As you know, this week I have been blogging some of my notes highlighting a few sessions from the 2013 OhioMTA Conference. In addition to lectures, there were also some fantastic masterclasses and recitals. For example:
- A masterclass featuring elementary to intermediate level students, given by Dr. Michelle Conda. This was fantastic! It is not very often that we get to see how a master teacher would work with non-advanced students.
- An fun, interactive session about Dalcroze Eurhythmics — a topic near and dear to my heart because of my experience taking two semesters of Eurhythmics during undergrad. I was so impressed and inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the presenter, Kristen Regester.
- A session about promoting collaborative music for students let by our OhioMTA president, Dr. Richard Van Dyke. At the beginning, the challenges and benefits of teaching collaborative music were discussed. Then, we had the opportunity to hear performances by a few student chamber groups. Among the performances, we heard “Serendipity” by Jennifer Linn (debuted at the 2013 MTNA conference), a Beethoven trio played by three woodwinds, and a piano trio (a movement from Beethoven’s Op. 11).
- A masterclass featuring not just piano — but also voice and violin students. It was so neat to hear how each master teacher worked with the student on his/her particular instrument to achieve the goal all musicians share: giving a musical performance.
- An impressive solo piano recital given by Dr. Stephen Beus.
- A chamber music recital by the James Tocco trio. This concert was absolutely phenomenal.
It was great to get re-fueled and bring back some fresh ideas for my teaching!
The next conference I hope to attend will be the 2014 MTNA recital taking place in Chicago. Start saving now! 🙂
