Teacher Enrichment Workshops

Oregon Music Teachers Association in partnership with the Oregon Community Foundation and the Nellie Tholen Fund present statewide teacher enrichment workshops. These valuable and varying presentations are free and open to all music educators, members and non-members alike.

Workshop Videos

(The following videos are available to OMTA members and are password protected. Members may find the password in their members handbook. It is the same as for other password protected areas of this site.)

Nurturing Potential Into Passion

Presented by Leila Viss, 88PianoKeys.me

Starter Steps for Playing Eighteenth-Century Repertoire on the Modern Piano

Presented by Donna Gunn, M.M., NCTM

Teaching the Special Learner: Wisdom and Strategies for the Independent Music Teacher

Presented by Emily Ross, M.A., M.T. – B.C.

Tips For Preparing For Syllabus Exams

Presented by Heidi Evans NCTM

Succeeding With Sonatinas

Presented by Dr. Crystal Zimmerman NCTM, Professor of Piano, Willamette University

Music and the Brain – How We Hear And Understand Melody and Rhythm

Presented by Dr. Crystal Zimmerman NCTM, Professor of Piano, Willamette University

Authentic Baroque Dance

Presented by Daniel Stephens, M.F.A. and Judith Kennedy, M.A.

Upcoming Events 

Starting Out Right: Taubman Approach for Young Children (Part 1) – canceled
Where to Look: Developing Hand Eye Coordination (Part 2) – canceled

Date/Time: Saturday, April 11, 2020/10:00 AM to 3:00 PM (canceled)
Presenter: Deborah Cleaver, M.M.
Location: Studio of Lanetta Paul, 60751 Wood Rd, La Grande OR 97850
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Local Contact: Dr. Matt Cooper
Program Description:
(Part 1) The concepts of the Taubman approach will be presented as a two-hour overview.
(Part 2) Ms. Cleaver will examine ways to develop hand/eye coordination from the earliest piano lessons through advanced literature, focusing on the ability to successfully negotiate difficult leaps and register changes, and to develop keyboard IQ through analyzing spatial relationships on the instrument. Teachers are welcome to bring examples of passages they find cause frequent problems for their students.
About the Presenter:
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 the immediate past president of OMTA Portland District. She has been a faculty member of the Golandsky Institute since 2005, and teaches at their summer institute at Princeton University every summer. 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 I and II. 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.

Mindfulness for Musicians

Date/Time: Monday, April 27 (reschedule), 2020/9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Presenter: Doug Hanvey
Location: Grace Lutheran Church, 660 Frances Ln, Ashland OR 97520
Presenting District: Rogue Valley
Local Contact: Catherine Rooney
Program Description:
Since its introduction into the West in the 1970’s, mindfulness has exploded in popularity. Mindfulness, which is non-judgmental awareness of one’s present moment experience, has been extensively researched and taught in healthcare and psychotherapy, K-12 education, and the corporate world. Mindfulness is beneficial for musicians too. It reduces stress, improves concentration and increases awareness, potentially enhancing technique, improving musical interpretations, and reducing performance anxiety. Participants will learn about applications of mindfulness for both students and you as a teacher, discuss teaching applications, and learn a basic mindfulness practice.
About the Presenter:
From 2007-2014, Doug Hanvey taught an undergraduate mindfulness course at Indiana University Bloomington that was attended by students from many departments including the esteemed Jacobs School of Music. He is the author of the program The Mindfulness Diet. Doug currently teaches piano and composition in Portland, Oregon and is currently writing a creative adult piano method.

Teaching the Special Learner: Wisdom and Strategies for the Independent Music Teacher

Date/Time: Saturday, April 18, 2020/10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Presenter: Emily Ross, MA, MT-BC
Location: Christian Science Church, 701 Washington St, The Dalles OR 97058
Presenting District: Mid-Columbia
Local Contact: Rebecca Gooch
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. Ms. Ross 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, she will lead a discussion on communication with parents regarding these sensitive topics.
About the Presenter:
Emily Ross holds a Bachelor of Music Education from University of Colorado and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in music therapy from Naropa University. She taught public school music (general music and band) for seven years, and worked in private practice as a music therapist with children with autism (and other challenges) for 12 years. She was the clinical coordinator of music therapy and an assistant professor at Marylhurst University. She plays French horn in the Portland Wind Symphony.

Music of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary Eras: Differences in Tone, Articulation, Pedal, and Rubato

Date/Time: Monday, April 20, 2020/10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Presenter: Dr. Thomas Otten, NCTM
Location: Studio of Carolee Harbour, 1953 NW Lamont, Roseburg OR 97471
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley-South Coast
Local Contact: Carolee Harbour
Program Description:
What makes for a stylistically appropriate piano performance? Should we use the same amount of pedal in Mozart as Chopin? How do we choose articulations in Baroque music? These and similar questions will be examined to shed light on the often confusing musical choices we have while performing and teaching music from many different style periods. Optional: participants may perform a work, or portion thereof, from any era, and receive comments relating to issues of style.
About the Presenter:
Thomas Otten, a California native born of German-American parents, has been hailed by the New York Times as “an extremely original player who puts a formidable technique at the service of his ideas.” He made his debut at age 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 is Professor Emeritus of Piano at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; previously he was chair of piano at Kent State University. His former students include prize-winning concert artist Andrew Tyson, along with other professional musicians who are active throughout the country. His collaborations include the Miami and Vega String Quartets, violinist Richard Luby, as well as baritone Marc Callahan and soprano Louise Toppin.
For more information on Dr. Otten’s activities as a master teacher/pianist, please visit his website: www.otten.studio.

Master Classes: Piano Performance & Teaching (canceled)

Date/Time: Friday, April 24, 2020/1:00 PM to 5:00 PM and Saturday, April 25, 2020/10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Presenter: Dr. Alexander Tutunov, NCTM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, 601 Pine St, Klamath Falls OR 97601
Presenting District: Klamath Basin
Local Contact: Terri Horn
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 the Presenter:
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 is Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast, Artistic director of the SOU International Piano Institute, and was recently named the Director of the Chinese-American International Piano Institute in Chengdu, China.