www.msmta.org A bi-monthly publication of the Maryland State Music Teachers Association September 2004

Affiliated with Music Teachers National Association

Maryland State Music Teachers Association

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I’ve spent the last several days getting my studio policy statement ready, ordering new music, filing the pile-ups still in place from June, and just generally attempting

to make everything look like I’m ready to start a new year. Not so…and I suspect the students and parents won’t be fooled for long! As always, I need another couple of months to catch up with all I planned to handle over the summer. Oh, well…it’s not too early to start planning for Winter Break…I always have a lot of time then!

As I entered the professional development days on the studio calendar, announcing when the studio would be closed, the random thoughts (my specialty) started

flowing: “Can I think of even one conference I’ve attended over the last twenty years where I haven’t learned anything?” No. Some were sensational – I came home

overflowing with ideas. Some were somewhat boring until just one comment, or one presentation, made a

from the President...

MSMTA CONFERENCE 2004SATURDAY & SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH AND 7TH

GOUCHER COLLEGE

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday lunchtime will feature a box lunch and Town Hall Meeting. Helen Smith Tarchalski will lead a discussion on setting studio policy. Some of the areas

explored will be what figures into setting an hourly fee, pros and cons of charging by the lesson, the month, the semester, or the year; the policy of making up or not making up lessons, and MORE. Bring your studio policy sheets and we’ll compare notes.

Saturday afternoon will conclude with a panel discussion “How to Make Money at Making Music.” The panelists include Ernest Ragogini, Elise Koehler, Rhoda

Jeng, Lisa Weiss, and Lawrence Moss. Playing chamber music, producing CDs, solo performance, composing, and teaching, of course, will be explored.

Sunday afternoon will end with the Composers’ Circle. After performances by the young composers, and examination of their scores, students and parents will be treated to a reception.

PRESIDENTJoselyn Cross Makowski2329 Blue Valley DriveSilver Spring, MD 20904301-384-1056

VP CERTIFICATIONAnn S. Matteson5204 Paducah RoadCollege Park, MD 20740

VP MEMBERSHIPRichard L. Hartzell1817 Arcola AvenueSilver Spring, MD 20902

VP PUBLICATIONSClaudette Horwitz5004 Barkwood PlaceRockville, MD 20853

VP STUDENT ACTIVITIESConchita T. Jan10 Boat House CourtGaithersburg, MD 20878

CORRESPONDING SECRETARYMaxine Lewack1614 Peacock LaneSilver Spring MD 20904

RECORDING SECRETARYJeannine Case1303 Persimmontree CourtCrofton, MD 21114

TREASURERDianna Souder531 Skidmore BoulevardGaithersburg, MD 20877

HISTORIANDeborah White-Bondhus10637 Green Mountain CircleColumbia, MD 21044

MEMBER-AT-LARGEDr. Carol Wolfe-Ralph6102 Gallery StreetBowie, MD 20720-3859

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTGary W. Dinn

LOCAL ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTS

ANNE ARUNDEL MTABetsy Green

MTA GREATER BALTIMOREFaith Wenger

MTA BOWIEJeannine Case

CARROLL COUNTY MTADiane Jones

MTA CHARLES COUNTYJudith Dalton

GREATER COLUMBIA MTAAnne Chen

EASTERN SHORE MTARaymond Hobbs

FREDERICK COUNTY MTAJ. Erin Runkles

HOWARD COUNTY MTAKathryn Stansbery

GREATER LAUREL MTADeborah White-Bondhus

MONTGOMERY COUNTY MTAKatherine Williams

PRINCE GEORGES MTALinda Head

MTA SOUTHERN MARYLANDDonna White

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huge impression, and improved my teaching skill, if not immediately, then over the long haul. For example:

• “Teaching isn’t telling.” ( Conference on Pedagogy many years ago)

• How to identify the leader in a group situation with students (not usually the one you thought it would be), and use that knowledge to instruct and influence the whole group. (MTNA Convention)

• Identifying gifted students, and accepting that it requires as much, if not more, finesse and skill to handle their unique quirks than it does to instruct very slow learners. (GIFT Institute)

• The benefits of Peer and Self- Evaluation, and how to incorporate it into your studio curriculum ( Pedagogy Conference again)

• Leading your “ horses” to water, and making it so they must drink the musical results they find there (Oberlin Summer Festival)

• “Feet-on” Baroque Dancing (MSMTA Convention)

• Dalcroze Down-sized for a home studio (Oberlin, MTNA, and Pedagogy Conference- different ideas each time)

• Etc., Etc.

Have I always met at least some interesting teachers, and some who have made a big difference in my musical life? Yes. Have I ever had the chance to peruse

more new music and see the latest and greatest than in a huge Exhibit Hall? No. Am I ready yet to give up on honing my own musical skills and stop trying to grow as a teacher? NO.

Maxine Lewack and Ann McCandliss have done a Herculean job preparing the MSMTA 2004 Conference. I’m excited about the presentations they

have planned, and look forward to seeing what I will learn from this outing at Goucher College on November 6 and 7. I know there will be something to bring home to help me inspire that studio full of horses.

Helen Smith Tarchalski had written some thoughts several years ago for the MSMTA newsletter when I was Publications VP. It caught the eye of

MTNA and was adapted for the MTNA website. I asked her if we could reprint that adaptation in this issue. It has some excellent thoughts.

One final point—consider inviting teachers from your area who are not members of MSMTA—what better way to introduce them to our

organizations, both local and state, and give them a taste of what benefits they might derive from joining us? Also—invite your spouses, musically—minded friends, or significant others to attend with you. Over the years, I have come to know and enjoy so many wonderful people who are not themselves teachers, at events like these.

See you there?

From the President Continued from Page 1

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Masterclass with Ernest RagoginiErnest Ragogini has performed as soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Central and South America. Concerts include appearances with the Annapolis Brass Quintet, the Baltimore Symphony Wind Ensemble, the Concert Artists of Baltimore Orchestra, the Lincoln Symphony (Nebraska), the Wildflower Festival Piano Trio and the Chamber Ensemble of Notre Dame. He has recorded for National Public Radio, for WQXR in New York, WGMS in Washington and WIVA in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Ragogini has been convention artist, adjudicator, panel moderator and lecturer for various Music Teachers National Association conferences, among them at the University of Delaware, SUNY at Potsdam, Rutgers University, the Eastman School of Music, McDaniel College and Marywood University. He has served on the Belin Arts Foundation

Selection Committee, the Baltimore City Mayor’s Arts Council and the Howard County Arts Council.

Mr Ragogini is recognized by critics here and abroad as a pianist and musician of the first order. La Republica (Rome, Italy) cited Ragogini’s “. . .uncanny skill and extraordinary pianism.” The critic from La Prensa (Lima, Peru) wrote: “He is the master of a surprising scale of tones, even from the ‘loudest pianissimo to the softest pianissimo.’ He revealed in all he did . . .technical skill, sensibility and the ability to not separate sobriety, gusto and refinement of expression.” His recital at the National Gallery of Art drew the following notice from The Washington Post “...Ragogini paid equal attention to the claims of logic and passion. He endowed the music with both spirit and grace. . .the recital as a whole was winningly unaffected.”

From 1986 to 1982, Ragogini was Artistic Director of the Wildflower Music Festival in the Pocono Mountains. During his tenure, Wildflower grew from a local concert series to an international festival. He introduced a jazz series within the regular offerings, featuring such artists as Ethel Ennis, Ronny Whyte, Marian McPartland and Billy Taylor.

Mr. Ragogini is an alumnus of Syracuse University and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He was awarded a Fulbright grant for study in Germany following his undergraduate years.

Ragogini is Professor of Music at the College of Notre Dame. He founded and is currently Director of the Music at CND Concert Series and Artistic Director of the Chamber Ensemble of Notre Dame. In 1988, the College of Notre Dame honored Mr. Ragogini with the Mullan Distinguished Teacher Award and in the Spring of 2004 with the SSND order’s coveted Mission and Ministry Award.

MSMTA 2004 GOUCHER COLLEGE CONFERENCELIST OF PRESENTERS AND PERFORMERS

David Foulk: Tai chi becomes saving graceHold a basketball in your hands,” says the persuasive voice of Dave Foulk, set against soothing background music, “and move that ball from center to your left shoulder.”

Hands grasping a basketball-size mass of air move obediently to left shoulders. The Tai Chi class at Western Howard County Senior Center is under way. The fact that one of the participants stands behind a walker bothers Foulk not at all. Tai chi, he seems to feel, is for everyone.

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STANDING

COMMITTEE

CHAIRS

ADVERTISING

Robert Hauptman

BYLAWS/PARLIAMENTARIAN

David Holmes

CERTIFICATION

Ann Matteson

COLLEGE FACULTY

Chiara Walsh Selby

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

Deborah White-Bondhus

COMPOSITION COMMISSIONING

Li-Ly Chang

CONVENTION

Maxine Lewack

FINANCE

Lum Fun Lee Offutt

FUND RAISING

TBA

INDEPENDENT MUSIC TEACHERS

Helen Smith Tarchalski

LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS

Kathryn Stansbery

MTNA FOUNDATION

Michele Hobart Rohan

MSMTA FOUNDATION

TBA

MEMBERSHIP

Richard Hartzell

MULTIMEDIA

Ina Nacev Allen

MUSICLINK

TBA

NOMINATING

Claudette L. Horwitz

PUBLICATIONS

Claudette L. Horwitz

PUBLICITY

Mary G. Wolf

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Conchita T. Jan

STUDENT CHAPTERS

Scot Hawkins

TALENT RESOURCE

Joan Chovanes

TECHNOLOGY

Helen Smith Tarchalski

SCHEDULE FOR MSMTA CONFERENCE 2004SATURDAY & SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH AND 7TH

GOUCHER COLLEGE

Saturday, November 6th

8:00 - 10:00 Registration and Exhibitors 10:00- 12:00 Masterclass with Ernest Ragogoni in Merrick Hall

Introduced by Marjorie Liss12:00- 12:45 Tai chi with David Foulk on the Kraushaar Auditorium stage Exhibitors12:45- 2:00 Lunch - Brown Bag and Town Hall Meeting in Merrick Hall

Hosted by Helen Smith-Tarchalski2:15- 3:15 Performance of Commisioned Work by Lawrence Moss

in Merrick Hall Introduction by Li-Ly Chang

3:00 – 4:15 Session by Elisa Koehler and Rhoda Jeng on Musical Collaboration in Merrick HallIntroduction by Lisa Weiss

4:30 -6:00 Panel Discussion on Making Money by Making Music Ernest Ragogini/Rhoda Jeng/Elisa Koehler/Lisa Weiss/Lawrence Moss in Merrick Hall Hosted by Pat Graham

6:00 8:00 Free for Dinner see Coupons for area restaurants 8:00 to 9:15 “Gemini Trio” in Kraushaar Hall www.geminipianotrio.com9:15-10:30 Reception in the Gallery hosted by Marjorie Liss

Sunday, November 7th

7:30 -8:30 MSMTA Board Meeting Breakfast8:30- 9:30 Registration and Exhibitors9:30-10:45 Session Jeffrey Chapell

Introduction by Maxine Lewack11:00-12:15 Session Wes Crawford

Introduction by Ann McCandliss12:15-1:00 Exhibitors1:00 -2:00 Lunch - MSMTA Business Meeting catered by Bon Appetit

Hosted by Jo Makowski2:15-3:30 Session Lisa Weiss Brahms Variations

Introduction by Barbara Gruver3:30-5:00 Small Auditorium Composers Circle

Chair: Joanna Greenwood3:30-5:00 Ballroom Dancing on the Kraushaar Stage5:00 Closing remarks by Jo Makowski

Elisa Koehler and Rhoda Jeng: Unsung Heroes: The Art of Musical CollaborationTrumpeter Elisa Koehler and pianist Rhoda Jeng will demonstrate and discuss effective chamber music performance techniques. Topics covered will include rehearsal strategies, repertoire classifications, and coping with unexpected situations. Tips for tuning wind and string instruments will also be discussed.

Program for November 6th Session at 2:30 PM Monti/Mendez - Czadas Hindemith - Sonate I. Mit Kraft Bozza - Caprice Boehme - Concerto (just the first movement) I. Allegro moderato Arban - Variations on Norma

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David Foulk - Tai Chi Continued from Page 3

He ought to know. Twenty years ago Tai Chi changed his life. It happened this way. He was 14 when he got his first motor-cycle. He’s owned eight of them over the years. At 21, he was in the Air Force, serving as an aircraft mechanic crew chief. Out riding on his latest motorcycle one day, he was hit by a truck. He was thrown 75 feet, landing on his head. He was wearing a helmet and it was a particularly apt decision, because even with a helmet, he suffered a serious brain injury. Without it, he believes he would have died in the crash.

As it is, he remembers little of the accident. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital and lapsed into a coma. He’s heard somewhere that the last capacity to go is hearing. Foulk believes it. He does remember hearing the doctors discussing drilling holes in his head to relieve the pressure.

“No way,” he recalls screaming. Of course, no one heard him because the cry remained locked in his head. But Foulk had made up his mind. There wasn’t going to be any drilling into his skull. Uh unh. And the swelling began to go down.

He lingered in the coma for a month. When he came out of it, he began a regimen of physical therapy, pushing himself to relearn from the bottom up everything his mind knew but his body had forgotten: swallowing, walking, speech, reading and writing; the simple things most of us take for granted.

He was left with a limp and considered himself lucky. He got a job at a summer camp working for the League for the Handicapped as a swimming instructor.

While teaching there, he met a woman recovering from a back injury. She was teaching Tai Chi. Noticing his limp, she said to Foulk, “I think I can help you.” She began to teach him Tai Chi and its link between mind and body.

Foulk stayed with his instructor for nine years before he began teaching Tai Chi by himself. By 1988, he was teaching courses at Howard Community College both for credit and non-credit.

Today, he owns his own business: Mind/Body Exercise, Inc. He teaches three classes a day, seven days a week. He shows no traces of a limp and he’s happy.

“I really love going to work,” he says happily, “and tai chi helped me recover.”

Continued on Page 6

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Elisa Koehler enjoys a versatile musical career as a conductor, trumpeter, and scholar. As an Assistant Professor of Music at Goucher College she conducts the Goucher Chamber Symphony and teaches courses in music history and theory as well as conducting and trumpet. Dr. Koehler also serves as Artistic Director and Conductor of The Frederick Orchestra, and plays trumpet with the Lyric Brass Quintet, winners of the 2000 Baltimore Chamber Music Competition. She has performed with the Annapolis Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic and Knoxville Symphony Orchestras, and has appeared as soloist with The Handel Choir of Baltimore and The Columbia Orchestra. Also active in historic performance, she plays the Baroque natural trumpet and the Renaissance cornetto with the Orchestra of the 17th Century and the Washington Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble. Dr. Koehler is an active adjudicator and clinician in the state of Maryland, having conducted All-County ensembles in Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, and Washington counties. She currently serves on the editorial staff of the International Trumpet Guild Journal as well as the judging panel of the National Trumpet Competition.

Critics have described Rhoda Jeng as “a pianist of grace and poetic insight...with a lush romantic sense and uncommon sensitivity.” Dr. Jeng received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music, her Master of Music degree from Yale University, and her Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She has performed as a soloist with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Yale Philharmonic Orchestra, the Columbia Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra. Dr. Jeng has appeared on television as well as in live radio concerts, including a broadcast of her first prize win in the Mozarteum Piano Competition. Her teachers include Jeffrey Kahane, Boris Berman, and Julian Martin. Dr. Jeng has served on the faculties of Drexel University, Essex Community College, Carnegie Mellon University, Grove City College, and is currently on the faculty of Goucher College.

Elisa Koehler and Rhoda Jeng Continued from Page 5

Jeffrey Chappell: Improve Your ImprovThis workshop is for anyone interested in improvisation. All instruments and levels of ability are welcome. “People who have taken this workshop,” says Mr. Chappell, “are always surprised to tell me that improvisation is fun and easy.” Teachers who take the workshop will come away with techniques for teaching improvisation to their own students.

The class will show how improvisation works with any style of music, not just jazz. Mr. Chappell will introduce successful techniques using familiar musical elements such as melody, harmony, and rhythm. He will focus on eliminating obstacles to improvising with freedom, and will address common issues that all improvisers encounter.

Participants may play and receive instruction or may simply observe the class.

Jeffrey Chappell is a concert pianist and is a member of the piano department and jazz faculty at Goucher College in Baltimore and The Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. He teaches improvisation at both schools and has taught improvisation to music teachers for the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association and for the Levine School of Music Professional Studies Program. He has improvised for silent films at the National Gallery of Art and was a member of the Lenox Ensemble, a Washington, D.C. group of improvising classical musicians. As a contributing editor of Piano & Keyboard Magazine, he wrote a feature article explaining jazz for classical musicians.

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The Gemini Piano TrioHsiu-Hui Wang, pianoSheng-Tsung Wang, violinBenjamin Myers, cellowww.geminipianotrio.com

Since its formation in 1994, the award-winning Gemini Piano Trio has been praised for their consummate technique and vibrant musicality. The San Diego Union-Tribune hailed them as “mind readers, anticipating each other’s every move” while applauding their “almost uncanny musical closeness.” The American Record Guide praised their début Ives/Brahms CD saying, “There is an admirable balance between confidence, polished technique, and impulsive, romantic ardor in this performance.” Their second album, featuring trios by Ravel and Shostakovich, was released in September 2003.

Possessing an innate sense of ensemble, the Gemini Piano Trio is one of the few professional family chamber groups on the concert circuit today. The violinist and pianist are brother and sister, and the cellist and pianist are husband and wife. The individual members of the trio are also accomplished soloists and have performed to enthusiastic audiences in Europe, Canada, Taiwan, and at prestigious venues in the United States such as the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, and Weill/Carnegie Halls. In addition to performing in music festivals such as Aspen, Taos, Waterloo, and Yellow Barn Music Festivals, members of the trio have also appeared in concert with distinguished artists such as Earl Carlyss, Thomas Kraines, the late Stephen Kates, and the Emerson String Quartet.

The Gemini Piano Trio has studied chamber music with Raymond Hanson, David Wells, Anne Koscielny, Thomas Schumacher, and Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet. The trio has also taken top prizes in the 1997 Chamber Music Yellow Springs National Competition, MTNA Chamber Music Competitions, the 1997 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition and its subsequent Year 2000 Winners Competition. In 1998, the Gemini Piano Trio was selected through a nationally-competitive audition to be one of the three chamber ensembles featured at La Jolla Chamber Music Society’s SummerFest. There, the trio worked with esteemed artists such as Cecile Licad, Cho-Liang Lin, Joseph Kalichstein, David Finckel, Wu Han, Ida Kavafian, Gilbert Kalish, and Menahem Pressler.

Members of the Gemini Piano Trio hold current and past teaching positions at Goucher College, Howard Community College, and Peabody Conservatory Preparatory Division at the Johns Hopkins University.

Lisa Weiss: Bahms-Handel VariationsI learned the Brahms Handel Variations while a college student some thirty plus years ago, when I was studying with Russell Sherman. My first public performance of it back then was a disaster and I put it away with a sense of failure. Subconsciously, though, my relationship with the work must have taken on a life of its own,because when I took it out again a few years ago I discovered, much to my delight, that I was finally ready to play it. I love the challenges in it, both technical and musical, and above all, the problem of how to make it cohere as a unity. About a year ago, I was invited to give a lecture-demonstration on the Variations to two classes at Haverford College - one a class piano course, the other a theory course on fugue writing. My session for this conference will begin with a brief overview of the history of variation form and then focus on the motivic, harmonic, textural and expressive aspects which make the Brahms-Handel Variations so structurally sound and so emotionally satisfying.

Pianist Lisa Weiss is chair of the music department at Goucher College and has been a faculty member there since 1985. She began playing the piano at age three and made her debut with the Boston Pops at age seven, played Haydn’s Concerto in D. She holds a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.M. from the Yale School of Music, and a D.M.A. from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Leon Fleisher. Her other main teachers have been Russell Sherman, Leon Kirchner, and Marian Hahn. She made her New York debut in 1986, in a program which included Bach’s Third Partita, the Copland Sonata, and the Liszt Sonata. Of her performance, the New York Times’ Wil Crutchfield wrote, “uncommonly thought, detailed, imaginative…a musician worth attention and able to hold it.” This past October, Ms. Weiss released her first CD, “Millenium Crossing”, on Capstone Records, featuring contemporary works for solo piano by Italian composers. For the past four years she has been performing solo and chamber music recitals in Italy, and returns this October for a five-city CD promotional tour. In addition to the chairmanship at Goucher, she is director of the Goucher Student Chamber Music Seminar and co-director of the Goucher Opera Workshop. In the past she has also taught Music Appreciation, Renaissance Counterpoint, and Musicianship at Goucher.

Ms. Weiss lives in Lutherville with her husband, painter and MICA professor Howie Lee Weiss, and their fourteen year old, Billie, a tenth grader at Dulaney High.

Wes Crawford SessionWes Crawford demonstrated an interest in drums since the age of four and began his professional career after graduating with a B.S. in Psychology at Virginia Tech. Soon thereafter, he began performing drumset with the extraordinary Jazz/R&B singer Jane L. Powell, a musical association that lasted eleven years and continues as a managerial relationship. The group toured throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean performing at festivals, universities, resorts, nightclubs, and on cruise ships. They opened for acts such as Ray Charles, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, Lou Rawls, The Crusaders, Joan Jett, Ernie Watts, and Paula Poundstone, and occasionally performed alongside artists such as Tony Bennett, O.C. Smith, and Dorothy Moore, as well as being featured with various symphonies. The 1,300 colleges and universities comprising the National Assocation for Campus Activities voted the group Entertainer of the

Year in 1990, their highest honor, and Jazz Artist of the Year for 1990-1992. During these years of touring, Wes also recorded two albums with Ms. Powell as well as several outside projects including his own “Rap-

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Continued on Page 9

TO GO, OR NOT TO GO...THAT IS THE QUESTIONby Helen Smith Tarchalski This article originally appeared in the Maryland State Music Teachers Association Newsletter. Used with permission.

Choose your favorite excuse that usually keeps you from attending music teacher conventions. I used to think that these excuses were true for myself until I started attending conventions. What I discovered to be the actual truth is that music teacher conventions offer myriad enriching experiences, and that the expense is justifiable. We reap the obvious direct benefits from lectures, concerts, master classes, idea exchanges, and the chance to examine new pedagogical materials. Additionally, a report in the studio newsletter clarifies that you expose yourself and, in turn, your students to new and reinforced teaching ideas and literature.

I Don’t Have Time The simple fact is that we all are allotted the same amount of time in each day—twenty-four hours. It’s true that we all have different sets of responsibilities and schedule demands. We have little or no control over the scheduling of some of our activities. However, we should prioritize the activities over which we DO have control, and professional growth and maintenance activities should be at the top of our lists.

I Won’t Know Anyone There If you are a new MTNA member, what better way to get to know and make yourself known to your colleagues than by attending our convention? Attendance at national conventions is hardly a lonely experience. MTNA conventions always feature receptions for various college alumni, nationally certified members, and state associations. These reunions offer a great way to renew old contacts and meet new people.

I Can’t Afford It How can you afford NOT to go? Attendance at conventions offers tax breaks. All convention fees may be tax deductible, as well as transportation and lodging. Meals may be partially deductible. (Check with a professional tax consultant, as allowable deductions change from year to year.) Funds for conventions

Along” album, a creativity and esteem building recording designed for teenagers. Wes also conducted electronic percussion seminars at VA Tech and at the Virginia Governor’s School for the Gifted.

In 1992, Wes settled with his family in the Washington, DC area as an independent artist on drumset and percussion where he currently performs and records world beat, jazz versions of rock classics, Cajun French music, and high-energy show bands. He has regularly performed with a long list of noted performers which include Aisha Kahlil of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Eva Cassidy, and Jazz pianist Jeffrey Chappell.

Noteworthy performances and recordings include those with the David Bach Consort (2nd place winner in the 1998 BET unsigned band video contest), Hennesy Jazz Search regional winner Jerry Gordon, African Continuum Theatre Company’s “Hubert & Charlie”, and performances with Milestone recording artist Ron Holloway. Additionally, Wes has also recorded for The History Channel and for PBS.

Wes considers education to be an important link to the future of the percussive arts and teaches drumset privately and at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. He also performs in school assemblies with Cindy Rosenberg’s Mosaic, which provided the musical instruction and curriculum for the 2000 Maryland Artist/Teacher Institute. Wes is the drumset instructor for the Jazz Music division of the annual Goucher Summer Arts Institute.

Wes Crawford Continued from Page 8

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should be specifically budgeted in your business plan. Former MTNA President Frank McGinnis once remarked that he puts a special MTNA convention fund aside equaling one student’s tuition payments for the year.Whether a convention is within driving distance or far away, the affordability issue is an easy choice for me. I choose to invest in education for my studio rather than handing over extra money to the government.

It’s Such a Tough Time of Year to Get Away It’s the same time of year for those who choose to attend a convention and those who choose not to attend. I remember reading an article in the newspaper called “A Winner and a Whiner.” One of the differences cited between the two is that a Whiner views an obstacle as a stumbling block. A Winner views an obstacle as an opportunity to meet a challenge and use it to his advantage.Some teachers select the conventions they would like to attend and include them in a written schedule, which is distributed to parents at the beginning of the school year. This is an opportunity to engage students in becoming more proficient at long-range planning. For example, a student might be assigned to play a high school exam program from memory and up to full tempo before you leave for the MTNA convention. A tangible deadline well ahead of the actual performance ensures that the student is ready to polish and review effectively on his own during convention week.

I Don’t Think I’ll Get Enough Out of It to Justify the Time and Expense When I attended my first MTNA convention, I ran into my former pedagogy teacher, Tinka Knopf, in the exhibit hall. She counseled, “Don’t rush through here. Spend the bulk of your time at the exhibits. This is where you will really learn what’s going on.” I know colleagues who have actually spent their entire convention time in the exhibit halls. The latest pedagogical materials—from sheet music and reference books, to videotapes, gifts and games—are available at conventions and often are discounted. The national conventions always offer a chance to chat with the composers, editors and publishers. Image the excitement on your students’ faces when you present them with autographed sheet music, or tell them about discussions you had with Maurice Hinson, Walter and Carol Noona, or Jane Bastien!Beyond the exhibits, of course, are the sessions. You may be surprised by how your creativity is expanded when you spend time considering (even if you never actually employ what you learn) teaching ideas that are radical to your way of thinking. So even if a convention program doesn’t appeal to you at first glance, consider going anyway!I remember Peabody’s president speaking to my graduating class on the day before our commencement exercises from the conservatory. He discussed what commencement really should mean; not only the beginning of our careers, but the next leg of the learning process. I urge all teachers to experience this leg by attending our convention, and to consider putting some other conventions on the studio calendar for later in this school year.

MSMTA NEWSNominations

The MSMTA Nominating Committee has chosen to renominate Ann Matteson for a second term as VP for Certification, and Deborah White-Bondhus for a second term as Historian. They have both served the association with distinction, and have accepted the renomination for 2004-2006, subject to approval by the general membership at the annual meeting in November.

To Go, or Not To Go...That Is the Question Continued from Page 9

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CERTIFICATION PORTFOLIOS RECEIVED

Candidates for MTNA Professional Certification can take advantage of the Certification Portfolio option. This option, which became available in January, allows candidates to complete Step II of the certification process to earn Professional Certification.The Certification Portfolio is a compilation of materials and documents designed to validate and fulfill the MTNA Professional Certification Teaching Standards required to become a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM). It provides concrete evidence of certification candidates’ knowledge, attitude and skills as a professional and reflects candidates’ individuality, creativity and self-sufficiency. One primary purpose of the portfolio is to provide the National Certification Commission with an effective and accountable documentation of certification candidates’ professional teaching competence.In the short time since enacting this option, several Certification Portfolios have been received at MTNA. One evaluator, upon completing the evaluation of the Certification Portfolio, said, “Since I was looking at my very first Certification Portfolio, it took me a long time to evaluate it. I had to get into a completely different mode from that of evaluating the Certification Examination. It was an almost pleasant task. I found nothing tedious about it at all. I’ve come away feeling like I know much, much more about the candidate’s teaching abilities-and personality for that matter-than I would have known had the candidate elected to take the optional certification examination. I think the portfolio route is a much more objective and informative way to go than the certification examination, and it’s so much easier to evaluate objectively.”Another evaluator commented, “I was really pleased that the certification portfolio that came to me was done so well. It took a long time to go over it with the document and the Criteria Evaluation Rubric Scale in front of me. I found the Rubric and the Criteria Evaluation Rubric Scale to be very helpful. Though it took more time than a certification examination to evaluate, I enjoyed the process more and feel the evaluation process will be more consistent with the tool we have to use.” For more information about the MTNA Professional Certification Program, visit the website at www.mtnacertification.org, or contact the national headquarters at (888) 512-5278 or mtnacertification@mtna.org.

THE DAVID R. HORWITZ

MEMORIAL COMPETITION

FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO

The Eligibility rules published in the March

MSMTA Newsletter stated that the

competition was open to Maryland High School students in

grades 9 through 12. Please delete the

“Maryland” limitation, as it is open to ALL high school students as long as either the

violinist’s or the pianist’s teacher is a member of the

MSMTA.

FOR SALEYamaha C3 grand piano for sale 6’1 polished ebony, 1976, polished ebony, RPT maintained, excellent condition, new climate control, perfect studio or student instrument $10,900Judy Dalton 301-645-4511 or jdalton526@aol.com

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MSMTA BY-LAWS REVISION - ARTICLE VISECTION 6.01

The elected Vice President for Certification must be an MTNA and MSMTA certified member and shall administer the business of national and state certifications.

Section 6.02 The Vice President for Certification shall, with the approval of the president, appoint two MSMTA certified members to serve on the Certification Committee. A good-faith effort will be made to have one member represent a field other than piano.

Section 6.03 Members of the Certification Committee will: (a) Determine all rules for the successful conduct of the MSMTA certification plan subject to

approval by the MSMTA Board of Directors. (b) Publish and circulate information concerning the plan and send out all application and

financial forms needed for granting MSMTA certification. (c) Set examination fees subject to approval by the Board of Directors. (d) Determine the time, date, and places of MSMTA certification examinations and the content

of those examinations. (e) Serve as members of examining committees as directed by the Vice President for

Certification. (f) Evaluate examination results and the fulfillment of qualification requirements as indicated

on the application forms and notify the candidate of the results. If there is a problem, the Executive Board may be called upon in an advisory capacity.

(g) Update or amend the certification plan subject to approval of the Board of Directors.

Section 6.04 If a certification candidate enters students to be adjudicated, those students will be heard by at least two certified teachers. Externs may be asked to assist with the judging when appropriate. Judges will be paid at the same rate as adjudicators are paid for MSMTA Student Activity events.

Section 6.05 Certification for MSMTA members is renewable every five years except for those holding emeritus or permanent status. All MSMTA members certified before January 1, 1981 have permanent MSMTA certification.

Section 6.06 Special categories of certification: (a) Permanent Certification may be granted to MSMTA members who have renewed either

MSMTA or MTNA certification three times. (b) Emeritus Certification may be granted to MSMTA members who have reached the age of

65. (c) Recognition in either category must be requested by the member although the Certification

Committee may advise the member of eligibility. (d) In both Permanent and Emeritus categories, members permanently retain recognition of their

certification status and pay no additional fees to MSMTA. (e) The year of this achievement will be printed in an appropriate place in the MSMTA

Directory.

Section 6.07 Any MSMTA member who becomes MTNA certified or who renews MTNA certification will automatically be MSMTA certified.

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IN MEMORIAM…

Carol Vought Feltman

Our deepest condolences go to the family of Carol Vought Feltman who died of cancer on July 30 at her home in Rockville. She was an active member of the Montgomery County Music Teachers and the MSMTA, and she played professionally at Nordstrom’s and the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda. She will be long remembered by her students and her many colleagues and friends. Carole is survived by her husband Ronald, and two sons, Christopher and Jonathan, and a sister.

Margaret Lorince

Margaret Lorince, former MTNA president, died July 31, 2004 at the Roper Hospital in Charleston, SC. Lois Margaret Lorince was born Feb. 3, 1926, in Lubbock, Texas. Mrs. Lorince moved to the Isle of Palms, SC, with her husband, Frank E. Lorince Jr. in 1986, after a career as an applied piano teacher and as a director of the Preparatory Department at West Virginia University.

She graduated with a B.A. from Oklahoma City University and an M.A. from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Her articles have appeared in the Keyboard Companion and The American Music Teacher. She held numerous leadership positions in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and served as president of the organization from 1991 to 1993. An expert in the field of piano pedagogy, she chaired the MTNA’s pedagogy committee for five years. The MTNA honored her as a Fellow of the MTNA Foundation.

Memorial donations may be made to the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts, Lorince Scholarship.

Irene Moore

Although she had not been a member of MSMTA for many years, we are saddened to report the passing of Irene Moore, 74, who died at Renaissance Gardens in Silver Spring, MD, where she lived. Irene was a very active member of both Montgomery County MTA and the MSMTA, and she served as chair and judge in many activities. She taught piano in Potomac from 1965 to 1978 when she moved to Louisiana, and later to Florida, then back to Maryland in 2002. Our condolences to her sons, Thomas and Richard. She also leaves a sister and a granddaughter.

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MEMBER NEWS

Musical Arts International will present its opening concert of 2004-2005 season on October 2 (Saturday) at 8:00PM in the Latvian Lutheran Church, 400 Hurley Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850 which features Francis Poulenc Trio-American Bassoonist Bryant Young, Russian Oboist Vladimir Lande and Russian Pianist Irina Lande. Program includes music by Handel Saint-Saens, Triebert, Poulenc and Francaix. Adult $17, Student/ Senior $12. For more information and season discount ticket, please call 301-933-3715.

The Francis Poulenc Trio brings together three uniquely gifted virtuosos, American Bassoonist Bryan Young, Russian pianist Irina Lande, and Russian oboist Vladimir Lande. Combining brilliant 21st century vibrancy with the best of European instrumental tradition, the Trio’s performance leap beyond the ordinary concert experience, transporting audiences into a world of beautiful sonorities, playful rhythms, and dramatic excitement. The ensemble’s precision and versatility heighten the lyricism of Poulenc, the virtuosity of Rossini, the wit of Kean Francaix, and the jazz elegance of Andre Previn. As the best of a select few professional wind trios, the Francis Poulenc Trio is committed to expanding the repertoire through the discovery of old masterpieces and the commission of new works.

Irina Lande, Piano, a graduate of the renowned St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music in Russia, has been a fulltime piano faculty member at the Peabody Preparatory since 1992. Recent chamber performances in the Virgin Islands and Germany have led to reviews, which speak of “a beauty and brilliance of sound, astonishing flexibility and a penetrating interpretation;” recording with Trio Latre of French Chamber

Music under the Sonora label has been greatly praised, especially for introducing several French composers largely unknown to American audiences; Fanfare Magazine has hailed her as “a strong pianist who doesn’t settle for an accompanying role.

Vladimir Lande, oboe, Principal oboist of the Baltimore Opera and an active solo artist, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory with degrees in both oboe and piano. As principal oboist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, he participated in the recording of all the Brahms symphonies as well as symphonies by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich and performed with such distinguished conductors as Claudio Abbado, Evgeny Mravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Valery Gergiev, and Yuri Temirkanov. His recent tours as soloist include appearances in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and most of the United States. Vladimir is an Artist-in-Residence at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and serves on the faculties of American University and the Washington Conservatory of Music.

Praised by The Doublereed Journal for his “voluptuous sound,” Bryan Young, bassoon, is a recent prizewinner of the Fernand Gillet International Bassoon Competition. Bryan made his solo debut at the age of 18 with the National Symphony Orchestra and has since appeared as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in recital at the Kennedy Center, at conferences of the International Double Reed Society and in concert halls around the world. The Washington Post has lauded his playing, raving that “Young makes his music dance with lightness and grace, as well as with a sparkle uncommon for his instrument.“ Bryan is the principal bassoon of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

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The members of Music Teachers Association of Bowie look forward to a new season of exciting monthly programs and meetings, as well as our varied student activities. Included in our programs (Betsy Jo Angebranndt, program chair) are a performance by the CROSSWINDS WOODWIND TRIO (headed by member and flutist Gail Vehslage),

two lecture-recitals, one given by Dr. Raymond Jackson, “THE CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC BY COMPOSERS

OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN DESCENT”, and the other given by Barbara Wing, “THE MUSIC OF KABALEVSKY”, plus performances by our 1st place Mirabella Competition winners (Jeannine Case, chair), and our Senior Awards winners (Kathy Hunt, chair).

This seems like an appropriate time to thank the MANY members of MTAB who have been willing to contribute their time and talent, year after year, be it as an officer, a chair of an event, a member of a committee, or a hostess for a Board Meeting: your willingness continues to make our local association a joy and pleasure in which to participate.

New slate of officers: President: Jeannine Case;Vice President: Marcia Slentz-WhalenRecording Secretary: Maxine RussellCorresponding Secretary: Gail TrafeletTreasurer: Mary Jo McGovern

Jeannine Case, President

LOCAL ASSOCIATION NEWSThe Music Teachers Association of Charles County has elected these officers for the 2004-2006 term:

President: Judy DaltonV.P. for Programs: Lori DeanV.P. for Student Activities: Michele AvrickSecretary: Krista Keysar Treasurer: Shirley SmithImmediate Past President: Mary Wolf

Our spring activities for 2004 included theory testing (over one hundred students in levels 1-7), and our Sonatina/Sonata Festival (120 entrants.) The Festival was our biggest yet, consisting of fourteen groups in levels one through nine, and our Winners Concert featured 42 pianists.

The year ended with scholarship competitions and a student recital. For 2004-5, we plan to hold Keyboard Musicianship tests on November 13 and our 11th annual Monster Concert on November 20.

This year’s concert will be a themed event, focusing on The American E x p e r i e n c e . Students will play music highlighting the many aspects of our country’s history, and costumes and additional instruments will supplement some of the selections.

With several new members, MTACC looks forward to another great year.

Judith Dalton, President

The Frederick County Music Teachers Association announces new officers for the 2004-2005 season:

President Erin RunklesVice President Bobbie RastallSecretary Anne MaysakTreasurer Madeline Young

Erin Runkles NCTM, FCMTA President

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DEADLINE FOR NEXT NEWSLETTER

Please email all notices and copy for inclusion in the November MSMTA newsletter by October 25, 2004, to:

chorwitz@starpower.net

or mail to:

Claudette HorwitzMSMTA Newsletter Editor5004 Barkwood PlaceRockville, MD 20853

The MSMTA Newsletter is published bi-monthly by the Maryland State Music Teachers Association, Inc.

Circulation: 725

OTHER

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSAlexandre Abdoulaev 9988 Foxborough Circle Rockville, MD 20850 (301) 987-0510 alex@ghost2138.org Piano

Stephanie Bruning 1844 Foxdale Court Crofton, MD 21114 (410) 721-0272 fantasia_steph@hotmail.com Piano

Lori Davis 2848 Ridge Road Waldorf, MD 20603 (301) 932-7720 Piano

Laura B. Garvin3404 University PlaceBaltimore, MD 21218(410) 366-9180lgarvin@mcdonogh.orgEarly childhood music, piano

Betty Guenther 1713 Miller Fall Road Derwood, MD 20855-1127 (301) 921-1942; (301) 990-2496 maestra8va@yahoo.com Piano -- Provisional

Jessica Hull-Dambaugh18700 Curry Powder LaneGermantown, MD 20874(301) 515-1674hull91@hotmail.comFlute

Amir Ali Javadi540 Elmcroft Blvd. #2404Rockville, MD 20850240-683-9130aajavadi@yahoo.comPiano

Frances Carolyn Keiner662 Lake DriveWestminster, MD 21158(410) 848-4563piano

Barbara Lancaster 902 Echo Bay Court Gambrills, MD 21054 (410) 721-0888 BlancasterB@aol.com Voice

Joan H. MacDonald (provisional)911 Old New Windsor PikeWestminster, MD 21157(410) 848-3077grannymacd@yahoo.comorgan - provisional

Pin-Huey Wang11018 Outpost DriveNorth Potomac, MD 20878(301) 279-2607pinhuey@pianists.orgpiano, accompanying

ORGANIZATIONSSymposium for Teachers of Adult StudentsIt’s still possible to attend the Symposium for Teachers of Adult Students to be held in Silver Spring on Saturday, November 18, 2004, from 9:30 to 4:30. This is one of the few (perhaps only) opportunities to hear presentations of experienced adult teachers and to discuss with colleagues the issues of teaching adults.

For more information and a registration form, go to www.amsfperform.org or www.musicalfossils.com or call Matt Harre at 202.244.7880.

Richard Hartzell,Membership Chair