122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...

Page created by Yvonne Stewart
 
CONTINUE READING
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
122nd Annual Convention
                  June 13–16, 2021
                  Minnesota Music Teachers Association

                     This is an interactive document.
                 Dynamic links are underlined and blue.
From the schedule, follow presenter name links to see bio and session info.
      Once there, follow session title links to return to the schedule.

                  All times are Central Daylight (CDT).

    Zoom links to join meetings are emailed to registered participants.

                     Special thanks to our sponsors:
                              Schmitt Music
                               Groth Music
                     University of Minnesota Morris
                       Junior Composers Institute
                         Music at 10,000 Lakes
                         MusicLink Foundation
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
Table of Contents
SPONSOR: GROTH MUSIC 20% DISCOUNT ON MMTA CONTEST MUSIC!                                                                      4
  FOR ONLINE PURCHASES, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK:                                                                              4
MMTA CONVENTION 2021: SCHEDULE                                                                                                 5
  SUNDAY, JUNE 13 (ALL TIMES CENTRAL DAYLIGHT, CDT)                                                                           5
  MONDAY, JUNE 14 (ALL TIMES CENTRAL DAYLIGHT, CDT)                                                                           6
  TUESDAY, JUNE 15 (ALL TIMES CENTRAL DAYLIGHT, CDT)                                                                          7
  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16 (ALL TIMES CENTRAL DAYLIGHT, CDT)                                                                        8
SESSION DETAIL BY PRESENTER                                                                                                   10
  MEGAN DURHAM                                                                                                                10
    Meeting the Mood: Resources for Emotional and Vocal Wellbeing                                                             10
  DR. KURT ELLENBERGER                                                                                                        11
    Ghosts in the Machine: Jazz Musicians in Popular Music                                                                    11
  MITCH GRUSSING                                                                                                              12
    MMTA Student Composition Contest Winners Recital                                                                          12
  SONJA L. GUSTAFSON, M.M. & JLEIGH WOHLGEMUTH, M.A.                                                                          13
    Using Technology                                                                                                          13
  DAVID KNOTT                                                                                                                 14
    Your Most Kid-Focused Music Studio Ever: A Tactical Approach To Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the Music Studio   14
  SARA LANGMEAD, D.M.A.                                                                                                       15
    Teaching Musical Gesture: Finding Color in a Black and White Score                                                        15
  FANYA LIN                                                                                                                   16
    Guest Artist: Piano                                                                                                       16
  NANCY LITTEN                                                                                                                17
    How to Sight Sing: A Teacher’s Guide                                                                                      17
  GARRETT MCQUEEN (TUESDAY KEYNOTE)                                                                                           18
    Teaching in the Moment (talk)                                                                                             18
    Teaching in the Moment (action planning workshop)                                                                         18
  SARAH MENSEN                                                                                                                19
    Recitals Past, Present & Future: How a Pandemic Can Change Recitals for the Better!                                       19
  VALERIE MERRELL                                                                                                             20
    Where the Magic Happens: Drilling In and Branching Out with Learning Clusters                                             20
  MMTA JUDGE EDUCATION COMMITTEE                                                                                              21
    A Bird’s-eye View of Judging                                                                                              21
  MMTA MUSIC BRIDGES EXAM COMMITTEE                                                                                           23
    Music Bridges: Not Just for Students Anymore!                                                                             23
  MMTA PIANO EXAM DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE                                                                                       25
    An Introduction to the MMTA Piano Syllabus Diversity Addendum                                                             25
  DR. YUMIKO OSHIMA-RYAN                                                                                                      27
    Color and Timbre in Solo Piano Works by Karen Tanaka                                                                      27
  SUE RUBY, NCTM & SALLY RITCHIE                                                                                              29
    In Your Own Back Yard: Supporting Local Composers, Past, Present, and Future                                              29
  DAN SCHWARTZ & BEN ABRAHAMSON                                                                                               30
    Contemporary finger-style guitarists Performing original tunes and arrangements                                           30
  DR. DIANA SHAPIRO                                                                                                           31
    Congratulations, You Have a Partner, and Now What?                                                                        31
  AMELIA SMITH AND MATTHEW HARIKIAN                                                                                           32
    Clarinet & Piano Recital                                                                                                  32
  CHERI SYKES                                                                                                                 33

Convention Guide and Schedule                       Page 2
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
Teach Boogie Woogie Piano with the (MMTA Popular Styles Workbook) 12-Bar Blues Shuffle Patterns                    33
  KAREN THICKSTUN, NCTM                                                                                                34
    MTNA: Your Partner in Teaching and Business                                                                        34
  SUE WEGE, NCTM                                                                                                       35
    MusicLink: How to Change a Life through Music                                                                      35
  NOREEN WENJEN, NCTM (MONDAY KEYNOTE)                                                                                 36
    Part 1: Finding Success Against the Odds: The Accidental Music Teacher Becomes the Entrepreneurial Music Teacher   36
    Part 2: Music Technology Sound and Vision: What to Strive for and Using What You Have                              36
  JANNA WILLIAMSON, NCTM                                                                                               37
    Schubert: Man of Melody and Mystery                                                                                37
  AUTUMN L. ZANDER, NCTM                                                                                               38
    Scenes from Childhood 2.0: New Music for a New Generation                                                          38
SPONSOR: MUSIC AT 10,000 LAKES                                                                                         39
SPONSOR: JUNIOR COMPOSERS INSTITUTE                                                                                    39
MMTA FOUNDATION RECITAL PROGRAM                                                                                        40
MMTA YOUNG ARTIST CONTEST WINNERS                                                                                      42
MTNA PERFORMANCE COMPETITION WINNERS                                                                                   43
MMTA STUDENT AWARD RECIPIENTS                                                                                          44
MMTA STUDENT COMPOSITION CONTEST WINNERS                                                                               45
THE MMTA STORE                                                                                                         47
  FOR ONLINE PURCHASES, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK:                                                                       47

Convention Guide and Schedule                       Page 3
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
SPONSOR: Groth Music
                20% discount on MMTA contest music!
                For online purchases, please follow this link:
       https://www.grothmusic.com/c-1557-mmta-piano-contest.aspx

Convention Guide and Schedule                 Page 4
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
MMTA Convention 2021: Schedule

Sunday, June 13 (all times Central Daylight, CDT)

                                      Amelia Smith, Clarinet and Matthew Harikian, Piano

                                                           Watch the video
                                                             Program
                                        Valerie Coleman: Sonatine for Bb Clarinet and Piano
                                        Johannes Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
                                          Carlos Guastavino: Sonata para clarinete y piano

    Sunday
   4:00 p.m.
                                                   Sponsored by Schmitt Music

                                                       Open to the public
                                          Hosted live with recorded video performances

                                        MMTA Foundation Recital and Awards Ceremony
                                                          Watch the video
                                                       Read the recital program
                                  Sponsored by Schmitt Music and University of Minnesota Morris

     Sunday
    7:30 p.m.

                                                          Open to the public
                                          Hosted live with recorded video performances
                                                          More links:
                                               MMTA Young Artist Contest winners
                                              MTNA Performance Competition winners
                                                 MMTA Student Award recipients

Convention Guide and Schedule                 Page 5
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
Monday, June 14 (all times Central Daylight, CDT)
   All times are              Room 1 in Zoom                                     Room 2 in Zoom
      Central           (Zoom link distributed via email                    (Zoom link distributed via email
  Daylight (CDT)           to registered participants)                         to registered participants)
                                   Coffee Chat                       MTNA: Your Partner in Teaching and Business
     Monday
                             Host: Camille Buddecke                              Karen Thickstun, NCTM
     8:15 a.m.
                             President-Elect, MMTA                   President, Music Teachers National Association
    Monday                      Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (watch the video)                         No session
    9:00 a.m.                        Dr. Ann DuHamel, NCTM - President, MMTA                               in Room 2
                              Monday Keynote Address, Part 1
                             Finding Success Against the Odds:                                     The
     Monday                                                                                                No session
                                 Accidental Music Teacher
     9:05 a.m.                                                                                             in Room 2
                         Becomes the Entrepreneurial Music Teacher
                                   Noreen Wenjen, NCTM
                                            Monday Keynote Address, Part 2
     Monday                                Music Technology Sound & Vision:                                No session
     9:45 a.m.                         What to Strive For, and Using What You Have                         in Room 2
                                                  Noreen Wenjen, NCTM
                                                                              Teach Boogie Woogie Piano
                     Congratulations, You Have a Partner,
     Monday                                                           with the (MMTA Popular Styles Workbook)
                      Now What? (Teaching Piano Duets)
    10:30 a.m.                                                               12-Bar Blues Shuffle Patterns
                              Dr. Diana Shapiro
                                                                                      Cheri Sykes
                         Scenes from Childhood 2.0:                            In Your Own Back Yard:
     Monday            New Music for a New Generation
                                                                             Supporting Local Composers
    11:15 a.m.      (Lera Auerbach: Images from Childhood, Op. 52)
                             Autumn Zander, NCTM                            Sue Ruby, NCTM & Sally Ritchie

     Monday                       Lunch Chat                          New Member Meet and Greet / Lunch Chat
    12:00 p.m.                  Host: Lacey West                               Host: Nicholas Susi
                                MMTA Student Composition Contest Winners Recital
                                                     Watch the video
     Monday                            Host: Mitch Grussing (program announced live)                       No session
     1:00 p.m.                                                                                             in Room 2
                             Open to the public - hosted live with recorded video performance
                                         Read the complete contest winners list

                                           Fanya Lin, Piano
                                           Watch the video
                          Statius Muller: “Wals Nostalgia”, Op. 2, No. 22
     Monday                     Robert Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9                                           No session
     7:30 p.m.                    Stravinski/Agosti: The Firebird                                          in Room 2
                               Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2
                                       Open to the public                              Sponsored by
                          Hosted live with recorded video performances                 Schmitt Music

Convention Guide and Schedule                     Page 6
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
Tuesday, June 15 (all times Central Daylight, CDT)
   All times are             Room 1 in Zoom                                     Room 2 in Zoom
      Central           (Zoom link distributed via email                   (Zoom link distributed via email
  Daylight (CDT)           to registered participants)                        to registered participants)
                     An Introduction to the MMTA Piano
                        Syllabus Diversity Addendum
     Tuesday                                                             Coffee Chat with Fun and Games!
                    MMTA Piano Exam Development Committee
     8:15 a.m.                                                                     Erin Winchell
                          Gina Skule, Grace Kopitske,
                             and Kirsten Levorson
                       Tuesday Keynote Address, part 1
                        Teaching in the Moment (talk)
     Tuesday
                              Garrett McQueen                                              No session in Room 2
     9:00 a.m.
                          Sponsored by Schmitt Music
                                 Tuesday Keynote Address, part 2
     Tuesday                         Teaching in the Moment
                                                                                           No session in Room 2
     9:45 a.m.                     (action planning workshop)
                                         Garrett McQueen
                                MusicLink:                                    Ghosts in the Machine:
     Tuesday
                     How to Change a Life through Music                   Jazz Musicians in Popular Music
    10:30 a.m.
                             Sue Wege, NCTM                                     Dr. Kurt Ellenberger
                                                                 Music Bridges: Not Just for Students Anymore!
                                                                         MMTA Music Bridges Exam Committee
                             Meeting the Mood:                                       Mary Goetz
     Tuesday                                                                       Jade Langmead
                         Emotional & Vocal Wellbeing
    11:15 a.m.
                               Megan Durham                                  Dr. Sara Wandrei Langmead
                                                                         PinkRiches (a.k.a. Bethany Richards)
                                                                              Rebekah Richards, NCTM

     Tuesday                     Lunch Chat                               College student meet-and-greet
    12:00 p.m.               Laura Harding, NCTM                              Shannon Wettstein Sadler
                                   Dan Schwartz and Ben Abrahamson
                                   Contemporary finger-style guitarists,
                                performing original tunes and arrangements
                                      Open to the public (live stream)
                                            Watch the video
     Tuesday
                                                                                               No session in Room 2
     7:30 p.m.                          Sponsored by Schmitt Music

Convention Guide and Schedule                 Page 7
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
Wednesday, June 16 (all times Central Daylight, CDT)
  All times are
     Central
                             Room 1 in Zoom                                      Room 2 in Zoom
    Daylight           (Zoom link distributed via email                      (Zoom link distributed via email
      (CDT)               to registered participants)                           to registered participants)

  Wednesday
                                                                  8:00 a.m. – Recitals Past, Present & Future: How a
   8:00 a.m.               8:00 a.m. – Coffee Chat
                                                                    Pandemic Can Change Recitals for the Better!
  Note earlier                Host: Lacey West
                                                                                     Sarah Mensen
   start time

  Wednesday                       8:45 a.m. – MMTA Annual Meeting
   8:45 a.m.                     All members are encouraged to attend,
                                                                                                No session in Room 2
  Note earlier                   even if not registered for the convention
   start time                                 Watch the video

  Wednesday                                                                   Where the Magic Happens:
                   How to Sight Sing: A Teacher’s Guide
   9:45 a.m.                                                                 Drilling In and Branching Out
                               Nancy Litten
                                                                                 with Learning Clusters
                            Live from England!
                                                                                     Valerie Merrell

  Wednesday          Your Most Kid-Focused Music Studio Ever:
                                                                                    Color and Timbre
  10:30 a.m.        A Tactical Approach To Social and Emotional
                         Learning (SEL) in the Music Studio              in Solo Piano Works by Karen Tanaka
                                  David Knott                                   Dr. Yumiko Oshima-Ryan

  Wednesday              Teaching Musical Gesture:                                 Using Technology
  11:15 a.m.      Finding Color in a Black and White Score                      Sonja Gustafson, M.M. &
                      Sara Wandrei Langmead, D.M.A.                            JLeigh Wohlgemuth, M.M.

                                                                        A Bird’s-eye View of Judging (full hour)
                                                                          MMTA Judge Education Committee
                                                                                    Host: Kris Olson
                                                                          Judges: Mary Goetz, Suzanne Greer,
  Wednesday        Schubert: Man of Melody and Mystery
                                                                                   and Betsy Murray
  12:00 p.m.             Janna Williamson, NCTM
                                                                                    This qualifies as a
                                                                              Continuing Education Session
                                                                               for MMTA Endorsed Judges.

                                                   End of convention.
                                                So glad you could join us!

Convention Guide and Schedule                     Page 8
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
SPONSOR: Schmitt Music

Convention Guide and Schedule                 Page 9
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
122nd Annual Convention June 13-16, 2021 - Minnesota ...
Session Detail by Presenter

Megan Durham
Meeting the Mood: Resources for Emotional and Vocal Wellbeing
Tuesday, 11:15 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video
Session outline and notes

In the music studio, practice room, and performance settings, students demonstrate a variety of moods. A range of
emotions from frenzied to fatigued can impact how our body feels and functions, sometimes contributing to physical
tension and anxiety. In these moments of distress and distrust, do you have access to inner resources—physical and
emotional cues that ground you in the present moment? Drawing on elements of trauma-informed voice care, this
workshop will provide an overview of how the nervous system responds to stress, and offer accessible movement, sound,
and breathing practices for honoring our emotional states and supporting our creative bodies. Participants will learn how
to “meet the mood” with practical tools that can be incorporated into warm-ups, lessons, and performance settings.

                              Mezzo soprano Megan Durham, M.M., Cert. S.V.S., RYT-200, is a voice teacher, performer
                              and Singing Voice Specialist (SVS). As an SVS, she collaborates with medical professionals
                              as part of a voice care team to habilitate singers diagnosed with voice disorders. Megan is a
                              certified YogaVoice® and LifeForce Yoga® practitioner, RYT-200. She is also trained in
                              myofascial release for voice, as well as yoga for trauma, and provides a trauma-informed
                              approach to both yoga and voice care. She is a frequent workshop presenter and clinician
                              for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, The Voice Foundation, and the
                              American Choral Directors Association.
                              meganallison.durham@gmail.com
                              www.respirevocalwellness.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 10
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Dr. Kurt Ellenberger
Ghosts in the Machine: Jazz Musicians in Popular Music
Tuesday, 10:30 a.m., Room 2

Watch the video
Session outline and notes

Jazz musicians have made enormous contributions to popular music, yet these contributions are generally not
acknowledged. This session will examine the role of jazz musicians who worked as performers, producers, and co-writers
to help produce some of the most commercially successful pop music of all time, as well as some of the most innovative
music in the genre. We will also highlight the role that jazz musicians play in virtually every other genre of music. This
begs a question: Why are jazz musicians, in particular. so adept at successfully crossing genre boundaries? This topic will
also be addressed along with its implications for music education in the 21C.

Kurt Ellenberger is a pianist, composer, and author whose work includes music for a wide
range of ensembles. His writings include a jazz theory book, other pedagogical writings, and
many essays that appear in his arts blog entitled Also Sprach FraKathustra, which was
published by The Huffington Post–Arts and Culture from 2010-2017. He currently is a
contributing author at All About Jazz.
He has recorded on Innova Recordings, Ghostly International, and Challenge-A Records (the
Netherlands), among others, and has been hailed as "a gifted pianist who combines the
lyricism of Bill Evans with the energy of Keith Jarrett." He is a member of the Grand Valley
State University New Music Ensemble, whose recent recordings of Terry Riley’s “IN C:
Remixed” and Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” have been featured in The New York
Times, as well as in many of the nation’s leading publications, including The New Yorker.
Ellenberger is a faculty member in the Frederik Meijer Honors College at Grand Valley State
University, where he has been teaching since 1999. He is also a Fulbright Scholar who taught in Austria at the
Kunstuniversität Graz (University of the Arts in Graz) and serves as artistic advisor on the Board of Trustees for the city
of Mannheim, Germany.
ellenbek@gvsu.edu
www.kurtellenberger.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 11
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Mitch Grussing
MMTA Student Composition Contest Winners Recital
Monday, 1:00 p.m., Room 1

Watch the video

List of MMTA Student Competition Contest winners (recital program will be announced during the event)

MMTA Composition Contest winners will present their work in recital. Join us to support and encourage these young
composers!

                          Composer and piano teacher Mitch Grussing is also program director of the MMTA Student
                          Composition Contest and co-director of K&S Conservatory of Music in Woodbury, Minnesota.
                          He holds a master's degree in music education from the University of St. Thomas.
                          mitch@grussingmusic.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 12
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Sonja L. Gustafson, M.M. & JLeigh Wohlgemuth, M.A.
Using Technology
Wednesday, 11:15 a.m., Room 2
Watch the video
Session notes
Modern technology and the internet are very complicated! If you have questions about using the internet, office software
(Microsoft and/or Google), or email, submit them prior to this session. The session will address the most-frequently-
asked questions, with a short Q&A at the end.
Potential topics: browser tabs and bookmarks; spreadsheet use; keyboard shortcuts; organizing email messages; online
registration; etc.

Sonja L. Gustafson, M.M., earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Church Music and Music
Education from St. Olaf College; and Master of Music degrees in Church Music and Organ
Performance from Indiana University-Bloomington.             She has served as organist,
choir/handbell director, and music director for a number of churches, as well as piano teacher
for local students.
Once a student who participated in MMTA programs, Sonja is now the Director of Operations
for the MMTA Office in Bloomington, MN. Please contact her and/or her co-workers with
questions or concerns at (952) 345-0629 or:

mmta@mnmusicteachers.com
www.mnmusicteachers.com

                           JLeigh Wohlgemuth enjoys any combination of music and people! She especially loves
                           introducing young people to the wonderful sound and feel of the piano. She also finds great
                           joy in accompanying choirs. She has 20+ years of teaching and accompanying experience.
                           JLeigh is a graduate of Crown College (B.S. Church Music) and the University of St. Thomas
                           (M.A. Music Education-Piano Pedagogy). She held administrative and music faculty positions
                           at Crown College, accompanies Twin Cities area choirs, musicals and soloists, and provides
                           piano music for a variety of events. As an active member of the Minnesota Music Teachers
                           Association, JLeigh serves as a Site Administrator and judge. JLeigh currently teaches in
                           students' homes in the Twin Cities area.

                           jleighwohlgemuth@gmail.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 13
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
David Knott
Your Most Kid-Focused Music Studio Ever:
A Tactical Approach To Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the Music Studio
Wednesday, 10:30 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video
Session outline
Quick Guide to SEL in the Music Studio
Reflection on “Shifting Our Paradigm”
The implementation of Trauma Informed and Social Emotional Learning strategies are needed in today's educational
environment. Music classes and ensembles are prime settings for meaningful interventions and connections with
students to elevate them to their best self ever.
This session will provide a tactical approach to applying the various scholastic implementations of TI / SEL strategies
without losing the integrity of the music classroom. Learn how the SEL Funnel can focus your approach to
implementation. Apply the SCOAP model of brain-based leadership to awaken your new personal philosophy and
explore three band unit approaches to tactical implementation of SEL in the music ensemble.

David Knott is a professional percussionist, educational leadership
advocate, and professional conductor. He currently serves as a member of
the instrumental music faculty at the sweetest band gig on earth, where he
coordinates and directs all Middle Division Band activities at Milton Hershey
School in Hershey, Pa.
In 2020 Mr. Knott joined the summer music faculty at the University of the
Arts in Philadelphia where he developed and instructs a class on Tactical
Integration of Trauma Informed and Social Emotional Learning Strategies
for Music Education.
Mr. Knott’s previous work experience also includes directing the percussion
studio and teaching courses on Percussion for Music Education and
Percussion for Music Therapy at Elizabethtown College and Messiah
University.
As a leadership advocate, he founded the Central Pennsylvania Wind
Conductors Society, whose mission is to provide a forum to elevate
individual music educators through mentoring, professional collaboration,
and performance opportunities for student ensembles.
Mr. Knott earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master of
Music Degree in Percussion Performance from Michigan State University. He has also studied with Jack Stamp, John
Whitwell and various workshop clinicians to gain extensive conducting background.
"Everything I do, I believe will challenge the status quo. I believe in thinking differently. I put students first, placing them
in a safe and rigorous environment and provide the tools to allow them to reach their fullest creative self. I just happen
to use band instruments to get there. My mission in one word: #Elevate “
knottd@mhs-pa.org
https://sites.google.com/mhs-pa.org/david-e-knott/home
LinkedIn: David Knott
Twitter @dekconductor

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 14
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Sara Wandrei Langmead, D.M.A.
Teaching Musical Gesture: Finding Color in a Black and White Score
Wednesday, 11:15 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video
Session notes
The purpose of teaching musical gesture to students of all ages is to ultimately provide the performer and subsequent
listener with a more detailed and expanded understanding and appreciation of the compositional style at hand. While
the familiar maneuvering of functional harmony, phrasing, and cadential closure inspires and moves many of us into an
intrinsically musical interpretation, many pieces present a more puzzling array of compositional irregularities making
musicality, i.e. color, more ambiguous.
"Teaching Musical Gesture" focuses on relating physical technique to aspects of musical expression (dynamics,
articulation, timbre, shape, range, register) and aspects of musical structure (rhythm, pitch, meter, tempo, spacing,
texture, sonority/harmony) to pull color out of a black and white score. This live lecture-recital will use piano scores from
the MMTA 2022 Piano Contest and Solo Festival Materials List (including Tingley, Wells, Chretien, Rejino, H. Smith, C.
Sevett, Bonis, Beach, Barbour, Wright, and Beethoven) to teach teachers how to recognize musical gestures while
introducing three key concepts of colorful technique. Relating to the convention theme, "Staying Connected and Looking
Forward," participants are encouraged print out or consult the session notes and to participate in the question and answer
period at the session’s conclusion.

                             Dr. Sara Wandrei Langmead holds DMA and MM degrees from the Peabody Conservatory
                             where she studied piano with Yoheved Kaplinsky for seven years. As a Strelow Scholar, she
                             received her BM degree from the UW-Madison with Todd Welbourne. Under the guidance
                             of her MMTA teacher, Jeanné Reher, Sara made her orchestral debut at age 16 with the 3M
                             Symphony Orchestra. She won first prizes in the MN Schubert Club and UW-Madison
                             Concerto competitions at the collegiate level, studied with György Sebők for two summers
                             at the Banff Centre, and in 1997, won first prize at the international SAI Competition.
                              Dr. Langmead held piano faculty positions at St. Mary’s College-MD, the University of
                              Missouri-Columbia, and at Mercyhurst University-PA, where she was Assistant Professor of
                              Piano and Piano Department Director. Dr. Langmead chose to leave the academy in 2004,
                              returning to her native Minnesota to raise four children and build a private piano studio in
                              Circle Pines. In 2020 she joined the executive board of MMTA as Recording Secretary and
has performed locally with Thursday Musical, at Plymouth Congregational Church by invitation from Philip Brunelle, and
in recital with SPCO violinist Rolf Haas. Sara is thrilled to begin performing again this summer at the outdoor Tiny Porch
Concert Series and training for her second Grandma’s marathon.

saralangmead@icloud.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 15
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Fanya Lin
Guest Artist: Piano
Monday, 7:30 p.m., Room 1

Watch the video

Program:

Statius Muller: “Wals Nostalgia”, Op. 2, No. 22
Robert Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9
Stravinski/Agosti: The Firebird
Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2

Described by Musical America and The New York Times as a “striking interpreter” who gives a
“committed and heartfelt performance,” pianist Fanya Lin has captivated audiences
worldwide. Her orchestral appearances include the Toruń Symphony Orchestra, Utah
Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, Grand Junction Symphony, and Aurora Symphony.
Fanya’s performance of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
was depicted as “mesmerizing performance, it appeared as though a tornado had touched
down through her body and lifted her, feathers fluttering, from the piano stool as she weighed
into the keys” by Hastings Times and Festival Flyer.
An avid soloist, Fanya promotes classical music to the general public by creating innovative
concert programs and engages her audience by presenting interactive performances. Her solo
recitals have been featured in numerous prestigious concert series, including the Schubert Club
Musicians on the Rise, Stecher and Horowitz Young Artist Series, and Eslite Emerging Artist
Series. Moreover, in part of group efforts, Fanya has encouraged and assisted younger generations of music students to
continue their education and pursue their dreams through fundraising events such as the Saint Island Fundraising
Concert, Weber State University All Steinway School Designation, and the Sid & Mary Foulgers School of Music. Fanya
also dedicates herself to new music by performing with contemporary music organizations such as Focus and Axiom.
As a chamber musician, Fanya has collaborated with world-class musicians including Noah Bendix-Balgley (concert
master of Berlin Philharmonic), Romie de Guise-Langlois (clarinetist of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society), and
Ta’u Pupu’a (tenor in major opera productions including Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera). Fanya’s festival
concerts and masterclass series include Aspen, Music@Menlo, Rocky Mountain Audio Festival, Minnesota International
Piano Camp, and Savannah Arts Academy.
A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Fanya is a top prizewinner of Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Concours
International de Piano France-Amériques, New York International Piano Competition, and Seattle International Piano
Competition. Fanya earned her Doctoral Degree at the University of Minnesota under the guidance of Distinguished
McKnight Professor Lydia Artymiw; her Master’s Degree at The Juilliard School with Professor Hung-Kuan Chen and
Jerome Lowenthal; and her Bachelor’s Degree at Weber State University with Dr. Yu-Jane Yang. In Fall 2019, Dr. Fanya
Lin joined the University of Arizona in Tucson as Assistant Professor of Music in Piano, where she teaches applied lessons
in piano and coaches chamber music.

www.fanyalin.com/

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 16
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Nancy Litten
How to Sight Sing: A Teacher’s Guide
Wednesday, 9:45 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video
Session outline and notes
Singers are a special case. They have sung from toddlerhood without analysing what they are doing, like the way we learn
our native tongue. They are as confused by being asked to analyse their musical actions as being asked to describe the
use of the subjunctive. How can we help them? The introduction deals with the main difficulties encountered in sight
singing, and how they can be overcome. Aspects covered in the main part of the workshop include:
    ● the initial concept of up and down
    ● adding rhythm to notes. Pitch and rhythm are processed in different halves of the brain, so we need to work
        hard at developing links between them.
    ● using words.
    ● differentiating tones and semitones and where they come in the key.
    ● the difference between scalic and arpeggio passages; recognising triad notes and the key note.
    ● methods and exercises for pitching intervals.
    ● the benefits of internalized sight singing.
There will be many examples for delegates to try, and new ideas/exercises which have proved effective in practice. With
their own skills strengthened they will feel confident in providing effective teaching of sight singing for students from
beginner to advanced, and for their choir.

                             Musician and author Nancy Litten entered the Royal Academy of Music, London, at age 16
                             on an open piano scholarship, winning prizes while there. She also studied violin to a high
                             level, freelanced as an orchestral player, and led a string quartet.
                             Nancy has co-authored three violin tutors in the Playing with Colour series. She has
                             performed as a soloist, chamber music and orchestral player on both instruments and as a
                             piano accompanist. She has taught in primary, secondary and specialist music schools,
                             privately and on courses. Her arrangements of favourite piano pieces for piano trio (piano,
                             violin and cello), Classical Vienna and Romantic Vienna, have recently been published.
                              Nancy has advised ABRSM and Trinity College London exam boards on electronic
                              keyboard, had a series of keyboard tutors, Keyed Up, published by Alfred UK, and has
                              written many compositions and arrangements for exam syllabuses. She was founder and
director of National Electronic Keyboard Courses from 2005-2012.
Singing is another string to her bow and she has many years’ experience of conducting choirs. Choral and Vocal Warm-
ups for Pianists, Choral and Vocal Sight Singing with Keyboard Harmony, and Rounds with Accompaniment have been
published by Alfred UK. Two years ago Nancy visited the USA and spoke at the MTA conference in Minnesota.
Nancy has been an ABRSM examiner since 1998, involving much travel in the UK and abroad. She is Chair of the Kent
region of EPTA UK (European Piano Teachers’ Association) having been on the management committee for 9 years. She
is an adjudicator with The British and International Federation of Festivals and serves on the Adjudicators’ Council.
Qualifications: LRAM (piano), LRAM (violin), ATCL (Voice), FLCM (keyboard), CertEd, ProfCertRAM, FRSA (Royal
Society of Arts)
nancylitten@btinternet.com
www.nancylitten.com
www.youtube.com/user/NANCYLITTEN/videos

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 17
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Garrett McQueen (Tuesday keynote)
Teaching in the Moment (talk)
Tuesday, 9:00 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video

Teaching in the Moment (action planning workshop)
Tuesday, 9:45 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video

The past 12 months have forced most of the country's institutions to take a second look at what it really means to survive
while engaging the world around us. The field of Music Education is one of those institutions, and if it is to survive, we
must all shift the conversation surrounding it. Garrett McQueen will offer a keynote on centering the relevance of music:
Teaching in the Moment, in an effort not only to give students a broader perspective on how music can impact their
lives, but to give students the tools they need to engage today's ever-evolving music industries.

Garrett McQueen is a bassoonist, digital producer, and host of the TRILLOQUY
podcast, named by the New York Times as a "thrilling", "open-minded and
omnivorous approach to music" that is "required listening for industry leaders and
listeners alike". Additionally, Garrett works as an equity consultant, guest speaker,
curator, and presenter at the intersection of race and "classical" music. He serves on
the board of the American Composers Forum as the Equity Committee Chair and is on
the leadership teams of the Black Opera Alliance, the Gateways Music Festival, and
the International Society for Black Musicians.
garrettmcqueen@gmail.com
www.garrettmcqueen.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 18
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Sarah Mensen
Recitals Past, Present & Future:
How a Pandemic Can Change Recitals for the Better!
Wednesday, 8:00 a.m., Room 2

Watch the video
In this session we will explore different tips and tricks for creating a booming recital program and how a pandemic can
help improve our recitals moving forward!

                        Sarah Mensen is a piano teacher and recital
                        director at K&S Conservatory of Music located
                        in Woodbury MN. She graduated from the
                        University of Minnesota Morris in 2011 where
                        she studied with Dr. Ann DuHamel. Currently,
                        she manages a full studio of 35+ students. One
                        of her many responsibilities is managing K&S
                        recitals, where she is always trying new things
                        to keep recitals interesting.
                        mensen.sarah@gmail.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 19
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Valerie Merrell
Where the Magic Happens:
Drilling In and Branching Out with Learning Clusters
Wednesday, 9:45 a.m., Room 2
Watch the video
Students learn well when they make meaningful, diverse connections through the portal of music they love to play. This
session demonstrates ways teachers can facilitate exploration through a learning cluster, simultaneously drilling in AND
branching out to provide students a diverse, rich, cross-disciplined learning experience.
For example, if a student loves the “Bueno!” improvisation by Forrest Kinney, a learning cluster can be developed through
exploration of the following:
Drilling in: chromatic scale, slash chords, syncopation, one-note rhythm improvisation, A harmonic minor scale
Branching out: influences in the development of Latin music, geography, Latin percussion instruments
The process of drilling in and branching out can stem from a variety of sources. For example, consider the depth and
breadth of a student’s experience studying a rote piece:
Drilling in: technical aspects, harmonic structure, pedal technique, form, compositional techniques such as sequencing,
musicality, rhythmic understanding, intervallic relationships through solfege
Branching out: listening and playing assignments of repertoire with similar compositional elements, understanding of
historical influence on that style of music, study of like composers, melodic improvisation over current harmonic
structure, stylistic improvisations for each musical period, transposition of pattern-based material
This presentation will hone a teacher’s ability to use improvisation, repertoire, and other source material as an initial
platform for creating learning clusters leading to broader experiences by providing a template for incorporating and
sequencing activities related to the initial source material. These ideas and resources can be immediately implemented
in private lessons, group classes, and summer camps. Let the magic begin!

                           Valerie Merrell loves teaching and playing the piano, but her true
                           love is combining those into learning and creativity through
                           ensembles! Her students enjoy a modified lesson structure with
                           ensemble and private lesson time weekly. Valerie has taught
                           piano lessons in various formats for 18 years and is currently a
                           graduate student at Butler University, studying piano pedagogy.
                           She has four children, a dog, and a very accommodating husband
                           who hasn't raised an eyebrow at her 6 pianos and 1 harpsichord!
                           vmerrell@gmail.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 20
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
MMTA Judge Education Committee
A Bird’s-eye View of Judging
Wednesday, 12:00 p.m., Room 2 (full hour)

Watch the video
This qualifies as a Continuing Education Session for MMTA Endorsed Judges.
Host: Kris Olson
Judges: Mary Goetz, Suzanne Greer, and Betsy Murray
Judge Education Committee: Jensin Clark, Mary Fadden, Maria Grant, Sharon Kaplan, Nathan Kennedy, Kay
Koehnen, Rebecca Nelson, Kris Olson, JIll Kilzer (chair)
Three experienced judges will evaluate pre-recorded performances in elementary to early intermediate levels.
Audience members are encouraged to write their own critiques for comparison. For each composition below, you could
consider the following questions:

   1. What would I write?
   2. Why did the judge write what they wrote?

Composition #1: “With a Yo-Ho-Ho” (Catherine Rollin)
Composition #2: “The Oregon Trail” (Albert Bierstadt)
Composition #3: “Istan the Bull” (Melvin Stecher, Norman Horowitz, and Claire Gordon)
Composition #4: Sonatina, Op. 792, No. 8, 1st mvt. (Czerny)

                            Kris Olson has been a member of MMTA for over 20 years and during that time has been a
                            site administrator for numerous exams, an adjudicator for theory exams, piano exams, and
                            contest as well as a part of recent convention planning committees. She has been a private
                            instructor for 35 years in her home studio in Blaine, MN and has received her certification in
                            elementary and intermediate pedagogy through the Royal Conservatory of Music. In
                            addition, Kris is on the board of the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum as their VP of Student
                            Education. Outside of teaching she enjoys accompanying several community choirs and
                            playing for musical theater productions throughout the Twin Cities area (which she is very
                            anxious to get back to).
                            krisolsonpiano@gmail.com
                            https://www.krisolsonpiano.com

                                               Mary Goetz appears frequently in concert as
                                               a soloist and collaborative artist. In addition
                                               to performing, she teaches piano in her
                                               studio in St. Paul and is on faculty at the K&S
                                               Conservatory in Woodbury. A long-time
                                               member of Minnesota Music Teachers
                                               Association, Ms. Goetz was instrumental in
                                               creating its Music Bridges program and is
                                               currently serving as Program Director.
                                               goetzm@comcast.net

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 21
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Suzanne Greer currently serves on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music where she
                            teaches both Suzuki and traditional piano lessons. She received performance degrees from
                            St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota as well as the certificate in piano pedagogy
                            from the University of St. Thomas. She was awarded the Robert Schmitt Professional
                            Development Grant from the Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and in 2017,
                            was awarded a Top Music Teacher Award by Steinway and Sons. She has served as President
                            of MMTA, the Minneapolis Music Teachers Form and the Suzuki Piano Teachers Guild.
                            Currently, she serves as a Certification Commissioner for the Music Teachers National
                            Association.
                            sgstudiomn@outlook.com

Mrs. Betsy Murray is a Nationally Certified Music Teacher (NCTM) who began her formal
musical training at the age of 6. In 1991, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Music from Hamline
University, where she studied composition, piano performance, accompanying, theory, music
history and sang in the Oratorio Society. She studied pipe organ literature with Kathryn Moen,
Professor of Organ at Luther Seminary and University of River-Falls, WI.
Betsy’s experience includes teaching group and private piano lessons in the Twin Cities for 30
years. Currently, she is organist at Christ the King Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, MN.
She is a member of the Minnesota Music Teachers’ Association (MMTA) where she has served
as Contest Judge Coordinator, Young Artist Competition Co-Chair, member of the Judge
Education Committee and Early Childhood Music chair.
She has presented workshops on the MMTA State Contest piano literature, the preschool
pianist, and theory pedagogy. She has won the MMTA Teachers Duet Contest five times. Betsy has been a top adjudicator
for the MMTA Contest & Piano Exams, American Guild of Piano Teachers, and Junior Festival judging.
In 2001, she was inducted into the Hamline University Athletic Hall of Fame on the first ballot. A standout runner for
Hamline, she was the NCAA Division III 800-meter champion in 1990, a 5-time collegiate All-American in Track & Field
and was the 1991 Minnesota Sportswoman of the Year. She returned to track racing in 2013 and is currently national
masters champion in the 800 meters, bronze medalist in the 400 meters, and anchored the gold medal mile relay at the
national championships. Last year she ran the fastest ever indoor quarter mile in Minnesota for a 50 yr. old woman.
Betsy lives in North Oaks with her husband, Doug, and their 5th grader John.
betsyrunsfast@msn.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 22
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
MMTA Music Bridges Exam Committee
Music Bridges: Not Just for Students Anymore!
Presented by:
Mary Goetz (program chair)
Jade Langmead
Dr. Sara Langmead
PinkRiches (a.k.a. Bethany Richards)
Rebekah Richards, NCTM

Tuesday 11:15 a.m., Room 2

Watch the video
Session notes

MMTA’s Music Bridges program has bfecome quite popular with students, giving them the opportunity to bridge their
music study to other subjects that interest them, and giving them a performance space to showcase their talents. As
teachers help their student explore their passions and stretch their creativity, it becomes tempting to take up the
challenge ourselves and explore projects that link the music we love to other areas that spark our inspiration. This session
will feature three MMTA teachers who have prepared Music Bridges segments connecting music to art, poetry and dance,
and who will share their processes and insights gained from their work in this gratifying program.

The session will include presentations by Mary Goetz, Rebekah Richards and Sara Langmead. Each teacher will present
one Music Bridges-style segment: Ms. Richards has collaborated with her niece, PinkRiches, who created animation to
accompany a piece by composer Daniel Dorff (b. 1956): The Day Things Went Wrong at the Pet Store: 11 Cartoons for
Piano. Dr. Langmead will present a video of her collaboration with her daughter, Jade’s, dance ideas to ICE-cycles by
MMTA composer Sarah Miller. Ms. Goetz is planning to discuss the links between the poetry and the music of Franz
Liszt's “Petrarch Sonnet 47.”

                                                 Mary Goetz appears frequently in concert
                                                 as a soloist and collaborative artist. In
                                                 addition to performing, she teaches piano in
                                                 her studio in St. Paul and is on faculty at the
                                                 K&S Conservatory in Woodbury. A long-
                                                 time member of Minnesota Music Teachers
                                                 Association, Ms. Goetz was instrumental in
                                                 creating its Music Bridges program and is
                                                 currently serving as Program Director.
                                                 goetzm@comcast.net

                              Jade Langmead has danced all her life and recently joined Spring Dance and Theatre
                              Academy. She will be a high-school junior this fall, pursuing her PSEO studies at St. Paul
                              College. Her dream is to protect the ocean as a marine biologist.

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 23
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Dr. Sara Wandrei Langmead, DMA/Peabody, teaches
                             piano, performs across the U.S., parents four children, and
                             empowers women “to have it all, just not all at the same
                             time.” In 2020 she joined the executive board of MMTA as
                             Recording Secretary and has performed locally with
                             Thursday Musical, at Plymouth Congregational Church by
                             invitation from Philip Brunelle, and in recital with SPCO
                             violinist Rolf Haas.
                             saralangmead@icloud.com

PinkRiches (a.k.a. Bethany Richards) is a painter, writer and poetess and the founder of
Breakfast at Bethany’s, a monthly breakfast club encouraging a creative approach to
problem solving social issues. Her work focuses on the intricacies of human experience,
primarily surrounding Love. In 2017, she travelled to Kathmandu painting 4 murals backed
by Wall of Hope - an educational organization centered on ending violence toward women
and children. In 2018 she traveled back to Nepal for a 3 month artist residency through
MCube Gallery. During her travels she started writing about her experiences on her website.
Since having a baby in 2019 she has been sticking closer to home and living a new kind of
adventure. Artistically she is dipping her toe into mixed media by using voice recordings,
painting time lapses and video. Check out her most current musings at her website,
www.pinkriches.com, follow her in real time on social media: Instagram @love.pinkriches,
or support her endeavors at www.patreon.com/LovePinkRiches.

                      MMTA Theory Program Director Rebekah Richards, NCTM, is an independent piano teacher in
                      St. Paul and the director of the Piano Lab School Program at Gustavus Adolphus College. She has
                      a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Illinois where she studied
                      piano with Kenneth Drake and pedagogy with James Lyke, Reid Alexander, and Tony Caramia.
                      She has held many jobs within MMTA including State Administrator of Music Bridges,
                      Independent Music Teachers Forum Chair, Vice President of Membership, and Vice President of
                      the MMTA Foundation. Currently she is chair of the Theory Development Committee and director
                      of the State Theory Program.
                      rrichardspiano@gmail.com
                      www.richardspiano.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 24
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
MMTA Piano Exam Development Committee
An Introduction to the MMTA Piano Syllabus Diversity Addendum
Presented by Gina Skule, Grace Kopitske, and Kirsten Levorson
Tuesday, 8:15 a.m., Room 2
Watch the video
We will present publications featuring some of the repertoire which will be included in the syllabus as an addendum.

             I. Introduction – why a diversity addendum? (Gina)
            II. Publications featuring addendum repertoire (Gina, Grace and Kirsten)
           III. Closing (Kirsten)

Musical works highlighted today:

Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, Volume 1 (Oxford)
           ● Kwela No. 1, Isak Roux
           ● Tender Thought, Ulysses Kay
           ● Piano Piece No. 2, Call and Response, Robert Mawuena Kwami
           ● My Scarf is Yellow, Hale Smith
           ● Dusk, Nkeiru Okoye
           ● Soufiane, Halim El-Dabh
           ● Ticklin’ Toes, Florence Price
           ● Sweet Mister Jelly Roll, Valerie Capers
           ● The Monk, Valerie Capers
www.imslp.org (International Music Score Library Project)
          ● Menuet from Suite in F Major, Livre 1, Jacquet de La Guerre
          ● Sonata in G Major, Op. 1, No. 4: 1st mvmt, Tempo di Gavotta, Elisabetta de Gambarini
Chee-Hwa Tan: Through the Windowpane (Piano Safari)
          ● Looking Glass River
          ● Rain
          ● Shadow March
          ● The Swing
Chee-Hwa Tan: Windy Nights and Other Tales (Piano Safari)
          ● Land of Story-Books
Valerie Capers: Portraits in Jazz (Oxford)
           ● Billie's Song - Valerie Capers
Black Women Composers: A Century of Piano Music (1893-1990) (Hildegard Publishing Company)
          ● Fantasie Negre - Florence Price
          ● Troubled Water - Margaret Bonds
Florence Beatrice Price
           ● An Album of Piano Pieces (ClarNan Editions)
                o Honeysuckle at Dusk
                o Rocking Chair
                o Andante in E flat major
           ● A Second Album of Piano Pieces (ClarNan Editions)

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 25
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Gina Skule is an independent piano teacher on the faculty at K & S Conservatory of Music for the
                     past 25 plus years and has taught students of all ages and levels including Music for Young
                     Children and Musikgarten with the goals of instilling a life-long love of music and providing a
                     background in theory, skills in a wide variety of music genres.
                     As a member of MMTA, she has been involved as VP of Education, Piano Program Director, Piano
                     Exam Development Committee, Site Administrator of Piano, Theory and Popular Styles exams
                     and currently serves as Piano Exam Development Committee Chair. Gina served as Co-chair of
                     Concerto Competition for St. Paul Piano Teachers Association for many years.
                     ginachurchskule@gmail.com

               Grace Kopitske, NCTM, began teaching piano as a student teacher in
               western Minnesota. As a high school student, she had students
               performing in the Honors Concert as well as herself. Her degrees include
               a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Wittenberg University in
               Ohio, and the Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy from the
               University of Oklahoma. When her three children were young, she trained
               in the Kindermusik ™ and then Musikgarten™ programs, teaching in her
               home and in churches. Grace also was a church organist for 40 years
               before retiring just before the pandemic. She has been a member of
               MTNA since 1987. Moving frequently and living in ten states, she finally
               settled in Woodbury where she has taught private piano lessons since
               1994. Recently she has been on the Piano Education Development
               committee, working on the 2020 Piano Syllabus and supporting materials. She is also active in the
               National Federation of Music Clubs. She has served as a tester for the new online NFMC Festival
               Management System called Vivace. As state and regional admin, she is available to help guide NFMC
               members to join and assist in using Vivace. Besides teaching in her home studio, she enjoys her three
               grandchildren, gardening, and genealogy.
               gracekopitske@comcast.net

                          Kirsten Levorson, NCTM, is an independent piano teacher and
                          accompanist in Rosemount. She earned a Bachelor of Music
                          degree from St. Olaf College in 1984, majoring in piano
                          performance. She joined the Minnesota Music Teachers
                          Association in 1985 and has served in a variety of administrative
                          roles for contest and exams, as a member of the piano exam
                          development and judge education committees, and in various
                          roles on the Board of Directors. She currently serves on the
                          MTNA Board of Directors as West Central Division Director.
                          klevorson@gmail.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 26
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Dr. Yumiko Oshima-Ryan
Color and Timbre in Solo Piano Works by Karen Tanaka
Wednesday, 10:30 a.m., Room 2

Watch the video
This session is a lecture recital featuring three pieces by Karen Tanaka, (b. 1961), one of the leading female composers in
Japan. I have selected pieces for Early Intermediate, Intermediate, and Advanced students.
Her love of nature and concern for the environment has influenced many of her works including these piano pieces. Her
music is richly expressive, delicate and evocative. Tanaka studied composition in Tokyo, Paris and Florence, and she
currently teaches composition at California Institute of the Arts.
        “Child of Light 1 - Blue Planet” is the opening piece of Tanaka’s piano collection Children of Light
        composed in 1998-99. The theme of the collection is wild animals in danger and environmental
        problems, such as deforestation, sea pollution, ozone depletion and global warming.

        “Light” is an excerpt from the piano collection, Our Planet Earth. It is a sequel to Children of Light.
        It was written as a message to children to love the beauty of the planet earth and the animals, in the
        hope that they will develop safe and clean energy and protect the natural environment. In Light,
        gradual changes of color and shimmering sounds are created by very sensitive and subtle tremolos.

        “Water Dance III” was composed in 2010. The title suggests cool, transparent water flowing freely.
        The work is a joyful dance with a pleasant feeling of a pulse. The music presents a rich, flickering and
        changing texture: just as the water flows constantly and never with the same phase.

The first two pieces are dedicated to children, very tonal and simple in their texture but they can be performed by all ages
and abilities because each piece has a profound message and requires sensible musicality to express the lyricism. They
are great teaching pieces because they have clear images that students could be easily inspired by, and at the same time,
they can challenge more advanced performers with their delicate touch, such as tremolos for the image of shimmering
light.
           Where to order scores:

           Our Planet Earth
           Amazon Japan
           https://www.amazon.co.jp/en/dp/4760904999/

           Children of Light
           Amazon Japan
           https://www.amazon.co.jp/en/dp/4760904301/

           Ms. Fujiki
           Kawai Publishing Company in Japan
           fujiki@editionkawai.jp

           Water Dance III
           Schott Music Corporation (EAM)
           https://www.eamdc.com/psny/composers/karen-tanaka/works/water-dance/

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 27
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Yumiko Oshima-Ryan is an active performer of both solo and collaborative works.

                                  Since 1995 she has been incorporating contemporary Japanese piano works into her
                                  repertoire. She has performed these works nationally and internationally including
                                  world premieres of new works by Japanese composers. Her first recording “From
                                  Afar” Japanese Contemporary piano works are published through the Naxos Music
                                  Library. Oshima-Ryan is a fiscal year 2017 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from
                                  the Minnesota State Arts Board. With this grant, she completed her second album
                                  “left alone,” collection of solo pieces for left hand.
                                  A native of Japan, Oshima-Ryan graduated from Toho Gakuen School of Music in
                                  Tokyo and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the College-Conservatory of
                                  Music, University of Cincinnati. Her piano teachers include Eunice Norton (a pupil of
                                  Arthur Schnabel), Eugene Pridonoff, Richard Syracuse, Jerome Rose, and Satoko
                                  Tokumaru. She studied chamber music with Menahem Pressler, pianist and founding
                                  member of the Beaux Arts Trio.
Oshima-Ryan is currently a Professor of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, Minnesota.
yumiko@gustavus.edu
https://gustavus.edu/profiles/yumiko

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 28
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Sue Ruby, NCTM & Sally Ritchie
In Your Own Back Yard: Supporting Local Composers, Past, Present, and Future
Monday, 11:15 a.m., Room 2

Watch the video
Session handout
This session offers a very brief introduction to the astonishing wealth of repertoire from the collective creative genius of
Minnesota-born or Minnesota-based composers, past and present. We will celebrate achievements of esteemed local
artists while unveiling works by unsung, unknown composers deserving of recognition. This treasure trove of music can
now be easily accessed with the help of a new online resource, courtesy of Keys to Imagination, revealed exclusively at
our session!

Sue Ruby, NCTM, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Pedagogy from the University of
Minnesota Duluth, and a Master’s degree in Music with Piano Pedagogy emphasis from
Columbus State University (Georgia). Ms. Ruby teaches, directs and co-owns K & S
Conservatory of Music in Woodbury. She is co-founder of the Association of Professional
Piano Instructors (APPI) as well as Fridays in the Valley, a chamber music series in Plymouth.
She serves on the faculty of MacPhail Center for Music and as Board Member for the
Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA) Foundation. In her leisure time she
treasures adventuresome days and quiet evenings with husband, Kurt, and cat, Unk.
ruby.sue@macphail.org
www.kandsmusic.org

                             Private teacher, business owner, patent owner, church organist, choir director, and school
                             accompanist Sally Ritchie has been instructing young children, teenagers, and adults for
                             over 50 years. She currently teaches in the Wisconsin public-school system accompanying
                             the choir and instrumental students while instructing over 50 private students per week.
                             Sally plays a number of musical instruments and has the opportunity to work with adults and
                             children as organist, choir director, and music coordinator of her church. After searching for
                             years for tools to help her students learn necessary skills and still enjoy the process, she
                             started developing her own games. She holds a patent on a music education system
                             including music games and accessories for private and classroom teachers. Sally continues
                             to develop more tools for teachers to help their students develop a love for music and music
                             theory. sritchie68@gmail.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 29
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Dan Schwartz & Ben Abrahamson
Contemporary finger-style guitarists
Performing original tunes and arrangements
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Room 1

Watch the video

Dan Schwartz's dad's interest in The Grand Ole Opry and his mom’s
fondness for American Bandstand immersed him in a wide variety of
great music. This influence resonates in the range of music he
composes, records and performs today in his solo work and with
group, The Neighborhood Trio.
Dan has written and released ten CDs and has been featured on
several internationally released acoustic guitar compilations
including Masters of Acoustic Guitar (Narada Records,1997). His
recordings have earned him a nomination for guitarists of the year
(Minnesota Music Academy) and Folk/Roots album of the year
(Mpls.St.Paul Magazine).
While Dan does enjoy sharing his music center stage, some of his
favorite musical moments have been as a side-man for friends and
folk heroes Neal and Leandra, Peter Mayer, and Dan Navarro. His
latest release, High Plains Gospel, is a collection of finger-style guitar
tunes played on harp guitar and acoustic lap steel.
dan@danschwartz.net
https://danschwartz.net

                                        Ben Abrahamson is a fresh, dynamic voice on the acoustic guitar. His
                                        compositions evoke the dexterity of flamenco and the harmonic storytelling of
                                        jazz.
                                        His passion for flamenco guitar drove him to Taller de Músics School of Music in
                                        Barcelona, where he studied under Juan Ramón Caro. He has composed works for
                                        the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, Mac Jazz big
                                        band, and Muhlenberg College Theatre and Dance Dept.
                                        Ben has shared the stage with mentors like Michael and Tony Hauser, Susana di
                                        Palma, La Conja, Chuscales, Billy Steele, Tonia Hughes, Pedro Cortes Jr., Joan
                                        Griffith, and Gary Lee Joyner. In 2019, he recorded his latest record, Neolithic.
                                        abrahamson.guitar@gmail.com
                                        www.benabrahamson.com

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 30
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
Dr. Diana Shapiro
Congratulations, You Have a Partner, and Now What?
Monday, 10:30 a.m., Room 1

Watch the video
Incorporating music for piano duet into students’ repertoire is exciting and challenging at the same time. Ensemble
playing can provide the pianists with opportunity to share musical experiences with their peers and some may even feel
more confident playing in front of the audience with support of a partner. However, playing together brings its own set
of challenges one needs to address. This presentation will discuss how to take advantage of the three-dimensional
physical space, engage into intelligent and respectful discussion, and provide practical tips for perfect synchronization.

Dr. Diana Shapiro currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of
Minnesota-Duluth where she teaches applied and class piano, piano literature, and
pedagogy. Accomplished soloist and chamber musician, Dr. Shapiro performed solo and
festival appearances across three continents.
As a part of the Piano Duo Varshavski-Shapiro (www.piano-4-hands.com), Dr. Shapiro
was a winner at numerous national and international competitions in Poland, Italy, Israel
and Czech Republic. In the United States, the duo became a winner of Murray Dranoff
Two Piano Competition, was awarded a Career Grant from “Salon de Virtuousi” and won
the Astral Artists’ National Auditions. Dr. Shapiro enjoys regular appearances with
leading instrumentalists in Israel and the USA, as well as singers of the New Israeli Opera
and Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Her performances were selected for the
Chamber Music America National Showcase and broadcasted on radio and TV
worldwide.
Dedicated pedagogue, Dr. Shapiro's students won state and national competitions,
presented at the state conference, and performed at Carnegie Hall. She regularly presents her research at the state and
regional conferences, adjudicates at competitions and festivals, and gives masterclasses across the Midwest.
Previously Shapiro held teaching positions at the Silver Lake College, Maranatha Baptist University, Wisconsin
Conservatory of Music, and Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She received her DMA from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison as a Collins Distinguished Fellow. She also holds master and bachelor’s degrees from the Jerusalem
Academy of Music and Dance, and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Longy School of Music. Her teachers include
Victor Rosenbaum, Martha Fischer, Dr. Jessica Johnson (pedagogy), Dr. Irina Berkovich and legendary Israeli piano duo,
Eden-Tamir.
shapi263@d.umn.edu

Convention Guide and Schedule               Page 31
Minnesota Music Teachers Association – 2021
You can also read