OMTA - Oregon Music Teachers Association

Grant Event - An Auditory Lifespan
2026-02-02 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual/Online
Presenting District: Virtual
Presenter: Susan Bruckner
Via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81640489726
Program Description: Susan Bruckner will present an overview of each life stage from birth to end of life and how music and the brain work in tandem each step of the way. Based on sabbatical interviews with 24 neuroscientists studying music and the brain.
Presenter Bio: Susan Bruckner is a pianist with degrees from Eastman School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, and the New School for Music Study with Frances Clark. She is the director of the piano program at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, CA since 2007. She has also taught at Ithaca College in NY and the University of Utah. Susan has given workshops throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. She is the author of two books, The Whole Musician: A Multi-Sensory Guide to Practice, Performance, and Pedagogy and The Whole Pianist, a textbook for college piano classes.

Grant Event - Syllabus from a Teacher's Point of View - Syllabus from an Adjudicator's Point of View
2026-02-13 10:00 - 11:30 | Broadway Coffeehouse, 1300 Broadway St NE #100, Salem, Oregon, 97301
Presenting District: Salem
Presenter: Heidi Evans, NCTM
Program Description: Heidi shares tips on preparing students for Syllabus exams at all levels and tiers, combining the perspective of a teacher of average students and the perspective of a Syllabus adjudicator to make the most of each student’s and teacher’s Syllabus experience.
Presenter Bio: Heidi Evans is a Nationally Certified Teacher with a Master’s Degree from Portland State University where she studied with Harold Gray and Mary Hall Kogen. In her nearly three decades of teaching experience with students of all ages and levels, she has adjudicated festivals and events around the state since 2005, was OMTA Syllabus Chair for five years, and currently occupies the position of President of Oregon MTA. She is a member of the 8-hand quartet, “Too Grand,” which has been performing and raising money for scholarships for nearly four decades. Her latest deep dive into piano repertoire research is music by under-represented composers with a focus on pedagogical works. Her ultimate goal is to teach each student to teach themselves, so that music can be a rewarding lifetime experience.

Grant Event - Making Syllabus Relevant: Using OMTA Syllabus Skills to Play Music
2026-02-21 10:00 - 12:00 | Groth Recital Hall, Eastern Oregon University, One University Blvd, La Grande, Oregon, 97850
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Presenter: Dianne Davies
Program Description: Dianne Davies uses a series of folksongs and Christmas carols to teach all levels of the OMTA Syllabus chord progressions and put them into music. The right hand melodies are given in scale degree numbers and the left hand accompaniment is given in Roman Numerals following each level of syllabus. This way students easily transpose the ideas into all keys and understand the concepts.
Presenter Bio: Dianne Davies is a solo and collaborative pianist, composer, published arranger and instructor. Her music envelopes the emotions of love, loss, depression and joy to sonic representations of endangered species in the Amazon Rainforest. Her shows range from the dramatic and deeply personal that include drama, live visual art and dance, to the far reaches of slapstick comedy that are accessible to a wide range of audiences. Alongside a full piano teaching studio, she chairs the MTNA State Composition Competition and is the Co-President of the Tualatin Valley District. In 2021, her Romantic Christmas Suite, an amalgam of Chopin nocturnes and traditional Christmas carols, was published by Fred Bock Publishing Company under the umbrella of Hal Leonard. In 2023, her latest arrangement, Impressionist Christmas Suite, received Editor’s Choice from J.W. Pepper and Dianne earned National Certification through MTNA. She holds memberships in: OMTA, MTNA, NACUSA, and CFAMC. Dianne is a self published composer with ASCAP under her own company name, 7Fold Musiq. You can learn more about her and her music at musiqpower.com.

Grant Event - Mexican Harmonies: Exploring Piano Repertoire from Mexico
2026-02-28 10:00 - 12:00 | Jacksonville Library, 340 West C Street, Jacksonville, OR, 97530, United States
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Melissa Terrall
Program Description: From Tomás León and Guadalupe Olmeda to José Rolón, Melissa presents profiles and representative works of notable Mexican composers. She will showcase the diversity of Mexican piano repertoire, from salon pieces to folkloric music, while also discussing common misconceptions about Mexican classical music. Attendees are sure to leave more knowledgeable about Mexican composers as well as inspired to interact with their music in a culturally-robust way as teachers and performers.
Presenter Bio: Melissa Terrall is a classical pianist and piano teacher from Portland, Oregon. When a 2023-24 Fulbright scholar, she studied Mexican piano repertoire with Dr. David Rodríguez de la Peña at Mexico City’s National Conservatory. While abroad, Melissa offered lecture recitals and master classes, expanding her skills in her second language. Melissa holds a master’s in piano performance from the University of Kansas, where she studied with Dr. Scott McBride Smith. A passionate educator, Melissa has held interim professorships at Clark College and Linfield University in addition to overseeing her private piano studio.

Grant Event - Turning Performance Anxiety into a Super Power
2026-03-07 10:00 - 12:00 | Hermiston Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 850 SW 11th St, Hermiston, OR, 97838
Presenting District: Umatilla-Morrow
Presenter: Melissa Terrall, M.M.
Program Description: How can music teachers help students face the daunting challenge of performance anxiety? In this practical workshop, we will discuss strategies to prepare students for successful performances, from mindset shifts to performance conditioning. Attendees will receive a digital packet of materials and activities for a fun and insightful studio group class on performance preparation!
Presenter Bio: Melissa Terrall is a classical pianist and piano teacher from Portland, Oregon. When a 2023-24 Fulbright scholar, she studied Mexican piano repertoire with Dr. David Rodríguez de la Peña at Mexico City’s National Conservatory. While abroad, Melissa offered lecture recitals and master classes, expanding her skills in her second language. Melissa holds a master’s in piano performance from the University of Kansas, where she studied with Dr. Scott McBride Smith. A passionate educator, Melissa has held interim professorships at Clark College and Linfield University in addition to overseeing her private piano studio.

Grant Event - The Taubman Approach to Keyboard Mastery
2026-03-10 10:30 - 12:00 | 2810 NW Skyline Dr, 2810 NW Skyline Dr, Corvallis, OR, 97330, United States
Presenting District: Linn-Benton
Presenter: Deborah Cleaver, M.M.
Program Description: An examination of the technical tools needed for facile, fluid playing.
Presenter Bio: Deborah Ingram Cleaver holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Boston University where she studied with the renowned pianist and pedagogue Leonard Shure. After finishing her degree, she worked closely with Shure as his teaching assistant at New England Conservatory.
Ms. Cleaver has also spent many years studying the performance practice of the Baroque and Classic periods with such luminaries as Sandra Rosenblum, Edward Parmentier, and Elisabeth Wright. Her broad interests have resulted in lectures for universities and music teachers’ organizations, ranging from the expressive aspects of Baroque performance practice to the correlation between Romantic literature and music.

Grant Event - Fragile Folks: Working with Anxious Music Students
2026-03-12 10:30 - 12:00 | Heart Strings Music Studio, 2230 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove, OR, 97116, United States
Presenting District: Hillsboro Area
Presenter: Emily Ross, BME, MCP
Program Description: Does it seem like you are seeing more tears in the piano studio than you used to, or students just completely shutting down? You are not alone. Understanding anxiety on a neurological and on a cultural level can help you navigate these tricky waters. Anxiety is a particularly hairy concept as it is both a general descriptor and a diagnosis. Because we have all felt it, it can be uncomfortable to talk about. Emily Ross, board-certified music therapist, has your back. This workshop will focus on clarifying definitions and the cultural context of anxiety. It will also cover newer terminology such as Trauma-Informed Care and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Finally, Emily will present concrete strategies to support a student without crossing into a therapist role.
Presenter Bio: Emily Ross holds a Bachelor of Music Education from University of Colorado and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in music therapy from Naropa University. Her teaching experience includes public school band and general music (7 yrs), English as a Foreign Language (2 yrs) and university courses in music therapy and psychology (15 yrs). Additionally, Emily has taught private lessons in guitar, and French horn, and trained and supervised practicum students in the field. She is the owner of HoofnHorn Music Therapy Studio, hnhmusictherapy.com, where she specializes in connecting with those with learning differences including autism, ADHD, and developmental delay. She also offers trainings throughout Oregon and SW Washington. Information about trainings and workshops for music therapists, teachers and parents can be found at EmilyRossTrainer.com. Emily played French horn in the Portland Wind Symphony for 18 years and is now enjoying learning Celtic harp and singing in the Portland Community Choir.

Grant Event - Fragile Folks: Working with Anxious Music Students
2026-03-14 13:30 - 15:30 | Hermiston Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 850 SW 11th St, Hermiston, OR, 97838
Presenting District: Umatilla-Morrow
Presenter: Emily Ross, BME, MCP
Program Description: Does it seem like you are seeing more tears in the piano studio than you used to, or students just completely shutting down? You are not alone. Understanding anxiety on a neurological and on a cultural level can help you navigate these tricky waters. Anxiety is a particularly hairy concept as it is both a general descriptor and a diagnosis. Because we have all felt it, it can be uncomfortable to talk about. Emily Ross, board-certified music therapist, has your back. This workshop will focus on clarifying definitions and the cultural context of anxiety. It will also cover newer terminology such as Trauma-Informed Care and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Finally, Emily will present concrete strategies to support a student without crossing into a therapist role.
Presenter Bio: Emily Ross holds a Bachelor of Music Education from University of Colorado and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in music therapy from Naropa University. Her teaching experience includes public school band and general music (7 yrs), English as a Foreign Language (2 yrs) and university courses in music therapy and psychology (15 yrs). Additionally, Emily has taught private lessons in guitar, and French horn, and trained and supervised practicum students in the field. She is the owner of HoofnHorn Music Therapy Studio, hnhmusictherapy.com, where she specializes in connecting with those with learning differences including autism, ADHD, and developmental delay. She also offers trainings throughout Oregon and SW Washington. Information about trainings and workshops for music therapists, teachers and parents can be found at EmilyRossTrainer.com. Emily played French horn in the Portland Wind Symphony for 18 years and is now enjoying learning Celtic harp and singing in the Portland Community Choir.

Grant Event - Burnout Prevention Kit for Music Teachers
2026-03-16 10:00 - 12:00 | First Congregational Church – Eugene, 1050 E 23rd Ave, Eugene, OR, 97405
Presenting District: Eugene
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Neher
Program Description: Teaching one-on-one and managing your own studio can be rewarding, but it can also lead to exhaustion, over-scheduled lives, and eventually the dreaded burnout. Meanwhile, “selfcare” and “wellness” have become products to buy and impossible images that we can never live up to rather than ways to actually reclaim agency in our lives. We’ll discuss causes of burnout for music teachers and explore practical solutions, including time management during lessons, establishing and maintaining boundaries, holding time for recreation and a social life, and the balance of supporting your students’ musical goals with nurturing your own artistic growth.
Presenter Bio: New music powerhouse Dr. Lisa Neher (she/her) is an award-winning composer, mezzo-soprano, and actress on a mission to transform audiences through sound, story, and vulnerability. Described as a “visionary composer” (Willamette Week), “maestro of beautifully wacky noises” (Oregon ArtsWatch), and a composer of “varied and imitable” vocal lines (Contemporary Classical), Neher writes music inspired by the climate crisis, the tender love of friends, the ambiguities of death, and the eerie mystery of deep ocean life. Her EP Of Wind and Waves explores the currents of air, water, and emotions that define our natural and psychological world. Neher’s works have been commissioned and performed by Third Angle New Music, Fear No Music, Opera Elect, Opera Theatre Oregon, Dinosaur Annex, the Cortona Sessions for New Music, Delgani String Quartet, Choral Arts Ensemble, and others across the United States and Europe. She is the winner of the ICDA/ICF Choral Competition, the Flute New Music Consortium Composition Competition, and the Mirror Visions Ensemble Young Composer Competition, and was a NATS Composer Mentee, working with Tom Cipullo.
Praised as “a small woman with a very big voice” and “especially alive” (Oregon ArtsWatch), Neher captivates audiences as a performer with her electrifying dramatic commitment and unforgettable vocal colors. Her performance credits include Really Spicy Opera, Third Angle New Music, the Resonance Ensemble, New Music Gathering, Queer Opera, the International Saxophone Symposium, and Opera Theatre Oregon. She is a member of Portland Opera Chorus. She created the roles of Jennifer in Chamber Sounds of Singapore’s world premiere of One Thousand Paper Cranes for Japan by Rita Ueda, Julian of Norwich in Brook Joyce’s monodrama the Showing of Love, and the protagonist in Space Station 189, a sci-fi opera for Instagram by JL Marlor and Aiden Feltkamp. Neher is the curator of the One Voice Project, which champions unaccompanied solo vocal performance.
Neher is a sought-after clinician on topics including composing for singers, networking, music business and entrepreneurship, acting for singers and theatre tools for musicians. Her teaching credits include the Ultimate Music Business Summit, and theToolbox Sessions, as well as guest clinician appearances at Reed College, University of Iowa, Colorado State University, OMTA, Bandung Philharmonic in Indonesia, and more. Her thriving private studio provides graduate-level education and mentorship in singing, composition, and career building for musicians from Australia to Europe. Neher holds degrees from the University of Iowa (DMA), University of Kansas (MM), and Lewis & Clark College (BA). She is an alumnus of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and the Cortona Sessions for New Music. She spends her free time training for triathlons, watching science fiction movies, and baking delicious treats involving copious amounts of chocolate. Her last name is pronounced “NEER.” For more information, visit her website, www.lisanehermusic.com.

Grant Event - Burnout Prevention Kit for Music Teachers
2026-04-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Broadway Coffeehouse, 1300 Broadway St NE #100, Salem, Oregon, 97301
Presenting District: Salem
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Neher
Program Description: Teaching one-on-one and managing your own studio can be rewarding, but it can also lead to exhaustion, over-scheduled lives, and eventually the dreaded burnout. Meanwhile, “selfcare” and “wellness” have become products to buy and impossible images that we can never live up to rather than ways to actually reclaim agency in our lives. We’ll discuss causes of burnout for music teachers and explore practical solutions, including time management during lessons, establishing and maintaining boundaries, holding time for recreation and a social life, and the balance of supporting your students’ musical goals with nurturing your own artistic growth.
Presenter Bio: New music powerhouse Dr. Lisa Neher (she/her) is an award-winning composer, mezzo-soprano, and actress on a mission to transform audiences through sound, story, and vulnerability. Described as a “visionary composer” (Willamette Week), “maestro of beautifully wacky noises” (Oregon ArtsWatch), and a composer of “varied and imitable” vocal lines (Contemporary Classical), Neher writes music inspired by the climate crisis, the tender love of friends, the ambiguities of death, and the eerie mystery of deep ocean life. Her EP Of Wind and Waves explores the currents of air, water, and emotions that define our natural and psychological world. Neher’s works have been commissioned and performed by Third Angle New Music, Fear No Music, Opera Elect, Opera Theatre Oregon, Dinosaur Annex, the Cortona Sessions for New Music, Delgani String Quartet, Choral Arts Ensemble, and others across the United States and Europe. She is the winner of the ICDA/ICF Choral Competition, the Flute New Music Consortium Composition Competition, and the Mirror Visions Ensemble Young Composer Competition, and was a NATS Composer Mentee, working with Tom Cipullo.
Praised as “a small woman with a very big voice” and “especially alive” (Oregon ArtsWatch), Neher captivates audiences as a performer with her electrifying dramatic commitment and unforgettable vocal colors. Her performance credits include Really Spicy Opera, Third Angle New Music, the Resonance Ensemble, New Music Gathering, Queer Opera, the International Saxophone Symposium, and Opera Theatre Oregon. She is a member of Portland Opera Chorus. She created the roles of Jennifer in Chamber Sounds of Singapore’s world premiere of One Thousand Paper Cranes for Japan by Rita Ueda, Julian of Norwich in Brook Joyce’s monodrama the Showing of Love, and the protagonist in Space Station 189, a sci-fi opera for Instagram by JL Marlor and Aiden Feltkamp. Neher is the curator of the One Voice Project, which champions unaccompanied solo vocal performance.
Neher is a sought-after clinician on topics including composing for singers, networking, music business and entrepreneurship, acting for singers and theatre tools for musicians. Her teaching credits include the Ultimate Music Business Summit, and theToolbox Sessions, as well as guest clinician appearances at Reed College, University of Iowa, Colorado State University, OMTA, Bandung Philharmonic in Indonesia, and more. Her thriving private studio provides graduate-level education and mentorship in singing, composition, and career building for musicians from Australia to Europe. Neher holds degrees from the University of Iowa (DMA), University of Kansas (MM), and Lewis & Clark College (BA). She is an alumnus of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and the Cortona Sessions for New Music. She spends her free time training for triathlons, watching science fiction movies, and baking delicious treats involving copious amounts of chocolate. Her last name is pronounced “NEER.” For more information, visit her website, www.lisanehermusic.com.

Grant Event - The Mighty Wrist
2026-04-10 10:45 - 12:15 | Studio of Renee Dugan, 526 NE Rimrock Ct, Redmond, OR, 97756, United States
Presenting District: Central Oregon
Presenter: Dr. Stephen Lewis, NCTM
Program Description: This talk is an in-depth look at the wrist motions involved in piano playing (lateral, up-down, elliptical, rotational, drawer, and stationary) and how they help various techniques and textures we often teach or play. Dr. Lewis will explore how and why these motions are so crucial to piano playing, and provide knowledge and flexibility to the teachers present in how to make your own determinations regarding teaching using the wrists.
Presenter Bio: Dr. Stephen Lewis, NCTM, is a pianist, composer, conductor, and music teacher living in Portland, Oregon. Stephen performs traditional piano music with a composer’s urgent, expressive power, while bringing to avant-garde and experimental music a classical concert pianist’s devotion to beautiful sound.
Stephen has performed with the Oregon Symphony, 45th Parallel Universe, Third Angle, Fear No Music’s Young Composers Project, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, and Cascadia Composers. He has performed in venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Miller Theater, Severance Hall, and the San Diego Museum of Art. As a composer, Stephen has been commissioned by Red Fish Blue Fish, Diagenesis Duo, the Wellesley Composers Conference, and soundSCAPE.
Stephen teaches private piano and composition lessons from his home studio in southeast Portland. He also coaches professional musicians, music teachers, and composers in learning advanced repertoire and skills and in completing major creative projects.
Stephen earned a D.M.A. in Contemporary Piano Performance in 2017, and a Ph.D. in Composition in 2015 from the University of California San Diego. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Composition and Piano Performance) in 2006.
Read more at his websites: chopinois.com (teaching) and stephenlewiscomposer.com (artistic).

Grant Event - Mexican Harmonies: Exploring Piano Repertoire from Mexico
2026-04-14 10:30 - 12:00 | 1825 Lance Way, 1825 NW Lance Way, Corvallis, OR, 97330, United States
Presenting District: Linn-Benton
Presenter: Melissa Terrall, M. M.
Program Description: From Tomás León and Guadalupe Olmeda to José Rolón, Melissa presents profiles and representative works of notable Mexican composers. Drawing on her experience as a Fulbright scholar in Mexico City, she will showcase the diversity of Mexican piano repertoire – from salon pieces to folkloric music – while also discussing common misconceptions about Mexican classical music. Attendees are sure to leave more knowledgeable about Mexican composers as well as inspired to interact with their music in a culturally-robust way as teachers and performers.
Presenter Bio: Melissa Terrall is a classical pianist and piano teacher from Portland, Oregon. As a 2023-24 Fulbright scholar, she studied Mexican piano repertoire with Dr. David Rodríguez de la Peña at Mexico City’s National Conservatory. While abroad, Melissa offered lecture recitals and master classes, expanding her skills in her second language. Melissa holds a master’s in piano performance from the University of Kansas, where she studied with Dr. Scott McBride Smith. A passionate educator, Melissa has held interim professorships at Clark College and Linfield University in addition to overseeing her private piano studio.

Grant Event - Masterclasses
2026-04-26 13:30 - 16:45 | Shepherd of the Valley Church, 1631 8th St, Hood River, OR, 97031
Presenting District: Mid-Columbia
Presenter: Dr. Alex Tutunov, NCTM
Program Description: Dr. Tutunov will work with piano students in a master class setting while the audience is invited to learn by observing.
In two sessions: 1:30 to 3 PM, and 3:15 to 4:45 PM.
Presenter Bio: Alexander Tutunov is widely recognized as one of the most outstanding virtuosos of the former Soviet Union. First Prize winner of the Belarusian National Piano Competition and winner of the Russian National Piano Competition, Tutunov’s playing was described by Soviet Culture, Moscow, as “exhilarating and inspired, and which demonstrated a unique talent.”
Dr. Tutunov maintains a busy performing schedule in Europe, China, Mexico, and the United States as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and on radio and television. Dr. Tutunov is also in demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions.
Tutunov graduated magna cum laude from the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory (studies with Anna Artobolevskaya and Lev Naumov) and University of North Texas (piano studies with Joseph Banowetz). Awarded his doctoral diploma with honors in concert performance from the Belarusian State Conservatory, Dr. Tutunov has taught at the Minsk College of Music, the University of North Texas, and Illinois Wesleyan University.
Alexander Tutunov now lives in Ashland, where he is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University. A successful piano pedagogue, he continues to prepare award-winning students. Dr. Tutunov has been the Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast, Artistic director of the SOU International Piano Institute, and the Director of the Chinese-American International Piano Institute in Chengdu, China.
