BAMTA Beat, Dec 2013

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

BAMTA President's Message:
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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