Tuesday, September 13, 2022

UMTA Chapter Meetings Back in Session!

September's chapter meeting took place on campus at Utah Tech University.


Jerald Simon kicked off our year of presentations and did a great job!  If you weren't able to see it, or want to go back through it, you can do so here:

Jerald Simon kicked off our year of presentations and did a great job! If you weren't able to see it, or want to go back through you can view it here: Sept. Chapter Meeting.  The passcode is #q?0V8ky

If you want to contact Jerald with questions you can email him at Jerald M. Simon

For your information:  Performance Evaluations will ONLY be held on Saturday, October 8, 2022.  Due to a few of our teachers being out of state or out of commission, we should be able to handle all of the students on Saturday only.  This will help reduce the cost as well and everyone's time.  

We appreciate the efforts of Emmalee Compass in heading up the Evaluations this year.  Please contact her at 385-222-9279 if you have any questions!

We look forward to getting to know everyone better this year, particularly as we have several new members coming in!

See you in October!

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Southern Utah Piano Pedagogy Conference

 Saturday, April 9th, 2022 - SUPPC 2nd Annual Conference was held in Cedar City after a one year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic.  It was great to be back together, and this conference was as great as the first!

2022 Conference Details 

2022 Conference Booklet - you can read through this and see how many great presentations there were.

Some of my take-aways were:

What causes stress???  NUTS!!

N - new things/novelty

U - unpredictable things

T - Threat...whether real or perceived

S - Stress that is toxic...continuous and unsupported.  


We can reduce stress in our students' piano/lesson life by asking the following:

What would you like my help with most today?

What would you like me to hear first?

What do you feel you did really well this week?

Giving our students a bit more autonomy during their lessons will help reduce stress AND help them feel more empowered and motivated.


The different panels were informative.  I especially loved the question asked the 4 University professors:  What do you wish you would have known when you first started out with your collegiate education/career?  There were some great suggestions and it caused me to think about my own...I wish someone would have shaken me by the shoulders and said, "PERFORMANCE ISN'T THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO WITH PIANO!!!"  I might not have wasted 30 years.  However, I AM making up for lost time thanks to UMTA!!!  *_*

I loved that Dr. Allred shared her favorite duets list and Dr. Dean's.  Dr.Dean had the best list of solos and duets.  Here's his list:



Wednesday, March 9, 2022

"Let's Write!" with Christopher Oill


(REMINDER:  There will not be a chapter meeting in April due to the Southern Utah Piano Pedagogy Conference being held on April 9th.  More details can be found HERE.)

Today's chapter meeting really gave some great insights into how we can help our students compose.  And we didn't even need a keyboard to start!  The handouts Christopher used can be found below.  They are helpful to have as you go through the video posted below the handouts.







Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Stunning Studio Spaces!!

Although we were few in number, we were able to record this fabulous Zoom meeting.  I was amazed at the wonderful ideas and recommendations Christie gave that can improve and enhance ANY teaching space we may be working with.  Christie's attention to detail and teaching in such a way that we are encouraged rather than discouraged was remarkable!

Here are a few of the tips I appreciated:
  • if possible, have two pianos side-by-side rather than different places in the room
  • there are some great piano design things for the bathroom...shower curtain, bath mat, hand towels if you wanted your bathroom to have some piano flair!
  • keep your instrument in tune
  • pianos on an inside wall, if possible
  • Open the lid of a grand piano away from the wall where possible
  • Organize your shelves/closet with your music; magazine holders work great (Ikea)
It was a great presentation and we really appreciate Christie's time and talent!


 

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Welcome 2022!!

 2021 was an interesting, but good, year!!  With most of our chapter meetings held online via zoom we had more teachers in attendance, but we missed our personal contact.  Our May Closing Social was so much enjoyed, meeting together at Vernon Worthen Park.  Who knew it would be our LAST chapter meeting with Dr. Dean present.  His death impacted our chapter and community deeply.  He is missed in so many ways!!

Our December chapter meeting was a gift of time to each of us.  No meeting was held.

And now we have ushered in 2022!!  Our first meeting was held on January 11th with Christopher Oill presenting on Interpretation.  He used Mary Had A Little Lamb as a very easy foundation piece to work with.  It was funny to think/hear how this well-known melody could change very quickly depending on the "performers" perspective.

Many of his recommendations made me think of different students and their varying attitudes depending on what is going on in their lives.  I can hardly wait to have a cranky student play their scales as a MONSTER...and then to play them as a PRINCESS.  Hopefully, they will start to recognize the difference in their playing depending on what they are feeling inside.  



It was a great presentation, and Christopher always has some "take-aways" that improve our teaching.

FEBRUARY's CHAPTER MEETING:  Due to the change in the Southern Utah Piano Pedagogy Conference date (moved from February, now is on April 9th) we WILL have a chapter meeting!!  

Dr. Christie Sowby will present on "Stunning Studio Spaces" (a presentation she has given several times, including at MTNA Conference!)  February 15, 2022 - Noon via zoom!!