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FOR THE RECORD - MARCH
2008/Issue 17
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FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK...Nanette
Solomon, President
In this exciting primary
election season, one can't escape the flood of
rhetoric
pouring from the media regarding the future
course of our nation. So, for this
newsletter, as I fill you in on some future
directions for our own organization,
please forgive me for adopting some of the
themes and buzzwords of the
current campaigns.
A leitmotif running through the
political spectrum is, of course, the emphasis
on
CHANGE. So, albeit not as earth shattering as a
change in our nation's military
or fiscal policies, let me first of all, inform
you of an important change in the date
and venue of our annual state conference. Due to
some logistical problems with
lodging and campus facilities at Slippery Rock
University (we couldn't count on
the new Fairfield Inn opening in time; my
preferred dining hall is being renovated
next fall), conference chair Gilya Hodos and I
decided to move the conference
site to Mansfield University. The new dates are
our usual weekend- November
7-9, 2008. Nancy Boston has graciously agreed to
serve as local coordinator,
and Gilya is already planning for some fabulous
performances and clinicians
(see her report in this issue). Please mark your
calendars and plan to attend. In
addition to convening for our competitions, DSPF,
and workshops, we can share
post-mortem thoughts on the presidential
election!
I would also like to announce a few CHANGES in
board personnel. Our new
Junior
Competitions Chair is Ben Moritz, a faculty
member at Mansfield
University, and our new Independent Music
Teachers Forum Chair is Rosemary
Murdy-Haber. Rosemary recently retired from a
long career teaching in the
public schools, and we welcome the years of
experience and expertise she will
bring to us.
Another phenomenon during this
season has been the influx of enthusiastic
young people seeking to be heard. Students and
other youth have been
participating in caucuses and primaries in
record numbers. So in our own
microcosm, let me remind you of the electronic
vote taking place right now to
change our bylaws to allow college student
members full rights and
responsibilities of membership. What better way
to insure the future of our
organization than to enfranchise and empower our
young members. The voting
period extends to April 1. Casting your ballot
on line is extremely easy; just go to
the website, sign in, and click a button! While
you won't get a sticker that says "I
voted", you will get to see how many people have
voted (only 59 as of a few
days ago) as well as the percentages of the Yes
and No votes!
And speaking of enthusiastic
young people, I recently had the privilege of
attending the Eastern Division conference held
at Penn State University where I
heard some phenomenal performances in the
Division Winner's Recital.
Pennsylvania can be proud of the many
distinctions achieved there. Sarah
Shafer (student of Joan Patenaude-Yarnell) won
the Young Artist voice
competition, Eric Clark,( student of Sergey
Schepkin at Carnegie Mellon) , was
the alternate in Young Artist piano, Jamie
Chimchirian, violinist, (student of
Sylvia Ahramjian) received an Honorable Mention
in Young Artist strings, and
the IUP Saxophone Quartet (Keith Young, coach)
received an Honorable
Mention in the Chamber Music category. Elisabeth
Shafer, trombone, (student of
Paul Leskowicz) is the Senior brass
representative, and Krizia Nelson (student
of Jack Stevenson) received an Honorable Mention
in Senior Voice. Beatrice
Hsieh, (student of David Brown) received an
Honorable Mention in the Junior
Piano category, and Reba Meyers, flutist,
(student of Wendy Kumer) was the
alternate in Junior Winds. Our own Ellen Flint
as President-Elect of Eastern
Division did her usual magnificent job of
organizing the competitions, and our
own Jackie Herbein ably coordinated the Junior
competitions. Many thanks to
Steven and Theresa Smith for hosting and
providing the lion's share of the
monitors.
I also had the opportunity while
at Eastern Division to share ideas and concerns
with several of the other state presidents.
While we all face the similar problem
of finding enough volunteers to manage the many
activities of the state
organizations, I did hear some wonderful and
creative projects ongoing in other
states. I look forward to sharing those ideas
with the board at our meeting in
June (which by the way, will take place on June
21 at Mansfield University.
Lunch at noon, meeting at 1 PM- you are all
invited to attend!).
Another ubiquitous campaign
motif has been that of universal health
insurance. I
am pleased to announce that MTNA now offers
group insurance at competitive
rates. Contact the national office for details!
In another month, I will be
attending the National Conference in Denver,
Colorado. I am really looking forward to the
featured concert by Lang Lang
(again- an enthusiastic youth!) , as well as the
MTNA Foundation banquet where
I will have the pleasure of seeing our past
president Millie Eben awarded a
Foundation Fellow. I hope to see lots of PMTA
members there. The conference
sessions will be wonderfully inspiring, Denver
is a great city, and it gets a lot
more days of sunshine than Pennsylvania,
so if you haven't planned to attend,
and you need some brightness in your life, it's
not too late to book a flight and
join us.
Whether you value "change" or
"experience", to thrive- our organization needs
to have both. Our membership is a marvelous
amalgam of new educators and
seasoned practitioners. As always, I welcome
your comments and/or concerns.
In the meantime, I wish all of you a productive
spring recital season, and above
all, don't forget to vote!
Don't forget to vote...
not only in your Presidential primaries, but
also to VOTE for the PMTA Bylaws
Amendment. All active PMTA members received
an email with instructions on how to do
this. Go to the Home page of the PMTA
website and click on the first announcement
to take to you to the voting page. Enter our
generic username (pmtamember), and password
(musicrules) to access the ballot. Then
click yes or no. Voting CLOSES April 1,
2008. An easy way to make your voice count
without having to attend a meeting!
Click here
to
vote.
Security Clearances a Good
Idea for All!
Message from Millie Eben,
Past-President / IMT
I had a first this past
week. During an interview with a potential
new student, the parent asked if I had my
clearances. It took a moment for me to
realize what she was referring to. But,
fortunately I could answer 'yes', and I
proceeded to pull them out of the file. I
had obtained my clearances while
volunteering at a local daycare center. All
public school teachers -- and anyone
volunteering or working in a school,
including parents -- are required to have
their criminal and child abuse clearances.
On the PA state Department of Education
website, you'll find this statement:
"ALL students teachers
(participating in classroom teaching,
internships, clinical or field experiences)
and prospective employees (including but not
limited to administrators, teachers,
substitutes, janitors, cafeteria workers,
office employees) of public and private
schools, IUs and area vocational-technical
schools, including independent contractors
and their employees and bus drivers, who
have direct contact with children, must
provide to their employer a copy of their
Pennsylvania State Criminal History
Background Check and their Federal Criminal
History Record that can not be more than one
(1) year old."
Many other organizations
involved with children are now requiring its
volunteers and employees to obtain criminal
background checks. That includes churches,
clubs, community sporting leagues, library
staff, medical staff, etc. It seems a
logical step for Independent Music Teachers
to do the same for our own protection as
well as that of the children entrusted to
our care. Of course with so many more
applying for clearances, processing is
taking much longer. But I would encourage
you all to do it anyway, it's well worth the
peace of mind.
For more information, or to
obtain your clearances, visit these
websites:
Acts 34 and 151
Background Checks
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL SERVICES UNIT
State Criminal History
Record
Available
through the PA State Police.
Application can be done via mail or online,
with
immediate results from the online process.
Cost $10
Pennsylvania Child
Abuse History
Available
through the PA Department of Welfare.
Must be done via written application.
Cost $10. Processing currently taking up to
2-3 months.
Federal (FBI) Criminal
History Fingerprinting
Can be
applied for through your local intermediate
unit or through Cogent
Systems, the fingerprinting service for
Pennsylvania. This is a multi-step process;
complete instructions are found on the
website. Cost $40. Processing taking up to
2-3 months.
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Sister Carole Riley, Chair
Duquesne University Piano
and Voice Club members are
seeking to contact other
university students who are
interested in forming a
yahoo group dedicated to
discussion of practice
habits, forming studios,
policy statements and other
topics. If you or your
students are interested,
click here
for email or contact me at
the address below. You may
also contact
Jennifer Noel,
our president.
Sister Carole Riley, CDP,
Ph.D.LPC
Professor of Piano and Music
Education
Director of Graduate Studies
Mary Pappert School of Music
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh Pa. 15282
412 396 5057 (cell: 412 901
4259)
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Becky Billock, member of
the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter,
will be presenting a concert
through Pittsburgh's Tuesday
Musical Club on Saturday, April
19, 2008 at 2pm. The concert is
free and open to the public and
will be held in St. Andrew's
Episcopal Church, 5801 Hampton
St., Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Ms.
Billock is an active soloist,
chamber musician, teacher,
lecturer and adjudicator, with a
specialty in contemporary women
composers. The first half of the
program will highlight music by
several American women including
Ruth Crawford Seeger, Marion
Bauer, Emma Lou Diemer, Amy
Beach, and Libby Larsen. The
second half of the program will
feature pieces by Sergei
Rachmaninoff.
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Dr. Gilya Hodos, NCTM
Conference Chair
The PMTA State Conference will
be held November 7- 9th, 2008 at
Mansfield University. We are
gearing up for an OUTSTANDING
conference filled with inspiring
performances and excellent
workshops. We are extremely
fortunate to have pianist Brian
Ganz as our Conference Artist
and Suzanne Guy as our
Pedagogue-in-Residence.
While neither of these
luminaries needs an
introduction, a recent review in
the St. Louis Post- Dispatch
observes the "Note-perfect
cascades of rippling arpeggios,
melodies soaring into space and
microscopically sculpted phrases
only begin to describe Ganz's
breathtaking technique and
spectacular musicianship".
In great demand as a clinician,
as well as a regular columnist
to Clavier, Suzanne Guy divides
her time between teaching,
performing, writing, and
professional travel. Mrs. Guy
will be featured in a variety of
workshops and master classes
where she will present material
from her newly published book in
her Expressive Etudes series and
share her wisdom and inspiration
with teachers and students
alike.
In keeping with the themes of
our two guest artists, the focus
of this year's conference will
be centered around the topics of
pedagogy and performance. We are
seeking clinicians to present
workshops on practical subjects
that can support teachers' in
their educational quest for
their students. You are welcome
to contact
me
for more specific information.
Registration information will be
coming soon. I am looking
forward to seeing all of you in
November at Mansfield University
for a truly stimulating and
inspirational conference!!!
Click Here
for clinician form!!
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Submitted by:
Sue Garnhart
Dorothy
Whitlinger, 87
and an active
teacher, passed
on in late fall.
She was a
charter member
of GPC, a long
and loved
teacher of piano
in the South
Hills of
Pittsburgh; an
accompanist;
duet partner,
especially with
GPC member,
Muriel Deul; and
animal lover.
She was a
student and
proponent of the
technic , "The
Act of Touch" by
Tobias Mathay.
Her children
honored her with
a Memorial
Service at
Southminster
Church in Mt.
Lebanon, PA.
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Sincerely,
Nanette Kaplan Solomon, President
Pennsylvania Music Teachers
Association
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Our Sponsors
For update information from our Local
Associations, click
here.
For the list of new members, click
here.
For PMTA/MTNA competition results, click
here.
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