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 

The Whole Performer: Intention & Movement in Musical Performance

Date/Time: Friday, November 1, 2019/10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Presenter: Dr. Matt Goodrich
Location: Oregon Coast Community College, South Beach Campus, 400 SE College Way, Newport OR 97366
Presenting District: Lincoln County
Local Contact: Mary Morganti
Program Description:
TBA

About the Presenter:
TBA

Stepping into the Light: Thoughts on Performance Anxiety

The Body Always Wins or How to Prepare for Almost Anything

Date/Time: Friday, November 8, 2019/10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 to 3:00 PM
Presenter: Dr. Diane Baxter, NCTM
Location: Studio of Lea Emerson, 401 Sunset Dr, La Grande OR 97850
Presenting District: Blue Mountain
Local Contact: Matt Cooper
Program Description:
(Stepping Into the Light) “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.

(The Body Always Wins…) Thoughts on how we get ready for performance in the privacy of our own practice rooms. We cannot think our way into new ways of performing. We have to perform our way into a new way of thinking.

About the Presenter:
Dr. Diane Baxter, NCTM performs as a soloist, a chamber musician, and an orchestral pianist throughout the United States, in Canada, Japan and France. Her training is primarily from a long heritage of Hungarian piano teachers, including Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy and Gyorgy Sebok. Dr. Baxter has worked with British pianist Paul Roberts, London-based artist Charles Owen, and Washington DC’s Alon Goldstein. She is the Principal Keyboard Artist for the Newport Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared as soloist with the Cascade Festival of Music Orchestra, the Western Oregon Symphony, the Newport Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Mozart Players.

Dr. Baxter is currently Professor of Music at Western Oregon University where she has received the Faculty Honors Award for Outstanding Creativity and the Mario and Alma Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching. She regularly teaches courses in Ethnomusicology, Graduate Research Methods, Performance Anxiety, and Studio Piano. Her article on music and the brain, “The Science of Artistry: The Fourth String”, was recently published in the international journal, Clavier Companion (November/December 2013). She is editor of The Oregon Musician, a journal for the Oregon Music Teachers Association. Dr. Baxter frequently gives workshops on performance anxiety for students and teachers, and adjudicates for piano competitions and festivals around the northwest. In March 2015 she served as principal adjudicator of 350 pianists and presenter of the keynote speech, “Stepping Into the Light: Advice for Performers”, for the Woodley Competition in England.

Pianists, Piano Tone & Musical Expressivity: What is the Interface?

Date/Time: Saturday, November 23, 2019/10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Presenter: Arno Patin
Location: Roseburg Public Library, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd, Ste 100, Roseburg OR 97471
Presenting District: Umpqua Valley/South Coast
Local Contact: Carolee Harbour
Program Description:
Most musicians share an intimate relationship with their instrument. This is especially the case for harpsichordists, as well as for string, woodwind and brass players. Pianists seem to have a more remote relationship, especially in terms of understanding the capacity of the piano action as to enhance control and musical expressivity. Getting to know the geometry and the mechanism of our instrument is a necessity for us as professional pianists and teachers.

In this presentation the intricate correlation between correct regulation, adequate balancing, ergonomics and tone production will be explored. Without becoming overly technical, this presentation will describe the assets that we, as pianists, have at our disposal, with a “question and answer” time following.

About the Presenter:
Arno Patin, born and trained in Paris, is a classical pianist, piano technician, re-builder and piano designer. He designed and built his own concert grand model and delivered it in 2015.

Mr. Patin teaches piano in Portland, is an OMTA member, and currently works as contract technician for Portland State University.