N O R T H S H O R E M U S I C T E A C H E R S ’ A S S O C I A T I O N

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The Monthly e-Newsletter of the NSMTA Nancy DeHaven, Editor APRIL 2018

President’s MessageHappy Spring! We are fortunate to have many talented musicians as members of NSMTA, and two of our members will be sharing their unique insights with us at this month’s meeting on Monday, April 23rd. George Radosavljevik will present Color and Texture: The Music of Claude Debussy at our main meeting, and Heidi Mayer will share creative composition ideas for group lessons in the pre-meeting.

Some of you may remember George’s pre-meeting presentation in the fall of 2015 that explored the connections between Spozalizio by Franz Liszt and the painting that inspired it. It’s always fascinating to discover how different artistic disciplines, such as visual art and music, can intersect and shed light upon one another.

Debussy’s music especially shares so many qualities with the impressionist painters that it’s only natural to think of them in similar terms. These connections between music and art can provide important teaching tools, as our students tend to be more visually savvy and open to images than previous generations. I’m

looking forward to hearing what George has to share on this interesting topic. Just as our students are more visually aware, they are also accustomed to working together in groups. I asked Heidi Mayer to share her group composition activity after I saw a video of her teaching on Facebook. The students seemed to be having a great time as they were composing and performing a short piece with a variety of instruments. They were also using important rhythmic, notational and listening skills that would undoubtedly improve their overall musicianship at the piano. We all benefit from creative activities!

Elsewhere in the newsletter, you will read about other NSMTA members who shared their many talents at the MTNA National Conference in Florida last month. We can all be proud of the accomplishments our colleagues!

Jennifer Merry,NSMTA President

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APRIL 23 PRESENTATION

This presentation will explore some fascinating aspects of Debussy’s method of composition; specifically his innovative use of traditional harmonic language to take control of harmonic color, and his use of texture as a method of development and structure. These musical techniques are very much in line with concepts used by the great French painters that were his contemporaries. I will include the demonstration of specific examples of these techniques extracted from several important piano works: Reflets dans l’eau, Ondine and L’isle joyeuse, and also make comparisons to the general and specific art works that inspired them. The presentation will include the complete performance of the works mentioned above.

Pianist George Radosavljevic is well-known in the Chicago area as both soloist and collaborative pianist. Most recently he has been heard in recital at the American Liszt Society

Festival at Northwestern University, the historic Glessner House Museum in Chicago, the Cathedral of St. John in Milwaukee, and in frequent recitals and lecture-recitals throughout the Chicago area. Mr. Radosavljevic has appeared on the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Series, and in many solo and ensemble concerts broadcast live on WFMT Radio. His playing has been called "polished and elegantly shaped" by the Chicago Tribune and "consistently enchanting" by the Pioneer Press. Mr. Radosavljevic appears as orchestral pianist with the Lake Forest Symphony and is currently on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago and DePaul University School of Music, Community Music Division. He is a founding member of the piano trio: Trio Capriccio, and is the director of the RMU Chamber Ensemble (Ensemble in residence at Robert Morris University), which provides educational concerts in a variety of venues. Mr. Radosavljevic has also concertized with his son, Bass-Baritone Leo Radosavljevic, most recently in Tallinn and Pärnu, Estonia, as well as at Ravinia Festival last fall. He is a board member of both the North Shore Music Teachers Association and the Chicago area chapter of the American Liszt Society. Mr. Radosavljevic holds the degree Master of Music in piano performance from DePaul University as a scholarship student of Dmitry Paperno. In his free time he enjoys golf, skiing, and art galleries.

George Radosavljevic Color and Texture: Music of Claude Debussy

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April 23 Pre-meeting: Heidi Mayer

Group Lesson Activities

The traditional studio performance class is invaluable for exposure to repertoire, musical interpretation and style. However, in this age of technology, much shorter attention spans, and the average interest level of our students, all too often the passive members of the group lose interest and attention.

How can we make performance class instruction more interactive? And what do we do with the rest of the class time to reinforce musical concepts in a creative way?

Group lessons help students bond while they learn musical concepts together and support each other’s

performances. It is my hope that this presentation can offer some new ideas for your group teaching.

Heidi Mayer, NCTM, holds Bachelor Degrees from the University of Michigan in Piano Performance and Choral Music Education, and a Master of Musical Arts from Eastern Michigan University in Piano Performance. As a Fulbright Scholar, she also earned a Diploma in Vocal Accompanying from the Vienna Academy of Music. She was a faculty member of De Paul University’s Community Music Program from 1990-1993, and currently teaches at Northwestern Music Academy. She also maintains an independent piano studio in Park Ridge.

Ms. Mayer was named Teacher of the Year by the Illinois Music Teachers Association in 2015. She was also the recipient of an MTNA Teacher Enrichment Grant and National Piano Technician’s Guild Teacher of the Year Grant.

Ms. Mayer has performed in master classes of Dorothy Taubman, Dmitry Paperno, John Browning, and Joseph Banowetz. Past teachers include Charles Fischer, Joseph Gurt, Edna Golandsky, Flavio Varani, Hans Graf, Robert Schollum, and Annie Sherter. She studied harpsichord with Edward Parmentier at the University of Michigan summer harpsichord workshops for ten years, and has traversed the multiple keyboard concerto repertoire with her harpsichord ensemble. She is an active collaborative pianist, clinician, and adjudicator in the Chicago area.

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The schedules are now available to view and download from your Student Report. 756 students are enrolled in AIM this year. More detailed statistics will be included in the May Score. From the NSMTA website, log in to your account and click AIM Performance – Get Student Schedule and Scores link. This will take you to your account with all of your enrolled students and their schedule.

Be sure to download this and/or print it out for careful review. Check carefully for the following information:

• All students that you expect to take the exam appear on your Student Report. • Check accuracy for correct level, exam date and location. • Check correct spelling of student names, including capitalization. • Check that first time participants are marked as “new” in the new column.

No scheduling change requests will be allowed.

Congratulations to all students that have come this far in their AIM preparations! To help celebrate student achievements, ISMTA and NSMTA have awards for successful completion of each AIM level.

From ISMTA:

• AIM Medal – to all first time (new) participants to AIM. • ISMTA AIM Pin – to all students that successfully complete the theory exams. • ISMTA AIM Plaque with student name engraved – for successfully completing level 9

with a combined average theory and performance score of 80 or higher. Students that skip level 9 or are new to AIM entering at a higher level than 9 would receive the ISMTA Plaque at the first time reaching level 10, 11 or 12.

• Attachable bars that go on the Plaque – for successfully completing levels 9, 10, 11 and 12.

• ISMTA AIM Certificate – for successfully completing both theory and performance exam.

Passing grade is 65.

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AIM NEWS

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From NSMTA: • Different composer statuette each year – to all students that successfully complete

the performance exams. This year’s statuette is Claude Debussy • Trophies of differing sizes for levels 10, 11 and 12 – to all students that successfully

complete the theory and performance exams. Students that receive a plaque will not receive a trophy for the same level .

• $100 Cash Award to all level 12 students that successfully complete the theory and performance exams

• $100 Cash Award to the top average combined theory and performance score level 10 student

• $100 Cash Award to the top average combined theory and performance score level 11 student For all cash awards, the following requirements must also be met:

o Receive minimum average combined theory and performance score of 89 o Participate in AIM at NSMTA with an NSMTA teacher for at least 3 years

The judging/volunteer schedule has also been sent to all teachers. Please review this carefully to mark your assigned date and time on your calendar. If you have a conflict, it will be your responsibility to make arrangements with another teacher to “trade” times, etc.

In order to receive all pertinent information in a timely manner, please read our emails carefully upon receipt and reply promptly to any email requiring or warranting a reply.

Finally, I want to thank Debbie Stackhouse and Karen Tobias for coordinating the level 1-2 exams in Winnetka, and welcome Brenda Huang and Wen-Chieh Chlastawa, who will serve as the Lake Forest Performance Exam co-coordinators.

Submitted by Jia-Yee Tang, NW AIM Coordinator Jennifer Cohen, LF AIM Coordinator & AIM Chair

AIM NEWS (Continued)

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NSMTA MEMBERS at the2018 MTNA National Conference

The North Shore Music Teachers Association was well-represented at the MTNA National Conference in Lake Buena Vista Florida on March 17th thru 21st, 2018.

Bruce Berr was one of the commissioned composers in “From Pen to Premier,”along with Catherine Rollin. Berr’s composition, ”Three Reflections" for piano, alto saxophone and bassoon, is at the late-intermediate level and is published by Opus Music Publishers. The conference session featured a performance of the piece and an interview with the composer.

Jennifer Cohen presented “Do the Studio Crawl,” along with NWMTA members Helen Grosshans, Levronne Mrozinski and Beverly Taylor. This engaging session described how these four teachers met to tour each other’s studios, which resulted in increased creativity and raised standards for all.

Sueanne Metz’s student Derek Chung won 1st place in the National Piano Competition, Senior division. (See Derek’s biography on the next page).

A BIG congratulations to Bruce, Jennifer and Sueanne!

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NSMTA MEMBERS at the 2018 MTNA National Conference(continued)

Derek Chung is a senior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. He studies piano with Sueanne Metz. Derek’s recent accomplishments include first place at the MTNA National Senior Piano Competition, Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, MostArts Festival Piano Competition, Future Stars International Competition, Luminarts Cultural Foundation for Classical Music, the American Fine Arts International Concerto Competition, and the Los Angeles Young Musician International Piano Competition where he was awarded the overall Best Romantic Performance. He was a prize winner at the Aloha International, Bradshaw & Buono International, and the Crain-Maling Chicago Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competitions. He is a two-time bronze medal winner at Seattle International Piano Festival Competition where he additionally received the teachers’ favorite award and the President’s Youth Prize for Best Chopin performance.

Derek has had the honor of performing in musical venues such as the historic Sala dei Notari in Perugia (Italy), Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Bennett-Gordon Hall at Ravinia, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. He has given public performances with the South Carolina Philharmonic, the MostArts Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante, live on Kansas Public Radio, and the Shining Stars Concert as part of the Music Festival of Perugia. Derek was also a member of chamber group Piano Trio Royale. They were featured on NPR’s From-the-Top program.

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The Oakton Six Piano Ensemble, under the direction of Conductor Glenna Sprague, will present concerts on Saturday, April 28 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m. in the Footlik Theater at Oakton Community College, 1600 East Golf Road, Des Plaines.

The Six Piano Ensemble was formed by Glenna Sprague, Professor and Coordinator of Music at Oakton, where she also teaches piano. One of the members of the Ensemble is Beatriz Levi who is a member of the North Shore Music Teachers Association. Performing at six pianos, the group performs not only traditional classical piano music; but also, symphonic literature as well as ragtime and popular music. The rich, layered sound of the Six Piano Ensemble compares to that of an orchestra, with each member playing a different part of a composition as the melody transfers from pianist to pianist. At this year’s concerts, we are celebrating Leonard Bernstein’s 100th anniversary by performing “Oh, Happy We” and “I Am Easily Assimilated” from Candide, as well as performing the “Hungarian Dance, No. 2 in D Minor” by Brahms; “Waltz” from the Masquerade Suite, by Khachaturian; Märsche No. 1 and No. 3, Op. 45 by Beethoven; Slavonic Dance in E Minor, Op. 72, No. 2 by Dvořák; “Original Rags” by Joplin and other selections.

Tickets are $17 for general admission, $14 for seniors and students, and $12 for group rate. For ticket information, call the Oakton Box Office at 847-635-1900 or order tickets online at www.oakton.edu/tickets. Following each concert, there is a reception.

Widely acknowledged as one of the most unique musical groups in the world, the Oakton Six Piano Ensemble has performed in Europe and the United States, including the 32nd World Conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) at the Royale Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow; the College Music Society International Conference in Vienna, Austria; MTNA National Conferences in Atlanta and Spokane; numerous MTNA state conferences; GP3 Conference at University of Oklahoma, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Chicago; and the Steinway of Chicago’s Community Concert Series.

OAKTON SIX-PIANO ENSEMBLE

CONCERTS

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- - - Announcements - - -

Scholarship Information: College and Summer campThis is just a reminder that pupils who have studied with a member of the North Shore Music Teachers Association for the past three years are eligible to apply for a $1,000 scholarship award if they are graduating high school seniors who are enrolling in a university, college, or music school in a program that will prepare them for careers in music. Study of any musical instrument or voice that is taught by a NSMTA member is acceptable for application.

NSMTA also offers a $200 scholarship for Summer Music Program Camp. Students currently in grades 5, 6, and 7 are eligible for Junior Scholarship and grades 8 to 12 for Senior Scholarship.

Application for scholarships is available on the NSMTA website.

Deadline for applying is May 1st, 2018.

Send to Betty Benton, 461 Rockland Avenue, Lake Bluff, IL 60044

Steinway Artist Pianist Alexandre Dossin in Recital

The Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the American Liszt Society will present Steinway Artist, pianist Alexandre Dossin in Recital on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm at PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605. Regarded by pianist Martha Argerich as an “extraordinary musician,” Dossin received the First Prize and the Special Prize at the 2003 Martha Argerich International Piano Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Liszt musicologist Alan Walker deemed Dossin “a Liszt interpreter to watch.” Program highlights include Liszt’s monumental “Sonata in B Minor” and “Valse de l'opéra Faust de Ch. Gounod,” as well as works by Chopin and Mozart. Tickets: $20 Regular, $10 Student.

https://pianofortechicago.com/concerts-events/

IMPORTANT REMINDER: The piano competition is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, NOT Sunday the 6th.

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At our business meeting on Monday, April 23, we will be electing the following officers for the 2018-19 year: President, Program Chair, and Corresponding Secretary. The nominating committee is happy to present the following candidates: President: Debbie Gillette

Program Chair: Mary Beth Molenaar

Corresponding Secretary: Hue Jang

We would also like to say THANK YOU to our outgoing officers who have served us so well over the past 2 years: Outgoing President Jennifer Merry, Program Chair Eric Sutz and Corresponding Secretary Nancy DeHaven.

The nominating committee has also chosen the following Members of the Year: Susan Corkum & Jennifer Merry

If you would like to make an additional nomination, or have questions about elections or offices, please contact Karen Tobias at karentobias314@att.net.

NSMTA Officer Elections on April 23

Piano Wanted Does anyone have a small upright piano for sale or give away. I have a family looking for a piano. Betty Benton 847-234-5279 or jamesbettybenton@gmail.com

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JUNE 11 at 10:30 The Annual Teachers' Recital and Luncheon will again be held in the beautiful St. James Lutheran Church in Waukegan. The lunch will be catered at a cost of approximately $15.00.

Solos, duets, chamber music, vocal and instrumental pieces are welcome. We have had fabulous recitals in the past, well worth attending as an audience member. This event is not only for recital participants - please consider supporting and encouraging colleagues in performance. Both the piano and the organ in this facility are wonderful instruments.

This is the program from June, 2017. It does not list the organ work played by Kirstin Synnestvedt. Allegro from Sonata by Handel Donna Kuhel,Piano Four movements from Circus Suite by Turina Karen Tobias, Piano Rondo from Op. 13 by Beethoven Beatrice Levy, Piano Two of Four Souvenirs by Schoenfield Kate Carter, Violin Louise Chan, Piano Feu d'artifice by Debussy George Radosa Theme from MASH by Mandel and Greasy Blues by Peterson Eric Sutz

The exact price of the meal will be included in the April or May Score. Reservations for the luncheon and/or for notice of participation in the recital is Monday, June 4. You may call or email Marlene Chatan, 847-475-3635 or chatainco@att.net.

We are not an especially social group in terms of teacher functions, but this an end- of- the- year good time with wonderful music, food, and conversation. Members and guests are welcome to join this celebration!

Annual Teacher’s RecitalAnd Luncheon