Tag: conferences

Composition, Conferences

MTNA 2012 Conference | WSU’s Adopt-A-Composer Program

Joy Morin

On Sunday morning of the conference, I attended the Alfred Exhibitor Showcase and the Keynote Presentation given by Norman Horowitz and Melvin Stecher.  My notes are very similar to Natalie’s from Music Matters Blog, so I will let you read her summaries here and here!  (We somehow attended a lot of the same sessions…great minds think alike!)  🙂

After that, I attended a session given by the MTNA Collegiate Chapter at Washington State University (WSU) called:

Composition and Creativity: Collaboration With Living Composers In The Private Studio

This session was about the annual Adopt-A-Composer Program that that WSU uses for their Piano Lab School (where piano majors teach students in a supervised setting).  A year in advance, they choose and approach a composer, explain the components of the program, and negotiate terms.  If the budget allows, some years they commission a work or two.   Continue reading “MTNA 2012 Conference | WSU’s Adopt-A-Composer Program” →

Conferences, Studio Business

MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Legal Issues

Joy Morin

3:00pm – Ignorance Is Not Bliss: Legal Issues for the IMT

Led by Lee Galloway, Beth Gigante Klingenstein, and Scott McBride Smith.

Conferences, Studio Business

MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Financial Success

Joy Morin

1:30pm – Financial Success: Taking Control of the Present and the Future

Led by Lee Galloway, Beth Gigante Klingenstein, and Scott McBride Smith.

Why are independent music teachers (IMT) so underpaid?  Beth had quite a list of contributing reasons!   Here’s a few:

Conferences, Studio Business

MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Finding Students

Joy Morin

11:30am – Finding & Keeping Students

Led by Lee Galloway, Beth Gigante Klingenstein, and Scott McBride Smith.

This session involved a lot of discussion as a group.  Attendees raised their hands to share ideas for finding and keeping students.  Here’s a few ideas that I jotted down:

Conferences, Studio Business

MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Creative Curriculum

Joy Morin

10:30am – The Creative Curriculum

Led by Lee Galloway, Beth Gigante Klingenstein, and Scott McBride Smith.

Make a plan for yourself, to focus on (1) continual growth, (2) quality, and (3) innovation.  As Peter Drucker once said, “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” Continue reading “MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Creative Curriculum” →

Conferences, Studio Business

MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Studio Documents

Joy Morin

Here begins my notes from the 2012 MTNA Conference in NYC!  I had such a wonderful time, and I learned so much.

Saturday is always an optional day at the MTNA Conference.  For an extra $75, you can attend Pedagogy Saturday or choose the Professional Studio Institute track.  I chose the latter, which was led by Lee Galloway, Beth Gigante Klingenstein (author of The Independent Piano Teacher’s Studio Handbook), and Scott McBride Smith.

9:00am – Studio Documents That Work!

Having studio documents is important for professionalism, to protect yourself, to save time, for marketing, and for organization.  Some documents you should consider having for your studio:

  1. Mission Statement – a statement of the purpose for your life or career.  It establishes goals and can help you stay focused.  It has four parts: (1) What you do; (2) Who your target market is; (3) What benefits there are for them; and (4) What benefits there are for you.  Example: I bring joy to others, enriching lives through the gift of music in a fun, energetic, and inspired environment. Continue reading “MTNA 2012 Conference | Prof. Studio Institute: Studio Documents” →
Conferences

2011 OhioMTA Conference (5): The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo!

Joy Morin

The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo gave a performance and a masterclass at the 2011 OhioMTA Conference.  Greg and Liz, in addition to being marvelous performers, are such genuine, down-to-earth people.  They had great insight for the students who performed during the masterclass.  If you ever have the opportunity to hear them live, I highly recommend it!

Photo: me with Anderson & Roe!!!

This wraps up my series of posts on the 2011 OhioMTA Conference!  I just wanted to also let you all know too that I am going to be revising some of my conference note posts to make sure that they are indeed just summaries of the sessions.  I want to make sure that I am respecting the presenters’ material and hard work.  While I do feel that my notes are my possession, I do not want to publish too much detail about entire sessions because it might open the possibility for others to take credit for the presenters’ work.  If you ever want more detail about a session I write about, please don’t be afraid to email the presenters and ask them if they’d be willing to share more information or even a copy of their handout with you.

Stay tuned for a new printable tomorrow!  Cheers!

Conferences, Group Classes

OhioMTA Conference (3): Performance Practice Made Easy, by Marvin Blickenstaff

Joy Morin

The next session was given by the fabulous Marvin Blickenstaff:

Performance Practice Made Easy: Rules of Thumb for the Piano Student

As teachers, we are always interested in fostering independence in our students — perhaps most importantly in the aspect of interpretation (making music musical and artistic). This is an elusive thing to teach.  It’s about getting beyond the notes.  It’s taking the dots on the page and transforming them into something that can change our lives.

Mr. Blickenstaff then told us about the Repertoire Classes he holds each week with his private students.  Students must announce their piece, the composer, and give some kind of explanation as to why the composer wrote the piece.  The students listening must take notes on what the performing student said, and also write down how the piece made them feel.   Continue reading “OhioMTA Conference (3): Performance Practice Made Easy, by Marvin Blickenstaff” →

Conferences, improving as a teacher, Professional Development, Teaching Piano

OhioMTA Conference 2011 (2): Toxic or Terrific Teaching by Nicole Biggs

Joy Morin

The next session at the OhioMTA Conference was given by Dr. Nicole Biggs, the new piano professor at Bowling Green State University in my town:

Toxic or Terrific Teaching: Exploring the Strategies that Bring out the Best in our Students

Dr. Biggs began by pointing out that our goal as teachers is to inspire and motivate our students in such a way that they can go on independently without us.  Our goal in effect is to teach ourselves out of a job.

A potential problem for some of us as teachers is that we may unintentionally emulate the teaching models we experienced, whether good or bad.  It’s a challenge, but if we perhaps experienced “toxic teaching” during our own studies, we need to find ways to ensure these teaching strategies don’t filter into our own teaching.  We need to transform any toxic teaching strategies into terrific teaching strategies.   Continue reading “OhioMTA Conference 2011 (2): Toxic or Terrific Teaching by Nicole Biggs” →

Conferences, Reading Notation

OhioMTA Conference 2011 (1): Learn at First Sight by Margaret Young

Joy Morin

The recent Ohio Music Teachers Association conference I attended was wonderful.  I had the opportunity to meet other teachers both near and far from where I am in Ohio, and I also learned a lot!

The first session I attended was an informative presentation by Dr. Margaret Young.  Dr. Young cited a large number of research studies throughout the session and had a two-page bibliography in the handout (!).  I will not be providing those facts and citations here, but rather presenting a summary of some of the points Dr. Young made.  If anyone is interested in more in-depth information about Dr. Young’s session, I’m sure you could contact her and see if she’s willing to share a copy of the handout.  🙂

Learn at First Sight: A Review of the Current Research Literature on Sight-Reading

Dr. Young went through a number of questions, each time answering in detail what the research says about each issue.  Some of the questions were: What does sight-reading involve?  What factors influence or predict sight-reading success?  Continue reading “OhioMTA Conference 2011 (1): Learn at First Sight by Margaret Young” →