Eugene District Ensemble Festival
2023-11-19 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | 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
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
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

2024 State Baroque Festival
2024-03-16 09:30 - 19:30 | Saint Mark Lutheran Church, 790 Marion St NE, Salem, OR, 97301, United States
The State Baroque Festival is an “Honors Recital” representing the culmination of a series of competitive and adjudicated district concerts. Students selected by an adjudicator in each district are invited to perform on the State Baroque Honors Festival.
Forms: https://oregonmta.org/programs/festivals/baroque-festival/
Registration Deadline: March 4, 2024
Location: Saint Mark Lutheran Church, Salem, OR

Grant Event - Practice Smarter, Not Longer
2024-04-05 11:00 - 13:00 | Virtual/Online
Presenting District: Lincoln County
Presenter: Dr. Lark Powers
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.
About 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.

Grant Event - The Art of Memorization
2024-04-08 10:00 - 11:30 | First Congregational Church – Eugene, 1050 E 23rd Ave, Eugene, OR, 97405
Presenting District: Eugene
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Huang
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.
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 - Stepping into the Light: Thoughts on Performance Anxiety
2024-04-08 10:00 - 12:00 | First United Methodist Church – Medford, 607 W Main St, Medford, OR, 97501
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Dr. Diane Baxter
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.
About 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.

Grant Event - Tips for Terrific Technique
2024-04-09 11:00 - 13:00 | Centerstage Theater, Whipple Fine Arts Bldg, Umpqua Community College, 1140 Umpqua College Rd, Roseburg, OR, 97470
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Presenter: Dr. Thomas Otten
Program Description: Technique may seem like rocket science—but it’s really not! In today’s world, where we’re using our hands not only for piano playing but also for texting, typing at a computer, etc., it’s increasingly important to give our students a solid technical foundation to avoid overuse injuries. We’ll start with an exploration of fundamentals of good keyboard biomechanics, and then apply these to technical issues such as scales, arpeggios, chords, octaves, and trills. There will also be an opportunity for participants to ask questions about technically challenging passages in repertoire that they’re teaching and/or playing.
About 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.

Grant Event - The Sustainable Studio
2024-04-10 10:30 - 12:00 | Brookwood Library Community Room, 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway, Hillsboro, Oregon, 97124
Presenting District: Hillsboro
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Neher
Program Description: Most music teachers experience burnout and overwhelm. How can we create and maintain a studio that is sustainable for our economic needs and our personal and family well-being? This presentation will offer best practices for designing studio policies and practices to ensure stable finances for you and your family, protect your time and energy, and provide clarity and professionalism to your students and studio families. Topics include: tuition models, billing and scheduling software, studio contracts and policies, the ever-present “makeup lesson” question, healthy and joyful boundaries, and more. We will have time to address your questions and share strategies with one another.
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 - Practice Smarter, Not Longer
2024-04-12 10:30 - 12:15 | OR
Presenting District: Central Oregon
Location: Studio of Melissa Farle, Bend, OR (Contact Melissa Barker for directions)
Presenter: Dr. Lark Powers
Program Description: 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.
About 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.

Grant Event - Master Class
2024-04-28 14:00 - 16:00 | Shepherd of the Valley Church, 1631 8th St, Hood River, OR, 97031
Presenting District: Mid-Columbia
Presenter: Dr. Michelle Huang
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
About 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 - Developing the Culture of Beautiful Tone Production on the Piano from an Early Age
2024-05-03 11:00 - 12:30 | Oregon Coast Community College, 400 SE College Way, Newport, OR, 97366
Presenting District: Lincoln County
Presenter: Dr. Alex Tutunov
Program Description: There is a great deal of information available on how to improve the speed, velocity and stamina in a performance, on “how to get a difficult run up to speed” and there are more performances out there that are louder and faster than ever before… But this is only a part of the performance. The other half is the expression, control of the tone quality, the culture of creating a beautiful sound on the piano. It can be understood as the broader aspect of the general technique, and there is much to discuss and to discover. The focus of this presentation is on how to teach, control, and how to practice creating such tone.
About Alex 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.
Alexander Tutunov now lives in Ashland, where he is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University. A successful piano pedagogue, he continues to prepare award-winning students. Dr. Tutunov has been the Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast, Artistic director of the SOU International Piano Institute, and the Director of the Chinese-American International Piano Institute in Chengdu, China.

Virtual Syllabus - Spring 2024
2024-05-17 - 2024-05-19 | Virtual/Online
Virtual Syllabus is available to all current OMTA members whose students aren’t able to attend in-person Syllabus. A teacher conference is required.
Registration deadline: April 19, 2024

Grant Event - Decoding a Baroque Score
2024-06-01 10:00 - 12:00 | First United Methodist Church – Medford, 607 W Main St, Medford, OR, 97501
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Presenter: Deborah Cleaver
Program Description: In Decoding a Baroque Score, we will analyze genre, articulation, ornamentation, and rhythmic expression in works of beginning, intermediate, and advanced pieces from the Baroque era. Special emphasis will be placed on how to communicate to students an approach for learning a new work. Because the notation in Baroque music is the least informative of all the styles, we need concepts to understand when and why we articulate, appropriate ornamentation, and how to decipher the complex rhythms.
About Deborah Cleaver: Deborah Ingram Cleaver holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Boston University where she studied with the renowned pianist and pedagogue Leonard Shure. After finishing her degree, she worked closely with Shure as his teaching assistant at New England Conservatory.
Ms. Cleaver has also spent many years studying the performance practice of the Baroque and Classic periods with such luminaries as Sandra Rosenblum, Edward Parmentier, and Elisabeth Wright. Her broad interests have resulted in lectures for universities and music teachers’ organizations, ranging from the expressive aspects of Baroque performance practice to the correlation between Romantic literature and music.
Ms. Cleaver teaches at Lewis and Clark College and Reed College as well as in her private studio. She also organizes seminars three times each year for the Portland/Golandsky Institute community and is a past president of OMTA Portland District. She has been a faculty member of the Golandsky Institute since 2005 and teaches at their annual Summer Symposium. Previous teaching positions have been at Willamette University, St. Andrews College, and the South Shore Conservatory in Boston.
An avid performer, she has appeared with the Fear No Music Ensemble, the DeRosa Chamber Players, Cascadia Composers, Friends of Rain, and the Makrokosmos Project. She has had performances aired on the classical music programs Played in Oregon and All Classical Portland. In addition, she has given lectures, workshops, and recitals at Portland State University, Eastern Washington University, and for Oregon and Washington music teachers’ associations, and is a frequent adjudicator throughout the Northwest.

OMTA 2024 Conference in Portland
2024-07-12 09:00 - 2024-07-13 21:00 | PCC-Sylvania, 12000 Southeast, SW 49th Ave, Portland, Oregon, 97219
Two-day OMTA joint conference with Portland Piano International, featuring workshops on teaching and repertoire, master classes, and artist recitals.

2024 General Membership Meeting
2024-07-12 14:45 - 15:45 | PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center, 12000 SW 49th Ave, Portland, OR, 97219, United States
This is the annual membership meeting for OMTA that happens annually as part of the summer state conference. Come one, come all! Find out what’s happening in our vital, creative, professional organization.

Grant Event -- Teaching Rhythm with the Child's Brain in Mind
2024-09-11 10:30 - 12:00 | Brookwood Library Community Room, 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway, Hillsboro, Oregon, 97124
Presenting District: Hillsboro Area
Presenter: Joseph Hoffman
Program Description: Many developing pianists struggle to play rhythms accurately and with a steady pulse, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Learn new fun and effective tools for teaching rhythm that align with modern cognitive science of how young minds learn.
About Joseph Hoffman: Joseph Hoffman, founder of Hoffman Academy and creator of the Hoffman Method for Piano, began playing piano when he was 6 years old. A YouTube personality, Kodaly-certified music educator, and former faculty member at BYU’s School of Music, Mr. Hoffman has dedicated his professional life to developing an innovative new piano method along with a host of online tools, games, and resources for students and teachers that make learning piano fun. His online piano lessons have reached over 200,000 students across 115 countries, transforming the way piano education is accessed worldwide.
Joseph Hoffman is also active as a composer and conductor, and his original works have been heard in many performance halls. From 2011-2013, Mr. Hoffman served as orchestra conductor of the Portland Ensign Choir and Orchestra. Mr. Hoffman regularly serves as an adjudicator of piano festivals and events, and provides training to piano teachers on the Hoffman Method. He has created a collection of popular song arrangements for beginning through late elementary piano students, “Mr. Hoffman’s Popular Hits for Piano,” published by Hal Leonard, and a vocal pedagogy book in collaboration with Betty Jeanne Chipman, “Singing with Mind, Body, and Soul,” published by Wheatmark Press.
Special note: There will be a 30-minute Hillsboro Area District business meeting at 10:00 am, followed by Joseph Hoffman’s presentation at 10:30 am. Please email us to receive a Zoom link if needed.

Fall Board Retreat
2024-09-21 10:00 - 15:00 | OR
Fall Board Leadership Retreat, go through Board of Directors Handbook, Presidents Round Table, includes lunch. This will be an in-person retreat, location TBA, with a Zoom option available for those unable to make it in person. Please RSVP by September 16.

Grant Event -- Point of View: Syllabus as a Teacher, Syllabus as an Adjudicator
2024-09-23 10:00 - 11:20 | First Congregational Church – Eugene, 1050 E 23rd Ave, Eugene, OR, 97405
Presenting District: Eugene
Presenter: Heidi Evans, NCTM
Program Description: Heidi Evans, past OMTA Syllabus Chair, presents a session on tips for using the OMTA Syllabus program in the piano studio. This talk covers benefits and resources of the OMTA Syllabus program, how to manage teaching the skills and repertoire over the course of the year, which resources are the most valuable (and when NOT to use them), and how to choose and prepare repertoire. Heidi balances this talk by sharing what an adjudicator expects to hear in the exam and how to prepare the student for a successful Syllabus experience.
About Heidi Evans: Heidi Evans is a Nationally Certified Teacher with a Master’s Degree from Portland State University where she studied with Harold Gray and Mary Hall Kogen. In her nearly three decades of teaching experience with students of all ages and levels, she has adjudicated festivals and events around the state since 2005, was OMTA Syllabus chair for five years, and currently occupies the position of President of Oregon Music Teachers Association. She recently joined the 8-hand performing quartet, “Too Grand,” which has been performing and raising money for scholarships for nearly four decades. Her latest deep dive into piano repertoire research is music by under-represented composers with a focus on pedagogical works. Her ultimate goal is to teach each student to teach themselves, so that music can be a rewarding lifetime experience.

Grant Event -- Autism, Neurodiversity, and Music
2024-10-08 10:45 - 12:15 | OR
Presenting District: Linn-Benton
Presenter: Emily Ross
Location: Please contact Mary Ann Guenther, NCTM
Program Description: In 2021, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 44 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. But what exactly is autism? What is meant by “spectrum” and is it really a disorder? In this workshop we will learn about the history of the autism diagnosis, how and why so many autistic individuals are drawn to music, and how a private music teacher can reach and teach the autistic music student. We will also cover the Neurodiversity movement, the nuance of language regarding disability and human dignity, and specific strategies for adapting lessons for the autistic learner.
About 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. Her teaching experience includes public school band and general music (7 yrs), English as a Foreign Language (2 yrs) and university courses in music therapy and psychology (15 yrs). Additionally, Emily has taught private lessons in guitar, and French horn, and trained and supervised practicum students in the field. She is the owner of HoofnHorn Music Therapy Studio, hnhmusictherapy.com, where she specializes in connecting with those with learning differences including autism, ADHD, and developmental delay. She also offers trainings throughout Oregon and SW Washington. Information about trainings and workshops for music therapists, teachers and parents can be found at EmilyRossTrainer.com. Emily played French horn in the Portland Wind Symphony for 18 years and is now enjoying learning Celtic harp and singing in the Portland Community Choir.

Grant Event - Dance Music in Bach's Keyboard Works
2024-10-11 10:45 - 12:15 | OR
Presenting District: Central Oregon
Presenter: Dr. Barbara Baird
Location: Please contact Melissa Barker, NCTM
Program Description: When is a Courante not a Courante? Answer: when it’s a Corrente. Learn about the basic dance types used in the Baroque Dance Suite: Allemande, Corrente/Courante, Sarabande, Gigue. How do the Italian and French styles of these dances impact their Tempi, Character, and musical interpretation? Learn guiding principles for approaching, learning, and performing these dance-inspired compositions.
About Dr. Barbara Baird: Dr. Barbara Baird has recently retired from the music faculty of the University of Oregon, where she taught organ, piano, and harpsichord for over 35 years. A critically acclaimed performer, Barbara has concertized throughout the United States, as well as in Germany, France, Holland, Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. A frequent adjudicator and clinician, she regularly conducts workshops and master classes for keyboardists, particularly on Baroque and Classical Period Performance, and Keyboard Pedagogy. She also enjoys working with young pianists who are learning the art of making music.

Grant Event - The Well-Rounded Musician
2024-10-12 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: Joseph Hoffman
Program Description: Do you teach your students to transpose? Do you ever read lead sheets? What about improvising and harmonic analysis? Even beginners can tackle these often-overlooked but highly useful skills if taught in the right way, opening doors to creativity and deep music theory comprehension to last a lifetime!
About Joseph Hoffman: Joseph Hoffman, founder of Hoffman Academy and creator of the Hoffman Method for Piano, began playing piano when he was 6 years old. A YouTube personality, Kodaly-certified music educator, and former faculty member at BYU’s School of Music, Mr. Hoffman has dedicated his professional life to developing an innovative new piano method along with a host of online tools, games, and resources for students and teachers that make learning piano fun. His online piano lessons have reached over 200,000 students across 115 countries, transforming the way piano education is accessed worldwide.
Joseph Hoffman is also active as a composer and conductor, and his original works have been heard in many performance halls. From 2011-2013, Mr. Hoffman served as orchestra conductor of the Portland Ensign Choir and Orchestra. Mr. Hoffman regularly serves as an adjudicator of piano festivals and events, and provides training to piano teachers on the Hoffman Method. He has created a collection of popular song arrangements for beginning through late elementary piano students, “Mr. Hoffman’s Popular Hits for Piano,” published by Hal Leonard, and a vocal pedagogy book in collaboration with Betty Jeanne Chipman, “Singing with Mind, Body, and Soul,” published by Wheatmark Press.

Grant Event - How to Start Improvising at the Piano and Rote Pieces: One Piece of the Pedagogical Puzzle
2024-10-26 09:00 - 12:00 | Groth Recital Hall, Eastern Oregon University, One University Blvd, La Grande, Oregon, 97850
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Presenter: Paula Dreyer
Program Description:
Improvisation is a skill that can be learned, just like everything else we teach. With the right tools, some practice, an open mind, and a bit of bravery, all pianists can learn how to improvise. Everyone will leave the session with concrete tools that will allow them to explore the piano in fresh, new ways. Paula invites you to discover creativity at the piano. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore a wide range of specific, attainable improvisation concepts, based off of rote pieces, gorgeous chord progressions, left hand patterns, and more. After spending years exploring improvisation and composition, Paula has discovered a framework to help you and your students become more versatile, well-rounded musicians.
Rote pieces, learned through modeling and demonstration, have recently become widely popular in the piano pedagogy field. They are highly beneficial for teaching technique and expression while enhancing musical memory and reading skills. They offer impressive, motivating recital pieces for beginners. Teachers will learn how and why to teach rote pieces, gain new tools for creativity in the lesson through improvisation and composition, and will discover new resources to enhance and compliment standard beginning repertoire.
