Call for Masterclass Performers, IMTA State Conference 2018

The 2018 State Conference planning committee would like to invite you to nominate talented young pianists to perform in this year’s IMTA Conference masterclasses with Christopher Fisher (Elementary/Intermediate) and Frederic Chiu (Advanced). This year’s state conference will take place October 5-6 at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, IN. Both masterclasses will be held in Sweetwater Sound’s beautiful Performance Theatre. The masterclass for elementary and intermediate pianists will take place at 3:10 pm on Friday, October 5 and the masterclass for advanced pianists will take place at 9:15 am on Saturday, October 6.

The deadline for receipt of application is Saturday, September 15. No extensions or exceptions are possible. This is an exceptional opportunity! If selected, you and your student will be notified by Saturday, September 22.

To submit an application for the Masterclass, please click here or on the link below.

Call for Masterclass Performers

Benjamin Krause’s Work for two pianos to be featured at Conference

IMTA is please to be premiering the commissioned composition Taxonomies of Pulse, a work for two pianos by Benjamin Krause at the 2018 State Conference!

Benjamin Krause’s work has been recognized through grants, commissions, and awards by the Houston Symphony, Copland House, Network for New Music, Presser Foundation, ASCAP, Da Camera of Houston, and The American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. Drawing freely from varied traditions and aesthetics, his music is characterized by its visceral rhythmic drive, motivic control, and colorful, dense harmonies reminiscent of jazz. As a pianist, he regularly performs new music, jazz, and the classical repertoire, appearing at Carnegie Hall, Zilkha Hall (Houston), the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Menil Collection, and in collaboration with such artists as Molly Barth (Eighth Blackbird), Jeffrey Zeigler (the Kronos Quartet), Timothy McAllister (PRISM Saxophone Quartet), and Ronald Feldman (the Boston Symphony). He has held residencies and fellowships at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers’ Symposium, Lutheran Summer Music, and the Bennington Chamber Music Conference, and will be in residency at the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts (WY) in Fall 2018. He was also recently awarded the prestigious Copland House Residency Award, which will grant him time to work and reside at Aaron Copland’s New York home.

Krause holds composition degrees from Rice University (D.M.A.) and the University of Oregon (M.M.), and a B.M. in piano performance from Valparaiso University, where he also served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music (2015-2018). He lives in Chicago with his wife, pianist Christina Giuca Krause.

Visit the State Conference page for more details or to register!

Fisher Duo to be Featured Pedagogy Clinicians at IMTA State Conference

IMTA is pleased to announce we will be hosting Dr. Christopher and Katherine Fisher as our clinicians for the upcoming IMTA state conference to be held at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne on October, 5, 6. Details will continue to be made available on the conference page. Online registration for the conference will be open no later than August 1 here on the IMTA website.

Dr. Christopher Fisher is Professor of Piano at Ohio University School of Music in Athens, Ohio where he chairs the Keyboard Division, directs the graduate piano performance and pedagogy programs, and coordinates the Ohio University Piano Pedagogy Seminar. He is Director of Studies for the Honors Tutorial College Music Program. Recognized for his teaching, Dr. Fisher was the 2010 recipient of the Ohio Music Teachers Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year and the Ohio University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award.

Dr. Fisher is the author of Teaching Piano in Groups (Oxford University Press, 2010) and co-author of the revised and expanded edition of Piano Duet Repertoire (Indiana University Press, 2016). He has published in leading keyboard journals and is a contributing composer for the innovative piano method, Piano Safari (www.pianosafari.com), which is used by piano teachers and students around the globe. His educational compositions are published by Alfred Music and Piano Safari.

In demand as a workshop and master class clinician, Dr. Fisher has presented lectures internationally, including the national conferences of the Music Teachers National Association, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum, the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, and the Encontro Internacional de Pianistas de Piracicaba Brasil. Dr. Fisher has also served as a guest lecturer at leading conservatories and universities including recent engagements at The Juilliard School.

Katherine Fisher is co-author of the Piano Safari Method (www.pianosafari.com) for children. She and Dr. Julie Knerr have been working on their piano method since their time in school together at the University of Oklahoma when they both realized they had mutual dreams of writing a piano method that would incorporate all the best elements of the various methods they had been using in their teaching.

She is an affiliate faculty member of the Athens Community Music School at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  Her responsibilities include teaching private piano lessons as well as coordinating the Piano Preparatory Program (group lessons) for children who are beginners at the instrument.

Katherine is an active member of the Music Teachers National Association and presently serves as the Wellness Forum Chair for the Ohio Music Teachers Association. She presently serves in the capacity of Vice-President for Membership for the Southeast District of OhioMTA.

A native of Ohio, Katherine obtained her degrees from the University of Oklahoma (Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy) and the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance).  Her former teachers include Jeongwon Ham, Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Karin R. Edwards, and Nancy Bachus.

2018 Teacher of the Year Nominations

Nominations are now being accepted for the Indiana Music Teachers Association 2018 Teacher of the Year Award.

This award is one of IMTA’s highest honors that recognizes an individual who demonstrates excellence in teaching and service to the music teaching profession and community.  Recipients are nominated by current members and are selected by members of the Board of Directors.  Individuals and/or local associations may nominate someone for this award.

The IMTA Teacher of the Year Award will be announced and presented at Friday evening banquet at the 2018 State Conference at Sweetwater Sound.

The deadline for nominations is June 30th. The submission form is now available online here.

Both independent and collegiate teacher nominations are welcome. A history of past recipients can be viewed here.

Frederic Chiu to perform at Indiana State Conference


IMTA is happy to announce Frederic Chiu as our conference artist for the 2018 state conference to be held Friday and Saturday, October 5-6 at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne. Chiu will perform a recital at Friday evening following the conference banquet along with an advanced masterclass on Saturday.

Bio

Frederic Chiu performs in major venues on five continents, such as Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, The Chatelet in Paris, or the Mozarteum in Buenos Aires, as well as touring extensively in smaller and unusual venues. He collaborates with Classical music friends Joshua Bell, Pierre Amoyal, Gary Hoffman and the St Lawrence String Quartet, as well as non-Classical friends like jazz pianist Bob James, writer/storyteller David Gonzalez, Shakespearean actor Brian Bedford, and the clown Buffo, trying to bring the vivid live concert experience to as many people as possible. He has worked with conductors such as John Nelson, Stefan Sanderling, Rodolfo Fischer, Susan Haig, Bernhard Klee, Xian Zhang and Alexander Titov.

Among his recital programs, Frederic Chiu presents “Classical Smackdown”, a multi-year series where composers face off in head-to-head comparisons, with listeners voting for their favorite composer. After his first successful Smackdown between Debussy and Prokofiev, he presented Bach vs. Philip Glass in 2014, with results tracked at ClassicalSmackdown.com.

Frederic Chiu has released over 27 recordings, including the most extensive complete piano works of Prokofiev, and works of Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Rossini and Grieg, as well as the Beethoven/Liszt Symphony V and the solo piano version of Carnival of the Animals. His latest projects include “Hymns and Dervishes,” music of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann, and Distant Voices: Piano music of Claude Debussy & Gao Ping. He is a regular on St. Paul Sunday and Performance Today, and a favorite of public radios across the country.

Chiu’s teaching program Deeper Piano Studies – a philosophic and holistic approach to piano playing – has been presented at the Juilliard School, Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the New England Conservatory, the Banff Centre and most of the National Conservatories in China.

He is also co-founder and director of Beechwood Arts and Innovation in Connecticut, focused on the crossroads between art, innovation and transformation. His efforts to promote music coincide with his desire to foster peace and understanding, recently recognized by a Senatorial Commendation from the United States Congress.

www.fredericchiu.com

2018 State Conference Call for Proposals

The conference committee for the 2018 IMTA State Conference to be held at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne on October 5-6 is now accepting proposals on all aspects of music teaching and learning.

Both full session and lightning sessions submissions are welcome.

See details, along with the online submission form on the Call for Proposals page here on the IMTA website.

For questions regarding the IMTA State Conference please contact DJ Smith, Conference Laison.

2017 Conference Highlights

Another state conference has come and quickly passed! Indiana’s 2017 Fall State Conference at Indiana Wesleyan was full of our favorite conference events including sessions, featured artists, banquet and membership luncheon. It also hosted a new and exciting format of sessions called lightning sessions where 6 presenters presented a 5-minute “lightning” sessions in one hour slot.
If you were lucky enough to join us or if you had to sit this one out, enjoy these highlights and we’ll look forward to seeing you at the 2018 conference October 5-6, in Fort Wayne at Sweetwater Sound!
Be sure and follow the IMTA Facebook page to keep in touch with the most up-to-date happenings!
 

Featured Artist and Advanced Masterclass Clinician

Award-winning pianist Aviram Reichert performed a solo recital and presented an advanced piano masterclass. Reichert is a former medalist of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Competition.
   
 
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Register for the IMTA State Conference! (Deadline Extended)

09.25.2017 update: The early-bird deadline has passed but registrations will still be accepted at the door for the conference (without meals). See you on 9/29!
The Indiana State Music Teachers Conference is fast approaching – Friday and Saturday, September 29-30. We are excited to have it this year at Indiana Wesleyan University and the faculty there, Phoenix Park-Kim and Daniel Lin as co-chairs have been working tirelessly along with the rest of the conference committee to bring you a great conference!
Due to some technical issues with the online registration this past weekend, the early-bird registration deadline has been extended from September 18 to September 20. In order to be included in the meals (Friday night banquet and Saturday luncheon), you must register by midnight EST on September 20.
After the 20th, there will be no meals included and the fee will increase to $95.
Register now by clicking here.
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IMTA Conference Call for Masterclass Performers

09.25.2017 update: Submissions for the 2017 masterclass are no longer being accepted.
The 2017 IMTA conference planning committee would like to invite you to nominate talented young pianists to perform in this year’s IMTA conference master classes with Kevin Olson and Aviram Reichert. As you know, this year’s state conference will take place September 29-30 at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, IN. Both masterclasses will be held in the Philippe Performing Arts Center. Dr. Olson’s masterclass for intermediate pianists as well as composition students will take place at 10:30 am on Saturday the 30th in Baker Recital Hall. Mr. Reichert’s masterclass for advanced pianists will take place in the same hall at 1:30 pm.
Please submit YouTube links of your talented students. Applicants should not only play well—they should also be able to respond well in a public master class. Students should be secure performers who can change on the spot, and who are not overly sensitive to public criticism. Parents should be strongly encouraged to bring young performers the night before so they will be well rested and can warm up.
Performers must be studying with a current IMTA member. Pieces should be from the standard repertoire and should be polished and securely memorized.
One applicant per submission, please.
The deadline for receipt of application is Saturday, September 16. No extensions or exceptions are possible. This is an exceptional opportunity. The conference planning committee is especially excited that we have an opportunity for an intermediate master class as well. Please give it careful thought, and encourage your worthy candidates to apply! If selected, you and your student will be notified by Saturday, September 23.
 
Apply online now

2017 IMTA Conference Registration now OPEN

09.25.2017 update: The early-bird deadline has passed but registrations will still be accepted at the door for the conference (without meals). See you on 9/29!
Registration for the 2017 IMTA Conference at Indiana Wesleyan University is now OPEN!
The 2017 IMTA State Conference will be held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, September 29th-30th.
The conference committee apologizes for the delay but looks forward to connecting with everyone in a great weekend of learning including our wonderful lineup of special guests.

The schedule of events, hotel information, and online registration is available at:
https://www.indwes.edu/events/imta/