Grant Event - Making Syllabus Relevant: Using OMTA Syllabus Skills to Play Music
2023-04-01 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual/Online
Location: Zoom, for access please contact Rebecca Gooch
Presenting District: Mid-Columbia
Presenter: Dianne Davies Dianne Davies received a BA in music from Lewis and Clark College with piano emphasis and K-12 music education certification. Since then, Dianne has taught public and private school music and currently focuses on her private piano studio in Beaverton and performing. In 2010 Dianne created and performed her comedy show Dianne Davies Has Fallen Off Her Bench and in 2016, she created, produced, and performed a new show titled Attachments & Detachments–Tragedy to Triumph combining the music of Cascadia Composers, the Northwest Regions chapter of NACUSA (National Association of Composers USA), with dance, live art, and theatre to tell her own transparent story. In 2016, Dianne also began composing pieces for piano students. Since 2018, her student compositions have been performed each year at PSU in the Cascadia sponsored concert, In Good Hands, that connects living composers with young music students. Most recently, in December 2019 she produced another show with all her own compositions and arrangements for Christmas titled Soli Deo Gloria. Dianne created and performed original piano solo pieces, piano solo arrangements of Chopin Nocturnes fused with traditional carols (Romantic Christmas Suite), as well as a violin & piano duet, violin & cello duet, vocal solos and choral works. Again, she collaborated with live dancers and multi-media visual artist Collin Murphy. Dianne chairs the State Composition Celebration Virtual Event. Watch for her monthly column in the OMTA Music News on-line publication and her current performing and composing projects at musiqPOWER.com.
Program Description: Dianne Davies has taken 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. Students learn to easily transpose the ideas to all keys and understand the concepts.

Grant Event -- Stepping into the Light: Thoughts on Performance Anxiety
2023-04-01 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: Dr. Diane Baxter Dr. Diane Baxter, pianist, educator and consultant, is the editor of The Oregon Musician. She recently retired as Professor of Music at Western Oregon University where she received the Faculty Honors Award for Outstanding Creativity and the Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching. Diane taught studio piano and courses in Ethnomusicology, Performance Anxiety, and Research Methods. Dr. Baxter has adjudicated the Woodley Festival in Berkshire, England on several occasions. She adjudicates for all ages, and all levels. Diane consults and performs far and wide, often giving workshops on doing our best under pressure. “The Science of Artistry: The Fourth String” was published in Clavier Companion in Nov/Dec 2013. Diane’s article, “Ethnomusicology and Alchemy” was published in the April/May 2020 edition of American Music Teacher. Diane performs and teaches in France each summer, and in 2018 she began an international annual workshop on the shores of Loch Etive in the Scottish Highlands. The focus is on performance success and doing our best when it matters most. The workshop is thriving. Closer to home, recently Diane started writing the program notes for Corvallis Piano International and she continues to perform as principal keyboardist for the Newport Symphony. She lives, writes, plays and thinks in Brownsville, Oregon.
Program Description: Why are my hands cold and clammy? Why is my heart pounding? Did you just say something to me? No, I can’t just relax! Performance anxiety is a complex topic that involves how we think, how we feel, and how we behave. The results of it may range from mildly discomforting to completely paralyzing. We all want to get it right when it matters most, whether we are performers, family members, or teachers. All of us have something to gain by understanding what happens as we strive to excel. This talk will introduce some of the causes of performance anxiety and will offer some tips on how to do your best under duress.

Grant Event -- Practice Smarter, Not Longer
2023-04-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Grace Lutheran Church – Ashland, 660 Frances Ln, Ashland, OR, 97520
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Dr. Lark Powers In demand as a solo and collaborative artist as well as an adjudicator and presenter, Dr. Lark Powers has performed at such venues as Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally she has been heard in Europe, Mexico, and Canada. In addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles, including the Tacoma Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, she appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the duo she forms with pianist Ricardo de la Torre. Locally she is a frequent performer on the Listen Live at Lunch series at the First Lutheran Church of Tacoma, the Second City Chamber Series, and the faculty artist series at Pacific Lutheran University.
Lark received a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees (in piano, theory pedagogy and in harpsichord) and a graduate performance diploma in piano from the Peabody Institute. Her undergraduate studies occurred at the University of the Pacific, where she earned a BM in piano performance, summa cum laude, after which she attended the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris for three years where she won a premier prix.
A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and a Washington State Visiting Artist, Lark teaches at Pacific Lutheran University where she instructs applied lessons and accompanying and coordinates the group keyboard program. Dr. Powers has presented on topics including managing performance anxiety, the creativity inherent in the Baroque repertoire, the pedagogy of keyboard harmony, and more. She is a proponent of new music, specializing in the music of Latin American composers, and can be heard on recordings with the Pan Pacific Ensemble on Albany records and the Cherry Creek Flute Duo.
Program Description: Practice is the most significant element which will determine a musician’s success and enjoyment of their craft. However, many musicians were never taught how to practice, and some of what we think we know about learning can be updated. A few easily incorporated practice strategies can greatly increase progress and make practicing more efficient. This presentation will delve into fascinating research on how the brain learns and how this relates to music and practicing. Offering innovative and practical advice, topics discussed will include organization, spacing, the effectiveness of interleaved (random) repetition, first-time retrieval strategies, performance preparation, and common practice mistakes. With strategies to overcome the challenge of getting started, making improvement that sticks, staying focused, and planning the next session, this presentation will suggest ideas that can make practice rewarding and effective. Strategic practice techniques create transformative changes, which can be seen in overall progress as well as in performing comfort and success.

Grant Event - Technique and the Russian School Tradition of Piano Teaching
2023-04-11 11:30 - 13:30 | 354 N Star Ln, 354 N Star Ln, Sutherlin, OR, 97479, United States
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Alexander Tutunov 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.
Dr. Tutunov 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 also 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: Dr. Tutunov will share his experiences from his training at the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory and the Belarusian State Conservatory.

Grant Event - Practice Smarter, Not Longer
2023-05-06 10:00 - 11:30 | Hermiston Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 850 SW 11th St, Hermiston, OR, 97838
Presenting District: Umatilla-Morrow
Presenter: Dr. Lark Powers In demand as a solo and collaborative artist as well as an adjudicator and presenter, Dr. Lark Powers has performed at such venues as Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally she has been heard in Europe, Mexico, and Canada. In addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles, including the Tacoma Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, she appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the duo she forms with pianist Ricardo de la Torre. Locally she is a frequent performer on the Listen Live at Lunch series at the First Lutheran Church of Tacoma, the Second City Chamber Series, and the faculty artist series at Pacific Lutheran University.
Lark received a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees (in piano, theory pedagogy and in harpsichord) and a graduate performance diploma in piano from the Peabody Institute. Her undergraduate studies occurred at the University of the Pacific, where she earned a BM in piano performance, summa cum laude, after which she attended the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris for three years where she won a premier prix.
A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and a Washington State Visiting Artist, Lark teaches at Pacific Lutheran University where she instructs applied lessons and accompanying and coordinates the group keyboard program. Dr. Powers has presented on topics including managing performance anxiety, the creativity inherent in the Baroque repertoire, the pedagogy of keyboard harmony, and more. She is a proponent of new music, specializing in the music of Latin American composers, and can be heard on recordings with the Pan Pacific Ensemble on Albany records and the Cherry Creek Flute Duo.
Program Description: Practice is the most significant element which will determine a musician’s success and enjoyment of their craft. However, many musicians were never taught how to practice, and some of what we think we know about learning can be updated. A few easily incorporated practice strategies can greatly increase progress and make practicing more efficient. This presentation will delve into fascinating research on how the brain learns and how this relates to music and practicing. Offering innovative and practical advice, topics discussed will include organization, spacing, the effectiveness of interleaved (random) repetition, first-time retrieval strategies, performance preparation, and common practice mistakes. With strategies to overcome the challenge of getting started, making improvement that sticks, staying focused, and planning the next session, this presentation will suggest ideas that can make practice rewarding and effective. Strategic practice techniques create transformative changes, which can be seen in overall progress as well as in performing comfort and success.

ESMAR Assessment
2023-05-07 | Wilamette University, Dept. of Music, Fine Arts, East 208, 900 State St, Salem, OR, 97301
ESMAR Master Teacher: Dr. Crystal Zimmerman
ESMAR applications with checks, due date: postmarked by April15, 2023

Grant Event - Teaching the Special Learner: Wisdom and Strategies for the Independent Music Teacher
2023-05-13 10:30 - 12:30 | Grace Lutheran Church – Ashland, 660 Frances Ln, Ashland, OR, 97520
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Emily Ross 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. She taught public school music (general music and band) in Oregon for seven years, and English as a Foreign Language for two years while serving in the Peace Corps. She has been in private practice as a music therapist since moving to Portland in 2003. While she works with clients with a variety of challenges and learning difficulties, her specialty is autism. She taught music therapy courses and supervised music therapy students until Marylhurst University closed its doors in 2018. Emily played French horn in the Portland Wind Symphony for 18 years and is now enjoying learning Celtic harp and playing in a bell choir. She is the owner of HoofnHorn Music Therapy Studio, hnhmusictherapy.com.
Program Description: 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 - Teachings of Nelita True: An Homage
2023-06-09 10:45 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Presenting District: Central Oregon
Presenter: Thomas Otten Thomas Otten holds the title of Emeritus Professor, having retired in 2018 as Piano Area Chair from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He now resides in Portland, OR, where he is establishing himself as a master teacher and concert artist. A California native born of German-American parents, Dr. Otten 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 seventeen 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’s 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, please visit his website at www.otten.studio.
Program Description: Nelita True, who passed in January 2021 due to COVID, was one of the great artist teachers and clinicians of our time. Dr. Otten counts his study with her as one of his great blessings and joys; much of his pedagogical approach is due to his work with her. This session will illuminate her highly practical, organized, and effective approach to musicianship (tone, voicing, line, rhythmic direction), technique, practice, and memorization, along with anecdotes that underscore her warm, nurturing approach to her students.

Grant Event - The Art of Memorization
2023-09-13 10:30 - 12:00 | Virtual/Online
Presenting District: Hillsboro
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Huang, NCTM A native of Taiwan, pianist Michelle Huang has performed and taught extensively throughout the U.S. as well as abroad in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Described as a pianist with much sensibility and nuance, Michelle Huang is equally at home as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She has played numerous solo recitals, gave workshops and masterclasses, and collaborated frequently with vocalists and instrumentalists in the Mary L’Engle Ensemble, the River City Trio, the chamber group-in-residence at Friday Musicale in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Jacksonville Symphony and Richmond Symphony musicians.
In 2017, she received a grant to commission ten paintings by two graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University art students. These paintings were presented alongside the complete performance of Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition during her concert tour in 2018-19. Deeply committed to community outreach, she launched a concert series during her residency at Edward Waters College, in which high caliber artists performed concerts as well as conducted master classes, workshops, and lectures for the continuing enrichment and exposure of classical music to both the school and the community. She initiated the Mentoring Program as part of the Richmond Music Teachers Association, in which young music teachers can be paired with experienced teachers to help them with aspects of teaching. She is the co-founder of the Online Young Pianist Summer Symposium, which launched in May 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. The Symposium was conducted virtually for pre-college and college students as well as teachers, in which guest speakers were invited to present topics such as the art of practicing, the art of memorization, and Alexander Technique, as well as a masterclass. The Symposium continued to flourish in April 2022, and is expected to have more sessions in 2023.
Michelle Huang holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Tennessee, and Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Florida State University. Her principal teachers include Barbara Rowan, David Northington, and Read Gainsford. Dr. Huang has held teaching positions at Walter State Community College and Lincoln Memorial University. In 2011 – 2014, she served as the Assistant Professor of Piano at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. Most recently, she was on the piano faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In the summer, she served on the faculty of East/West International Piano Festival in Seoul, Korea.
In addition to teaching in the collegiate setting, Dr. Huang also maintains a private studio, where she works with talented pre-college students both in her Seattle studio and online. She has served as President and first Vice President of Programming for the Richmond Music Teachers Association. She is currently an active member of the Seattle Music Teachers Association and Eastside Music Teachers Association. Highly demanded as a frequent presenter and adjudicator, she is a Visiting Artist for the Washington State Music Teachers Association. Many of her students have won top awards and successfully pursued studies and careers in music.
Program Description:“I played through it without the music just fine before!” We have all been there. What makes someone a better memorizer than others? In this talk, we will look at the four different types of memory: visual, tactile, aural, and analytical, and how to best use them to securely memorize our pieces for the next performance. We will learn that there is a direct correlation between excellent practice habits and memory, and how the act of storytelling can really help to secure that memory.

MTNA State Composition Competition Entry Deadline
2023-09-13 12:00 | OR
Registration deadline is Wednesday, September 13, 2023, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time
https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/engage/competitions/Composition_Guidelines.aspx
All students are eligible to participate that are studying with an OMTA member in good standing.

District Presidents Round Table
2023-09-16 12:00 - 13:00 | OR
The meeting of the District Presidents and their President Elect officers that occurs prior to the State Board Meeting. This meeting will be over Zoom. Watch your emails for the link.

State Board Meeting
2023-09-16 13:00 - 14:30 | OR
The meeting of the State Board of OMTA, which occurs every Fall. This meeting will be over Zoom. Watch your emails for the link.

Grant Event - Creating Beautiful Tone in Piano Playing
2023-09-30 10:00 - 12:00 | La Grande United Methodist Church, 1612 4th St, La Grande, OR, 97850
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Contact: Jan Miller
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Huang, NCTM A native of Taiwan, pianist Michelle Huang has performed and taught extensively throughout the U.S. as well as abroad in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Described as a pianist with much sensibility and nuance, Michelle Huang is equally at home as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She has played numerous solo recitals, gave workshops and masterclasses, and collaborated frequently with vocalists and instrumentalists in the Mary L’Engle Ensemble, the River City Trio, the chamber group-in-residence at Friday Musicale in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Jacksonville Symphony and Richmond Symphony musicians.
In 2017, she received a grant to commission ten paintings by two graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University art students. These paintings were presented alongside the complete performance of Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition during her concert tour in 2018-19. Deeply committed to community outreach, she launched a concert series during her residency at Edward Waters College, in which high caliber artists performed concerts as well as conducted master classes, workshops, and lectures for the continuing enrichment and exposure of classical music to both the school and the community. She initiated the Mentoring Program as part of the Richmond Music Teachers Association, in which young music teachers can be paired with experienced teachers to help them with aspects of teaching. She is the co-founder of the Online Young Pianist Summer Symposium, which launched in May 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. The Symposium was conducted virtually for pre-college and college students as well as teachers, in which guest speakers were invited to present topics such as the art of practicing, the art of memorization, and Alexander Technique, as well as a masterclass. The Symposium continued to flourish in April 2022, and is expected to have more sessions in 2023.
Michelle Huang holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Tennessee, and Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Florida State University. Her principal teachers include Barbara Rowan, David Northington, and Read Gainsford. Dr. Huang has held teaching positions at Walter State Community College and Lincoln Memorial University. In 2011 – 2014, she served as the Assistant Professor of Piano at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. Most recently, she was on the piano faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In the summer, she served on the faculty of East/West International Piano Festival in Seoul, Korea.
In addition to teaching in the collegiate setting, Dr. Huang also maintains a private studio, where she works with talented pre-college students both in her Seattle studio and online. She has served as President and first Vice President of Programming for the Richmond Music Teachers Association. She is currently an active member of the Seattle Music Teachers Association and Eastside Music Teachers Association. Highly demanded as a frequent presenter and adjudicator, she is a Visiting Artist for the Washington State Music Teachers Association. Many of her students have won top awards and successfully pursued studies and careers in music.
Program Description: It is a lifelong challenge for pianists to make a beautiful cantabile sound on the piano, but it is possible through a general understanding of the mechanism of the instrument as well as the proper technique to make a warm, singing tone in piano playing. In this presentation, we will survey different ways to approach the piano keys through two note and three note slurs, staccatos, tenutos, accents, octaves, chords, voicing, and phrase shaping. Through specific musical examples, we will learn that different composers and styles might require different techniques to bring out certain sounds. By exploring an array of key speeds and attacks, we can bring exciting possibilities in how we can vary our sound and musical ideas.

Grant Event - Playing What's NOT on the Page: Cultivating Creativity
2023-09-30 13:00 - 15:00 | La Grande United Methodist Church, 1612 4th St, La Grande, OR, 97850
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Contact: Jan Miller
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Huang, NCTM A native of Taiwan, pianist Michelle Huang has performed and taught extensively throughout the U.S. as well as abroad in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Described as a pianist with much sensibility and nuance, Michelle Huang is equally at home as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She has played numerous solo recitals, gave workshops and masterclasses, and collaborated frequently with vocalists and instrumentalists in the Mary L’Engle Ensemble, the River City Trio, the chamber group-in-residence at Friday Musicale in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Jacksonville Symphony and Richmond Symphony musicians.
In 2017, she received a grant to commission ten paintings by two graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University art students. These paintings were presented alongside the complete performance of Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition during her concert tour in 2018-19. Deeply committed to community outreach, she launched a concert series during her residency at Edward Waters College, in which high caliber artists performed concerts as well as conducted master classes, workshops, and lectures for the continuing enrichment and exposure of classical music to both the school and the community. She initiated the Mentoring Program as part of the Richmond Music Teachers Association, in which young music teachers can be paired with experienced teachers to help them with aspects of teaching. She is the co-founder of the Online Young Pianist Summer Symposium, which launched in May 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. The Symposium was conducted virtually for pre-college and college students as well as teachers, in which guest speakers were invited to present topics such as the art of practicing, the art of memorization, and Alexander Technique, as well as a masterclass. The Symposium continued to flourish in April 2022, and is expected to have more sessions in 2023.
Michelle Huang holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Tennessee, and Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Florida State University. Her principal teachers include Barbara Rowan, David Northington, and Read Gainsford. Dr. Huang has held teaching positions at Walter State Community College and Lincoln Memorial University. In 2011 – 2014, she served as the Assistant Professor of Piano at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. Most recently, she was on the piano faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In the summer, she served on the faculty of East/West International Piano Festival in Seoul, Korea.
In addition to teaching in the collegiate setting, Dr. Huang also maintains a private studio, where she works with talented pre-college students both in her Seattle studio and online. She has served as President and first Vice President of Programming for the Richmond Music Teachers Association. She is currently an active member of the Seattle Music Teachers Association and Eastside Music Teachers Association. Highly demanded as a frequent presenter and adjudicator, she is a Visiting Artist for the Washington State Music Teachers Association. Many of her students have won top awards and successfully pursued studies and careers in music.
Program Description: We all know it is important to play what is on the page, but it is also essential to look beyond the written notes and rhythms to seek deeper meaning. In this workshop, we will become more creative as performers by discovering ways to shape phrases, investigating possibilities of varying the repetitions through an assortment of articulations, dynamics, and rubato, interpreting sections and phrases by attaching personalities, images, and colors to make music come alive, and understanding the diverse musical styles and languages to create different tools to play what’s not on the page.

Grant Event - Effortless Piano Technique
2023-10-10 10:00 - 12:00 | OR
Presenting District: Linn-Benton
Location: Contact Mary Ann Guenther for location details
Presenter: Dr. Angelina Case-Stott Angeline Case-Stott, Professor Emeritus of Music at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis, has performed on the piano and harpsichord as a soloist and chamber musician and served as a clinician across the United States, Canada, and Europe. In 2000, she made her European debut playing a solo harpsichord recital for the Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments at the University of Edinburgh in St. Cecilia’s Hall, Scotland’s oldest concert hall. Professor Case-Stott’s publications include a pedagogical video, keyboard harmony text, and articles in national journals including Clavier. She also edited books for Oxford University Press and McGraw-Hill Publishers. Case-Stott has a solo harpsichord CD, Baroque Moments. She has provided piano and harpsichord music for medical research being conducted by neurologist and author, Dr. Norman Shealy. Active at all levels of the Music Teachers National Association, she is past president of Greater Memphis Music Teachers Association, past president of Tennessee Music Teachers Association, and Tennessee Music Teachers Association 1990 “Teacher of the Year.” Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Early Keyboard Association.
Professor Case-Stott received piano performance degrees from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University (B.M.) and The University of Memphis (M.M.). Postgraduate piano pedagogy studies were at the University of Northern Illinois; harpsichord and early music performance practice were with Laurette Goldberg of San Francisco Conservatory. Professor Case-Stott has 30 years experience in adjudicating for MTNA and other musical organizations at the local, state, and regional level. She now lives in Camas, Washington.
Program Description: This presentation is based on Dr. Case-Stott’s article in Clavier “Painless Piano Technique.” Taubman approach, and other ideas for healthy piano playing will be presented. Some of the topics covered are variable arm/hand positions, finger placement, back and forward movements versus vertical up and down motions, independence of fingers (old school) versus forearm rotation (new school), and helpful exercises. Dr. Case-Stott will explain how a pianist should play on different parts of the fingers, depending on the musical passage. Avoid collapsing thumb joints through the careful selection of repertoire for students with small hands. Avoid overstretching and putting excessive weight into the keys. Stress-free octaves will be demonstrated with a novel technique and progressive exercises.

Sonatina Festival
2023-10-14 | Frohnmayer Music Building, University of Oregon, 961 E 18th St, Eugene, OR, 97403
The OMTA Sonatina Festival is a biennial competitive event open to high school age students and younger. There is a required repertoire list for the event which is available on the OMTA web site.
This event will be held in person.

Grant Event - Performance Practice in Baroque Keyboard Music
2023-10-21 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: Dr. Barbara Baird, has been a member of the University of Oregon music faculty since
1989, teaching organ, harpsichord, and piano, organ pedagogy, and harpsichord pedagogy. An active recitalist since 1971, Dr. Baird has performed throughout the United States as well as Argentina, Brazil, Europe and Australia. A frequent adjudicator and clinician, she regularly conducts workshops and master classes for keyboardists particularly on Baroque and Classic Period Performance Practice. Dr. Baird has been a presenter and recitalist at both national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, for the Organ Historical Society, and for piano teachers’ guilds in the United States and Australia.
Program Description: This workshop explores some basic considerations of performing Baroque keyboard music, including the articulation used during the Baroque era—staccato, non-legato, legato and over-legato—and how to determine when to use each of these; the interpretation of ornament signs and their execution, as well as the practice of adding ornamentation; understanding tempo markings, as well as implied dynamics, when no markings are present.

Oregon-MTNA Competitions
2023-11-04 | Lincoln Hall – PSU, 1620 SW Park Ave Room 75, Portland, OR, 97201, United States
Three-tier (state, regional and national) music performance competitions throughout the United States.
Registration Deadline: 12:00 P.M. Pacific Time, Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Grant Event - Performance Practice in Baroque Keyboard Music
2023-11-14 11:00 - 13:00 | 354 N Star Ln, 354 N Star Ln, Sutherlin, OR, 97479, United States
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Barbara Baird, has been a member of the University of Oregon music faculty since
1989, teaching organ, harpsichord, and piano, organ pedagogy, and harpsichord pedagogy. An active recitalist since 1971, Dr. Baird has performed throughout the United States as well as Argentina, Brazil, Europe and Australia. A frequent adjudicator and clinician, she regularly conducts workshops and master classes for keyboardists particularly on Baroque and Classic Period Performance Practice. Dr. Baird has been a presenter and recitalist at both national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, for the Organ Historical Society, and for piano teachers’ guilds in the United States and Australia.
Program Description: This workshop explores some basic considerations of performing Baroque keyboard music, including the articulation used during the Baroque era—staccato, non-legato, legato and over-legato—and how to determine when to use each of these; the interpretation of ornament signs and their execution, as well as the practice of adding ornamentation; understanding tempo markings, as well as implied dynamics, when no markings are present.

Virtual Syllabus - Fall 2023
2023-11-17 - 2023-11-19 | Virtual/Online
Virtual Syllabus is available for all current OMTA members with students who are out-of-area, or have extreme conflicts with their own district dates. Please contact the chair with any questions about this.
Registration Deadline: October 20, 2023.

Eugene District Ensemble Festival
2023-11-19 13:00 - 15:00 | Frohnmayer Music Building, University of Oregon, 961 E 18th St, Eugene, OR, 97403
The Ensemble Festival is one of our most popular events. Students are given the opportunity to perform with other students in ensembles of two or more. Ensemble types include, but are not limited to, piano duets on one piano, trios, or quartets. Students are welcome to perform with other instrumentalists or vocalists. Ensemble playing adds another element to a student’s musical development. It develops critical listening skills as students learn to adjust to those they are playing with. Students also learn to make musical decisions as a group while they polish their piece of music. These are only a few of the reasons why ensemble playing enhances the joy of making music.
The Ensemble Festival is an adjudicated event, however, students may perform without competing. All students receive certificates and feedback from the adjudicator. Students that choose to compete in this event will have the opportunity to move on to the state recital, if selected.
A maximum of 15 minutes per teacher is allotted for a 45-minute recital.
Registration Deadline: 11/10/2023

State Ensemble Festival 2023
2023-12-09 13:00 - 16:30 | Frohnmayer Music Building, University of Oregon, 961 E 18th St, Eugene, OR, 97403
Chair: Dr. Janet Pollack
Forms: https://oregonmta.org/programs/festivals/ensemble-festival/
Registration Deadline: November 27, 2023
Tentatively there will be two honors recitals. The exact time of each recital will be determined by the number of students entered.

Grant Event - Incorporating Composing into Your Studio Teaching
2024-01-09 10:15 - 11:45 | Studio of Ginny Redfield, 975 NW Conifer Blvd, Corvallis, OR, 97330
Presenting District: Linn-Benton
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Neher
Program Description: In this workshop, learn methods for incorporating composing in your studio lessons.We will discuss existing resources for teachers and ways to create your own composition assignments and prompts, as well as how to break down the process of composing a piece into small pieces that can be achieved using just a few minutes of lesson time each week.
About Lisa Neher: 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 - Composition: Stealing from the Masters
2024-01-20 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: Dianne Davies
Program Description: This workshop is to encourage teachers to present repertoire to students as a guide to their own creativity. Dianne’s “Rainforest Animals” were inspired by two Debussy Preludes.
About Dianne Davies: Dianne Davies received a BA in music from Lewis and Clark College with piano emphasis and K-12 music education certification. Since then, Dianne has taught public and private school music and currently focuses on her private piano studio in Beaverton and performing. In 2010 Dianne created and performed her comedy show Dianne Davies Has Fallen Off Her Bench and in 2016, she created, produced, and performed a new show titled Attachments & Detachments–Tragedy to Triumph combining the music of Cascadia Composers, the Northwest Regions chapter of NACUSA (National Association of Composers USA), with dance, live art, and theatre to tell her own transparent story. In 2016, Dianne also began composing pieces for piano students. Since 2018, her student compositions have been performed each year at PSU in the Cascadia sponsored concert, In Good Hands, that connects living composers with young music students. Most recently, in December 2019 she produced another show with all her own compositions and arrangements for Christmas titled Soli Deo Gloria. Dianne created and performed original piano solo pieces, piano solo arrangements of Chopin Nocturnes fused with traditional carols (Romantic Christmas Suite), as well as a violin & piano duet, violin & cello duet, vocal solos and choral works. Again, she collaborated with live dancers and multi-media visual artist Collin Murphy. Dianne chairs the State Composition Celebration Virtual Event. Watch for her monthly column in the OMTA Music News on-line publication and her current performing and composing projects at musiqPOWER.com.

District Presidents Round Table
2024-01-27 09:00 - 10:00 | Virtual/Online

State Board Meeting
2024-01-27 10:00 - 11:30 | Virtual/Online
The meeting of the State Board of OMTA, which occurs every January. This meeting will be over Zoom. Watch your emails for the link.

Grant Event - Playing with Blocks
2024-02-02 10:00 - 12:00 | Salem Public Library, Loucks Auditorium, 585 Liberty St SE, Salem, OR, 97301
Presenting District: Salem
Presenter: Dr. Lark Powers
Program Description: When students build a repertory of chord progressions, learning pieces becomes a process of assembling familiar blocks of harmony. This session will explore a series of keyboard harmony exercises from simple to complex, focusing on patterns most often found in student repertoire, and will examine passages where these progressions are found in the repertoire. Through these exercises, students can apply harmony in a hands-on way towards learning pieces, memorizing, and developing logical musical expression.
About Lark Powers: In demand as a solo and collaborative artist as well as an adjudicator and presenter, Dr. Lark Powers has performed at such venues as Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally she has been heard in Europe, Mexico and Canada. In addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles, including the Tacoma Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, she appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the duo she forms with pianist Ricardo de la Torre. Locally she is a frequent performer on the Listen Live at Lunch series at the First Lutheran Church of Tacoma, the Second City Chamber Series, and the faculty artist series at Pacific Lutheran University.
Lark received a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees (in piano, theory pedagogy and in harpsichord) and a graduate performance diploma in piano from the Peabody Institute. Her undergraduate studies occurred at the University of the Pacific, where she earned a BM in piano performance, summa cum laude, after which she attended the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris for three years where she won a premier prix.
A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and a Washington State Visiting Artist, Lark teaches at Pacific Lutheran University where she instructs applied lessons and accompanying, and coordinates the group keyboard program. Dr. Powers has presented on topics including managing performance anxiety, the creativity inherent in the Baroque repertoire, the pedagogy of keyboard harmony, and more. She is a proponent of new music, specializing in the music of Latin American composers, and can be heard on recordings with the Pan Pacific Ensemble on Albany records and the Cherry Creek Flute Duo.
Note: Three hours of parking is free for this event in the Library Parkade.

Grant Event - Master Class
2024-02-03 14:00 - 16:00 | Douglas County Library Ford Room, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd, Roseburg, Oregon, 97470
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Huang
Program Description: The masterclass teacher will work with piano students in a master class setting while the audience is invited to learn by observing.
About Dr. Michelle Huang: A native of Taiwan, pianist Michelle Huang has performed and taught extensively throughout the U.S. as well as abroad in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Described as a pianist with much sensibility and nuance, Michelle Huang is equally at home as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She has played numerous solo recitals, gave workshops and masterclasses, and collaborated frequently with vocalists and instrumentalists in the Mary L’Engle Ensemble, the River City Trio, the chamber group-in-residence at Friday Musicale in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Jacksonville Symphony and Richmond Symphony musicians. In 2017, she received a grant to commission ten paintings by two graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University art students. These paintings were presented alongside the complete performance of Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition during her concert tour in 2018-19. Deeply committed to community outreach, she launched a concert series during her residency at Edward Waters College, in which high caliber artists performed concerts as well as conducted master classes, workshops, and lectures for the continuing enrichment and exposure of classical music to both the school and the community. She initiated the Mentoring Program as part of the Richmond Music Teachers Association, in which young music teachers can be paired with experienced teachers to help them with aspects of teaching. She is the co-founder of the Online Young Pianist Summer Symposium, which launched in May 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. The Symposium was conducted virtually for pre-college and college students as well as teachers, in which guest speakers were invited to present topics such as the art of practicing, the art of memorization, and Alexander Technique, as well as a masterclass.
Michelle Huang holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Tennessee, and Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Florida State University. Her principal teachers include Barbara Rowan, David Northington, and Read Gainsford. Dr. Huang has held teaching positions at Walter State Community College and Lincoln Memorial University. In 2011- 2014, she served as the Assistant Professor of Piano at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. Most recently, she was on the piano faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In the summer, she served on the faculty of East/West International Piano Festival in Seoul, Korea. In addition to teaching in the collegiate setting, Dr. Huang also maintains a private studio, where she works with talented pre-college students both in her Seattle studio and online. She has served as President and first Vice President of Programming for the Richmond Music Teachers Association. She is currently an active member of the Seattle Music Teachers Association and Eastside Music Teachers Association. Highly demanded as a frequent presenter and adjudicator, she is a Visiting Artist for the Washington State Music Teachers Association. Many of her students have won top awards and successfully pursued studies and careers in music.

Grant Event - Off the Beaten Path
2024-02-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Groth Recital Hall, Eastern Oregon University, One University Blvd, La Grande, Oregon, 97850
Presenting District: Bule Mountain
Presenter: Heidi Evans
Program Description: Heidi will present a list of inspired pieces by lesser-known composers, with a focus on works by women and BIPOC artists. These pieces will be presented according to level: elementary and early through late intermediate. Most of the repertoire will be from the Romantic and 20th Century eras, with a few gems from earlier, and references to some living composers as well. All pieces are suitable for the OMTA Syllabus program. Come explore some new music!
About Heidi Evans: Heidi Evans is a Nationally Certified Teacher and holds a Masters Degree from Portland State University. She has over twenty years teaching experience with students of all levels and ages. Her ultimate goal is to teach each student to teach themselves, so that music can be a rewarding lifetime experience. She maintains a private studio in the greater Portland area, and is married with two teenage children. She also enjoys playing the harp, reading, hiking, white-water rafting, and gardening with her two black cats, Shadow & Inky.

Grant Event - Piano Flow: Create and Elevate
2024-02-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Hermiston Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 850 SW 11th St, Hermiston, OR, 97838
Presenting District: Umatilla-Morrow
Presenter: Paul Dreyer
Program Description: Paula uses her Little Gems for Piano pieces as a springboard for creativity. Even if you have never improvised, you will leave the session with some concrete tools that will allow you to explore the piano in fresh, new ways.
About Paula Dreyer: Paula Dreyer is a classically-trained pianist and composer, making music in a unique style that draws upon influences of classical, Spanish, film, and improvisational music. Known for her transporting and mesmerizing performances, Paula has graced world-class stages from Carnegie Hall to the Green Music Center, performing in the US, Canada, Nicaragua, Prague, Portugal, and Spain. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at Obras in Portugal, where she composed much of the music for her globally successful Little Gems for Piano educational series. Paula is also a well respected educator and presents nationally to music teachers. She has collaborated with world-renowned choreographer Kevin Jenkins and San Francisco based visual artist Adrian Arias, as well as with genre defying groups Potaje and Matt Small’s Chamber Ensemble. Paula was a band member for San Francisco’s legendary show Beach Blanket Babylon. She was the winner of the Montréal Classical Music Festival and was a chamber music semi-finalist in the Concert Artist Guild Competition at New York’s Merkin Hall. In her debut original solo album Central Star, Paula tells a personal, yet universal story about the powers of imagination, intuition, and creative expression during challenging times of transition, as well as offering a therapeutic medium during everyday life. pauladreyer.com/presentations
