OMTA - Oregon Music Teachers Association

Grant Event (Part 2)-Engaging Story and Narrative in Performance: Marches, Waltzes, Chorales, and Other "Topics" in Music
2021-10-23 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Jan Miller.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Jan Miller.
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Presenter: Dr. Stephen Lewis, PhD, DMA,NCTM Dr. Stephen Lewis, PhD, DMA, NCTM, is a Portland-based composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher whose compositions inhabit the terrain between sound as physical sensation and sound as signifier of culture. Stephen’s opera, Noon at Dusk, was hailed as “delectable,” with a “constantly shifting sonic world [that] proved fascinating and effective.” Recent and upcoming performance engagements include concerts with the Oregon Symphony, the Agnieszka Laska Dancers, the Astoria Music Festival, and Fear No Music’s Young Composers Project as well as a live broadcast on All-Classical Radio. Stephen has also performed throughout the United States and in Italy. Stephen holds a PhD in composition and a DMA in piano from UC-San Diego, and a BMus from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Stephen teaches piano, composition, music theory, and conducting privately at his home and from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish, where he serves as music director and organist. Stephen enjoys baking bread, reading, wine tasting, and hiking with his wife. See more at his websites: www.stephenlewiscomposer.com (artistic) and www.chopinois.com (teaching).
Program Description (Session One 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM): When writing music, young composers need to learn to navigate the difficulties of notation (so other people can read their music), instrumentation (so their music works and sounds its best), and style. In this 2-hour session, we will explore a basic set of rules and principles that will allow you to teach your students how to write clear, creative, and effective music. Have handy: blank staff paper, a pencil, an eraser, a 6-inch ruler, and enthusiasm!
Program Description (Session Two 1:00 to 3:00 PM): Many of us feel that music is often telling a story, but we cannot agree on what these stories are! Is there a story, or not? In this workshop, Dr. Lewis will present current innovative ideas from music theorists about musical “topics,” or references to extra-musical ideas, and how they help us to speak more clearly and accurately about musical stories and narratives. We will look at some of the most common topics found in classical and romantic music and how thinking about topics can help teachers and students reach greater heights in their work together.

Grant Event (Part One)-Nuts & Bolts of Writing Music Down: A Guide to Help Your Students' Composition Look and Feel Professional
2021-10-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online

District Event: Portland District Ensemble Festival
2021-10-16 | Virtual/Online
The Ensemble Festival allows students to play music of all genres in a collaborative setting. Ensembles may include any combination of instruments including duos, trios, quartets, piano duets, and string quartets and trios. Instrumental solos with piano accompaniment and concerti movements are not allowed. This is a unified Portland District event for both East and West Portland.
Deadline for registration: 9/9/2021

Grant Event-Acquiring Aural Skills: Listening Deeply
2021-10-12 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Tammy Johnson.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Johnandrew Slominski American pianist Johnandrew Slominski enjoys a distinguished reputation as a performer and pedagogue. He has been hailed as “a remarkable, brilliant, and gifted pianist” (Chautauquan Daily), commended for performing with “a great deal of intellect” (89.9 KBPS Portland), and recognized for his communicative performance: “I was profoundly moved by his performance…He has a musicianship that transcends his youthfulness.” (Eye on Sun Valley). His 2016 San Francisco concert debut, presented by the New Piano Collective, earned praise as “awe-inspiring” and “ear-opening” from Stephen Smoliar of the San Francisco Examiner. Slominski seamlessly navigates the landscape of a varied and thriving career as a soloist, chamber musician, music theorist, author, pedagogue, and speaker. Highlights of his current season include a solo CD released on the Centaur Records label, an all-Schubert disc with soprano Kayleen Sánchez released on the Soundset Recordings label, performances of concerti by Mozart and Schumann, and more than a dozen speaking and teaching engagements in the United States and Asia.
Dr. Slominski earned three degrees from the Eastman School of Music by age 21, and was unanimously nominated for the Jerald R. Graue Musicology Fellowship and the Eastman Performer’s Certificate; his first professorship followed at age 23. He has held faculty positions as a pianist and music theorist at the Eastman School of Music, the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, and Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the founding director of Classical Music on the Spot (an institute for eighteenth-century improvisation), a co-founder of the San Francisco International Piano Festival, a founding faculty member of the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival at the University of South Florida, and an Assistant Professor of Music at Linfield College. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. Slominski is a New Piano Collective artist.
Program Description: The composer and pianist Robert Schumann wrote in 1848 that, “You must get to the point that you can hear music from the page.… A perfect musician should be able to picture a piece, at first hearing…as though he had the score in front of him.” This presentation by Dr. Slominski (former theory and aural skills faculty at the Eastman School of Music), opens a conversation about teaching and learning through a nuanced aural curriculum. Skills discussed include sight-singing, solfege and solmization, dictation, playing by ear, improvisation, and more.

2021 Sonatina Festival
2021-10-09 12:00 - 16:00 | Virtual/Online
The OMTA Sonatina Festival is a biennial competitive event for students of high school age and younger. Participants perform before an adjudicator in a private audition. Each student receives a written evaluation of their performance. The festival encompasses ten levels, each of which is represented by one or more Sonatina/Sonata movements selected from various composers, periods, and styles. There is a Required Repertoire List, which correlates with Syllabus levels. All students within the same level perform the same piece.
2021 COVID-19 Update: The OMTA Sonatina Festival is online. 1st and 2nd place video submissions from each level will be compiled into an Honors Recital video to be shared after the festival date. Evaluation forms, ribbons, and trophies will be mailed to teachers after the festival date.
Registration Deadline: September 10, 2021
Video Submission Deadline: Wednesday, October 6, 2021 11:59PM PST

Grant Event-Teaching Coordinate Movement Principles to the Young Pianist
2021-10-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Salem
Presenter: Lisa Marsh Lisa Ann Marsh is a member of the adjunct piano faculty at Portland State University. As Director of the Coordinate Movement Program she specializes in wellness for musicians. Her courses focus on injury prevention, health and well being, and mind-body connections for increased artistry and creativity. She received her Bachelor of Science in Music and Master of Music in Performance from Portland State University. Additional background in somatic education includes 19 years as a Registered Nurse in the fields of Neurosurgery and Emergency Medicine, eight years of piano technique study at the Taubman Institute of Piano and seven years of study of the Alexander Technique and Body Mapping with Barbara Conable. As a performer, she specializes in 20th century music and presenting her original compositions.
Program Description: Drawing from the fields of Body Mapping and piano instruction, Ms. March will present topics from her book “Coordinate Movement for Pianists” to include: posture, healthy movement, scales, arpeggios, trills, tremolos, leaps, pedaling, dynamics and articulation. These topics will be explored at the piano through the intermediate and early advanced repertoire. Audience participation is encouraged!

2021 Syllabus Adjudicator Retreat
2021-10-02 10:00 - 15:00 | Virtual/Online
Annual Adjudicator Retreat where adjudicators discuss and review the latest information regarding the Piano Syllabus program. This will be a virtual retreat, hosted via Zoom.

District Event: West Portland District September Meeting
2021-09-28 10:00 - 12:00 | Christ United Methodist Church, 12755 NW Dogwood St, Portland, OR, 97229, United States

State Board Meeting
2021-09-25 12:00 - 15:00 | Virtual/Online
This is the fall board meeting for OMTA. Board members include all the District Presidents, State Committee Chairs, and the Executive Committee.
This event will be held over Zoom.

District Event: Techniques for Teaching Beginning Piano Students
2021-09-13 09:30 - 11:30 | Grace Lutheran Church – Ashland, 660 Frances Ln, Ashland, OR, 97520
Catherine Darnall, an experienced teacher from our local Rogue Valley chapter, will share ideas about how to introduce beginners to the keyboard to establish skills and gain confidence before exposing them to printed music. Our new member teachers along with all of us can experiment and incorporate these suggestions into our teaching.

Grant Event-Non-verbal Teaching: Identifying and Utilizing Learning Styles
2021-05-07 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Mary Morganti.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Lincoln County
Presenter: Dr. Crystal Zimmerman Crystal Zimmerman grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where she earned a dual Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Wichita State University. At the University of Oregon, she earned a dual Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with an emphasis in Piano Performance and a supporting area of Musicology.
Crystal is professor of piano at Willamette University where she teaches class piano, individual piano lessons, as well as courses in music technology. At Willamette, she is also staff accompanist and coordinator of the accompanying program. She frequently performs in collaborative, chamber music, and solo recitals as well as being pianist in the Salem Chamber Orchestra. Zimmerman is in demand as a lecturer and clinician, and her articles have been featured in American Music Teacher magazine. She is currently working with FJH music company on the series, Succeeding with Sonatinas.
Program Description: This lecture will explore how to connect with students on a non-verbal basis. We will explore a variety of learning style models, with the most focus primarily being on the NLP (Handler-Grinder model). The subconscious mind is a powerful tool – this is where deep learning can be experienced, and as teachers, is often a tool we overlook. Though we utilize all our senses when playing music, we each have a preferred sensory mode. Identifying and teaching to your students’ preferred sensory mode, will not only enhance your non-verbal communication and overall rapport, but it will also help you identify what sensory modes might need further development. We will explore how to identify which sensory mode is favored, and how to strengthen those modes that may not be a highly engaged.

District Event: Dr. Daniel Immel in Solo Piano Recital
2021-04-30 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
The Lincoln County District of Oregon Music Teachers Association with the help of Nellie Tholen Enrichment Grant presents Dr. Daniel Immel in solo piano recital via Zoom. His program will include Sonata Op. 20, no. 3 in F minor by Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Six Transcriptions of Songs by Charles Alexis Weissenberg, and Sonata in B minor, S. 178 by Franz Liszt.
DANIEL IMMEL is Professor of Music at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. His primary teachers have included Madeleine Forte, Luba Edlina-Dubinsky and Gregory Allen. His degrees were conferred from Boise State University, Indiana University, and the University of Texas at Austin, and he received a Diploma from the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. He has coached in master classes with several artists, including Martin Canin, Nelita True, Jay Gottlieb, Philippe Entremont, Philippe Bianconi and Frederic Augessy. His solo and collaborative performances have led him to perform in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Russia. He was a finalist in the 16th annual Vienna International Music Competition and was also a 2nd prize winner in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition in New York. His collaborations include performances with the Cypress String Quartet, and saxophonist Todd Oxford at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, of which he appears on Oxford’s second solo CD, “Tango Magnetism.” The New York Concert Review praised his ability to “successfully transform himself from empathetic collaborator to independent soloist several times and rightly received equal billing.” In 2015, he was invited to give a solo recital at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. He has also appeared with the Case Ensemble at Carnegie Hall and with the Kutztown University Wind Ensemble at the Kennedy Center. Dr. Immel performed in Recital and presented a Lecture/Workshop in November 2018 for the Lincoln County District of OMTA. Use the same link to attend “Approaching a New 20th Century Piece” Saturday, May 1 at 10am.

Grant Event - Integrative Alexander Technique Master Class
2021-04-24 09:00 - 12:00 | Grace Lutheran Church – Ashland, 660 Frances Ln, Ashland, OR, 97520
This event will also be presented virtually. For access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Dr. Matt Goodrich Dr. Matt Goodrich is a native of Syracuse, NY, and a graduate of Oberlin College
Conservatory, where he studied with Julian Martin. He earned his DMA from the University of Washington under the direction of Robin McCabe. His dissertation, entitled Ricardo Viñes and Les Apaches, explored the life and talents of one of the twentieth century’s most enigmatic performers. He continues to perform Viñes-related solo- and duo-piano repertoire.
Goodrich was national finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (Young Artists Division) and Young Keyboard Artist Association competitions. He has performed extensively on the West Coast, including a headline recital for the Seattle Spring Contemporary Music Festival and a Washington State debut tour, and has appeared as soloist with the Syracuse Symphony, University of Washington Symphony, UW Wind Ensemble, Victoria Festival Orchestra, Willamette Valley Symphony, and Seattle Thalia Symphony.
An active chamber music and theatrical performer, Goodrich was featured in the inaugural concert of the Auburn Symphony Chamber Series and performs frequently with diverse performing groups such as Expanse Ensemble, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Harrington-Goodrich Duo, Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders, and Northwest Boychoir. He spent 2016 on the road with the Broadway national tour of If/Then and has been an Oregon Shakespeare Festival company member for six seasons. He has earned Alexander Technique International Teaching Certification and is currently Instructor of Piano at Southern Oregon University. He resides in Ashland, OR.
Program Description: Dr. Goodrich will work with the performers using the basic principles of the Alexander Technique, a unique and practical learning process. The student and observers will be given tools to analyze and think constructively about whole-self coordination as well as the efficient sequence of thought and movement needed to play an instrument or sing.

Grant Event - Acquiring Aural Skills: Listening Deeply
2021-04-13 10:00 - 11:30 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Rosanne Smith.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Linn-Benton
Presenter: American pianist Johnandrew Slominski enjoys a distinguished reputation as a performer and pedagogue. He has been hailed as “a remarkable, brilliant, and gifted pianist” (Chautauquan Daily), commended for performing with “a great deal of intellect” (89.9 KBPS Portland), and recognized for his communicative performance: “I was profoundly moved by his performance… He has a musicianship that transcends his youthfulness.” (Eye on Sun Valley). His 2016 San Francisco concert debut, presented by the New Piano Collective, earned praise as “awe-inspiring” and “ear-opening” from Stephen Smoliar of the San Francisco Examiner. Slominski seamlessly navigates the landscape of a varied and thriving career as a soloist, chamber musician, music theorist, author, pedagogue, and speaker. Highlights of his current season include a solo CD released on the Centaur Records label, an all-Schubert disc with soprano Kayleen Sánchez released on the Soundset Recordings label, performances of concerti by Mozart and Schumann, and more than a dozen speaking and teaching engagements in the United States and Asia.
Slominski earned three degrees from the Eastman School of Music by age 21, and was unanimously nominated for the Jerald R. Graue Musicology Fellowship and the Eastman Performer’s Certificate; his first professorship followed at age 23. He has held faculty positions as a pianist and music theorist at the Eastman School of Music, the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, and Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the founding director of Classical Music on the Spot (an institute for eighteenth-century improvisation), a co-founder of the San Francisco International Piano Festival, a founding faculty member of the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival at the University of South Florida, and an Assistant Professor of Music at Linfield College. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. Slominski is a New Piano Collective artist.
Program Description: The composer and pianist Robert Schumann wrote in 1848 that, “You must get to the point that you can hear music from the page. … A perfect musician should be able to picture a piece, at first hearing…as though he had the score in front of him.” This workshop, facilitated by Dr. Slominski (former theory and aural skills faculty at the Eastman School of Music), opens a conversation about teaching and learning through a nuanced aural curriculum. Skills discussed include sight-singing, solfege and solmization, dictation, playing by ear, improvisation, and more.

Grant Event - Playing Perfectly: What It Takes to Practice and Perform Completely Without Mistakes (or Fear of Mistakes) - Yes, It's Possible!
2021-04-09 10:45 - 12:15 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Janet Smith.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Central Oregon
Presenter: Jennifer Wright Jennifer Wright, M.M., B.M., is a keyed-instruments performer, composer, educator, graphic artist, event producer and culture-maker. She is passionate about creating beautiful, thought-provoking cultural realities and memorable, multi-sensory performance experiences. Her work melds diverse artistic disciplines and expressions to create adventurous contexts that reshape the landscape of performative experience in order to engage, inspire, move, and change both the giver and the receiver for the better. Jennifer performs regularly as a solo and collaborative artist and has presented numerous concerts, master classes, and workshops in the U.S.A., the U.K., Europe, and Cuba.
Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance and studied for two years at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst and Universität Stuttgart in Germany. She was awarded several Distinctions for her Masters Degree achievements in performance and musicological research at the Trinity College of Music in London, England in the Historically Informed Piano Performance degree program.
Jennifer mischievously mixes experimental, visceral, and utterly listenable elements in an ever-evolving mix of her wide-ranging obsessions and curious whims, including repurposing pianos and other instruments, video art, found sound, alternative keyed instruments, sound sculptures, theatricality, trash instruments, the natural world, movement/dance, science, silliness, electronics, fashion, and live art-making. Much of her work focuses around her one-of-a-kind “Skeleton Piano,” an upright piano that she stripped of its exterior, altered mightily, and plays from the inside out with wild extended techniques and electronic modification.
Her compositions have been performed at the 29th and 31st Annual Festival de La Habana de Música Contemporánea in Cuba, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, The Astoria Music Festival, Portland International Piano Festival, Portland’s March Music Moderne festivals, Crazy Jane Composers and Cascadia Composers concerts, on KBOO, XRAY and KTCB radio, on KGW TV and Cuban National TV, by Portland’s Resonance Ensemble, the Free Marz String Trio, the Delgani Quartet, and in recitals in the U.S., England, and Finland.
More info available at jenniferwrightpianostudio.com and skeletonpiano.com.
Program Description: Have you heard a “kind” instructor say that making mistakes is normal, human, even a valuable part of the learning process? Or that striving for musical perfection is akin to being a lifeless robot and even creatively dangerous? Perhaps you heard a “tough love” teacher remark that you’re only as good as your last performance and that if you’re not perfect, you’re not even in the game?
Which perspective is the right one? Surprise: they all are – to a point! The secret is in the mix. This workshop shows how to reconcile these viewpoints into a joyous lifelong practice approach and gives you the tools and practice techniques to eliminate mistakes (and the terrible fear of mistakes) entirely from your playing. Let’s waste no time in giving this gift to ourselves and to our students!
In this workshop we’ll cover:
• Why do we make mistakes?
• What are you actually doing wrong? (Hint: it’s usually not what you think.)
• Practice techniques: the good, the bad, and the useless
• How to fix ingrained mistakes and habits
• The power of habits and human nature: you can fight them, or you can make them work for you…it’s your choice
• Tapping into your innate learning instincts for powerful progress
• Once you get it, it’s all fun and games!
Bring your “That’s impossible” stories, your “I’ve tried and I can’t” tales, your burning questions, and your overwhelming challenges with you – so we can knock them down one by one!

Grant Event - Integrative Alexander Technique and Holistic Piano Method
2021-03-13 09:00 - 11:30 | Grace Lutheran Church – Ashland, 660 Frances Ln, Ashland, OR, 97520
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO APRIL 2021
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Dr. Matt Goodrich Dr. Matt Goodrich is a native of Syracuse, NY, and a graduate of Oberlin College Conservatory, where he studied with Julian Martin. He earned his DMA from the University of Washington under the direction of Robin McCabe. His dissertation, entitled Ricardo Viñes and Les Apaches, explored the life and talents of one of the twentieth century’s most enigmatic performers. He continues to perform Viñes-related solo- and duo-piano repertoire.
Goodrich was national finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (Young Artists Division) and Young Keyboard Artist Association competitions. He has performed extensively on the West Coast, including a headline recital for the Seattle Spring Contemporary Music Festival and a Washington State debut tour, and has appeared as soloist with the Syracuse Symphony, University of Washington Symphony, UW Wind Ensemble, Victoria Festival Orchestra, Willamette Valley Symphony, and Seattle Thalia Symphony.
An active chamber music and theatrical performer, Goodrich was featured in the inaugural concert of the Auburn Symphony Chamber Series and performs frequently with diverse performing groups such as Expanse Ensemble, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Harrington-Goodrich Duo, Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders, and Northwest Boychoir. He spent 2016 on the road with the Broadway national tour of If/Then and has been an Oregon Shakespeare Festival company member for six seasons. He has earned Alexander Technique International Teaching Certification and is currently Instructor of Piano at Southern Oregon University. He resides in Ashland, OR.
Program Description: It is both possible and desirable to learn the Alexander Technique by applying it directly to the specialized skills of an activity—in our case, music making—from the very beginning. This workshop outlines the basic principles of this unique and practical learning process, giving the tools to analyze and think constructively about whole-self coordination as well as the efficient sequence of thought and movement needed to play an instrument or sing.

District Event: Dr. Matt Cooper presents "Ebony & Ivory: American Composers from Copland to Ellington"
2021-03-12 09:30 - 11:30 | Virtual/Online
In this virtual presentation, Dr. Cooper will delve into published works, transcriptions, and unpublished manuscripts by iconic American piano composers from the 20th century, all of whom in their own way embraced the American musical landscape.
This will be presented via Zoom. Please contact Teresa Sealey by March 9, 2021 at teresasealey.omta@gmail.com to request the access link.

Grant Event-Teaching the Special Learner: Wisdom and Strategies for the Independent Music Teacher
2021-03-09 12:30 - 14:00 | OR
Local Contact: For more information please contact Tammy Johnson.
Location (virtual): Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Emily Ross Emily Ross holds a Bachelor of Music Education from University of Colorado and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in music therapy from Naropa University. She taught public school music (general music and band) for seven years, and worked in private practice as a music therapist with children with autism (and other challenges) for 12 years. She was the clinical coordinator of music therapy and an assistant professor at Marylhurst University. She plays French horn in the Portland Wind Symphony and works via her private practice, HoofnHorn Music Therapy Studio (hnhmusictherapy.com).
Program Description: We know that studying music is good for everyone. Some children come to us, however, without the attention span or executive functioning skills to excel in private music lessons without some special considerations. Music therapist, Emily Ross, MA, MT-BC, will review the characteristics of autism, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbance, and outline both specific strategies and general ideas for approaching students who present with these characteristics. Emily will also clarify the differences between music lessons, adaptive music lessons, and music therapy so that students can be served in the best manner possible. And finally, Emily will lead a discussion on communication with parents regarding these sensitive topics.

Grant Event - Master Class
2021-03-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Rebecca Gooch.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Mid-Columbia
Presenter: Alexander Tutunov, NCTM Dr. 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. He is also in demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions.
Dr. 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, he has taught at the Minsk College of Music, the University of North Texas, and Illinois Wesleyan University.
Dr. 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 is Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast, Artistic director of the SOU International Piano Institute, and was recently named the Director of the Chinese-American International Piano Institute in Chengdu, China.
Program Description: The master pianist/teacher will work with piano students in a master class setting while the audience is invited to learn by observing.

Grant Event-Integrative Alexander Technique for Performance and Wellness
2021-03-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Jan Miller.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Presenter: Dr. Matt Goodrich Dr. Matt Goodrich is a native of Syracuse, NY, and a graduate of Oberlin College Conservatory, where he studied with Julian Martin. He earned his DMA from the University of Washington under the direction of Robin McCabe. His dissertation, entitled Ricardo Viñes and Les Apaches, explored the life and talents of one of the twentieth century’s most enigmatic performers. He continues to perform Viñes-related solo- and duo-piano repertoire.
Goodrich was national finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (Young Artists Division) and Young Keyboard Artist Association competitions. He has performed extensively on the West Coast, including a headline recital for the Seattle Spring Contemporary Music Festival and a Washington State debut tour, and has appeared as soloist with the Syracuse Symphony, University of Washington Symphony, UW Wind Ensemble, Victoria Festival Orchestra, Willamette Valley Symphony, and Seattle Thalia Symphony.
An active chamber music and theatrical performer, Goodrich was featured in the inaugural concert of the Auburn Symphony Chamber Series and performs frequently with diverse performing groups such as Expanse Ensemble, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Harrington-Goodrich Duo, Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders, and Northwest Boychoir. He spent 2016 on the road with the Broadway national tour of If/Then and has been an Oregon Shakespeare Festival company member for six seasons. He has earned Alexander Technique International Teaching Certification and is currently Instructor of Piano at Southern Oregon University. He resides in Ashland, OR.
Program Description: It is both possible and desirable to learn the Alexander Technique by applying it directly to the specialized skills of an activity—in our case, music making—from the very beginning. This workshop outlines the basic principles of this unique and practical learning process, giving the tools to analyze and think constructively about whole-self coordination as well as the efficient sequence of thought and movement needed to play an instrument or sing.

Grant Event-The Inclusive Studio: Successfully Teaching Students Who Have Special Needs
2021-03-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Local Contact: For more information please contact Sue Nelson.
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Susan Todd.
Presenting District: Umatilla-Morrow
Presenter: Andrew D’Antonio Andrew D’Antonio is the founder & director of the Adaptive Music Partnership, a community outreach program in Springfield, Massachusetts that provides music classes to over 600 students with special needs and offers workshops to music teachers on techniques for teaching students with diverse needs. He was on the piano faculty at Smith College and Bay Path University and has been teaching private piano lessons for over ten years. Prior to working full-time in music, he was a special education preschool teacher in New York City.
Andrew has a bachelors of music in piano performance from Pacific Lutheran University, a masters of science in teaching in early childhood special education from Fordham University, and a masters of music in collaborative piano and music history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Andrew returned from the East Coast in 2019 and currently lives and teaches in Portland, Oregon.
Program Description: The number of students with special needs is on the rise, with some estimates showing that as many as 13% of all U.S. students currently have a diagnosis. In response to this trend, society and public education have become more proactive about including these students in a broad range of activities that were formerly only available to their peers without diagnoses. As a result, private music teachers are receiving more requests to teach students with special needs and include them in their group classes, recitals, and other studio activities. Unfortunately, many private music teachers have received little or no training in working with special needs, and they often feel ill-equipped and/or unsupported in teaching these students.
This workshop is intended as an introduction to special education techniques that can be applied in small group and one-on-one settings. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of the most common (and most commonly misunderstood) disabilities that can be disruptive in a traditional private lesson setting: autism, dyslexia, and ADHD. Participants will have a chance to discuss and problem-solve scenarios specific to their own studios, and they will leave with a range of resources that will help support them in the future.

District Event: Salem Baroque Festival
2021-02-27 - 2021-03-02 | Virtual/Online
Contact: Kellene Goff
Registration Deadline: February 20, 2021
This will be a YouTube event. The adjudicator for this event will receive the recordings by February 27 and have several days to finalize choices.

OMTA Baroque Festival
2021-02-27 | Virtual/Online
Chair: Craig Hanson
Forms: https://oregonmta.org/programs/festivals/baroque-festival/
Registration and Video Submission Deadline: February 20, 2021
The OMTA Baroque Festival final event is a non-adjudicated student concert performed by winners from the participating districts throughout the state of Oregon. This year, because of the health concerns, the event will take place virtually, with prerecorded videos uploaded in advance and compiled into a virtual performance. All musical selections will be original compositions from the Baroque era (ca.1600-1750) performed primarily on piano, organ or strings.

District Event: Lisa Marsh presents "Body Mapping for Pianists"
2021-02-12 09:30 - 11:30 | Virtual/Online
In this virtual workshop learn to sit at balance, move gracefully and breathe freely at the piano. Lisa will use suggested pieces that teachers use to teach their students.

This will be presented via Zoom. Please contact Teresa Sealey by February 9, 2021, at teresasealey.omta@gmail.com, to request the access link.

Grant Event-How Do I Get My Student to Sound Artistic?
2021-02-09 12:30 - 14:00 | Virtual/Online
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Tammy Johnson.
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Thomas Otten, NCTM Dr. Thomas Otten, NCTM, a California native born of German-American parents, has been hailed by the New York Times as “an extremely original player who puts a formidable technique at the service of his ideas.” He made his debut at age 17 with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, and has since developed a global profile through performances in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, St. Petersburg, Sydney, Munich, Frankfurt, and Milan, including such venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Severance Hall, the German Embassy, and the National Press Club. He has given guest artist recitals and masterclasses at top music schools and conservatories, such as the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia, the Munich Hochschule für Musik in Germany, as well as the Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School, and Oberlin Conservatory in the U.S.
A recipient of numerous national and international awards, Dr. Otten has studied with artist teachers John Perry and Nelita True, and worked intensively with biomechanics expert Barbara Lister-Sink. He has been on the faculties of the International Young Artists Project (Italy), Saarburger Serenaden International Music Festival (Germany), the American Institute of Musical Studies (Austria), and the Kent/Blossom Festival (Ohio), as well as concerto soloist at the Chautauqua and Brevard Summer Festivals. He has been a member of competition juries in the U.S. and abroad, and was founder of the Kent Piano Seminar in Ohio, as well director of the UNC Liszt Festival, UNC Etude Festival, and the Ginastera Centennial Celebration in North Carolina. His discography includes transcriptions of Franz Liszt and a premiere recording of etudes by African American composer Leslie Adams. He is committed to diverse music of our time, having also premiered works by electronic music expert Frances White and jazz pianist/composer Joe Utterback.
Dr. Otten is Professor Emeritus of Piano at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; previously he was chair of piano at Kent State University. His former students include prize-winning concert artist Andrew Tyson, along with other professional musicians who are active throughout the country. His collaborations include the Miami and Vega String Quartets, violinist Richard Luby, as well as baritone Marc Callahan and soprano Louise Toppin.
For more information on Dr. Otten’s activities as a master teacher/pianist, please visit his website: www.otten.studio. Program Description: What makes for an artistic performance? This session will delve into issues of tone, rubato, rhythm, articulation, pedal, tempo: how to use these elements to create artistry in piano students.

Grant Event-Pedaling Through the Ages-Cracking the Code: Historical Guidelines and Strategies for Informed Performance
2021-02-08 10:00 - 11:30 | Virtual/Online
Location: Zoom, please contact Dr. Janet Pollack.
Presenting District: Eugene
Presenter: Dr. Jill Timmons, NCTM Jill Timmons has performed internationally as both a solo pianist and ensemble artist and has offered performances and educational residencies on three continents. She has toured throughout Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Austria, Spain, and Chile, and has appeared in such venues as Carnegie Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C., the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, the American Consulate in Hamburg, the Bösendorfer Hall in Vienna, Catholic University in Santiago, Chile, and college and universities throughout the U. S. Timmons, has been a featured artist on National Public Radio, has performed under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts and has recorded on the Laurel, Centaur, and Capstone labels. Ken Burns chose music from her Amy Beach recording for the soundtrack to his PBS documentary, The War. She is a National Endowment Fellow, receiving a funding award for the recording of the complete works for solo piano by American composer, William Bergsma (Laurel Records).
Timmons has performed with orchestras throughout the US including the Oregon Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Newport Symphony, Central Oregon Symphony, Springfield (Illinois) Orchestra, Festival Orchestra of the Oregon Coast Music Festival, among others. As a frequent guest artist, Timmons has appeared in such summer festivals as Tanglewood, Chenango Musikfest in New York, the Olympic Music Festival, the Oregon Coast Music Festival, Festillésime and Festival Mozart in France. In France she has been artistic director for Musique à Beaumont, and is a member artist through Perspectives Musicales in Paris.
As an award-winning author, Timmons has written on topics that include entrepreneurship, and volunteerism within the arts and humanities. She is a recipient of the Wilk International Literary Prize from University of Southern California. Her best-selling career guidebook, The Musician’s Journey: Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan, is published by Oxford University Press and will be forthcoming in a Second Edition in 2021. Timmons works with both individuals and non-profit groups to move their cause forward, ultimately supporting an artistic vision backed by concrete strategies for success.
Currently, Timmons is the Artist/Teacher Affiliate with Classic Pianos at their flagship store in Portland, Oregon, and in their satellite locations in Bellevue, Denver, Anchorage, Las Vegas, Boston, and Albuquerque. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington and the Master of Music degree from Boston University. Her seminal training as a pianist has been with György Sebök, Béla Bösörményi-Nagy, and Randolph Hokanson.
“She is a sensitive musician…Her playing is graceful, lyrical, detailed and intimate.” Tim Page, The New York Times
“Timmons soars with the eagles. She plays with vitality and élan.” Fanfare Magazine
Program Description: Pedaling on the modern piano is not an exact science, but there are critical principles that can shape our informed performance. In this two-hour workshop, Dr. Timmons will explore performance practice guidelines, historically informed choices, keyboard instruments spanning some 350 years, how we adapt the modern piano to past practices, and essential skills required for artful pedaling. Weaving in demonstration and lecture, Dr. Timmons will offer clear strategies and historical guidelines to a more artful use of the modern piano pedals. A bibliography will also be provided for this presentation.

Grant Event-Pedaling Through the Ages--Cracking the Code: Historical Guidelines and Strategies for Informed Performance
2021-02-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Virtual/Online
Location: Zoom, please contact Rebecca Gooch.
Presenting District: Mid Columbia
Presenter: Dr. Jill Timmons, NCTM Jill Timmons has performed internationally as both a solo pianist and ensemble artist and has offered performances and educational residencies on three continents. She has toured throughout Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Austria, Spain, and Chile, and has appeared in such venues as Carnegie Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C., the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, the American Consulate in Hamburg, the Bösendorfer Hall in Vienna, Catholic University in Santiago, Chile, and college and universities throughout the U. S. Timmons, has been a featured artist on National Public Radio, has performed under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts and has recorded on the Laurel, Centaur, and Capstone labels. Ken Burns chose music from her Amy Beach recording for the soundtrack to his PBS documentary, The War. She is a National Endowment Fellow, receiving a funding award for the recording of the complete works for solo piano by American composer, William Bergsma (Laurel Records).
Timmons has performed with orchestras throughout the US including the Oregon Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Newport Symphony, Central Oregon Symphony, Springfield (Illinois) Orchestra, Festival Orchestra of the Oregon Coast Music Festival, among others. As a frequent guest artist, Timmons has appeared in such summer festivals as Tanglewood, Chenango Musikfest in New York, the Olympic Music Festival, the Oregon Coast Music Festival, Festillésime and Festival Mozart in France. In France she has been artistic director for Musique à Beaumont, and is a member artist through Perspectives Musicales in Paris.
As an award-winning author, Timmons has written on topics that include entrepreneurship, and volunteerism within the arts and humanities. She is a recipient of the Wilk International Literary Prize from University of Southern California. Her best-selling career guidebook, The Musician’s Journey: Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan, is published by Oxford University Press and will be forthcoming in a Second Edition in 2021. Timmons works with both individuals and non-profit groups to move their cause forward, ultimately supporting an artistic vision backed by concrete strategies for success.
Currently, Timmons is the Artist/Teacher Affiliate with Classic Pianos at their flagship store in Portland, Oregon, and in their satellite locations in Bellevue, Denver, Anchorage, Las Vegas, Boston, and Albuquerque. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington and the Master of Music degree from Boston University. Her seminal training as a pianist has been with György Sebök, Béla Bösörményi-Nagy, and Randolph Hokanson.
“She is a sensitive musician…Her playing is graceful, lyrical, detailed and intimate.” Tim Page, The New York Times
“Timmons soars with the eagles. She plays with vitality and élan.” Fanfare Magazine
Program Description: Pedaling on the modern piano is not an exact science, but there are critical principles that can shape our informed performance. In this two-hour workshop, Dr. Timmons will explore performance practice guidelines, historically informed choices, keyboard instruments spanning some 350 years, how we adapt the modern piano to past practices, and essential skills required for artful pedaling. Weaving in demonstration and lecture, Dr. Timmons will offer clear strategies and historical guidelines to a more artful use of the modern piano pedals. A bibliography will also be provided for this presentation.

District Event: Open Lesson Observations
2021-02-06 10:00 - 14:00 | Virtual/Online
In this virtual workshop, Dr. Tutunov will work with individual teachers from the Lincoln County District in an open lesson format. Four teachers will play for Dr. Tutunov from 10 am-Noon and then again from 1-3 pm.
Virtual Platform: Zoom

Grant Event-Playing Perfectly: What It Takes to Practice and Perform Completely Without Mistakes (or Fear of Mistakes)-Yes, It's Possible!
2021-02-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Location: Zoom, to obtain the Zoom meeting link, please contact Sue Nelson.
Presenting District: Umatilla-Morrow
Presenter: Jennifer Wright Jennifer Wright, M.M., B.M., is a keyed-instruments performer, composer, educator, graphic artist, event producer and culture-maker. She is passionate about creating beautiful, thought-provoking cultural realities and memorable, multi-sensory performance experiences. Her work melds diverse artistic disciplines and expressions to create adventurous contexts that reshape the landscape of performative experience in order to engage, inspire, move, and change both the giver and the receiver for the better. Jennifer performs regularly as a solo and collaborative artist and has presented numerous concerts, master classes, and workshops in the U.S.A., the U.K., Europe, and Cuba.
Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance and studied for two years at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst and Universität Stuttgart in Germany. She was awarded several Distinctions for her Masters Degree achievements in performance and musicological research at the Trinity College of Music in London, England in the Historically Informed Piano Performance degree program.
Jennifer mischievously mixes experimental, visceral, and utterly listenable elements in an ever-evolving mix of her wide-ranging obsessions and curious whims, including repurposing pianos and other instruments, video art, found sound, alternative keyed instruments, sound sculptures, theatricality, trash instruments, the natural world, movement/dance, science, silliness, electronics, fashion, and live art-making. Much of her work focuses around her one-of-a-kind “Skeleton Piano,” an upright piano that she stripped of its exterior, altered mightily, and plays from the inside out with wild extended techniques and electronic modification.
Her compositions have been performed at the 29th and 31st Annual Festival de La Habana de Música Contemporánea in Cuba, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, The Astoria Music Festival, Portland International Piano Festival, Portland’s March Music Moderne festivals, Crazy Jane Composers and Cascadia Composers concerts, on KBOO, XRAY and KTCB radio, on KGW TV and Cuban National TV, by Portland’s Resonance Ensemble, the Free Marz String Trio, the Delgani Quartet, and in recitals in the U.S., England, and Finland.
More info available at jenniferwrightpianostudio.com and skeletonpiano.com.
Program Description: Have you heard a “kind” instructor say that making mistakes is normal, human, even a valuable part of the learning process? Or that striving for musical perfection is akin to being a lifeless robot and even creatively dangerous? Perhaps you heard a “tough love” teacher remark that you’re only as good as your last performance and that if you’re not perfect, you’re not even in the game?
Which perspective is the right one? Surprise: they all are – to a point! The secret is in the mix. This workshop shows how to reconcile these viewpoints into a joyous lifelong practice approach and gives you the tools and practice techniques to eliminate mistakes (and the terrible fear of mistakes) entirely from your playing. Let’s waste no time in giving this gift to ourselves and to our students!
In this workshop we’ll cover:
• Why do we make mistakes?
• What are you actually doing wrong? (Hint: it’s usually not what you think.)
• Practice techniques: the good, the bad, and the useless
• How to fix ingrained mistakes and habits
• The power of habits and human nature: you can fight them, or you can make them work for you…it’s your choice
• Tapping into your innate learning instincts for powerful progress
• Once you get it, it’s all fun and games!
Bring your “That’s impossible” stories, your “I’ve tried and I can’t” tales, your burning questions, and your overwhelming challenges with you – so we can knock them down one by one!

District Event: Linn-Benton Baroque Festival
2021-02-06 | First United Methodist Church, 1165 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis, OR, 97330, United States
Chair: Mary Ann Guenther
District: Linn-Benton
We hope to have an in-person event. However, this is entirely dependent upon state guidelines due to Covid. We may have to switch to a Virtual Online event.
