Newsletter
November 10, 2021
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November General Meeting
Monday, Nov 16, 2021
9:45 AM
Meeting ID: 798 765 8928
Upcoming Events
(Note: There is no December Newsletter)

NOVEMBER
 
PROGRAM
Corene P. Hurt-Thaut, Ph.D., MT-BC
"Rhythm, Music, and the Brain"
Monday, November 15, 2021
Online Zoom  9:45 A.M. Meeting

Deadline: Gold Medal Recital Performance Videos
Sunday, November 21, 2021


DECEMBER

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2021
Deadline: AIM Levels 3-12 Theory Exams
Mail check by deadline


JANUARY

REPERTOIRE APPROVAL       
All repertoire that is not on the AIM Piano Syllabus Repertoire List must be approved by January 15, 2022.

Repertoire Approval Required for ALL Level 12 students (exams and recitals) by January 15, 2022.

Approval is required even if the repertoire is from the Syllabus listings.

Email requests to Illinois Repertoire Substitution Chair Stephanie Myers at hisamimyers@gmail.com

PROGRAM Eric Sutz
"How to Read and Play from a Lead Sheet"
Monday, January 17, 2022
Online Zoom  9:45 A.M. Meeting
A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Hello NWSMTA! Here’s the latest from ISMTA - I attended the virtual Advisory Council meeting, General meeting, and the President’s Luncheon on the Zoom platform at the State Conference. This was well-organized and very professionally presented. Attendance was good! 
 
ISMTA is a very strong organization; membership numbers are steady and increasing. Currently there are 735 members. They want everyone too be aware of the new MTNA business resources on the MTNA website. Also, ISMTA is building a new website to include more resources and provide a centralized location for all chapters in the state to share tips, ideas, and events.  There was much discussion about this! Also highlighted is the band/vocal competition in the spring for teachers of non-piano students. There are also 4 bylaws changes which were voted on and accepted. It may be necessary for NWSMTA to revisit our bylaws to see if we need to change anything to stay in line with ISMTA. 
 
ALSO, ISMTA is offering all MTNA members who are not already certified the opportunity to get their $200 certification fee reimbursed once they complete the certification process. This is for the first 20 who complete their certification. If you have questions about this please contact me, or our Certification chair Jennifer Cohen. 
 
I hope most of you registered ($25) for the virtual ISMTA conference! The featured clinician is E. L. Lancaster. And our very own Kathy Sbarboro had a session on group piano. The conference will be available online until November 13. I highly recommend you check it out! 
 
Brenda Haynes, MA, NCTM
President, NWSMTA
NOVEMBER PROGRAM
Corene P. Hurt-Thaut, Ph.D., MT-BC
"Rhythm, Music, and the Brain"
Dr. Hurt-Taut has been on the forefront of research and development in the field of Neurologic Music Therapy. She will explain the mechanisms behind how rhythm drives nonmusical brain and behavior functions, present current research to support it, and then show practical applications related to the clinic and teaching piano.
 
Corene P. Hurt-Thaut received her master’s in music therapy, and her PhD. with an interdisciplinary focus on music, neuroscience and statistical design, from Colorado State University. She has been the Program Director for The Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy since 1997, and is currently assistant professor and research associate at the University of Toronto, as well as an associate professor at the ArtEZ Conservatory in the Netherlands. She was a research associate at The Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University from 1997-2015, and the director of the international training programs of The Academy for Neurologic Music Therapy since 1999.  At Colorado State, she served as a special assistant professor of music therapy from 1997-2014, teaching classes in piano technique, music therapy methods and counseling for psychiatric populations, music therapy methods in neuro-rehabilitation, research in music therapy, advanced techniques in neurologic rehabilitation, and seminars in neurologic music therapy. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her clinical expertise in the evidence based practice of Neurologic Music Therapy, and has numerous research publications in the area of music and motor control as well as ten book chapters highlighting specific applications of neurologic music therapy to her credit. She has served on the exam committee and on the Board of Directors for the National Certification Board for Music Therapy (CBMT), and more recently on the Practice Analysis Committee (2015) and as a co-author of the Self-Assessment Exam (2016) .
NWSMTA BOARD POSITIONS
NWSMTA has two vacant board positions at this time - Recording Secretary and Publicity Chair. If you would like to know more about this opportunity to get involved, meet your colleagues, and share your expertise, please contact the President, Brenda Haynes, at 217-246-7958 or email her at Notes88MusicStudio@gmail.com"  Job descriptions are available!  
SEND ME YOUR TOPICS AND QUESTIONS for the JANUARY PROGRAM
Eric Sutz will be presenting “How to Read and Play from a Lead Sheet”
at our January 17 meeting. He was excited to learn that we provide the "All That Jazz" experience for our students, and wishes to provide as much information as we would like. Please let me know if you have specific topics that you would like him to cover and I will pass it along nancyd4461@gmail.com.

Nancy Dempsey
SONATA-SONATINA GOLD MEDAL RECITAL VIDEOS
Dear Teachers,

Please pass this information on to your students.

Congratulations to all who performed for the NWSMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festival. We would like to invite the Gold Medal Winners to create and submit a video link of their sonata or sonatina. If the student performed two movements at the festival, the judge will have indicated which movement was chosen for the Gold Medal Recital.

Please remember to bow before and after your performance. Introduce yourself and the name and composer of your piece. Let your friends and relatives know a recording of your performance will be available at NWSMTA.org.  
  
  • Videos must be stored on a website such as YouTube, Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, etc. and the sharing settings must be set to 'Anyone with the link can view'.
  • Deadline to submit video links is 11/21/21 to dlynch88@gmail.com
  • Please include the name of your teacher with your videolink submission when you email me.

Even if you did not participate in the festival, you are welcome to view a recital of this year's Gold Medal Winners performing pieces you also studied. The recital will be ready for viewing on November 22nd. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for participating,
Deborah Lynch
Gold Medal Recital
CAMP SCHOLARSHIP

NWSMTA has a camp scholarship for students of teachers who have been members of NWSMTA for at least 2 years. We have 2 divisions: junior division up to 8th grade, and senior division 9th through 12th grade. 1st place winners in each division will receive $300 and 2nd place winners in each division will receive $200. Complete rules and application form are on the website. If you need more info, please contact me.

Pat Borchardt 
847-356-6016
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
NWSMTA has a $1000 college scholarship available for graduating high school seniors of teachers who have been members for at least 2 years. This is a 1 time scholarship for the first year of college for students either minoring or majoring in music. The winner will receive $500 for the first semester sent to the college or university they will be attending and the 2nd installment of $500 will be sent to the school after showing acceptable grades for the 1st semester. Complete rules and application form are on the website. If more info is needed, please contact me.

Pat Borchardt
847-356-6016
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Dear NWSMTA members,

It was with joy that I registered my students for the Sonata-Sonatina Festival. I know they had been missing performing live for an audience. I worried that since they hadn’t performed publicly for a while, they might feel more apprehension. In preparation for their audition, I held three very small recitals of three or four students. Three additional students participated in the recital, although they would not be playing in the festival. I videoed each student’s performance. I sent a copy of the video along with my comments to each student. I have Covid to thank for the perfect recording setup. Years ago, I had a parent who used to have her children play their songs before the recital or competition at home. She would then pronounce it “living room ready”. They considered that the ultimate achievement. 

I noticed them working hard to learn their pieces. I saw them putting more effort into the small details that together make their music focused and expressive. My goal for each student was to help them understand the importance of knowing their songs from the inside out. I wanted them to find the heart of their piece and express it. Often at the lesson, I had to remind myself of that goal. I like to let the student make choices in how to “work” on a difficult spot or idea. When I asked, “Would you like to play that again and feel it one more time?” I had to bite my tongue, when the response was, “No, I think I have it now.” I felt our work was focused on making the important things shine, and being certain that everything else supported it. That included balance between melody and accompaniment, the different characters that needed to be portrayed and what it physically feels like to create the sound you want. It also included reminding the students that knowing what to do and getting it to happen takes many, many repetitions. And there were times I thought, “Today is not the day to tackle that wrinkle.” In the end, I noticed that the students understood it was not about them, but about the music. Their own comments about their playing were insightful. A student told me, “I tried to use a bit of strength on every note in the runs. I think it made it cleaner and more even.” I believe I had pushed that concept many times without much change. Suddenly, he got it.

Thank you to Michelle Ryder-Smith, Jerry Dolins, the Sonata Committee and all the volunteers that made this performance possible for our students. At some point, a chance to perform makes it all make sense. No one paints a painting to hang it in a closet. Be sure to check out the Gold Medal Performances that will be shared on the NWSMTA.org website.  They will be available November 22nd.

Deborah Lynch
Newsletter Editor