Newsletter
 

 
May 15, 2017 

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In This Issue
A Note From Our President
Library Additions
College Scholarship
Hospitality
Chamber Workshop
Note from the Editor
April Minutes
Click here for the April General Meeting minutes.
Upcoming Events

LUNCHEON­­
Monday, May 15, 2017   Demetri's Greek restaurant
660 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield
10:45 A.M. General Meeting followed by lunch
Mail reservation and checks to Justyna Krafft-Weirich

CERTIFICATION COFFEE
Wednesday, May 17, 2017, 9:30 A.M. Home of Jennifer Cohen
13 Old Barn Road, Hawthorn Woods

JUNE

BOARD MEETING
Monday, June 5, 2017
Rolling Meadows Library , 9:45 A.M.

Friday, June 30, 2017 Deadline: Festival of Pianos
A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

I can scarcely believe that it is almost the end of the 2016-2017 school year and of my first year as president of NWSMTA. I would like to thank my fellow officers Brenda Buchanan, Susan Ioriatti, Laurie Sorman, Chyi-Ling Evans, and Lily Zhang for their dedication and hard work this past year. I would also like to welcome our incoming officers Laurie Sorman, 1st Vice President and Membership Chairman, Judith Shaltry, Recording Secretary, and Nancy Dempsey, Treasurer. We really appreciate their willingness to serve. 

As I look back on this year I feel that one of the highlights was our workshop with Peter Mack. Thanks are due to Brenda Buchanan and the workshop committee for giving us the privilege of hearing such a renowned clinician. As program chairman Brenda scheduled a great list of speakers for our meetings. I am proud that two programs featured our own members. In November Helen Grosshans, Jennifer Cohen, Vonnie Mrozinski and Beverly Taylor presented "Studio Crawl 2.0". The Independent Music Teachers' program in March, which was arranged by Maureen Flood, featured Deb Lynch and Rachel Wojcicki.

As we conclude our year of NWSMTA sponsored events I would also like to thank all of our committee chairman. The fact that our organization runs so smoothly is a testament to their hard work. Thanks are also due to the many committee members and other teachers who helped out either at events or behind the scenes. I encourage all members to consider joining a committee this year. It is a great way to get to know fellow teachers and have fun working together. Even if you have other commitments which prevent you from attending meetings, most committees have tasks that you can work on at home. 

I would also invite all of our members to provide input and suggestions on how we can improve our organization and its events. Fresh ideas from a different perspective are often very helpful and can open the way to trying new things. It is too easy to coast along and do everything the same way just because "that is the way we have always done it." You can send suggestions to me or to the committee chairman. 

Finally, I want to thank you for the kind words of support and encouragement that you have given me this past year. I will look forward to working with all of you in NWSMTA in 2017-2018. Have a great summer!

Suzanne Murray

NWSMTA Library Additions

New additions to the NWSMTA Library 2016-17

BOOKS:

Discoveries from the Fortepiano- A Manual for Beginning 
and Seasoned Performers 
Donna Louise Gunn


The Musician's Way- A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness
Gerald Klickstein

The Music Instinct, How Music Works and Why We Can't Do Without It
Philip Ball

The Music of Teaching: Learning to Trust Students' Natural
Development
Barbara Kreader

The Savvy Musician: Building a Career, Earning a Living & Making a Difference
David Cutler

The Savvy Music Teacher: Blueprint for Maximizing Income and Impact
David Cutler


DVDs
DVD. 25 Knowing the Score, Malcolm Bilson
Interview with David Owen Norris on reading and interpreting the urtext editions of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev, Schubert, and Bartók. Early pianos are demonstrated and talked about and performances of Schubert's Moments Musicaux nos. 2 and 3, and Haydn's Fantasia in C are heard.

DVD. 27 Daniil Trifonov- The Magics of Music plus The Castelfranco Veneto Recital
One of the leading pianists of our time known for the astonishing range and depth of his musical sensibilities. Also a composer and improviser. Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, and Johann Strauss.

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

Alissa Cox, student of Maureen Flood, is the recipient of the 2017 $1000 College Scholarship Award. 

Congratulations to both Alissa and her teacher Maureen!!  Alissa will receive $500 sent to the college she will be attending and after the first semester with acceptable grades, she will receive the 2nd installment of $500 sent to her school.  

If you  have a high school student graduating in 2018 and majoring in music at a college or university, remember about the NWSMTA College Scholarship.  It has helped students in many ways and they and their parents have been very grateful for the award.

HOSPITALITY

A sympathy card was sent to Susan Ioriatti on the loss of her mom.

Also a card was sent to Beverly Taylor because she had been in the hospital.

The School of Performing Arts Welcomes 'Bow & Hammer' to Host Chamber Workshop

The School of Performing Arts in Naperville, Illinois and Violinist Kathryn Satoh and pianist Elizabeth Newkirk, better known to classical music fans as Bow & Hammer, will conduct a three-day Chamber Workshop, Aug. 1-3, 2017, at The School of Performing Arts in Naperville, Ill. Bow & Hammer have been attracting a lot of attention in Chicago for their pioneering efforts to make classical music more accessible, and it's pretty cool that young west suburban musicians are going to have this opportunity to learn, hands-on, from the talented duo this August.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Teaching a small child requires a highly active, creative mind.  You are part entertainer, part psychologist, part cheerleader and part magician.  Every successful lesson is like taming a wild animal.  But you also know you are another lesson closer to letting the music be the inspiration for future successes.  

One of the most empowering things for a child is to have a sense of control over the lesson or practice session.  The easiest way to do that is with choices, as opposed to, "What do you feel like playing?"  I first learned this when I worked with  my own children.  You don't ask the questions, "What do you want to wear?"  You ask, "Do you want to wear the blue one, or the red one?"

During a lesson, it can make a shy child open up, to make the decision of playing right hand or left hand first.  In a practice session with my grandson, I discovered allowing him to choose a piece to play allowed him to play something within his comfort level.  Once we did a few pieces of his choice, I was able to get him to play one of my choices, because children understand "taking  turns."  In fact, that works so well, they will repeat a phrase or measure they're struggling with up to five times, just by saying, "My turn," and "Your turn."  Since he was enjoying his practice sessions more and more, we continued with our practice plan, which we recorded on his lesson sheet.  If he played a song more than once, we marked it on his sheet.  I eventually had to limit the repetitions to five, because he figured out he could crank them out faster playing his favorite pieces.  Then he negotiated to get credit for repeating a phrase four times to equal an entire song.  My point is not our "system," but that he stays interested, because he has input in the practice session.  

Small children also enjoy counting.  I use large checkers, beads and small eraser figures for students to count.  They also love the element of chance.  Shaking a dice can determine the number of repetitions.  Doing the repetitions increases their confidence and will ensure more accurate practice in the upcoming week and future successes.  

Deborah  Lynch
Editor