Newsletter
May 2015
In This Issue
Greetings
NEPTA's New Leaders
Membership Dues
Recital and Competition Winners
Adult Recital Report
Wanda Paik Awards
UPCOMING EVENTS
 

 

Monday, May 18

Annual Meeting, Awards Recital & Luncheon
The First Parish

of Watertown
9:30AM

 

MEMBER NEWS

Victoria Suchodolski and Christopher Marinuzzi will present a recital of the six Keyboard Partitas of Johann Sebastian Bach on Saturday, June 20 at Steinert Hall in Boston, 162 Boylston St., beginning at 7PM. Free admission, open to the public.

* * * 

PIANO FOR SALE 

Steinway Grand Piano Model L (5'10")
Beautiful finish, ivory keys, circa 1950, original owner. For more information, call 781.489.5030.

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Please submit member news for inclusion in the next newsletter by August 31 to new NEPTA president Donna Gross Javel at 
 

tulips2

MAY GREETINGS

Irina color pic
Dear NEPTA Members and Colleagues,
 
Hope you all are enjoying the beauty of this blooming season!
With the approach of  NEPTA's most festive event, the Annual Meeting and Awards Recital on May 18th, my term as president comes to a close.
It has been a big honor and privilege to serve as a president of this incredible organization.  My love and loyalty to NEPTA increased immensely after working closely with the graciously giving highly professional musicians belonging to this organization.  Thank you so much to the board members, chairs of the recitals and competitions, officers and NEPTA volunteers with whom I've been fortunate to work!  All my love and admiration comes to you!
Thank you, dear Robert Finley and Donna Gross Javel, NEPTA Vice Presidents, for your endless hours of work in preparation of Teachers' Recitals and for chairing student recital and competition committee.  I appreciate a lot your every day advice and energy!
Our brilliant Treasurer Lindsey Robb is stepping down from his position, and I want to express my gratitude to Lindsey for keeping for many years NEPTA financial records, maintaining bookkeeping and preparing booklets!  Thank you so much, Lindsey, for your expertise and devotion!
NEPTA's Recording Secretaries Linda Vieira and Bert Yocom prepared detailed notes from every program meeting, ensuring each member has access to the information relayed by the speakers.  Executive Secretary Cindy Null has provided excellent reports from board meetings along with her highly professional work as a Newsletter Coordinator.  I would also like to express my gratitude to Tina Liu for editing and delivering the newsletters and notices and using her superb computer skills to reorganize NEPTA booklets.  Thank you, Tina, for all your help to me throughout those two years!
My special appreciation to Colleen Campbell, Sue Demb, Janna Bruene, Lydia Reed Guertin, Diana Tetzlaff, Ranko Konishi-Houston, Ruth Ross, Caroline Ly-Germeys, Natacha Rist and more and more and more... The list of people who worked with me as a team for the last two years would be seriously long.  I wish I could mention each name here!  I will cordially keep in my heart every moment of our cooperation and collaboration during this period!
Thank you, dear colleagues, for all of the support you have shown me these past two years!  I will always treasure and cherish this adventure!
 
Kindest and warmest regards,
 
Irina Y. Gelman
NEPTA President


 

NEPTA'S NEW LEADERS for 2015-2017

NEPTA's nominating committee, headed by Lydia Reed-Guertin, presents the following slate of NEPTA officers for 2015-2017. Officers will be voted on at NEPTA's Annual Meeting on Monday, May 18.

President: Donna Gross Javel of Waltham
Vice President: TBA
Executive Secretary: Cindy Null of Needham
Treasurer: Bert Yocom of Boston
Recording Secretary: Natacha Rist of Jamaica Plain
 
Board Members to serve 2015-2018
Barbara Engel of Arlington
Caroline Ly Germeys of Arlington
Janice Spillane of Reading
 
Board Member to serve 2015-2016
David Tobin of Wellesley

We greatly appreciate the time and commitment of these new officers to NEPTA. Please join us in congratulating them on their new roles within the NEPTA organization.

THIRD REMINDER: ANNUAL MEMBER DUES DEADLINE MAY 31

The time to pay NEPTA annual dues has arrived. Deadline is MAY 31 if you would like your name included in the annual directory. This is three short weeks away!

To pay your dues, please log in to your NEPTA account and sign in using your name and password. (A reminder that for many of you, your user name is the prefix of your email address -- everything before the @ sign.) Once you have logged in, select Pay Your Member Dues from the dropdown list. It's fast and easy to pay online using your PayPal account or a credit card! You can also pay by downloading the Dues form here  and sending the form into NEPTA along with your check. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email Member Chair Janne Bruene, or call her at 617-983-1421.

The advantages of paying your dues by May 31 are threefold:

A. You will be listed in next year's Membership Directory; 

B. You will be within the deadline for enrolling students in recitals and competition; 

C. You will make the jobs of the treasurer, membership chair, and other NEPTA volunteers much easier. 

It won't take much time. Many thanks for taking care of paying your dues today! 
RECITAL AND COMPETITION WINNERS

Alice Hamlet Senior Scholarship Competition
Congratulations go to the following winners of the Alice Hamlet Senior Scholarship Competition held on March 28 at M. Steinert & Sons in Boston. 
First Place: Paul Celebi, student of Jean Stackhouse 
Second Place: Kevin Sherman, student of Valerie Henkin 
Third Place: Angelique Scully, student of Tanya Schwartzman 
Honorable Mention: Qianhe Li, student of Clara Slater 
Honorable Mention: Michael Heyang, student of Valerie Henkin 
Ruth Davidson Competition
Congratulations go to the following winners of the Ruth Davidson Competition held on March 28 at M. Steinert & Sons in Boston. 
First Place: Amir Siraj, student of Helena Vesterman 
Second Place: YeeJin Yuk, student of Jean Stackhouse 
Third Place: David Kotler, student of Natalia Harlap 
Honorable Mention: Michelle Chen, student of Nilly Epstein Shilo
Ramon Rivera Contemporary Music Awards
Seniors: Paul Celebi, student of Jean Stackhouse 
Grades 9-11: David Kotler, student of Natalia Harlap
Margaret C. Bachelder Romantic Music Award
Senior Paul Celebi, student of Jean Stackhouse 
Mildred Freiberg Middle School Competition
Congratulations go to the following winners of the Mildred Freiberg Competition held on March 21 at M. Steinert and Sons in Boston. The competition was adjudicated by Lois Shapiro, Thomas Stumpf and Ann Sears. 
1st Prize: Danika Dai, student of Nilly Shilo 
2nd Prize: Kyle Chen, student of Niva Fried 
3rd Prize: Alex Cheung, student of Tatyana Dudochkin 
Honorable Mention: Justin Gu, student of Niva Fried

Middle school competition
Middle School Competition Judges and Chair



ADULT RECITAL A SUCCESS

On Sunday, April 26, the Adult Recital took place at home of Dr. David Rosenthal.

Students participating included Andrei Ilyashenko, Jessica Overbey, Takato Sato, Juna Gjata, Kathy Kerby, and Alexandra Azzolino, performed a wonderful program of piano music, by Kabalevsky, Rakov, Debussy, Scarlatti, Chopin, J.S. Bach, and Mozart. 

Adult recital 2015

NEPTA Adult Recital Participants


NEPTA teachers whose students participated include Fern Abrams, Niva Fried, Irina Y. Gelman, Luba Pyatkovskaya, Lyubov Shlain, Ruth Shyu and Victoria Suchodolski.  

A light supper was served, capping a lovely afternoon of music, food, and friendships, old and new! Thank you to adult recital chair Janice Zaganjori and assistant chair Dianne Impallaria for their work in making this recital a success.

WANDA PAIK AWARDS

The four winners of the Wanda Paik Awards, who competed on March 15, are:

Grace Lam, student of Selma Ramic
Liszt: "Chant Polonais in G major, Op. 47 R. 145"

Kayla Lee, student of Margarita Gurevich
Glinka: "Variations on a Song by Aliabiev "Nightingale"

Fianna Ton, student of Dr. Nilly Shilo
Liszt: "Au bord d'une source by Liszt

Alina Zheng, student of Dr. Nilly Shilo
Ravel: Jeux d'eau

Eighteen students in the eighth grade competed for the four awards.

INTERNATIONAL PIANO WEEK: July 11-18

Designed for students at the college level or strongly motivated younger pianists who are able to play the early advanced-level repertoire, the first annual International Piano Week, July 11-18, is an exciting opportunity for pianists to:
  • Receive private instruction by internationally recognized pianists
  • Experience master classes and participate in workshops with master pianists
  • Enjoy evening concerts by guest artists and fellow students
  • Perform in a public concert
  • Partake in day trips to local cultural and historic venues
Faculty includes:

Monica Tessitore (Brazil-USA),

Margarita Nuller (Russia-USA),

Junia Canton & Heron Alvim duo pianists (Brazil).

 

Guest artist is Roberto Poli (Italy-USA).

 

International Piano Week will be held at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, MA. Cushing is an All-Steinway School. Students will have a minimum of 2 hours of practice each day. All participants will receive a course certificate. Click here for more details, including tuition information and an application. Questions can be referred to Monica Tessitore at m.godoytess@gmail.com.


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEPTA
Volunteer opportunities abound within NEPTA! Please contact Irina Gelman at gelmanpiano@aol.com if you are interested in helping our wonderful organization.
PARKING ANNOUNCEMENTS
car-sales-lot2.jpg 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. 
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.

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.