A resource for teachers, an answer for students
Enriching the professional lives of music teachers for over 50 years
STACCATO NOTES
The official newsletter of the Seattle Music Teachers Association
www .seattlesmta.org
September 2013
CONTENTS
Upcoming Events and Important Dates.................................................................................................................... 1
President’s Letter ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Clavier Companion Renewal ..................................................................................................................................... 2
General Meeting ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
General Meeting Minutes .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Upcoming Events of Interest ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Upcoming Common Interest Groups ........................................................................................................................ 4
Adjudications Update ................................................................................................................................................ 4
News from WSMTA ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Toby Saks Memorial .................................................................................................................................................. 4
SMTA Library ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Newsletter Submissions ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Musicianship Exams 2013 .......................................................................................................................................... 6
October Festival ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
SMTA Organization ................................................................................................................................................... 8
UPCOMING EVENTS AND IMPORTANT DATES
September 17th
SMTA General Meeting at CMA Gallery
October 6th
Yelena Balabanova Recital
October 12th
WSMTA District I & II Conference
October 13th
October Festival
October 14th
Toby Saks Memorial
November 10th
Student Recitals at Soundbridge
March 3rd – 7th, 2014
WSMTA Piano Adjudications
SMTA Staccato Notes
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Dear Colleagues,
What a summer!
With the closing of the Sherman Clay store, we had to find a new meeting space. For many, many years,
SMTA held meetings, recitals, and master classes at the store. We had our library there, boxes of Chapter
Yearbooks, and historical records, including beautifully handwritten Minutes from the 1920’s.
Thank you, Emily Black, Chapter Librarian for helping me move the library. Does anyone have room for the
shelf/cabinet? It is 6”6” tall, 37” wide and 14” deep. Has plexiglass doors.
Thank you, Conney Vernall, for putting the Chapter Yearbook together. She has done a fabulous job. The
booklets will be available at all meetings and a friend can pick up one for you. Booklets can be mailed. Send
a check for $2 to SMTA, PO Box 75302, Seattle, 98175-0302.
Heather White is our new Vice President of Communications. Thank you Heather.
We look forward to seeing you at the September 17 meeting at CMA Gallery and Performance Space. Learn
all about the programs offered by the WSMTA and Seattle Chapter that build your professional
development and enhance your students’ music education.
Sincerely, Kathryn (Kathy) Mortensen
CLAVIER COMPANION RENEWAL
Now is the time to renew or subscribe for the first time to the Clavier Companion. This timely magazine,
which arrives at your home every two months, contains articles on various pedagogy topics in addition to
interviews with the leading musicians and composers. There are also new music and book reviews. The
yearly group subscription rate remains the same as the last few years-$20. Please make out your check to
John Van Lierop Jr and either mail it to him or give it to him at the first SMTA meeting on September 17.
Thank you,
John Van Lierop, Jr
Clavier Companion Group Subscription Coordinator
6552 40th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98136
[email protected]
GENERAL MEETING
Please join us on Tuesday, September 17th at our NEW VENUE, the CMA Gallery and Performance Space for
the initial General Meeting of this academic year. As always, hospitality begins at 9:00 with coffee and
treats, before the business meeting at 9:30. The CMA Gallery and Performance Space is located in the
Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, 4501 Interlake Ave N. Parking in the neighborhood is free and
unlimited, with two hour parking next to the building
The guest speaker will be Laurie Eash, President of WSMTA. Her topic will be “A Visit with the President”.
Following Laurie's presentation, there is a SMTA Program Fair. Board members and Committee Chairs will
be set up around the room. Learn about our Chapter Offerings, volunteer to help, register on the website,
and make connections with your Music Teachers Association.
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GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
There was no general meeting held during the summer.
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST
Student Recitals at Soundbridge
The date of the Student Recitals at Soundbridge is Sunday Nov 10, first recital at 2:00, second at 3:30.
Teachers should email names of participants and their pieces to Nancy Kubo ([email protected])
by Nov. 1.
WSMTA District I & II 2013 Conference
The WSMTA annual conference will be held Saturday, October 12th, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm at the Marysville
United Methodist Church. The address is 5600 64th St. NE in Marysville. The theme of the conference is:
Creating Magic Through Teaching Technique and Interpretation
The presenters will be Natalya Ageyeva and Peter Mack. For questions and registration contact:
Yelena Balabanova. [email protected].
Royal Conservatory Music Development Program
The Royal Conservatory Music Development Program congratulates Seattle resident Patrick Stephens, who
earned a National Gold Medal for scoring the top mark in the country on his Elementary Piano Pedagogy
assessment in the academic year ending in August 2012. Patrick is an independent studio teacher and a
member of the Seattle chapter of Music Teachers National Association. “A National Gold Medal is an
exceptional achievement – the result of a student’s hard work, dedication, and talent – and a testament to
the skill and creativity of the recipient,” says Angela Elster, Vice President, Academic, The Royal
Conservatory.
National Gold Medals are awarded each academic year (September 1 to August 31) to Music Development
Program students in Preparatory A and B and Levels 1 to 10 who achieve the highest standard of excellence
in the United States. Eligible candidates must score at least 80% on their assessment and must have
completed the co-requisite theory requirements for their respective level and discipline. Fifty-one students
earned National Gold Medals, five of whom are residents of Washington State.
Members in Concert
Soli Deo Gloria concert series present SMTA member Steinway Artist Yelena Balabanova in a solo recital
featuring Chopin Etudes op.25 and Sonata in B-minor. October 6, 2 pm, Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 1717
Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue WA 98004. Free admission.
***
Geisa Dutra, M.M. member of the SMTA, WSMTA and MTNA recently return from Brazil where she
represented our chapter and the state of Washington at the International Piano Festival in Vitoria, Brazil.
Geisa performed the opening concert for the festival and taught Master Classes to students from various
Brazilian states. Also sharing in the faculty of the festival was Dr. Daniel Buranovsky, from Slovakia. After
the festival Geisa travelled to Rio to performed a solo recital at the Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro and
recorded an interview featuring her solo piano recordings at the radio of the brazilian Ministry of Education
and Culture.
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UPCOMING COMMON INTEREST GROUPS
Fall is a great time to think about getting involved in SMTA's Common Interest Groups program! Not too
long ago, SMTA launched an exciting new program to address members’ interests and needs directly, one
that builds on the extraordinary richness and diversity of our community of music teachers. Our Common
Interest Groups move SMTA beyond our downtown meetings, into members’ homes & studios all around
the city. Common Interest Groups (CIG’s) are a network of member-driven small groups, coming together
with locations & schedules that meet members’ needs, on topics of members’ mutual interest.
Browse the CIG page on the SMTA website (www.seattlemta.org) to see groups that are active or forming
now. And if you don’t see a group on a topic you’d like to explore, it’s easy to start your own CIG! Maybe
you'd like to talk with your colleagues about studio policies.... or piano ensemble repertoire.... or how to
teach technique, or how to motivate pre-teens, or teaching practice skills.... or maybe you want a pedagogy
book group, or just a regular peer-support meeting.... YOU can make this happen, for yourself and as an
offering to others in our organization! Just fill out the “New CIG” form on the website, or contact
[email protected] for more information.
ADJUDICATIONS UPDATE
WSMTA piano adjudications will take place Monday, March 3 through Friday, March 7, 2014. As you plan
your teaching for fall, start thinking about whether you have some students who might benefit from this
great program. It is a chance for students to perform 2 memorized pieces and get to work with a Nationally
Certified Adjudicator. Many teachers find it to be an excellent learning experience not only for their
students but for themselves as well.
Registrations will be due in early January. (I'll have the exact date in October Staccato Notes.) In order to
participate, you must pay your MTNA dues by Oct. 15 (returning members) or Jan. 10 (new members.)
Joan Harrison, Adjudications Chair ([email protected]) or 206-533-2001.
NEWS FROM WSMTA
A copy of the lecture notes from Stephen Beus, 2013 Conference Artist, is now on the website. Go to
www.wsmta.net, click on conference, then click on download handout, to access the lecture information.
WSMTA has accepted Martin Buff's offer of recording time in The Piano Studio for the winners of the OAC
competition, in addition to the current prize money. The award will consist of 2-6 hours of recording studio
time, depending on the prize awarded. All competitors will receive a 15% discount for recording studio
time, as well. Martin Buff is a member of the Seattle Chapter.
TOBY SAKS MEMORIAL
There will be a memorial celebration of the life of Toby Saks, founder and longtime Artistic Director of
Seattle Chamber Music Society, on Monday, October 14. The event will feature performances by many
musicians from SCMS, as well as speakers sharing their memories of Toby.
The event will take place in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium in Benaroya Hall. and is scheduled to
begin at 5 pm and there will be a reception following. More details will follow closer to the event. Toby was
a long-time member of SMTA. This event is free and open to the public.
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SMTA LIBRARY
YOUR LIBRARY…
…is not where you left it. As the SMTA library finds a new home a few changes are in the process of being
made:
1) Since the library will not be available in its entirety at gatherings, be prepared to request items (using
previous year's lists of library contents) from [email protected] at least a week prior to each general
meeting. Every effort will be made to bring requested items to the social portion of that month's meeting.
2) Approximately five items will be presented each month in an effort to familiarize our members with the
contents of our library.
3) Each month of the 2013-2014 year your librarian will donate/introduce a new (and enticing!) DVD to the
library including Anna Mansbridge's Baroque Dance DVD, Margaret Leng Tan's DVDs, Meet the Musician
DVDs, Suzie Templeton's Peter and the Wolf, Touch the Sound with Evelyn Glennie…
Please check them out for a month, and then bring them back at the next general meeting for someone
else to check them out!
4) It may not be possible to honor item requests in the cases of missing items. Many efforts are being made
to plug the dam in regards to vanishing library items. The true and current contents of our library will be
listed soon with the completion of this year's inventory. Our efforts to prevent further losses include:
a) Communicating the monetary value of items both present and also unaccounted for. Hopefully,
knowing the replacement cost of each item, knowing the value of the library's contents as a whole, of the
items you have checked out, and of all the items lost and unaccounted for, will reinforce the sense of
privilege, value and responsibility involved in using our resources.
b) Making the library look like a "real" library. Uniform and eye-catching covers. A Dewey decimal
style system of organization. Application of "Property of SMTA" and SMTA logo stamps/stickers. SMTA
library books should not be able to get lost among your private items as easily as in the past.
c) A closer monitoring of the check-out process. A three-tiered reminder process to help you to
remember to bring items back.
5) Finally, please consider donating your collections of Clavier and American Music Teacher magazines (and
anything similar in content) to the SMTA library. They would still be available to you while also functioning
to enrich our community resources.
Until I see you at the September meeting, remember: " A library outranks any other one thing a
community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert." Andrew Carnegie
Emily Black [email protected]
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS
Staccato Notes is the official Newsletter of the Seattle Music Teachers Association. The Newsletter is
distributed monthly and submissions are due by the 25th of each month. Please e-mail information for the
Newsletter to [email protected]
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MUSICIANSHIP EXAMS 2013
Congratulations to our chapter for sponsoring a very successful Musicianship Exams program on Saturday,
May 18, at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.
Below is a list of students who received High Honors (98% or higher on the Written Theory exam); and
Honors – Gold Seals (94% - 97% on the Written Theory exam).
Teachers
2013 WSMTA Musicianship Exams High Honors
Students
Teachers
Students
Susan Freeman
Rowan Faulkner
Jake Langley
Lizzy Noble
Jeffrey Pettijohn
Adelle Koenig
Connor McGurk
Andy Webster
Evelyn Hartwell
Sarah H. Hamzic
Katherine Ransiear
Julia Schnebly-Black
Aries Chen
Kenny Ou
RoseMarie Tamburri
Quin Bender-Kokx
Gabby Campbell
Ella Korb-Nice
Aaron Korver
Tessa Korver
Kai Medina
Naomi Pleasure-Park
Theo Pleasure-Park
Gabriel Raskind
Wyatt Sitchin
Adia Tseng
Rachel Matthews
Hannah Gudeman
Karin McCullough
Ailsa Hendry
Elijah Kaufman
Karen Zagona
Anne Reese
Eli Waite
Sarah Silvia
Galit Berezansky
Erin Le
Sam Hochberg
Patrick Stephens
2013 WSMTA Musicianship Exams Honors (in addition to the above): 94% or higher on Written Theory
Teachers
Students
Teachers
Students
Susan Freeman
Maren Cooper
Kirsten Graham
Evelyn Hartwell
Eva Divine
Catherine Lipthratt
Rachel Matthews
Evelyn Drake
Lucian Fox
Ericka Thielke
Alex Meredith
Clara Thielke
Karin McCullough
Iris Brenowitz
Julia Schnebly-Black
Orion Chen
RoseMarie Tamburri
Atticus Bhat
Stella Foster
Owen Thomas
Evie Wright
Jeffrey Pettijohn
Cheyanne Kerns
Samantha-Lynn Martinez
Kate Traylor
And our very own Patrick Stephens!!
Watch future issues of Staccato Notes and check the chapter website for information about the 2014
Musicianship Exams. Be sure to stop by the Musicianship Exams “booth” at the September 17th General
Meeting. You will have a chance to learn about the program first-hand!
Thanks to all the teachers, volunteers and the SMTA Board of Directors for making this program a huge
success!
RoseMarie Tamburri,Musicianship Exams Chair
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OCTOBER FESTIVAL
SMTA October Festival 2013 – October 13th at the PONCHO Concert Hall
The SMTA October Festival has been a wonderful opportunity for SMTA students to share their polished
performances with a public audience, rather than just adjudicators or competition audiences. In celebration
of performance as a dynamic exchange between artist and audience, October Festival will again celebrate
music in 21st- century- interactive- performance-style. Students will not only have the chance to present
polished performances, but will also be free to express their personal involvement with music, in a way that
educates and engages the audience.
Summer is the perfect time to explore performance in this creative manner, away from the pressures of
competitions and adjudications. SMTA is excited to be a leading organization for such innovative
opportunities for students. We look forward to the inspiration and creativity that your students will bring to
the festival this year! Performers will be selected by first-come-first serve, rather than by audition. It is
assumed that performers are ready, have polished pieces, and the desire to perform well. We will be
seeking performances in the following categories:
Elements of Classical Music
Students bring a visual prop and discuss some element of the piece they are playing. Examples:
Brahms uses polyrhythms in his music. Bring a Rubik’s cube to show you how this works. Hold a solved
Rubik’s cube for the audience to see, then turn the sides in opposing directions, and look at all the colors
intermix. Brahms uses rhythm the same way, mix them up and listen.
Simple visual props can be used like dropping leaves on the stage for pieces about fall. The student can
drop them on the ground as they explain. Students can toss feathers into the air if their piece is about the
wind/birds. Students can wear a mask if their piece is about parties etc.
Playing Beethoven? Students can play the “deaf version of the piece, and the actual version.
These are just examples to get you started thinking. Also, the venue for this festival has full stage lighting,
and a lighting crew, so your visual designs for your music can include stage lighting.
Chamber Music
Trios, Duets, Quartets, Quintets, percussion groups, etc. Any ensemble of 2 or more players with a
maximum of 16 players.
Creative Variety
Do your students sing? Play more than one instrument? Play music in different cultures from around the
world? Here is their chance to share such things as Broadway songs, folk songs, Indian-classical on a sitar,
Japanese music on a zither, arias from operas, percussion from Africa? Have them come share these rare
treasures in performance.
Jazz (Solo or Ensemble)
Deadline for applications is August 31st. The planning committee for this event would welcome any
volunteers who wish to help with the festival on the actual performance date this year. If you have any
questions or would like to volunteer, please contact October Festival Co-Chairs
Ann Cummings [email protected] and Jeff Pettijohn [email protected]
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SMTA ORGANIZATION
Board Organization Chart 2013-2014
SMTA Appointed Board Members with Reporting
Committees
V.P. Student
V.P.
V.P. Teacher
Communications
Heather White
V.P. Membership
Jose Luiz Munoz
Development
Nancy Kern
Community
Partnerships
OPEN
Teacher
Mentoring
Lora
Verkhovsky
Marketing
OPEN
Membership &
Recruitment
OPEN
Common
Interest Groups
Rachel
Matthews
Website
Bahia Rowan
Volunteer
Coordinator
OPEN
Librarian
Emily Black
Yearbook
Conney Vernall
Newsletter
Pamela ChangRice
V.P. Recitals
Kirsten Carlson
Certification
Talman Welle
Hearthstone
Karin
McCullough
V.P. Scholarship
Martha Garrett
Dorothy
Woodcock
Scholarship
Development
Evelyn Hartwell
Adjudications
Joan Harrison
Martha Garrett
SoundBridge
Recital
Musicianship
Exams
Celeste Axelson
OPEN
Adult Recitals
Martha Garrett
Simon-Fiset
OPEN
October
Festival
Ann Cummings
Jeff Pettijohn
General
Meeting
Programs
Kirsten Carlson
Hospitality
Laura Dean
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