March 2012 - Connecticut State Music Teachers Association

CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
CSMTA
SPRING
NEWSLETTER
Promoting Music Study in
Connecticut
CSMTA is launching a series of Public Service
Announcements on local radio stations to promote music
study. The PSAs cost us nothing to ‘air’ and are being
produced by CSMTA members who donated their time and
technology to the organization. You might hear something
like this on your local station:
Make music a part of your childʼs life. Children who take lessons
on a musical instrument develop stronger organizational skills
and reasoning skills. Research shows that musicians perform
better in math, reading, vocabulary and memory skills. Music
students learn to focus their attention for long periods of time. They learn how to decipher patterns. Plus, they have a LOT OF
FUN along the way! The intrinsic joy that comes from musicmaking is worth the effort of practicing! I donʼt know about you,
but I am enrolling my child in music lessons! This message is
brought to you by the professional teachers of the Connecticut
State Music Teachers Association, an affiliate of the Music
Teachers National Association, representing independent and
collegiate music teachers nationwide.
CONCERTO COMPETITION
The CSMTA Concerto Competition has been rescheduled
to June 9, 2012. It will be held at Hartt School of Music. Info
can be found on our website: www.csmta.org
!
State News
CSMTA begins a new “chapter” in
2012 by sponsoring a series of
quarterly workshops throughout
Connecticut. These workshops will be
free & open to the public. Please
bring your friends!
Our first event will be on April 24
& 26 and will feature your CSMTA
Vice-President, Tienni Chen, and
CSMTA Co-Pres, Kathleen Theisen,
playing and talking about the new
repertoire available for piano duet,
duo piano and other piano ensembles.
See page 2 for more info!
If you cannot attend, we will be
broadcasting both workshops LIVE
on the Internet. Look at the CSMTA
website before each event for more
information & for links to view this
event.
If you have a suggestion for a
future workshop, please email the
CSMTA state board members at:
connecticutmusicteachers@gmail.com
PAGE 1
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
New (& Old) Music for
Piano Duet, Duo Piano
and other piano ensembles!
The first in a series of quarterly workshops held throughout Connecticut
sponsored by the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association
CSMTA members Tienni Chen and Kathleen
Tuesday, April 24! 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Theisen will present a workshop of new (& old)
Steinway Piano Gallery of Westport
music for piano duet, duo piano and other piano
ensembles. This workshop will inspire you to add
ensembles to your piano lessons & recitals.
501 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880
Sponsored by: CSMTA & Steinway Piano
Gallery
Several major publishers have sent us their new
releases. We will be giving away the music at the
end of each workshop! Refreshments will be
Thursday, April 26!! 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
provided by each piano store.
Faust Harrison Piano Showroom
FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Non-
214 Central Ave., White Plains, NY 10606
members are welcome. Please bring a friend!
Sponsored by: CSMTA, NY State Music Teachers
Association & Faust Harrison Piano Gallery
RSVP:! connecticutmusicteachers@gmail.com
Both events will be live-streamed over the ‘net:
http://ustre.am/I7M9
CAN’T ATTEND THE WORKSHOPS?
WE WILL BRING THEM TO YOU!
If you cannot attend the workshops, we will bring them to you! Both workshops will be livestreamed on the Internet. Here is the link to our ‘channel’ on UStream: http://ustre.am/I7M9
Details & links are also posted on the CSMTA website. Tune in to hear some new (and ‘tried and
true’) music!
!
PAGE 2
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
MEMBER NEWS
Connecticut Composers, Inc. will present a concert at 4:00 on April 15 at the Wilton Library.
Included in the program is a piano trio by Eugenie Rocherolle: CENTURY MUSIC- Piano Trio No. 3,
which will be performed by Nicola Gruen, violin, Melissa Westgate, cello and Kathleen Theisen,
piano. The work was commissioned by Chamber Music Central of Westport. The trio was published in
2011 by Kjos Music Company. The concert is free, but reservations are recommended. Call
203-762-3950 or go to: http://www.libraryinsight.com/eventSignUpW.asp?jx=si&lmx=387634&bpx=&rea=
to reserve your seat.
Eugenie’s latest commission is from the Greater Middletown Chorale, the premiere date TBA.
CSMTA & FRIENDS HONOR
EUGENIE ROCHEROLLE
WITH FOUNDATION FELLOW AWARD
Monday, March 26 @ 6:00 PM
CSMTA member Eugenie
Rocherolle will receive the
MTNA Foundation Fellow Award
on Monday, March 26 at the
MTNA National Conference in
New York City. The Foundation
Fellow award offers a meaningful
method for honoring deserving
individuals while supporting the
efforts of the MTNA Foundation
Fund through a donation to the
Foundation Fund in an individual’s
name. Many thanks to the members
and friends who contributed to this
award.
The Award will be bestowed
upon Mrs. Rocherolle at the
MTNA Foundation Fund Gala at
the MTNA Conference. Fellows
receive a complimentary ticket to
!
the Gala, an attractive MTNA
Fellow certificate and pin. Fellows
are prominently recognized on the
Foundation Fund website and their
names will appear on a plaque
located at the MTNA National
Headquarters. If you would like to
attend the Gala to help Eugenie
celebrate, please purchase your
tickets here:
https://members.mtna.org/
conference2012/index.html
"
Tickets are $100 per person
for the gala, which begins at 6:00
PM. If you would like to sit at the
‘Connecticut’ table, please email us
to add your name to the list:
connecticutmusicteachers@
gmail.com
PAGE 3
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
MEMBER NEWS
Alex Beyer, student of Yoshie Akimoto, has
been named a finalist of the Gina Bachauer Junior
International Competition which will be held in
in Salt Lake City in June. Alex was one of the four
musicians (in the nation) nominated for a
Presidential Scholarship by the Young Arts
Organization. Alex also won first prize in the
Stamford Symphony Scholarship Competition last
month. Recent appearances include a recital at
Juilliard’s Paul Hall, in which he played the entire
book of Rachmaninoff Etude Tableaux, Op. 33 and
the Chopin Sonata No. 3. He will be playing the
Grieg Concerto in March to a sold-out audience
with the Charlotte Symphony and Rachmaninoff 's
Seth Blumer, age 12, student of Svitlana Fiorito, recently presented a solo recital at
the Dallas Convention Center. It was very successful and he got an engagement to
perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 1 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in
September. Seth is going to perform at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln
Center as a winner of Concert Festival on March 24th.
Jackie Xu, age 15, also a student of Svitlana Fiorito, is
performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No 24 on Saturday,
March 10th with the Island
Chamber Symphony Orchestra,
Long Island under conductor
Jeremy Kempton. At le": Chelsea Guo.
At right: Seth Blumer.
At far right: Jackie Xu.
Svitlana Fiorito's piano student, Chelsea Guo, is one of the finalists for the
Gina Bachauer Junior International Competition. She is also one of the
youngest contestants! She will be giving a solo recital on May 26.
Here is a link to a recent performance: http://www.youtube.com/user/
lialmusic?feature=mhee#p/u/20/CAlVsNFuYnY
!
PAGE 4
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
MEMBER NEWS
Above: Jennifer Snow, of The
Achievement Program, presents
Angus Li with his award.
Angus Li, an eighth-grade student at Schaghticoke Middle School in
New Milford, and student of Felicia Feng Zhang, NCTM, is the
recipient of the 2011 Tri-State Certificate of Excellence Award for
Level 8 Piano in Connecticut. This prestigious award is given annually
by the Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory Achievement Program to
students who have achieved the highest marks in practical assessments
and who have completed the theory requirements for their level. The
Recital and Awards Ceremony was held at Carnegie Hall in New York
City on Saturday, January 14, 2012. At the event, Angus played the 3rd
movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata (Op. 27, No. 2). This is
the third time Angus has performed at Carnegie Hall. He has been
taking piano lessons with Ms. Zhang in Southbury since age 6, and he
has won numerous national and regional piano awards. Angus also
plays clarinet in the school band. He has also been selected through
competitive audition to perform as a clarinetist at the Northern
Regional Middle School Music Festival in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Anysia Lee, a student of Sima Brodsky, won First
Place in the Windham Regional Arts Council
Competition, Junior Division. She was also the
recipient of the Patricia Bellingham Special Prize.
at right: Anysia Lee and her teacher, Sima Brodsky
Gloria Huffman has moved her piano/voice studio to the Glenbrook neighborhood of
Stamford. Her phone/email are the same as in your printed directory and the online directory!
!
PAGE 5
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
MEMBER NEWS
CSMTA member Dr. Russell Hirshfield presents a piano recital in Ives Concert Hall,
White Hall, on the campus of Western Connecticut State University on Monday, March 5,
2012 at 12:00 NOON. The program includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Alexander
Scriabin, Piet Swerts and Frederic Chopin. Hirshfield, Professor of Music at Western, has
performed throughout the United States and in Brazil, South Africa, Costa Rica,
China and Belgium. The program is free and open to the public. For more
information please contact the music office at 203 837-8350. http://wcsu.edu/music/
WCSU MIDTOWN CAMPUS: 181 White Street, DANBURY CT 06810
IVES CONCERT HALL is inside WHITE HALL and is located at the corner of
White St and 5th. Parking is available at meters along 5th. There is also limited
visitor parking near OLD MAIN and UNIVERSITY HALL (on White Street).
Kathleen Theisen NCTM is
giving a presentation at the
MTNA National Conference on
Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 2:15
PM. The session, “Studio
Entrepreneurship: !New ideas for
succeeding financia#y in the music
business while doing what you love!”
is a sequel to her presentation at
the 2010 national conference in
Albuquerque. In 2011, Theisen
co-founded
PianoTeacherSchool.com, and
online training resource for
independent music teachers, offering online classes
in business and technology.
!
Theisen is also presenting two workshops at the
Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA)
in-service conference on Friday, April 13, 2012, at the
Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. At 1:15
PM, she will present a workshop on music
technology called, “Tips, Tricks, Tools and So$ware to
simplify your life, electrify your classroom and motivate
your students!” At 3:15 PM, she will present a second
workshop about creating cutting-edge curriculum
and combining that with traditional piano pedagogy
for group piano in the K-12 classroom, “Group Piano
in the General Music Classroom: What If...?” For more
info: http://www.cmea.org/in-service-conference.
The events are co-sponsored by TI:ME (Technology
In Music Education) and CMEA, which is affiliated
with the National Association for Music Education
(formerly called MENC).
PAGE 6
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
CONNECTICUT PERFORMERS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL MTNA COMPETITIONS
Congratulations to the Connecticut performers who
competed in the MTNA Eastern Division Competitions
this weekend in West Chester, PA. It was an amazing
day of music-making on Saturday! The Eastern
Division Winners will advance to the National
Competition in NY City at the MTNA Conference in
March.
Annling Wang, Piano - WINNER, Eastern Division
Junior Piano Competition. Svitlana Fiorito, teacher.
INEO SAXOPHONE QUARTET - WINNER, Eastern
Division Chamber Music Competition. Carrie
Koffman, Coach. Hartt School.
Lillian Lee, Violin - ALTERNATE, Eastern Division
High School String Competition. Annie Trepanier,
Teacher. Fabio Witkowski, accompanist.
Above: Annling Wang was
the winner of the Eastern
Division Piano Competition
Other musicians from CT who competed at Division:
COMPOSITION: SENIOR LEVEL: Felix Jarrar
Teacher: Burton Hatheway
PIANO: SENIOR LEVEL: Ming Wilson
Teacher: Thomas Martin
PIANO: YOUNG ARTIST LEVEL: Fonyue Donn
Teacher: Paul Rutman
WOODWIND: YOUNG ARTIST LEVEL: Anthony
Speranza, Saxophone
Teacher: Carrie Koffman
Best wishes to all teachers and students who entered
the competitions this year. We are sending good
thoughts for our Connecticut students who will
compete in NYC!
Le$: Anthony Speranza competed in the Young
Artist Woodwind competition. Above: The Ineo
Saxophone Quartet won the Eastern Division
Chamber Music Competition.
CONNECTICUT WINNERS FEATURED IN CONCERT
CSMTA decided to offer the opportunity of a Connecticut recital to the national finaliasts before they
head off to the competition. Annling Wang has agreed to perform before she goes to the national
competition. Take advantage of this great opportunity to hear this tremendous young performer right in
your own backyard! DATE: TBA(soon!). Please check your EMAIL and the CSMTA website for details.
!
PAGE 7
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
Photos from the CSMTA State Conference
Fall 2012
!
PAGE 8
CONNECTICUT STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, INC.!
WWW.CSMTA.ORG
MARCH 2012
CSMTA Calendar
March 24-28
MTNA National Conference
Belmonte Trio In Concert
Friday, May 4, 2012
Hartford Chapter member Andrew King
presents the Belmonte Trio in concert on
Friday, May 4, 7 pm, at Saint James
Church, 3 Mountain Rd, Farmington, CT.
The Belmonte Trio consists of three
prominent Philadelphia-based musicians:
violinist Jennifer K. Lee, cellist Glenn
Fischbach, and pianist Robert Durso. Robert Durso mentors Andrew King in
the Taubman Approach. Information
about the Taubman Approach may be
found on the Golandsky Institute website:
www.golandskyinstitute.org. The
performance will include music by
Mendelssohn and Ravel and tickets are
$10, $5 for seniors or students. For more
information, please contact Andrew King
at andrewking228@gmail.com. New York City
www.mtna.org
March 17
ALL DAY
Hartford Chapter MAP
March 31
ALL DAY
Middlesex-New London Chapter MAP
April 6
ALL DAY
Registration Deadline for May 19 MAP
May 19
ALL DAY
New Haven Chapter MAP
May 21
12:00-1:00PM on Skype
CSMTA State Board Meeting
April 24
CSMTA Quarterly Workshop:
New (&Old) Music for Piano Duet, Duo piano and other ensembles
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Steinway Piano Gallery of Westport
(streamed LIVE on the internet:
http://ustre.am/I7M9)
April 26
CSMTA Quarterly Workshop:
New (&Old) Music for Piano Duet, Duo piano and other ensembles
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Faust Harrison Pianos, White Plains, NY
(streamed LIVE on the internet:
http://ustre.am/I7M9)
co-sponsored by NY State MTA
June 9 2012
Afternoon
CSMTA Concerto Competition
Hartt School of Music
!
PAGE 9