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MAR 2016 BAMTA BEAT

Newsletter

BAMTA_Beat_Mar_2016.pdf (502 downloads)

 

President’s Letter
March, 2016
 
I am excited to announce that Elizabeth Nelson has agreed to assume leadership as BAMTA President for the year 2016-17!  I am so pleased to be handing over Presidential duties into her capable hands, and am confident we will all enjoy working with her!  Please give her a hearty THANK YOU at our March 16th General Meeting!
 
Last month’s program was a great success, and I know all of us left with more compassion and patience for our more challenging students after Mimi Ward’s presentation, The Value of Music Study for Written and Spoken Language.

Come to the March program for a humorous and informative presentation this month by one of our own, Carol Wickham-Revier, on some of the good and not-so-good ideas she has tried in her years of teaching.  (See below.)
 
Happy Spring to All,
 
Emily Miller
BAMTA President
 
 
BAMTA Program for March 
Carol Wickham-Revier will present our March program. I can’t wait to hear this! Here is Carol’s bio:
Carol entered the University of Colorado College of Music in 1967 on a Regents Scholarship, graduated with degrees in piano performance and piano pedagogy in 1971 and 1976 respectively, and received her Nationally Certified Teacher of Music certification in 1972.  In the 1970’s, she worked for a small publishing company in Boulder, Myklas Press, owned and operated by Mary Elizabeth Clark, former CSMTA president, and helped to found BAMTA’s first Achievement Day in the early ‘70’s which later became a state-wide event.  She has served in every board position except secretary for BAMTA, has chaired or co-chaired most of its major events more than once (Ach. Day 4 times, MPF 9 times, Spring Recitals, a 3-day “Baroque Festival” back in the ‘70’s)  and also filled the position of Vice President for Teacher Enrichment at the state level sometime in the 1980’s.  In the late ‘70’s through the early ‘90’s, she was a member of a four-hand piano team which frequently performed recitals of duet and solo piano music throughout Colorado, and in 1984, while working as marketing director of Chris Finger Pianos in Niwot, conceived of and co-chaired, together with former student, now colleague, Laura Williams Boniek, BAMTA’s first Multiple Piano Festival, an event which will be entering its 31st year this coming November.
Trained as a classical pianist, Carol enlarged her horizons by becoming a certified Kindermusik instructor in 1990 and taught Kindermusik classes as well as piano lessons in her independent piano studio from approx. 1993-2005. She experimented with a modified form of group teaching by seeing most of her school-age piano students in pairs from around 1980-2005, largely because of her exposure during graduate school to group teaching guru Guy Duckworth.  She also studied jazz piano with Ted Alexander for 1 year, Keith MacDonald for one summer and, most recently, with Rebecca Martin from approx. 2005-2010.
Carol has attended at least 12 national and 26 state music teachers’ conferences in her 43 years of teaching, and is recently nearing completion of one of the biggest projects of her career, that of reading and evaluating, with the help of MANY of her students, former students, colleagues and friends, roughly 2000 piano duets, duos, trios and quartets, then selecting and “leveling” the approx. 600-700 which will be included in the 2016-2020 edition of the National Federation of Music Clubs bulletin.  She was named Teacher of the Year by the Colorado State Music Teachers’ Association in 2014.  Her presentation is entitled “Forty-ish Years of My Best and Worst Ideas in Teaching.
 
BAMTA Achievement Day  
Registration Deadline is Saturday, April 9, 2016.    
Achievement Day Teachers Packet is available online at www.bamta.org.
Thank you!
Susan Rudosky
 
OUTSTANDING HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR AWARD 

Submit your letter of recommendation and your student’s resume to Richard Capp by April 20, 2016 (revised date).  Send by email (capprj@gmail.com), regular mail (3350 Loyola Ct., Boulder, 80305), or bring to the April 20 BAMTA meeting.

 

Creations Concert

The Creations Concert 2016 was a great success with original compositions of 50 students (ages 5-adult) being arranged and played by high profile jazz musicians, Sphere Ensemble (13 piece strings), Victor Mestas, piano and Sandra Wong, nykelharpa/violin at the Broomfield Auditorium on January 31st.  Some songs were 4 measures long, others about 3 minutes long.   In preparation for next years Concert (always the last Sunday in January) please notify students of the date, January 29, 2016 and the concert fee of 150$, which can be waived.  Good news about the concert fee…… with the family’s participation in the SCRIP and/or King Sooper fund raising programs many families do not pay anything for the concert fee.  By using the SCRIP program and/or the King Sooper cards (5% rebates) for weekly shopping throughout the year, this concert is doable for ALL families.  Even if Grandmas and Grandpas/relatives/friends use the cards for their shopping it can be applied to any specific student’s concert fee.  Thus ALL students can participate without regard for having to “pay” an outright concert fee, IF they purchase at least $450 worth of groceries from King Sooper, per month for 12 months, using the reloadable gift card. In addition, using the SCRIP gift card program another 500 stores give the Creations Concert a percentage of their sales, some stores like Macys, give as much as 10%.   Remember to plan ahead and encourage ALL students to improvise and compose, giving the world a chance to hear the beautiful music inside of them.  Please contact Maria Jyllian Hart for enrollment in the gift card programs and for details about the submission deadlines, etc.  720-838-8685 or higherground1234@gmail.com

FEB 2016 BAMTA BEAT

Newsletter

BAMTA_Beat_Feb_2016.pdf (520 downloads)

 

President’s Letter
Dear BAMTA members,

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day!  January’s program, featuring David Foreman’s From Piano Performance Major to Video Game Music Composer was a very interesting and refreshing revelation of one of the fulfilling, exciting (and even lucrative!) directions music study could lead to.  We were all of us heartened to know that his original music training (in this case with Rebecca Martin) enabled him to follow his dreams and provided a solid foundation for his career in music composing, and that he has found an outlet where his skills as a musician are genuinely needed.

In contrast, but no less valuable, is the fact that studying music enables young minds to develop more fully in other areas of learning.  This month’s program on Wednesday, February 17th will feature learning specialist Mimi Ward on The Value of Music Study for Written and Spoken Language.  (Our schedule has been changed so that Carol Wickham-Revier will present her program in March instead of this month).   Mimi’s previous workshops have been an inspiration to all of us, and I hope you will make an effort to come to her presentation scheduled at 10:00 am. (See below). The General Meeting at 9:00 am, as always, is open to fresh faces and new input, so please consider getting involved!

Lastly, the Pass-Along website will soon be a part of our organization’s communication network (thank you, Brenna Berman, for putting this together!), and I hope everyone, including myself, will get comfortable using it!

Best,
Emily Miller
BAMTA President

BAMTA Presentation:
The Value of Music Study for Written and Spoken Language
Mimi Ward, MA CALP, is a Certified Academic Language Practitioner who specializes in working with students who struggle with dyslexia. A mother of three children who all study music, she has personally seen the benefits of music education on reading and writing skills. She is excited to share new research coming from Harvard supporting the value of music education for all children but especially those who struggle with written language.
Mimi has spoken to BAMTA twice before and we always love her presentations!

Scholarship Committee 
Volunteers needed to serve on the 2016 scholarship committee. The time commitment is 2 – 3 hours in June. Please let Mitzi Babb know (mitzi@thebabbs.com) if you are interested.

CSMTA Announcement
CSMTA is pleased to announce to the membership that Sheila Hamaker has been selected as the 2017 MTNA Fellow Nomination.   She is a dedicated piano teacher who has been very active in CSMTA in local associations and the state board since 2000.  Learn more about Sheila by going to our website to see an article posted there, and look for an article about Sheila in the April News & Notes.

Since there is no longer a silent auction at the CSMTA conference, they are soliciting local association and individual member support, asking you to send a check made out to MTNA Foundation Fund and put “Sheila Hamaker” in the “For” column.  Mail the check to:  MTNA National Headquarters, 1 W. 4th Street, Suite 1550, Cincinnati, OH 45202.  …or… go online to the MTNA Foundation site at https://www.mtnafoundation.org/contribute/donation-form/  and indicate that it is for “Fellow – Sheila Hamaker”
Felicity Muench and Kevin Garry have released a new CD –  “Amoroso Guitar Duo – Romantic Music from South America”.  The album features works by Piazzolla, Jobim, Montes, Pujol and Timoteo. Their brilliant ensemble work delivers lush 19th -century harmonies, Latinate rhythms and charmed melodies evoking both the fire of romantic passion and the tenderness of deep emotion.  The album is available at http://www.felicityguitar.com/ or http://www.cdbaby.com/

BAMTA Beat, January 2014

Newsletter

view the January 2014 BAMTA Beat at mailchimp.org

BAMTA President’s Message:

Happy New Year!  I hope the holidays were fabulous for each and every one of you!
Thanks to all who attended the brunch on December 18.  The most important thing to come out of our gathering, for me, was a statement by one of our male members (wanna guess who?) who said something like “can’t we just do this every month instead of those meetings?”  Well, while I wouldn’t feel OK about foregoing opportunities for learning, I DO believe we need to also HAVE MORE FUN.  So, to start the year off right, please attend a wine and hors d’oeuvres MPF discussion on Friday, Jan. 17 from 7:00 p.m. till whenever at the home of Rebecca Martin, 2525 Otter Court, Lafayette, 80026.  The other event of the evening will be learning the cup dance in preparation for our upcoming “Cup Dance Flash Mob” sometime this spring. (Yes, really!)
I ‘m excited to announce that I WILL be attending the MTNA 2014 National Conference in Chicago during Spring Break.  If you or anybody you know is looking for a roommate, please let me know!
Lois Abbuhl  has graciously agreed to produce the addendum to our BAMTA Yearbook 2013-2014.  Please know that we are doing everything we can think of to get ALL your information included and/or corrected, BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP.  If any part of the information about you was incomplete or incorrect in the BAMTA Yearbook 2013-14 (yellow), email Lois at loisabbuhl@gmail.com by Friday, Jan. 17 EVEN IF YOU’VE ALREADY TOLD SOMEONE ONCE.  We will then email a copy of the addendum to the membership for you to proof before the final copy is printed.  Thanks in advance for your help with this.
Please be sure to take a look at the information Shana Kirk sent to those of you whose students may be preparing college audition videos.
And finally, may 2014 bring you joy, happiness, and success beyond your wildest imaginings! Hope to see you on January 15 AND 17!
Carol Wickham-Revier, NCTM,
BAMTA President
Happy New Year from the Disklavier Education Network! 
The Disklavier Education Network (DEN) audition program makes it possible for college applicants to audition for multiple schools by recording their audition program just one time, on a Disklavier reproducing piano with synchronized video. This is a program I have personally advocated and worked on for a very long time and it’s really excited to get to roll it out nationwide! I am  especially pleased to let you know that Onofrio Piano in Denver is a participating recording site in Colorado! Here’s how it works: 
Recordings are made available to participating institutions, where they will be viewed on a large screen while each institution’s Disklavier PRO piano simultaneously reproduces the performance–as though the student was in the room.
While audio and video recordings have been accepted by many institutions for several years, faculty members have frequently commented on the inconsistent video and audio quality of the recordings, especially when the piano is out of tune!  Schools with Disklavier technology have often requested that students should be able to submit auditions by recording on a Disklavier as a preferred alternative.
Now, with organizations like the International Piano E-Competition having used Disklavier’s video-sync technology for over 10 years, we have independent confirmation that our recording procedure and the high-resolution playback of a Disklavier PRO will produce superior quality video-synchronized auditions. The limited number of audition sites and receiving institutions have been carefully chosen because they met stringent quality standards with respect to having large, well-maintained Disklavier pianos for this program.
Please note that Disklavier Video-Sync files include Disklavier data rather than audio. The result is a superior playback experience for the audition committee that is virtually as good as having the student perform in-person on the school’s piano.
Students who wish to create a traditional video recording with audio (that can be submitted to schools that do not yet have a Disklavier PRO for playback) are welcome to bring their own video camera in order to make a simultaneous recording, thus taking advantage of a premium in-tune piano in an optimal recording setting for auditions.
You can view a brief, 6-minute video that shows the recording and playback process on the DEN website:
This link also contains information for the student as well as information for the teacher who is preparing the student for admission or scholarship auditions.
You can see a list of the participating schools as well as a map of the audition recording sites on this page:
Students and teachers with questions are welcome to contact us directly, send an email to DEN@yamaha.com, or contact any of the recording sites directly to make an appointment.
Regards,
Shana
Shana Kirk
Music Technology Solutions
Disklavier/Clavinova Consultant
Yamaha Corporation of America
Participating Schools
Brigham Young University
Casper College
Cleveland State University
Fullerton College
Indianapolis University-Perdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Stephen F. Austin State University
The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
The University of Kansas
The University of Tampa
University of Central Florida
University of Georgia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wayne State College
West Virginia Wesleyan
January 15th PROGRAM:  “Introducing Blues and Improvisation”  by Adam Revell

Adam Revell was trained classically from the age of 4, and competed and performed all throughout childhood. He has a bachelor of music degree in Piano Performance and a masters degree in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy from CU Boulder, where he studied with Doris Lehnert, Robert Spillman, John “Chip” Stephens and Pat Bianchi.  Currently Revell works as a private piano instructor and regularly performs in the Denver/Boulder area.
RESERVE A TIME FOR YOUR RECITAL
Kate Smailer will begin taking requests for “recitals”
on Monday, January 20th, starting 9 AM.  You can
make a request via e-mail:  ktsmailer@gmail.com
OR by phone:  303-530-4760    The fee is $45 for a 
3 hour block of time (set-up, recital, clean-up).
This is a wonderful opportunity for our students.
ALL STATE JAZZ BAND WINNER

Chelsea Lovato, student of Rebecca Martin was chosen winner of All State Jazz Band, small school division. Chelsea is a Senior at Erie High School. She will be performing with the All State Jazz Band at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs on Jan. 25. 
CALLING for REFRESHMENTS
BAMTA Coffee Klatch Contributors
(formerly known as “refreshment volunteers”)
Who are we kidding?  One of the strong benefits of our meetings is the fellowship we receive by coming together and taking a few moments to acknowledge and catch up on a personal and professional level.  We also have an obligation and commitment to support our new members by getting to know them.
This is an important cohesive element to our group and what greater way to achieve this than to set aside a few moments to linger and greet around the “refreshment table?”
Please show your support of this valuable element of our meetings by offering to contribute to one of the following:
1)   Bring coffee & juice and set up before the meeting
2)   Bring tea cake & fruit and take down after the meeting.
You may email me Nancy Sundal, at  fifthavestudio@mac.com if you would like to contribute.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE ON Wednesday,
 JANUARY 15th, 2014.

Thank you so much.   Nancy Sundal
Looking for a New BAMTA NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Enjoy taking on the role of Newsletter Editor
for BAMTA.  Doo e-mail Carol Boyd at:
carol4harmony@aol.com   with questions
or letting her know you’re interested in taking
on this interesting role.

BAMTA Beat, Dec 2013

Newsletter

View newsletter on our MailChimp server.

 

President's message, Achievement Day, CSMTA's Rising Stars Festival, Recital Bookings at Harvest Church, Pop Pianist Jim Brickman

BAMTA President's Message:
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear BAMTA teachers,

In an article entitled The Privilege of Collaboration, published in our newest edition of American Music Teacher magazine, Jon Nakamatsu, 1997 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist says,
* “The piano is the most independent of all the instruments.  You can play by yourself forever and net even scratch the surface of the existing repertoire.  And that’s, I think, also a problem, that leads to people basically locking themselves in a practice room learning sonatas and concertos and never really understanding what it is to play with other people.  And music is so social – I think it’s integral. My teacher, fortunately, felt this way and had me start playing with others when I was quite young.  And even if it was just playing with a fellow student or reading through things at the start, you already got a sense of what it was like to depend on somebody else, or to understand what was going on in a part that wasn’t your own, and that develops all types of skills, including listening and higher reasoning, the understanding of dynamics in a group.  I was lucky…”

Wow!  Could there be any clearer justification for the countless hours we all just spent over these last few months preparing and participating in our 28^th year of Multiple Piano Festival.  THANKS TONS, once again, to this year’s incredible leaders, Talise Chandler and Karen Ziegler.  I feel so privileged to be part of a group who puts such a high priority on developing students through COLLABORATION!

Please come to the brunch at 9:00 a.m. on December 18 (Paneras, 425 Ken Pratt Blvd. in Longmont) to help us congratulate Karen & Talise, and celebrate ourselves and all the wonderful things we do to motivate our students.

Just a few additional things:
1. Huge thanks to Lois Abbuhl for all the work she spent putting together this year’s BAMTA Yearbook.  And HUGE apologies from the rest of us for failing to realize all the checkpoints we needed to have in place to avoid errors.  We intend to publish an addendum after the first of the year which will be emailed to each of you to proof before we go to press.  Please do your part by checking it over and responding in a timely manner.
2. I’m asking our newsletter editor, Carol Boyd, to send you information about a very interesting performance opportunity for just the right student which I received last week from Shana Kirk.  Be sure to take a look at it.
3. I’m also attaching a flyer sent to me by Judy Johnson of the Loveland Area Music Teachers about an upcoming educational event they’re involved in.
4. If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to check out BAMTA’s new and GREATLY improved website at bamta.org.  If you have suggestions, problems or questions of any kind, immediately contact our webmaster Edmond Johnsen. He can fix anything! Karen Ziegler and Rebecca Martin will be designing a new home page as soon as the smoke clears from the holidays!
5. HAVE A SIMPLY STUNNING HOLIDAY SEASON AND THE HAPPIEST 2014 YOU CAN EVEN IMAGINE!!!

Carol Wickham-Revier, NCTM,
BAMTA President
Achievement Day
Our annual Achievement Day will be held on May 10th, Saturday, 2014 at CU Boulder. The registration deadline is April 12th, Saturday. The registration fees are the same as last year. The complete information for teachers will be available in January.
Harumi Tabler, NCTM, BAMTA Achievement Day 2014 chair
CSMTA's Rising Stars Festival

The Rising Stars Festival will be held on April 26th~27th, 2014 at Regis University in Denver. This festival is a state level performance event that has two tracks: competitive and non-competitive, and is open to students ages 6~19 (precollege) in all instruments. For the complete rules, please read CSMTA's Student Activities Handbook. The registration deadline is March 26th.
Harumi Tabler, NCTM, CSMTA Rising Stars Festival 2014 chair
Recital Bookings at Harvest Church

Kate Smailer will begin taking requests for recitals on Monday, January 20
starting at 9 a.m.  You can make requests via email: ktsmailer@gmail.com (mailto:ktsmailer@gmail.com)
or phone:  303-530-4760.
The fee is $45 for a 3 hour block of time.
A wonderful opportunity for our students.

Mikado_for_Kids2_Flyer.pdf (http://bamta.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Mikado_for_Kids2_Flyer_complete.pdf)

Thank you,
Judy Johnson -  LAMTA

Pop pianist and Yamaha artist Jim Brickman will be giving a concert at the Paramount in Denver on December 28. Earlier that day, at 2pm, he will give a "masterclass" at Onofrio Music on South Broadway. He would like to work with one or two students--even better if someone is playing Brickman's own music. I don't anticipate that this will be a masterclass in the traditional sense, but rather a quick session, followed by a talkback / lecture performance on songwriting and being a pop artist. I have attached the official announcement below.
Brickman does, in fact, have a classical background (a degree from Cleveland Institute of Music, in fact), so he is uniquely able to work with traditional pianists looking to branch out into more of a commercial presence. At the last such event in Wisconsin, he spent quite a bit of time emphasizing the importance of understanding theory, as well as the creative process for successful songwriting and crafting a unique sound. He can work with students of any age, but I think this might be a really good opportunity for some of your older students--maybe even adults-- who may be enthusiastic players, but who don't typically participate in competitive classical events.
Because of the high profile of this artist and the likelihood that there may be media / video present, I need to identify participants within the next couple of weeks, as well as conduct a short video or in-person screening. Please remember that this is a great opportunity for students who are comfortable at the keyboard and enjoy playing for an audience, but they certainly don't have to be elite classical players.
The workshop is free, but RSVP is appreciated -- check Onofrio's Facebook page for the official event listing. If you or any of your students are Brickman fans, this is a great opportunity to get to see him in a small setting and talk in person!
Also, here is the Paramount concert info--please note the limited time discount coupon. Please feel free to share this coupon as much as you like!

http://www.theparamount.net/2012/jim-brickman/

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Shana Kirk