Carol Comune has been a faithful NEPTA member and advertiser in the NEPTA Program Booklet for the past few years. She is a composer who has written wonderful works, which she has offered to share with the NEPTA community. The wrong ad was placed in this year's Program Booklet, which made it too small to see.

Newsletter

September 2014

In This Issue

Greeting

Parking

Masterclass

Teachers' Recital

Music Sale

Miriam Pizer Award

Volunteering...

Joan Reddy

Dues Renewal

Facebook

UPCOMING EVENTS

First Meeting

Mon, Sept 22, 2014

AMY GREER

"Dancing at the Crossroads: Teaching Where Music and Learning Intersect"

First Parish of Watertown

9:30 AM

~ Music Sale immediately preceding Sept Meeting ~

9:00-9:30 AM

Sept 30, 2014

Please don't forget to renew your dues by Tuesday, Sept 30, in order to qualify for participation in the 2015 NEPTA recitals and competitions.

Oct 27, 2014

DMITRY RACHMANOV

"Scriabin, The Russian Prometheus!"

First Parish of Watertown

9:30 AM

Nov 10, 2014

JOHN PERRY

Master Class with NEPTA Teachers

We are still looking for performers! Please contact Robert Finley rsfinley@charter.net

First Parish of Watertown

9:30 AM

Dec 8, 2014

Teachers' Exchange:

"How to Prepare to Play Musically & A.B.R.S.M. Piano Exams and Concerto Preparation"

Wellesley Library

9:30 AM

~ Member Coffee Hour ~

9:00-9:30 AM

MEMBER NEWS

Free Piano Recitals at BU
Tuesday, Oct 14, 2014

UPDATE:
Jacob Katsnelson Concert Cancelled!

Monday, Oct 20, 2014
8:00 PM
Guest Artist Recital:
Tien Hsieh
All Liszt Recital
Marshall Room, 2nd Fl

Sunday, Oct 26, 2014
8:00 PM
Faculty Recital:

Gila Goldstein

Works by Bach-Busoni, Brahms, Lior Navok, Schubert-Liszt and De Falla
BU Concert Hall

All Concerts held at:

855 Commonwealth Ave.

Boston, MA
Admission is free

***

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014
2:00-6:00 PM

Piano Day at UMass Amherst

- Performances by Professors of Piano

Gilles Vonsattel, Nadine Shank & advanced pianists

- Talks about Career Possibilities for Pianists by two returning UMass Alumni

- Masterclass by

Professor Vonsattel

- Time for conversation with piano faculty, alumni & students

- Special Presentation by guest Bruce Brubaker, piano chair at the New England Conservatory on the minimalist music of Philip Glass, Steve Reich and others

Bezanson Recital Hall, Music Wing of the Fine Arts Center
UMass Amherst

Free Event, but please register online by Oct 1

To play in the Masterclass, please make a request using the Online Registration Form

***

NEPTA Member

Wanda Paik presents an All-Chopin Piano Recital

Program to include:

Sonata No. 2, Scherzo No. 4, Barcarolle, Chant Polonais, Impromptus, Nocturnes

CORRECTION:
Sunday, Nov 16, 2014

3:00 PM

Goodnow Library

21 Concord Rd, Sudbury

CORRECTION:

Sunday, Nov 23, 2014

Middlesex Community College

Springs Road, Bedford

Friday, Dec 5, 2014

2:30 PM

Bemis Hall, 15 Bedford Rd, Lincoln, MA

Admission is free

***

Diane Anderson had five of her newest piano pieces for students published recently with Alpha Major publishers.

Dorian Jig and

Downtown Crossing are solo pieces for late elementary and early intermediate levels respectively, and

Windswept Miniatures is a suite of three pieces that range in difficulty from late elementary through intermediate levels. The pieces contain exciting rhythms and motifs, and sophisticated sounds. The pieces can be purchased from the publisher at www.alphamajor.com or you can contact Diane at diane88s@gmail.com.

***

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Note-Worthy Experiences is searching for part-time teachers for the Boston Metro West Area. The disciplines that are currently needed include piano, voice and violin. Teachers will work with students during private lessons once a week. Students' ages vary from 5 - 18. The salary is negotiable. Teachers must provide his or her own transportation. Interested Candidates should submit a resume to Renee Bordner at reneebordner@gmail.com or call 978.443.0480.

***

PIANO FOR SALE

Steinway Grand Piano Model L (5 feet 10 inches) For Sale:
Beautiful finish, ivory keys, circa 1950, original owner. For more information, call 781.489.5030 between the hours of 11:00am and 3:00pm. Please reference the September 2014 NEPTA newsletter

***

Please submit member news for inclusion in the next newsletter by October 20^th to gelmanpiano@aol.com.

SEPTEMBER GREETINGS

Dear NEPTA Colleagues and Friends,

It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you to NEPTA's 2014-2015 season! I hope your summer was full of unforgettable bright impressions, which will enrich the upcoming year and make your teaching and performing productive and successful.

Our first meeting of the season will be on September 22 at 9:30 AM at the First Parish of Watertown. Amy Greer will be presenting "Dancing at the Crossroads: Teaching Where Music and Learning Intersect". Born in Boston, Amy Greer is a pianist, teacher and writer now living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is recognized for her creative approach to traditional piano lessons. This promises to be a stimulating and inspiring session.

This summer was full of NEPTA projects and events, and I would like to share this with you, dear colleagues. My special thanks to the Board Members for being "on-call" and helping in different areas. My great appreciation to the advertizing team, Houry Schmeizl and Catherine Costello-Hirata, who brought a lot of new and old advertisers to NEPTA.

I was very happy and proud to hear at the Boston Symphony a great performance of the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 by the winner of NEPTA competitions, great young pianist Kevin Sherman. Kevin is a student of Valerie Henkin, and last season he won a Grand Prize in the Boston Pops Fidelity Young Artists Competition. This prize included a monetary award, training sessions with Professor Victor Rosenbaum and a performance with the Boston Pops Orchestra (conductor Keith Lockhart). I was very proud to hear the name of this NEPTA student mentioned by Keith Lockhart and to be a part of the standing ovation given to this young musician. Congratulations to Kevin and his great teacher!

The Presidential Meeting, which took place this June at the Brio Tuscan Grill restaurant was a great place to exchange ideas for NEPTA's future and to share memories of NEPTA's past. Thanks, dear NEPTA Presidents for joining this event!

The Program Booklet and Membership Directory, beautifully prepared by Tina Liu, our Program Booklet Coordinator, was sent to the NEPTA members unusually early this year at the end of July to give everyone updates on the upcoming season and the opportunity to plan and incorporate NEPTA events in your busy schedules in advance. We are immensely grateful to Tina for organizing and updating our booklet and directory. Thanks to Lydia Guertin, Catherine Costello-Hirata and other NEPTA Chairs for their careful proofreading of drafts, Colleen Campbell for compiling and shortening biographies, Natacha Rist for volunteering her time for mailing out NEPTA packages and Caroline Ly for updating the website. Information for events throughout the year is now available in the Program Booklet and the NEPTA website. In past years, our website updates were prepared by Sue Demb, to whom we are always grateful for maintaining it so ardently and making herself available to pass along her wealth of experience.

Thank you, all NEPTA volunteers and contributors, for helping the NEPTA community grow and thrive! My special appreciation to Robert Finley, who stepped down from his position due to family circumstances. We are eager to welcome our interim Vice President, Donna Gross Javel and interim Executive Secretary, Cindy Null. Thank you, Lydia Guertin, for your incredible year-round work as the Nominating Committee Chair!

I am very excited for this coming NEPTA season. We have many varied events planned, including speaker series, teachers' exchanges, recitals, and competitions. I hope to see you enjoying our events!

NEPTA has much to look forward to, beginning with our first Speaker Series event on Monday, September 22 at 9:30 AM at the First Parish of Watertown. Please be sure to mark your calendars with the complete roster of NEPTA guest speakers and master teachers, so wonderfully organized by Colleen Campbell, Chair of our Program Committee. As always, visitors are welcome throughout the year to all program events for a fee of $10. This first meeting, however, includes free admission for all guests. Please plan to arrive early for NEPTA's music sale beginning at 9:00 AM, managed by Ruth Ross and benefiting NEPTA's Scholarship Fund.

I look forward to seeing you all at our first meeting on Monday, September 22!

Kind regards,

Irina Y. Gelman

President

PARKING ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Watertown Savings Bank has strongly requested that NEPTA members do not park in the bank parking lot for NEPTA events. Please be respectful of this neighboring business and leave the free parking for its clients.

Please be aware that Watertown has restricted parking on the side streets immediately surrounding the First Parish and thus eliminating any "free parking." The metered spots in the parking lot adjacent to the church can accept coins up to a maximum of 8 hours (blue meters only), thereby removing the need to go feed the meter during our meeting breaks, offering instead an opportunity to socialize with NEPTA friends and colleagues.

PROGRAM BOOKLET ERROR

Tina Liu, Program Booklet Chair, deeply regrets making two errors in this year's booklet: misspelling the name of Carol Comune's press, which is also her namesake, and for inserting the wrong ad, which made the Carol Comune Press advertisement illegible in this year's Program Booklet. Please have a look at Carol's ad at the top of this newsletter.

TEACHERS' MASTERCLASS

We will be having a Teachers' Masterclass at the First Parish of Watertown on Monday, November 10, 2014, given by the world-famous teacher, John Perry. As before, there will be three students, who will each play for about ten minutes and then John will give comments on the performance. John Perry has given masterclasses at PianoTexas, Perugia Italy and all over the world. Please contact Robert Finley if you would like to participate in the masterclass. Robert's email is rsfinley@charter.net and his telephone number is 508.393.6740.

NEPTA TEACHERS' RECITAL

On Saturday, February 7, 2015, we will be arranging our Annual Teachers' Recital at the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, MA. This will consist of piano solos, piano duets, piano duos and a small number of chamber works with other musicians. Please mark your calendar and contact Robert Finley if you would like to play in the concert with the work(s) you would like to play. You may reach Robert by email (rsfinley@charter.net) or by phone (508.393.6740).

Donations will benefit the Susan B. Demb Teacher Enrichment Fund, which awards NEPTA members every other year for use in pedagogy courses and conferences. If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute to the Susan B. Demb Teacher Fund, please send your check to Lindsey Robb, Treasurer, 40 Montvale #3, Roslindale, MA 02131.

MUSIC SALE

Our Music Sale is back by popular demand, once again organized by Ruth Ross, Music Library and Donation Chair. Please join us prior to all regular meetings in September, October, January, February, March and May at The First Parish starting at 9 AM. Members are asked to bring their checkbooks and any music that they are willing to donate that morning.

The sale serves three purposes:

Teachers have access to music that, perhaps, has gone out of print
Standard teaching methods and collections can be acquired at a very reasonable price
All proceeds go directly to the NEPTA Scholarship Fund

Please direct any questions to Ruth Ross at rrosspiano@aol.com.

MIRIAM PIZER AWARD

The Miriam Pizer Award, created in memory of Miriam Pizer, was established for students 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 and the submission deadline is October 15. Please send your name along with your student's name by email to Irina Y. Gelman.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEPTA

Fellow member Lindsey Robb is stepping down from his position of Treasurer. Please be sure to thank him for his years of faithful and humble service. If you would like to share in this generous NEPTA spirit, please consider filling his shoes. According to Lindsey, you don't need special qualifications. All that is required is the ability to balance a checkbook and to be willing to learn. (You will learn a lot!)

Other opportunities to volunteer with NEPTA include Program Booklet Chair and Newsletter Coordinator. The Program Booklet Chair has the opportunity to prepare the NEPTA Program Booklet and Directory for distribution to members in the summer. The Newsletter Coordinator works with the President every two months to create this newsletter. Training is available for the Newsletter Coordinator Position as requested. This position is open January 2015 or sooner.

Please contact Irina gelmanpiano@aol.com

if you are interested in any of these positions.

JOAN REDDY

Sadly, former NEPTA President Joan Reddy passed away on June 4, 2014. Joan was a devoted teacher and member of the New England Piano Teachers' Association for many years. She served as NEPTA President from 2009-2011. She contributed wisdom, leadership and great musical knowledge to our group with warmth and humor. Joan was also music director at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bedford. We will miss her and treasure her memory.

Donations in Joan's memory can be made to the Fender Music Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity that provides instruments to schools and music programs for those who may not be able to afford them. P.O. Box 67, Agoura Hills, CA 91376. Donations are also accepted online.

DUES RENEWAL

Thank you for your timely renewal of membership dues! Please remind your fellow teachers who may have forgotten to renew or are new to NEPTA that dues must be received by September 30, 2013 in order to be eligible to enter students in NEPTA's recitals and competitions.

NEPTA'S FACEBOOK PAGE

Remember that you can post your own up-to-the-minute concert listings and other items of interest for the Boston piano community on NEPTA's Facebook page. Visit www.facebook.com/NEPTApiano to see the latest news from your NEPTA friends! YouTube videos of your concert performances are especially welcome.

NOTE FROM TANYA SHRAGO

My dear colleagues, I would like to share with you the joy I've experienced this summer. My former student from Saint Petersburg, Russia, Maria Khavin, who is now a professional pianist and teacher in Seattle, invited me to join her in the wonderful musical event, 34th PianoTexas International Academy & Festival in Fort Worth. This year PianoTexas was bringing attention to the musical genius of Mozart. The uniqueness of the Academy lies in its three concurrent programs: Young Artists, Teachers and Amateurs. The level of Guest Artists was incredibly high. We were both in the Teachers Program. Maria won a Concerto Competition and had the honor to play with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major by Mozart under the baton of the maestro Geoffrey Simon. I performed Three Preludes and Four Songs by my favorite composer George Gershwin in his piano arrangement. What else was very exciting, we've performed together, the teacher and the student, pieces for four hands by the Russian composer Valeriy Gavrilin. We both received a lot of compliments. This wonderful event gave us an inspiration for working even harder ourselves and with our students.