadline is October 15, 2009. Please send the student's name by email to lydiaguertin@yahoo.com
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Pedagogy Corner
Do you have a special tip for teachers that you would like to share?
It could be a favorite pedagogy book,a link to a music website, or
favorite musical software program that your students enjoy. This
corner will be reserved for future submissions! Please send
suggestions to lydiaguertin@yahoo.com.
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CALENDAR OF NEPTA EVENTS
COFFEE HOUR & MUSIC SALE
Monday, Sept. 21, 9-9:30am
First Parish of Watertown
PHYLLIS LEHRER AND ENA BRONSTEIN BARTON
Monday, Sept. 21, 9:30am
First Parish of Watertown
"Celebrating Mendelssohn: Performing and Teaching the Duet and Solo Literature"
BONNIE KELLERT
Monday, Oct. 26, 9:30am
Wellesley Free Library
"Ten Technical Problems and Issues Facing Pianists: Suggested Solutions"
TEACHERS' EXCHANGE
Monday, Nov. 16, 9:30 AM
Wellesley Free Library
"International Teaching Styles: What We Can Learn From Them"
TEACHERS' MASTER CLASS WITH GILBERT KALISH
Monday, Dec. 7, 9:30am
Wellesley Free Library
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Fall Greetings!
Welcome
all returning and new members to the 2009-2010 season of NEPTA. I hope everyone had rejuvenating summers, filled with wonderful times, both
musical and non musical. The season passed too quickly, with not
enough sunny days, but when they did appear were appreciated more
greatly.
By now you should have all received the beautifully
prepared Program Booklet and Membership Directory, by Lindsey Robb. As
many NEPTA members know, this is considered a valuable reference tool,
and NEPTA is very fortunate to have Lindsey's help in all capacities.
We have a fantastic program to look forward to thanks to our Program
Committee, headed by Shann Wood. Please review the dates and
locations, and mark them on your busy calendars.
I have redesigned
the Newsletter in the hopes of condensing the information, and creating
more touch points to access communication and news. As always, you can view and download the current newsletter, prior newsletters, and much other useful information at the NEPTA website, www.nepta.info.
I look forward to
seeing you all at our first meeting on Monday, Sept. 21!
Lydia Reed-Guertin
President
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Going Paperless
The NEPTA board has unanimously voted to go paperless on all future newsletters and notices after the distribution of this September newsletter. With the exception of the NEPTA Program Book and Membership Directory all future communications will be done electronically, facilitating a seamless process, to bring the organization more into the 21st century.
Those members who were receiving their communications from NEPTA by US Mail have been or will be contacted this month about the change in distribution, and have been asked to either submit an email address or go to the local library to access NEPTA's website. Some other possibilities may include asking a family member or student to provide their own email address as a contact point. However, if you truly do not have access to these solutions, please contact me about your situation, and we can discuss some different alternatives.
NEPTA is very fortunate to have the expertise of Sue Demb and Cindy Null in helping to create this successful transition.
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Music and the Brain
Recently, I was contacted by a research associate at Harvard, regarding a study funded by the Grammy foundation researching the links between music and the brain in childre n ages 6-12. The study looks at the relationship between musical skill/training and language abilities, and how training musically might improve language, attention, and other cognitive skills. They accomplish this task through using pencil and paper tests and MRI; a routine technique for taking images of the brain that uses magnetism (and is considered harmless). Children are asked to come along to the hospital twice, once to play games that measure different aspects of cognition, and a second time to complete the MRI, where the children play games (e.g., word and rule-learning games) in the MRI scanner. Parents are reimbursed for parking and children receive book vouchers for taking part. For more information please have parents of students' interested contact Michelle Lee or Christopher Benjamin by phone (617)355-0400 or visit their website at: www.childrenshospital.org/research/gaablab |
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Member News
Unfortunately, Catherine Hirata has re-injured her shoulder and will not be able to resume full-time teaching in September. She is looking for teachers who might be able to take over a few of her students, either temporarily or long-term. She would be interested in hearing from both established teachers and those who might be looking to gain some experience. (Does anyone know of a college student who might be interested?) It would need to be someone who lives in or near Belmont, or who would be willing to travel to Belmont. Catherine can be reached at chirata@verizon.net or at 617-489-7751. Robert Finley will perform in a concert of Chopin's works at Ashburnham Community Church, Ashburnham, MA, for the Frederick Historic Piano Collection on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 4pm. Click on the link for more information: http://www.frederickcollection.org/2009Sep20.htmlThuyen Phiet will hold an informal teachers' session focusing on her newly released method books, titled
"See Hear and Play," at The First Parish of Lexington, 7 Harrington Road, on Monday, Oct. 19 at 9:30am. Please join Thuyen and other area NEPTA members at this free event to learn more about these exciting materials.Please submit member news for inclusion in the next newsletter by the 15th of the month to lydiaguertin@yahoo.com. |
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"The Natick Collection"
Our own version of "The Natick Collection", the NEPTA
Music Library, was generously relocated by Steinert's in Boston to
their Natick store in the fall of 2008. The collection features 4+
tall file cabinets, overflowing with donated materials from various
publishers throughout the years as well as repertoire too numerous to
mention. According to the salespeople at Steinert's, there haven't
been any NEPTA members that have used the library this past year. The
NEPTA Library was once a valuable resource for teachers as a way to
preview materials at our leisure. However, with the way of the
internet and the availability of materials at local music stores, is
this resource still relevant to our membership? It is an important
discussion and the board would like to know your opinions. Please share
your thoughts with our committee chair, Ruth Ross, either at the
September meeting or via email at: rrosspiano@aol.com.
"The Natick Collection" Part 2...
If
the word shopping instantly came to mind when reading the title "The
Natick Collection", then we have an event for you! Please join us
prior to the September Meeting, starting at 9:00 AM for our biannual
sale of donated music materials. Members are asked to bring their
checkbooks and any music that they are willing to donate that morning. |
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New England Piano Teachers' Association 
