UPCOMING NEPTA EVENTSJanuary 24, 2011 First Parish of Watertown
9:30am
HUNG-KUAN CHEN"Time - Space Continuum" -thoughts on agogics, inflections and pulse in music*** February 28, 2011 First Parish of Watertown 9:30am
JEAN BARRNightmares and Dreams: The Life of a Collaborative Pianist and So You Have to Coach an Ensemble: Do you know how
NEPTA MUSIC SALE9:00-9:30am *** March 28, 2011 Wellesley Free Library
9:30am ELLEN WINNER The Effects of Instrumental Music Training on Children's Brain and Cognitive Development*** April 25, 2011 First Parish of Watertown 9:30am
ROBERT POLI Student Masterclass*** May 23, 2011 First Parish of Watertown 9:30am ANNUAL MEETING and AWARDS RECITAL LUNCHEON ***
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MEMBER NEWS
* * * *
Congratulations to
Elizabeth Landman,
whose student
Kaitlin Levangie
won the
NEPTA Miriam Pizer award on October 25, 2010.
***
Tatyana Dudochkin
founder and director of the 21st annual composers anniversary celebration will present along with host
Ron Dell Chiesa,
a salute to
Franz Liszt
on his bicentennial.
The concert will be held on
Sunday,
January 30, 2011
at 8:00pm at
NEC's Jordan Hall featuring the following artists: Mykola Suk, piano,
Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor,
Victoria Avetisyan,
mezzo soprano,
Alexander Korsantia,
Sergei Shepkin and Tatyana Dudochkin, piano,
Rebecca Bogers, harp,
Sam Ou, cello,
Yelena Dudochkin, soprano, Ravis Horton, organ
as well as the
NEC Camerata and the
NEC Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of
Beth Willer and
Steven Karidoyanes respectively.
Tickets are $20/15
and available at the
NEC box office.
For more information please call: 617-585-1260.
***
Duo Con Anima,
Fern Abrams and Joan Garniss,
will be presenting their annual
four hand concert at the
Waltham Public Library on Sunday
February 13, 2011
at 2:30pm.
The program will feature music by Beethoven, Hensel, Brahms,
Van Slyck, and Reger.
Admission is free, but reservations are suggested by calling 781-314-3425
Presented by the
Friends of the
Waltham Public Library.
***
Erlinda Salazar McGinty
will give a
piano recital
in the
South Wing Auditorium,
1000 Southern Artery
in Quincy on
Sunday,
February 13, 2011
at 3:00pm.
Music by Mozart, Schubert, Santiago, Sarmiento, and Debussy. Admission is free.
Please submit member news
for inclusion in the next newsletter
by the 15th of the month to lydiaguertin@yahoo.com.
Electronic newsletters
are distributed in
September, October, January, February, March, April and May.
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WINTER GREETINGS
Happy New Year! Wishing everyone a peaceful, joyous 2011, complete with new and enriching musical adventures. NEPTA will certainly contribute to this enhancement, by continuing its' presentation of the 60th Anniversary program. This month's artist, Hung-Kuan Chen, will speak about "Time, Space Continuum, Thoughts on Agogics, Inflection and Pulse in Music" on Monday, January 24 at 9:30 AM. In researching the definition of Agogics, I discovered the following online description from www.freedictionary.com: "the theory that accent within a musical phrase can also be expressed by modifying the duration of certain notes rather than only by modifying dynamic stress." The discussion should be very interesting, and we are so privileged to have such an amazing musician inaugurate the New Year.
Warmly, Lydia Reed-Guertin,
President
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UPDATE ON PREVIOUS MEETINGS
All of our meetings have been very well attended this year, and that has been a pleasure to witness. Since the last newsletter, NEPTA has been treated to introductory talks by past presidents, Janna Bruene (October) and Wanda Paik (November), sharing their reflections and experiences within this wonderful organization. Our speakers have included Christopher O'Riley (October 25, 2010), Seymour Lipkin (November 8, 2010) and our own esteemed members, Cindy Null and Sue Demb at the Teachers' Exchange (December 6, 2010).
Mr. O'Riley performed and spoke eloquently about several Schumann pieces and talked in depth about his own musical upbringing. The October meeting notes along with those from the Teachers' Exchange on December 6, 2010 can be found at the end of this newsletter and on the NEPTA website.
Teacher Masterclass with Seymour Lipkin, November 8, 2010 
Elena Drabkin, I-Hsuan Cheng, Seymour Lipkin, Yelena Beriyeva and Anne Mundstedt
Mr. Lipkin heard beautiful performances by 4 of our own members, Sonata in D Major K. 576 by W. A. Mozart performed by I-Hsuan Cheng, Schumann's "Sehr Lebhaft" from the Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26 performed by Elena Drabkin, Chopin's Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31 performed by Yelena Beriyeva and the first 2 movements of Mozart's Piano Sonata in A minor, K. 310 performed by Anne Munstedt. Bravo to all the performers and many thanks to Emma Jean Moulton, who prearranged the Masterclass program and helped provide transportation and accommodations for Mr. Lipkin.
Lastly, the Teachers' Exchange morning began with a member coffee hour, complete with delicious muffins, fruit, coffee and gorgeous flowers, organized by Indiana Chalsen and Janna Bruene at the Wellesley Library. The presentation was lovely, and many thanks go to both of them for their detailed efforts including delivery, setup and breakdown time. Once the program began, Cindy and Sue did a superb job of presenting their creative games and ideas for group lessons. Audience members played these games during the last half hour of the meeting, and the hilarity that ensued was priceless. Thanks to Adele Dreyer, chairman of the Teachers' Exchange Committee who helped structure the morning and aptly summed up the meeting below:
Dear Cindy and Sue,
What a fun morning! Thank you both for your excellent presentations. It was truly inspiring to see the fine work you both have been doing and have done. Sue, your games, created with templates so that you could vary them, is outstanding, professional, and original. Cindy, your background and outstanding work, developing a camp and integrating motivation aimed at encouraging your students to excel during the year is unique and very impressive. I think we all felt the enthusiasm in the room in response to your offerings, and the exchange was validated by teachers volunteering their own original ideas. The program drew an excellent turn-out. It was a wonderful morning, and I thank you on behalf of NEPTA. Adele Dreyer, Chairman, Teachers' Exchange
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UPDATE ON THE All NEPTA TEACHERS' RECITAL AND FUNDRAISER
On Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 8:00 PM, audience members at the First Parish of Watertown were treated to an all NEPTA Teachers' Recital and fundraiser, supported by colleagues, friends, families and students of the performers. Thanks to their efforts, NEPTA raised over $700 towards the church fund to replace all of the chairs in the sanctuary. Colleen Campbell, NEPTA's Vice President, did a superb job of organizing and printing the program, and with a backdrop of elegant flowers, made the audience feel welcome with her remarks. Bravo and congratulations to the following teachers who performed that evening: Deborah Yardley Beers, Sivan Etedgee, Diane Impallaria, Wanda Paik, Janice Paratore Zaganjori and Angela Gazza, Diana Tetzlaff, and Elizabeth Reed with her sister, yours truly!
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PROGRAM IDEAS FOR 2011-2012
The program committee, headed by Shann Wood, will be meeting in the next month or so to plan next year's presenters and meeting topics. If you have any great suggestions regarding content or recommended speakers for our meetings, or a master teacher for our student or teacher master classes, please send them along to Shann at: shannwood@comcast.net. Often times it is through our membership that we hear about fantastic motivational teachers and speakers so your input is valued. |
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2011 STUDENT RECITALS
All NEPTA recital forms for 2011 are now available for downloading at our website: www.nepta.info. These forms are password protected and current members are required to submit their email address in addition to their password. Below you will find the recital dates and postmark entry deadlines are in parentheses. Please refer to the NEPTA Program Booklet for more details on repertoire and timing requirements. Recitals will be held at the First Parish of Watertown on Sunday afternoons unless otherwise indicated.
Junior Recital
January 23, 2011, 2:30-8:00pm
First Parish of Watertown
(Application postmark deadline has passed)
Intermediate I Recital
January 30, 2011, 2:30-8:00pm
First Parish of Watertown
(Application postmark has passed)
Intermediate II Recital
February 13, 2011, 2:30-8:00pm
First Parish of Watertown
(Application postmark deadline has passed)
Senior Recital
March 6, 2011, 2:30-8:00pm
(Application postmark deadline: February 5, 2011)
Composition and Jazz combined with
20th and 21st Century Recitals
March 13, 2011*, 2:30-6:00
(Application postmark deadline: Feb. 12, 2011)
*Please note that Daylight Savings Time begins on this date. Clocks are set ahead 1 hour.
Ensemble and Adult Recitals
March 27, 2011
Sunday Evening Time To Be Announced
Location: M. Steinert & Sons, Natick, MA
(Application postmark deadline: Feb. 26, 2011)
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2011 STUDENT COMPETITIONS
All NEPTA competition forms for 2011 are now available for downloading at our website: www.nepta.info. These forms are password protected and current members are required to submit their email address in addition to their password. Below you will find the competition dates and postmark entry deadlines in italics. Please refer to the NEPTA Program Booklet for more details on repertoire and timing requirements.
Mildred Freiberg Middle School Competition Saturday, March 26, 2011
Location: M. Steinert & Sons, Boston, MA
(Application postmark deadline: Feb. 16, 2011)
Ruth Davidson High School Competition
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Location: M. Steinert & Sons, Boston, MA
(Application postmark deadline: March 9, 2011) Alice Hamlet Senior Competition
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Location: M. Steinert & Sons, Boston, MA
(Application postmark deadline: March 9, 2011)
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BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
 Elizabeth Landman is Past President of Suzuki, MA, Founder and Past Director of Suzuki by the Green, a summer Suzuki piano institute held in MA, a faculty member of The New School of Music in Cambridge, MA and teacher at her own private studio in Lexington, MA. Elizabeth is a former actress in professional theatre performing in New York City, the Midwest and elsewhere. Her piano training includes lessons with Ruth Byer Holden in Syracuse, NY, and Dr. Bela Nagy in Boston, MA. Elizabeth's Suzuki training includes Dr. Suzuki's school in Matsumoto, Japan. Her principal Suzuki teachers were Dr. Doris Harrel, John Homsy, Robert Fraley and Mary Craig Powell. Elizabeth was awarded a B.S. cum laude from Syracuse University and enrolled in graduate courses offered at the College of Music in UMass Lowell, The Longy School in Cambridge and The Institute of Fine Arts of NYU. She has been married to David Landman for forty-nine years, and is the mother of six grown children and six grandchildren.
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NOTES FROM THE OCTOBER MEETING
Submitted by Jean Alderman
Continuing the 60th anniversary remembrance with brief talks by past presidents, Janna Bruene spoke about joining NEPTA a long time ago, about getting to know Elfrieda Hiebert and Mildred Freiberg and about an especially inspiring program given by Lois Shapiro. The subject was Romanticism in Music in which Lois opened up that world for her in an exciting way. She began to feel that she would like to participate more, Janna ultimately became president in 1999, putting her in charge of the 50th anniversary celebration. She is ever grateful to all those who helped her that year, and appreciates anew the work each committee does and the founders' wisdom in planning for an organization that has only grown better through its long life. She credits us with the flexibility to meet the new demands of a changing world.
The renowned Christopher O'Riley, host of the most popular classical music radio show on the air today, From the Top, spoke first, answered questions next and then played Schumann.
He talked about his teachers at NEC: Beatrice Erdely, who helped him get his fingers in contact with the keys, DRAW sound from the piano, develop the use of arm weight and learn to relax. Ben Zander, who, as chamber music coach, emphasized that the piano was the "biggest obstruction to a sostenuto sound because it's a percussion instrument." So whenever the music didn't sound good, he always blamed the pianist. (Working against percussiveness has helped Mr. O'Riley a lot in his role as accompanist on From the Top). His "master teacher" was Russell Sherman whose instruction was aimed at the student's relationship to the music, at "getting you to be yourself" as a player. Russell Sherman paid great attention to detail - such things as the fact that the second and fourth of four sixteenths are weaker than the first and third. He spoke about the difficulty of pedal work. Russell Sherman says the pedal is not an on/off switch but rather a mixing tool. One can tell that Mr. O'Riley loves Russell Sherman, his probing philosophical mind and his ability to convey his ideas to his students without making them copies of himself... Mr. O'Riley enthusiastically suggests reading Russell Sherman's "Aphorisms for Piano Teachers", an excellent book (Interestingly, both Sherman and Erdely were students of the great Eduard Steuermann).
Yoga is a significant part of Mr.O'Riley's life, giving him centeredness and energy that radiates from the sacrum.
Because he goes across the country finding talented youngsters for his program, he sees the work done by private piano teachers, and that instruction is first-rate. He said earnestly, "Bravo, you guys."
And with that he took questions. This report will touch on a few: he spoke about the e-stand (collaborative systems for musicians and education), its pros and cons. See e-stand.com
How much time is spent with performers on the show? "Two weeks before the taping we (he and the performers) practice until it's good."
Referring to the Alexander technique, he feels it's less accessible than Yoga, which benefits immediately.
To help the students feel at ease, he encourages them to play at the top of their game. He has 30 pages of type-script on each student and has spent weeks on the phone with them. Having had to deal with the loneliness of practise, the students find comfort in being with each other. "They have found their mates."
Yoga was brought up in Q & A, whereupon he elaborated more and stressed the importance of breathing.
Before he played, he spoke about fractals, those things that are irregular, like pebbles on the shore - "small ideas becoming the big idea or a big idea encompassing the small ideas." With Schumann it's the former. He played generously and wonderfully, first the Arabesque, Opus 18, then the entire Kreisleriana, Opus 16 and finally the Fantasy in C major, Opus 17, all three movements.
It was thrilling playing and a thrilling morning altogether.
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NOTES FROM THE DECEMBER MEETING
Submitted by Linda Viera
Many good musical games are available for purchase, but you can also create these materials for your own teaching needs. Sue Demb and Cindy Null introduced games that are "home-made" that are used in small group lessons to teach theory and musical concepts. Their goal was to inspire other teachers to create their own games as a teaching tool.Cindy Null also talked about her summer piano camp.
Sue Demb taught in student's homes with group lessons replacing one week of teaching three times during the school year. She created games that would help her teach what she wanted her students to learn.
She demonstrated many of these games with audience participation.
BINGO: Sue used M&Ms or Skittles and created different versions including
Intervals using finger number or letter names
Intervals on the staff
Rhythmic patterns: elementary, dotted notes
Tricky Note Bingo - letter names on the staff
Ear Bingo using the Guild levels
CLIMB THE KEYBOARD: the goal is to reach the top of the keyboard by picking a card with an interval on it and going up or down.
INTERVAL WHIZ GAME: Pass out cards with Intervals on them. The teacher turns over a card with a number on it. The first student to put out a card with that interval on it loses the card. The goal is to run out of cards first.
STAFF WHIZ GAME: Same as above but the cards have notes on the staff and must match the letter name given by the teacher.
WHAT'S MISSING:1 line or space note is missing on the staff. The student must figure out that letter name. It encourages use of saying the letter names up by line or space.
SPELL YOUR SCALES: Pick a scale. Pass out 8 cards per student with letter names on them.If a student does not need a card to make that scale, he or she passes that card to the right.
MUSIC TWISTER: To prepare the Twister game, draw a note on a staff with no clef sign on each of the Twister colored circles. Assign letter names to the spinner choices. One person spins and calls out the extremity (RH< LH< R Foot, L Foot) and the letter name. Students follow the directions. (we did not play this!)
Cindy Null worked with computer games so including games in her teaching came naturally. Here are some of her games:
INTRODUCTIONS: A student wears a card with a music symbol on her back. She asks the other students questions to determine what she is such as "Am I an interval? Am I bigger than a 5th"
JEOPARDY: Using a poster board and post-it notes.Different categories can include composers, theory, definitions, ear training, random.
PIANO HOCKEY: Students advance by giving the correct answer.
RHYTHM CHANGE: One student claps a rhythmic pattern and the others guess which one he clapped from a choice of 8 patterns.
STEAL THE SPOON: Put out 1 less spoon than students. Using the game Crazy 8th (about $8), pass out 6 cards with the goal being to get 3 sets of 2 of a kind.
The first one to do so grabs a spoon secretly. You can also define a set as a I and V chord in the same key, 3 notes of a chord etc.
MUSICAL CHARADES:Pass around a music dictionary or cards with music terms such as crescendo and the students choose a term to act out.
Other NEPTA members offered suggestions for games.
Susan Phillips shared her game called "Go Fishing" or "Walden Pond"." It is fun if the pond is round such as an oatmeal container and the note letters are in the shape of a fish.Using a pencil with a magnet on a string, a student draws a card with a note on it that has a staple to attach it to the magnet. The student then places it on the correct key on a plastic keyboard.The sequel to the game is to place the fish on the keyboard with the letter facing down.
Adele Dreyer plays Musical Baseball with 2 teams, the sharps and the flats.
If a student gives a correct answer, they draw a card to advance on the board.
Donna Gross Javel plays the card game Spit that can be used to learn the music alphabet forward and backwards as well as intervals. She also introduced a non-music game called "SET" which has won seven best game awards and is used in schools to teach problem solving, math, organizational skills and concentration. This game is available online at Setgame.com.
Members had a fun time playing many of these games!
SUMMER PIANO CAMP
Cindy Null runs a 3 day overnight piano camp for 8 to 11 students in 4th to 8th grade. Students are invited if they meet certain requirements and have had a minimum of two years of study. It a family based camp that happens a week after school ends. The camp focuses on a composer or theme and a recital at the end. Crafts are offered by a graphic designer and volunteer parents help with food preparation and supervising activities. Guest teachers are often included as well as outdoor camp activities such as swimming and badminton.
Cindy provided NEPTA with the following handouts with ideas about planning a camp, information about Carpe Diem Piano Camp and a list of additional resources for games and websites.
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New England Piano Teachers' Association