www.msmta.org A bi-monthly publication of the Maryland State Music Teachers Association June 2010

Affiliated with Music Teachers National Association

Maryland State Music Teachers Association

From the President…Last night was the culmination of my teaching year, the annual studio recital. It always surprises me how quickly time moves. I distinctly remember the last one. It is heartwarming to experience the appreciation many feel for the gift of music . . . it is truly something special, something that no one can ever take away. I recently lost an adult student to pancreatic cancer. She was 73. She participated in Guild, starting at the age of 60, and last year, she wowed the judge, so that he brought her up several times during the course of my time with him. She was one who truly appreciated, enjoyed and shared her music with everyone. And she loved and knew the value of practicing. It’s deeply rewarding to know that the lives of others are touched so much by what we do every day. As you work today, know that each of you provide something valuable and special and make this world a better place.

I appreciate my Board! As we concluded our final meeting yesterday, I saw what I have seen for a while now . . . the people that serve on the Board care. They are dedicated, fair, kind and efficient, and we are lucky to have them. The work that I encounter in this position (along with many other hats) keeps me too busy at times, but the people with whom I work make it worthwhile. And I thank each of them!

I hope that all of you find time to do something restful this summer, and that you each enjoy good health. The fall will be here all too quickly. That being said, I have to close, in the words that each of us know so well, “I have to teach!”

Take care.

News From the BoardOur last Board meeting of the year was held on Monday, June 7. One important decision relates to teachers assisting at events in which they enter students. See below:

wINIFred hYsoN GIVes doNatIoN to e.r. daVIs

MSMTA is very grateful to Winifred Hyson for her generous donation to the E.R. Davis Memorial Competition. Her donation has enabled us this year to triple the cash prizes awarded to the finalists. Thank you so much, Winifred.

2011 msmta CoNFereNCereQUest For ProPosaLs

SUBJECT: 2011 MSMTA Conference Presenter

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: September 15, 2010

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: October 30, 2010

The conference committee would like to invite you to submit a presentation proposal for the 2011 MSMTA conference to be held January 8th and 9th at University of Maryland, College Park. The presentation should be 55 minutes in length.

Please include following:1. A description of the presentation - 50 words or less2. Outline of your presentation3. Your bio - 50 words or less

Please submit above information to:Junko Takahashijutaka@verizon.net <mailto:jutaka@verizon.net>10503 Redosier Ct.Bethesda, MD 20814

atteNtIoN aLL memBers As of September 2010, any teacher wishing to send a substitute to fulfill his/her service may only do so for a maximum of two events per teaching season. The substitute must be a member of the MSMTA. A blank will be provided on each registration form to indicate how many times substitute teachers have been sent.

PresidentCarol Wolfe-Ralph6102 Gallery StreetBowie, MD 20720301-464-0146

VP CertifiCationDonna C. White21815 Three Notch Rd Ste ELexington Park, MD 20653

VP MeMbershiPAnnie Hou13927 Rockingham RoadGermantown, MD 20874

VP finanCeClaudette Horwitz5004 Barkwood PlaceRockville, MD 20853

VP PubliCationsJunko Takahashi10503 Redosier CourtBethesda, MD 20814-2211

VP student aCtiVitiesRichard L. Hartzell1817 Arcola AvenueSilver Spring, MD 20902

reCording seCretaryKathryn P. Stansbery16130 Patapsco Overlook CtMt. Airy, MD 21771

CorresPonding seCretaryLori Davis2848 Ride RoadWaldorf, MD 20603

historianKathryn P. Stansbery16130 Patapsco Overlook CtMt. Airy, MD 21771

MeMber-at-largeDouglas Guiles10359 Cullen TerraceColumbia, MD 21044

iMMediate Past PresidentJoselyn Cross Makowski

loCal assoCiation Presidents

anne arundel MtaMarcia Slentz-Whalen

Mta greater baltiMoreBetsy Stocksdale

Mta bowieBonnie Lynn Pausic

Mta Charles CountyMichele Avrick

Carroll County MtaKaren Mihalko

greater ColuMbia MtaElaine Newhall

eastern shore MtaRaymond Hobbs

f r ederiCk County MtaLaurel Carroll

howard County MtaKristina Suter

greater laurel MtaDeborah White-Bondhus

MontgoMery County MtaLori McCarthy

PrinCe georges MtaAnn Matteson

Mta southern MarylandDonna White

2

Brian Chang, Gary L. Ingle, Claudette Horwitz, Ann Gipson

Congratulations to our member, Claudette Horwitz for receiving MTNA fellowship award at the MTNA National Conference.

Carol Wolfe-Ralph, Junko Takahashi, Helen Smith Tarchalski, Claudette Horwitz, Jacqueline Freeman (Claudette’s sister)

mtNa FeLLowshIP award to CLaUdette horwItz

3

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS

adVertising

Claudette Horwitz

bylaws/ParliaMentarian

David Holmes

CertifiCation

Donna C White

College faCulty

Matt Edwards

CoMMunity outreaCh and eduCation

Deborah White-Bondhus

CoMPosition CoMMissioning

Li-Ly Chang

ConferenCe

Carol Wolfe-RalphJunko Takahashi

finanCe

Claudette Horwitz

fund raising

TBA

indePendent MusiC teaChers

Helen Smith Tarchalski

loCal and student assoCiations

Kathy Stansbery

Mtna foundation

Michele Hobart Rohan

MsMta foundation/fundraising

TBA

MeMbershiP

Annie Hou

MultiMedia

Ina Nacev Allen

noMinating

Richard Hartzell

PubliCations

Junko Takahashi

PubliCity

Joselyn Cross Makowski

student aCtiVities

Richard Hartzell

talent resourCe

Jeffery Beaudry

teChnology

Helen Smith Tarchalski

mtNa NatIoNaL CoNFereNCe

Nubar Trio from Peabody Institute representing Maryland (Eastern division winner) won 3rd place at MTNA chamber music competition. Congratulation to Gleb Kanasevich (Clarinet), Martiros Shakhzadyan (Violin), Dmitry Samoyray (Piano) and their coach and our member, Marian Hahn!

msmta theorY rePort

This year, we had 1,646 students registered from 143 teachers. The tests were held at 15 different centers throughout Maryland.

Many thanks to everyone who was involved in producing successful events:

Test Writers: Claudette Horwitz, Carol Wolfe-Ralph, Betty Guenther and Immanuela Gruenberg.

Local Chairs: Angela Linhardt, Bonnie Pausic, Karen Mihalko, Janet Swaney, Janet Berg, Karen Skelly, Erin Runkles, Jeffery Beaudry, Pat Graham, Alla Merport, Christopher Hall, Sidney Yin, Ann Matteson, Marina Ovtcharenko, Ellen Sakai and Mary Stevens, to Geneva Jones for taking care of trophies and all the teachers who were at the centers monitoring and grading.

Special thanks to Claudette Horwitz for spending countless hours working out many aspects of this program.

We have already finished writing some of the tests for next year and hope to see many students participate again.

Junko Takahashi, Theory Coordinator

stUdeNt aCtIVItIes

msmta hIGh sChooL PIaNo eXamINatIoNs – 2010For sChooL reCoGNItIoN/CredIt

The High School Piano Examination Program for School Recognition/Credit was designed to encourage high school piano students, give them an incentive to continue studying and give them the recognition they deserve through their school. This connectedness with the schools is a unique way that private teachers and school professionals can work together to promote this important aspect of our students’ learning. This is the 31ST year that the auditions have been held in April and May.

The following statistics are based on the number of people who enrolled to take the examinations in 2010. There is usually about a 5-6 % of the students who elect not to take the examination after they have enrolled.

Of the total of 274 students who applied to take the High School Examinations in 2010:

Continued on Page 4

4

253 applied to take the examination for recognition21 applied to take the examination for credit

99 were in the 9th grade85 were in the 10th grade68 were in the 11th grade22 were in the 12th grade

35 entered at the Intermediate I Level63 entered at the Intermediate II Level144 entered at the Advanced I Level32 entered at the Advanced II Level

82 different schools were represented by students21 students were home-schooled89 different piano teachers were represented.

We would like to thank all Center Chairs whose role is absolutely essential for the running of this program. There were 18 scheduled days.

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts - Annapolis – Cecelia WyattSt. Martin’s Lutheran Church - Anne Arundel – Donna ErvinJordan Kitts Music Store - Baltimore – Ruth PengChurchill High I – Jean KimChurchill High II – Hyun ParkEleanor Roosevelt – Hui-Yen ChangConstance Fischel Studio (Greater Columbia) – Constance FischelHoward County Community College I and II – Christopher HallLaurel Presbyterian Church - Laurel Area – Wendy DenglerMontgomery Blair High I – Ziona Tuchler Montgomery Blair High II – Hui-Yen ChangQuince Orchard High – Rosanne WhiteRichard Montgomery High –Heesun KimGrace Brethren Church (Southern Maryland) – Patricia BlanchardRiver Road Unitarian Church (Whitman High) – Kristin ButlerLuba Turkevich Studio (Wootton High I and II) – Luba Turkevich

We are grateful for the use of all of the above venues. Special thanks goes to Constance Fischel, again our registrar extraordinaire, who spent many hours receiving and recording the grades and sending out the critiques, reports and certificates. She has also given us the use of her studio and chaired the Columbia Center at her home for many years..

The adjudicators who shared their expertise were: Jeffery Beaudry, Deborah Bondhus, Faye Bonner, Carolyn Booth, Jeannine Case, Li-Ly Chang, Joyce Crist, Constance Fischel, Nancy Hallsted, Linda Head, David Holmes, Edwina Hunter, Conchita Jan, Cherie Jeng, Lois Jones, Donna Koh, Mei-Yu Lin, Ann Matteson, Doris Mattingly, Alice Maxfield, Lori McCarthy, Alla Merport, Ingrid Mongini, Cathy O’Donovan, Maxine Russell, Junko Takahashi, Chen-

Continued from Page 3HIGH SCHOOL PIANO EXAMINATIONS – 2010

Li Tzeng, Helen Weems, Mary Wolf and Carol Wolfe-Ralph.

Congratulations to all of the above judges and center chairs who entered students in the High School Piano Examinations and also to the following teachers who enrolled students: Hedy Bannon, Leia Bennett, Maja Blagojevic, Donna Bridgland, Lisa Bussing, Ann H. Chen, Sarah Crandall, Craig Davis, Ariel Dechosa, Gary Dinn, Harvey Doster, Elena Dubovitsky, Martin Gendelman, Elizabeth Green, Barbara Goldberg, Leslie Goldstein, Immanuela Gruenberg, Irina Gurevich, Nan Hillman, Suzanne Hilton, Irene Hulbert, Karina Hou, James Jenkins, Bonnie Kellert, Amelia Killian, Misha Kim, Irene Kraymer, David Kreider, David Kuperstein, Olga Kuperstein, Chia-Hsuan Lee, Chieh-Ming Lee, Virginia Manchester, Hsien-Ann Meng, Jamie Mitchell, Dmitri Nazarenko, Yevgenia Oleshkevich, Colleen Oren, Ae Ja Park, Jamie Pasho, Kay Patterson, Bonnie Pausic, Ellen Sakai, Marcia Slentz-Whalen, Susan Smith, Betsy Stocksdale, Kristina Suter, Junko Takahashi, Helen Tarchalski, Mary K. Traver, Thanh Vo, Cecelia Wyatt and Yaling Yeh.

Participating Students’ High Schools were: Academy of the Holy Cross (Annapolis), Annapolis Area Christian School, Archbishop Spalding, Arundel, Atholton, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Bishop Ireton, Bishop McNamara, James Hubert Blake, Montgomery Blair, Bowie, The Calverton School, Centennial, Chesapeake, Churchville Christian School, Winston Churchill, Clarksburg, Dulaney, Eastern Technical, Albert Einstein, Frederick, Freedom, The French International School, Gaithersburg, Georgetown Preparatory, The Gilman School, Glenelg, Glenelg Country School, Granite Baptist School, Great Mills, Hammond, Hereford, Howard, Walter Johnson, The Key School, Langley, Laurel, The Learning Community International, Leonardtown, Long Beach, Magruder, The Maret School, Mariotts Ridge, Richard Montgomery, Mount De Sales Academy, Mount Hebron, National Cathedral School, Northern, Northwest, Northwood, Oakland Mills, Old Mill, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Oxon Hill, Paint Branch, Patuxent, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Reservoir, River Hill, Rockbridge Academy, Rockville, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Seton, Severna Park, Sherwood, Sidwell Friends School, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, South River, Southern, Spencerville Adventist Academy, Springbrook, St. Albans School, St. Anselm’s Abbey School, St. James School, St. John’s College High School, St. Timothy’s School, St. Vincent Pallotti, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Suitland, Towson, Walt Whitman, Wilde Lake, and Thomas S. Wootton.

Ann Matteson and Ellen Sakai, Co-chairs

5

ComPetItIoNs

The 2010 MSMTA Elizabeth R. Davis Competition was held on Sunday, May 30. This was the first time this event was held at the beautiful Horwitz Visual and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. Students performed on two wonderful 9 foot concert grand pianos; the 9th and 10th grade students played on a Mason and Hamlin and the 11th and 12th grade students on a Steinway.

Thank you to HCC faculty member Kristina Suter for her time and effort in arranging the use of this outstanding venue for MSMTA. Also, thank you to Co-Chair Sidney Yin for his help both before the competition and working the entire day of the event. After having Sidney’s assistance, I am trying to understand how I ever chaired this competition from 1997 to 2003 by myself.

In addition, thank you to the participating teachers who came to help the day of the event which was on a holiday weekend: Nancy Breth, Bok Hwa Kim, JeongEun Park Kang, David Kuperstein, Chieh-Ming Lee, Kristina Suter, and new MSMTA member Ariel Dechosa. Without their presence it would not have been logistically possible for this competition to take place with any kind of proper organization for the students. Teachers who enter students in MSMTA events are expected and needed to help the day of the event. This is an indispensable part of the administrative side to MSMTA student events even being able to be held. At least two teachers told me they did not enter students in the Davis Competition this year because they were unable to help the day of the event, and these are colleagues who are always present helping at MSMTA events when they enter students.

eLIzaBeth r. daVIs ComPetItIoN

A special thank you goes to Winifred Hyson for her generous $1,000 contribution towards the prize money for this competition which enabled ten prizes to be awarded by MSMTA this year. Thank you to her for her kind generosity.

The results are:

9th and 10th grade division: 16 contestantsJudges: Frances Cheng Koors and Yoon Huh First Place: $250 award - Harriyson Suh (Kristina Suter)Second Place: $175 award - Kevin Hwang (Bok Hwa Kim)Third Place: $125 award - Linda He (Marjorie Lee)Fourth Place: $100 award - Edward Yoon (Faye Bonner/Scott Beard)Fifth Place: $75 award - Kristina Hu (Marjorie Lee)Honorable Mentions: Antonia Stabile (Nancy Breth) Jamie Park (Bok Hwa Kim) Chang-In Timothy Hyon (JeongEun Park Kang)

11th and 12th grade division: 21 contestantsJudges: Ivo Kaltchev and Hsien Ann MengFirst Place: $250 award - Alex Stabile (Nancy Breth)Second Place: $175 award - Margaret Tian (David Kuperstein)Third Place: $125 award - Richard Chong (JeongEun Park Kang)Fourth Place: $100 award - Darwin Yang (Faye Bonner/Scott Beard)Fifth Place: $75 award - Xuxinye Xu (Nancy Breth)Honorable Mentions: Seo Young Hong (Bok Hwa Kim) Dorothy Kim (Bok Hwa Kim) Sarah Shin (Bok Hwa Kim)

Christopher Hall, Co-Chair

state PIaNo soLo rePort

Almost 970 students and 120 teachers participated in the 2010 Piano Solo Festival which was held on May 22 at the University of Maryland. There were 88 recitals (82 competitive and 6 noncompetitive) that ran from 8:00 a.m. to approximately 8:00 p.m. My appreciation extends to all of those who so cheerfully helped the day run more smoothly. A special thanks to my husband and webmaster, John, who makes this event much easier to manage with the help of a magical database. The results of the competition are on the website, msmta.org.

Carol Wolfe-Ralph, Chair

GertrUde BrowN ComPetItIoN

Following are the pieces for the Gertrude Brown Competition:

Junior I: Peskanov Concerto No. 1 (Order through http://peskanov.com/compositions.htm)

Junior II: Haydn Concerto HOV. XVlll:3 in F Major (Schott ed.)

Intermediate: Mozart Concerto K.457 in G Major (No.17) (Schirmer ed.)

Senior: Beethoven Concerto in Bb Major, Op. 19 (Schirmer ed.)

Dates are to be determined, in the middle of January.

Hyun Park, Chair

Continued on Page 7

6

memBer NewsCongratulations to MSMTA

member Dr. Scott Beard, who was

recently elected as the new president

of MTNA’s Eastern Division!

memBershIP

weLCome New memBers

Please update the following member information in your directory. Thanks, Annie Hou, VP Membership

Ella Chernyshova 402 Ridgepoint Place #26 Gaithersburg, MD 20878 240-632-2954 ella.ch@gmail.comPiano

Ariel F. Dechosa 11063 San Andrew Dr New Market, MD 21774 301-865-9236 adechosa@gilman.edu Piano, Chamber Music

Mellasenah I. Edwards 1206 Harbor Island Walk Baltimore, MD 21230 864-420-2410 miedde@aol.com Violin

LoCaL assoCIatIoNsIn April HCMTA held our annual Spring Piano Festival which included 64 students in 6 recitals.

This event went very well, ably run by our new Co-Chairs, Vera Yakirevich and Irina Dvoynoy. Nicole Amyot, Elizabeth Green, and Shisa Suskey were the judges. The following weekend was our spring recital, co-chaired by Nancy Riley and Christopher Hall. May was extremely busy, as usual, with our largest competitive event, The Miriam Thomann Piano Competition. During the two days, 104 students were judged by Cecilia Cho, Jacob Clark, Margarita Gramaticova, Lura Johnson, Grace Kim, Daniel Lau, Christine Pulliam, Junko Takahashi, and Chen Li Tzeng. We received many compliments from them on our point system, which we have been developing and tweaking for many years! Bok Hwa Kim and Kathy Stansbery combined their efforts to make the weekend a success.Following our May 21st meeting, we were so very fortunate to have one of our esteemed MSMTA colleagues, Immanuela Gruenberg, as our guest speaker. Her presentation on Schubert and her new edition of the Op. 90 Impromptus was extremely interesting and informative. Immanuela invested an enormous amount of time on the research and the refinement of her ideas for this edition.

7

Continued on Page 9

Continued from Page 6

Talk about Teaching: Nancy Breth Open Studio

Four Summer Wednesdays, 10:00 am to 12:30

• June30:Practicing• July7:Technique• July21:Sightreading• July28:RaisingtheBar

Eachsessionwillbestructuredaroundthestatedtopic,butwillincludeopendiscussiononrelatedissues.$45perindividualsession;$150forallfoursessions.

Toregister,sendcheckandyourchoiceofdates(June30,July7,21and/or28)to:

BrethPianoStudioMcLeanProfessionalPark1493ChainBridgeRoad,Suite103McLeanVA22101

The annual spring meeting/luncheon was held at the home of Ann Matteson in May. Ann thanked all of the members who had played a part in the busy year that PGMTA had. The program was presented by Dr. Martin Gendelman who talked to the group about his compositions, teaching and briefly touched on Argentinian music since he was originally from that country. Ellen Sakai reported on the PG theory center which was held in April. Linda Head reported on the Broad Creek Festival which was held in March.

Looking ahead, the date for the Stephanie Laios Composition/Improvisation Festival was set for September 2010 at Jordan-Kitts Music Store. This event is held with the Bowie and Greater Laurel Music Teachers Associations.

Ann Matteson, President

MARGARET LYNN (COLLETT) THOMAS (December 17, 1917 - April 24, 2010)

Margaret Lynn (Collett) Thomas will long be remembered as a gracious, very kindly and thorough musician who brought these qualities to all her activities and her teaching. She was a co-founder of Prince George’s Music Teachers Association (the

first local association in MD) and served twice as its president. She came to Washington D. C. in the mid-40’s with her husband, Grady, and when they built a home in Temple Hills, Margaret taught private piano and violin lessons in her studio. Margaret was a long time active member of Friday Morning Music Club and even though her health worsened, she continued her activities including playing in her own quartet. She and her husband were long-time sponsors of the Davies Concert Series in Southern Prince George’s County. Margaret was a member of Music Teachers National Association and also of the National Association for Family and Community Education. She is survived by her daughter, Margaret, and son-in-law, Larry Foote. We salute the many musical contributions she so generously gave to us and to the greater Washington area.

IN memorIam… Lastly, our High School Award Competition, where 23 students competed for the MSMTA Scholarship for Performance, was held at the end of May and was co-chaired by Kathy Stansbery and David Kuperstein. The students who enter this competition are the “cream of the crop” and they did not disappoint us this year. The bar was raised even higher and the performances were outstanding. Jeannine Case and Nikita Fitenko judged for this event.

Kris Suter, President

LoCaL assoCIatIoNs

MTAB has experienced a musically enriching spring, not only for the students, but for the teachers as well. At our April meeting, a slate of new officers was presented for approval by the membership. Afterwards, we listened to a fascinating presentation by harpist Elizabeth Barry, who spoke regarding music therapy for hospice and other situations. In late April, we presented our Spring Musicale, chaired by Barbara Kornreich, and our Senior Awards Competition, chaired by Wendy Dengler and Hui Yen Chang. Winners from the Senior Awards were heard before our last general meeting in April. In May, we all enjoyed a Spring Luncheon at the Four Seasons Grill, organized by member Janet Ambrose. After the meeting, our new officers were installed: Mary Parker, President, Barbara Lancaster, Vice President, Marie Fulginiti, Correspondence Secretary, Maxine Russell, Recording Secretary, and Mary Fitzgerald, Treasurer. I would like to thank all of the officers, business committee chairs and student activity chairs for all of their hard work, donated time, and expertise in furthering MTAB’s aim to provide a quality education for our students.

Bonnie Lynn Pausic, President

8

9

LoCaL assoCIatIoNs Continued from Page 7

Continued on Page 10

Congratulations to our new officers as they take their positions.

President, Constance FischelVice-president Deborah White-BondhusSecretary Ann WuTreasurer Lisa BussingSubmitted by David Holmes, Chairman, Nominating Committee

Peskanov FestivalEight teachers participated in Greater Laurel’s annual theme festival, Music by Peskanov, entering nearly 90 students in the event which took place on Saturday, January 23. As Peskanov’s compositions are so diverse in style,

the audience was treated to a delightful array of compositions, including “tributes” to composers from different periods of music, jazz and blues, ensemble (including two trios from his “Little Rock Suite”), and concerti. Concluding each of the four recitals were electrifying performances by Alexander and LuAnn Peskanov of his works for flute and piano. This festival was an event to be remembered! Jan Puckett, Chair, Theme Festival

The Greater Laurel MTA winner: Andrew Gordon - student of Jeannine CaseThe Young Musicians Competition was held March 20, 2010. Wendy Dengler chaired this event. The winners were: Honorable Mention: Ana Coman, Rosemary Ligsay, Laura Squire, Susanne Conrad3rd Place: Christine Dario, Lauren Shen, Richard Williams, Emily Tchai, Maddy Williams2nd Place: Alex Nguyen, Eric Yang, Allie Noyes, Hannah Dario, Pin Joe Ko1st Place: Sereena Knight, Holly Lakin, Emily Duan, Andrew Uibel, Cathy Williams

I have enjoyed serving GLMTA as president. I reflect back on all that GLMTA has accomplished and the many members past and present that have made GLMTA successful. I look forward to many more years of growth and music as we continue to serve our students with programs that challenge and excite them. Thanks to all of you who have made my job so easy. Without your hard work and dedication none of this would be possible. Enjoy your hard-earned summer break!!!

Deborah White-Bondhus, President GLMTA

Edwina Hunter, Alexander Peskanov, Jan Puckett, Douglas Guiles, Lisa Bussing, with Wendy Dengler (seated)

AAMTA Ensemble Festival Participants with their teacher/coach, AAMTA President Marcia Slentz-Whalen. L to R: Pianists Jenny Judd, Katie

Embser and Henry Van Engen; violinist Celaya Kirchner; teacher/coach Marcia Slentz-Whalen; pianist Will Scerbo; pianist/cellist Elizabeth Embser.

It has been another banner year for MSMTA’s local affiliate in Anne Arundel County, thanks to the expertise of each of the dedicated members who served as an Event Chair or Co-Chair for our many student activities: Fall at the Mall Festival and Water Music Festival, Ellen Winner; Holiday Festival, Katya Merchant & Betsy Green; Winter Recitals, Chris Sanders; Theory Exams & Keyboard Musicianship Exams, Angela Linhardt & Betsy Green; Ensemble Festival (see photo), Katya Merchant & Bill Bloomquist; Concerto Competition, Helen Smith Tarchalski; Master Class, Bill Bloomquist; High School Piano Exams, Donna Dixon Ervin; Spring Solo Festival, Marcia Slentz-Whalen.

We also want to recognize each of our Business Committee Chairs for jobs well done: Historian, Katya Merchant; Hospitality, Ellen Winner; Procurer of Judges Helen Smith Tarchalski; Publicity, Bill Bloomquist; Handbook Editor, Marcia Slentz-Whalen.

The highlight of our member-enrichment programs this year was our Marvin Blickenstaff weekend. In addition to presenting the Friday morning program for our April meeting and a Saturday afternoon Master Class, Mr. Blickenstaff joined Conductor Anna Binneweg in adjudicating our annual Piano Concerto Competition, selecting three student winners to present Mozart’s K. 467 in concert with the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra.

We also enjoyed programs by guest presenters Immanuela Gruenberg and Nancy Breth and by AAMTA member presenter Cathy Lugo, as well as thought-provoking round-table discussions on various topics of professional interest to our members. Of course the spontaneous networking and dialogue that occur among our members at our annual Teachers’ Soiree and at our regularly scheduled plenary meetings are among the most valuable advantages we enjoy as members of AAMTA.

10

Continued on Page 12

Continued from Page 9LoCaL assoCIatIoNs As this AAMTA program year transitions into summer mode, our students are busy preparing for our annual Water Music Festival to be held July 31 at the Annapolis Recreation Center at Truxton Park. Each participating student will perform a selection having some connection to water, and after presenting their pieces the performers will have the opportunity to enjoy a dip in the pool and refreshments in the picnic pavilion. As my two-year term as President draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to thank the other officers who have served with me during this past year. Immediate Past-President Bill Bloomquist, Vice-President Katya Merchant, Recording Secretary Sarah Crandall, Corresponding Secretary Chris Sanders, Treasurer Betsy Green, and Directors at Large Carmen Schmidt & Barbara Lancaster all have served with professionalism and excellence. Coming onto the board for the 2010-11program year will be our new President Helen Smith Tarchalski, our new Treasurer Adriana Schueckler and our new Director for Two Years Cathy Lugo.Many AAMTA members have stepped forward during this past year to help with the leadership of our association – some long-time members changing hats to accept new positions of responsibility, other newer members stepping up to the podium for the first time. My heartfelt thanks to each of them! Their leadership support has made our organization stronger and bodes well for the future growth and development of AAMTA. In addition we have established a Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Cathy Lugo, with a mandate to look at our organization and to think “outside the box” as we explore what we would like to become and how we will continue to grow this fine organization over the next five to ten years.This local association truly has blossomed into a collegial network of gifted and highly dedicated professionals, and it has been a privilege to serve as its President. What a banner two years we have had! Thank you, one and all!

Marcia Slentz-Whalen, President

Many thanks to all the dedicated chairmen of our MCMTA events for another great year. It has been a busy spring for MCMTA events.

MCMTA has had many terrific presentations this year at our general meetings including Ellen Winner, Gila Goldstein, Justin Kolb, Ana Kijanowska, James Litzelman, and Thomas Schumacher. I am grateful to our Program Chair, Immanuela Gruenberg, for her excellent choice of presenters.

The MCMTA Festival of Music celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Chopin and Schumann was scheduled for February 7th, but was snowed out. Our

wonderful chairman, Susan Roberts was able to reschedule it for February 28th. One hundred students of thirty teachers performed.

MCMTA Judged Recitals were held in February and April. There were four recitals with thirty-five students on February 21st and six recitals with fifty-five students on April 18th. Many thanks to chairmen Mei Yu Lin and Yoon Huh for their fantastic planning of these events.

The MCMTA Elementary “Spring Fling” Recital was held on Saturday, March 20th. Ninety-seven entries from 23 studios beat all records for many years. Congratulations to chairman Olga Soukhoveeva for planning such a successful event.

Intermediate/Advanced MCMTA Recitals were held on May 1st and 2nd at Montgomery College. There were about 130 participants from 34 studios over the course of the two days including eleven recitals. Everything went well. Chairmen Annie Hou and Karina Hou would like to thank all the teachers who assisted because they could not run without their help.

The Stevens Brewster String Competition took place on April 24th with five participants in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12) and twelve in the Junior Division (Grades 7-9). The winners were:

Senior Division 1st Place Justin Cho, cello (Duck-Hee O’Donnell)2nd place Tingrui Zhao, violin (Richard Chang)

Junior Division1st place Ben Hoyt, violin, (Rebecca Henry)2nd place Jessica Hu, cello (Laurien Laufman)

MCMTA is very grateful for the significant contribution made by Lashof Music and Joshua Henry Bow Maker and Restorer as well as chairman Lya Stern.

The Evelyn Swarthout/Patrick Hayes Piano Competition was held on April 25th. First place winner was Iris Cheng (Faye Bonner); 2nd place winner was Richard Choung (Teresa Kang). Honorable Mention went to Rongmei An (Dimitri

11

12

Please email all notices and copy for inclusion in the October 2010 MSMTA newsletter by September 15, 2010, to:jutaka@verizon.net or mail to: Junko Takahashi

MSMTA Newsletter Editor 10503 Redosier Court Bethesda, MD 20814-2211

The MSMTA Newsletter is published five times per year by the Maryland State Music Teachers Association, Inc.Claudette Horwitz and Elizabeth White, contributing editorsCirculation: 725

DEADLINE FOR NEXT NEWSLETTER

MSMTA is now accepting advertisements in its newsletter. Space is limited to two pages total, so ads will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Rates are as follows: Member Non-member

1/8 page $20.00 $30.001/4 page $40.00 $50.001/2 page $80.00 $90.00Full page $135.00 $150.00

For more information, contact Junko Takahachi at: jutaka@verizon.net.

adVertIsemeNts

Continued from Page 10LoCaL assoCIatIoNs Frederick County Music Teachers Association has had a very good year. We are growing in membership and in activities.

Our students have accomplished great things. One of our students, Jessica Bobb, earned her Distinguished Music Achievement Award. Three students earned Intermediate Honors trophies for their work in the Keyboard program.

S e v e r a l students won their 5 year trophy for their work in the Theory p r o g r a m . We had two students in the C o m p o s e r s Forum, who par t ic ipated in the concert

at the state convention. We had a very s u c c e s s f u l S o n a t a /S o n a t i n a Festival (see photos). Our Fall Festival, which was reformatted f r o m individual private adjudications to a small recital format, was very well attended.

During this last quarter of our year we have continued to meet monthly. We had a very good business meeting in April, where we reelected the same officers we had last year. Our May Teacher Education meeting was a lecture-demonstration about performance practice of Baroque music. This was given by Bobbie and David Rastall. Our June meeting will be a social brunch at a café in Frederick.

We feel we have had excellent leadership this year and are looking forward to even greater advances next year. We especially thank the chair people of the events that were held this year for our students.

Laurel Carroll, President

FCMTA Sonata Festival Advanced Students

FCMTA Sonata Festival Elementary Students

Nazarenko). The American Composer prize was taken by Iris Cheng (Faye Bonner). Thanks to our new chairmen this year, Junko Takahashi and Faye Bonner.

I had the opportunity to hear the winners of our MCMTA piano and string competitions at The Senior Recognition Awards Day on May 15th. Attendees were treated to performances by the first and second place winners Swarthout-Hayes Piano Competition, Iris Cheng and Richard Choung, the Stevens Brewster Junior Competition for Strings, Ben Hoyt and Jessica Hu, and the Stevens Brewster Senior Competition for Strings, Justin Cho and Tingrui Zhao. It was a truly wonderful program and reflects the high quality of teaching standards of our organization. And it was so nice to see all the graduating seniors who came to receive their truly deserved recognition. The day was organized flawlessly by Luba Turkevich. The afternoon festivities concluded with the Tenth Annual Adult Recital, where all eleven performers seemed to enjoy sharing their music with the group. Many thanks to Suzanne Ferrall, the Recital Chair, for her hard work in organizing a lovely afternoon of music

Sincerely, Lori McCarthy, President