Indiana Student Winner of MTNA National Composition Competition

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IMTA is thrilled to announce  and offer congratulations to Julie Puckett, student of IMTA member Nien-hwa Chen, winner of the Senior MTNA National Composition Competition. Miss Puckett will be awarded $2,000 made possible by the MTNA Foundation Fund and will have her winning composition performed at the MTNA National Conference March 21–25, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
We commend your hard work and encourage teachers to offer this wonderful opportunity to your students. More information on Composition Competitions can be found at www.indmta.org including information on the upcoming IMTA Opus Composition Festival.

2014 IMTA Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to Juliana Lockman, IMTA’s 2014 Teacher of the year!
2014-teacher-year-julianna-lockman
Juliana is a highly respected, caring, and talented piano teacher and has done so much promote piano in our region of Indiana.  She has been a tremendous mentor for area teachers, motivating, stimulating, and assisting new members to our piano association, including helping them to become nationally certified.
Juliana is talented, dedicated, responsible, conscientious, organized, energetic, hard-working, and a self-starter.  This individual is extremely dedicated to her students, matching her teaching style to the student’s needs.  She is always learning new ways to keep her students engaged; to make them better musicians.  She attends conferences regularly to keep her teaching fresh and to stay abreast of current teaching theories, always happy to share her findings at association meetings.
Juliana has served as the President of our Local Music Teachers Association twice and Vice President once. She commissioned a piece for the association to perform together and served on the highly respected area Piano Competition Committee and its Scholarship Fund Committee.  She has chaired and co-chaired AIM auditions numerous times and she has chaired the Piano Ensemble Concert twice. When her students had a long drive to South Bend for their National Guild Auditions, she started her own audition center for them in Elkhart.
Her students have been recipients of many awards through the years, most notably in the Stickley Piano Competition and the IMTA Composition Contest.  When one of our association members mentioned that she would like practice tests to help her students prepare for AIM auditions, she created practice tests for all twelve levels and sent them to every AIM teacher!
In addition to her volunteer and teaching responsibilities, she has motivated others with her regular chamber music performances. She has served as IMTA Treasurer for many years.  Juliana can always be counted on to step up and volunteer for whatever is needed. When she says she will do something, she will do it – VERY thoroughly!
Indiana Music Teachers Association appreciates her and everything she does! Congratulations!

2015 MTNA Composition Competition

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Congratulations to the winners of the MTNA Composition Competition at the East Central Division level. Our three winners in the State (IN) Composition Competition received either honorable mentions or won. Bravo!
Elementary: Honorable mention Ellie Overbeck, Student of Melissa Willis, IN
Junior: Honorable mention Abigail Mohs, Student of Donald Campfield, IN
Senior: Winner Julie Puckett, Student of Nien-hwa Chen, IN

2015 Opus Composition Festival

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IMTA is pleased to announce the 2015 Opus Composition Festival!
The Opus Composition Festival is a competitive event designed to encourage students to create and write music. The Opus Composition Festival promotes creativity and educates students in the art and craft of musical composition.
All students who enter receive a special certificate of participation, a ribbon, and a judge’s comment sheet.
New this year: Computer-generated scores and MIDI files will be required.
Postmarked Entry Deadline: Saturday, March 7, 2015.
Please refer to the IMTA website for this years guidelines and entry form.

2014 MTNA Conference – a personal review

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By Nancy Spahr, NCTM
Attending the 2014 MTNA Conference in Chicago was a great experience!  There were so many interesting and enriching sessions available that it was difficult to decide which to go to.  Many of the Exhibitor Showcase sessions were packed, with standing room only for latecomers.  Some of the showcases offered free packets of materials to attendees, and we were eager to take these home.  It took me a long time to make my way through the Exhibit Hall; there were so many innovative products I had never heard of as well as lots of helpful information relevant to my work as a piano teacher.  The concerts were outstanding, from the exciting performances by the young winners to Spencer Myer’s thrilling recital.  Also invigorating were the many conversations with other teachers.   Although tired afterwards, I felt excited, enthused, and full of new ideas and plans for incorporating them.
My main goal in attending the conference was to gather information and ideas to improve my teaching.  In particular, I wished to become more knowledgeable about technology in general and find some specific ways to incorporate it in my studio as well as to find some ways to help my students feel more energized and successful at the piano.Continue reading→

2014 IMTA Hoosier Auditions – State Results

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IMTA announces the winners of the 2014 Hoosier Auditions State Competition held at Butler University, Saturday May 17. Congratulations to all students, teachers, and parents who participated. In addition to receiving a cash award the winners of each category will be invited to perform at the Winners Recital during the IMTA Fall Conference held at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, November 7-8. Please consult the IMTA directory or online at indmta.org for 2015 Hoosier Auditions information.
Hoosier Auditions State Results
May 17, 2014
Early Elementary Piano Duet
Winner: Chenyao Liu & Karolena Zhou, students of Irina Gorin
Alternate: Patrick Li & Taiga Nishida, students of Aleksey Madan
Honorable Mention: Wyat & William Lancaster, students of Claudia BossardContinue reading→

2014 IMTA Hoosier Auditions – District Results

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Indiana Music Teachers Association is honored to announce the winners of the 2014 District Hoosier Auditions held in Valpariso, Goshen, Indianapolis, Anderson, Terre Haute, Madison, Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Lafayette.  The auditions are administered throughout the state by volunteer auditions chairs Carey Scheck, Beverly Lapp, Anna Briscoe, Reginald Rogers, Beverly Simms, Hugh Partridge, Grace Hemaida, Joyanne Outland, and Melanie Manges. The final round of competition will be held at Butler University, Saturday May 17. Postmark Deadline for registration and entry fees is Monday, April 28. Please consult the IMTA Directory or online at www.indmta.org for application, entry fees, and repertoire requirements. Any questions can be directed to the Hoosier Auditions coordinator, D.J. Smith djsmith1@butler.edu.
District A (Valpariso)
Carey Scheck, District Chair
Elementary Piano
Winner: Victor Sirugo, student of Carey Scheck
Alternate: Sam Sutliff, student of Carey Scheck
Honorable Mention: Veronica Lin, student of Carey ScheckContinue reading→

2014 Opus Winners

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2014 Opus Winners

Elementary Category – Ellie Overbeck, student of Melissa Willis
Junior Category – Ellie Svec, student of Becky Baker
Senior Category – Nathaniel Stout, student of Evelyn Stichter
Young Artist Category – no entries

Butler University students reflect on National Conference experience

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This past March, members of the Butler MTNA Collegiate Chapter attended and presented at the MTNA National Conference in Chicago, thanks in large part to the generous support of the Indiana Music Teachers Association.  After writing proposals, learning that one was accepted out of over twenty applications, preparing and rehearsing for months, six of our members were able to present a session entitled, Creating a Musical Wonderland: Teaching Composition Through Storytelling.  Preparing a session and attending the conference was a fantastic experience for all of us. We were able to network with other music teachers, learn about new teaching products, and discover new ways to engage our students.  You can read more about each member’s experience below.
Over the four days at the MTNA conference, I attended numerous presentations directly applicable to my own lesson teaching, in addition to the presentation that our chapter gave. Our presentation was very well received and will hopefully inspire other teachers to incorporate composition and improvisation into their lessons. Some of the most beneficial presentations I attended were teaching master classes given by Jane McGrath and Marvin Blickenstaff, in which they taught children in a lesson setting in front of the audience. Watching these two master teachers provided me with practical strategies and points of view that I look forward to implementing in my lessons. I also attended many of the Young Professionals Track presentations, which were relevant to my plans to be an independent piano teacher. I feel the trip was highly beneficial, both because of the presentations I attended and the presentation I participated in. -Scott Keegan, 2nd year Masters Student in CompositionContinue reading→

IMTA congratulates Erin Peyer on selection of RMM Studio Fellowship Award

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Congratulations to Erin Peyer, second year graduate student in Piano Pedagogy at Butler University, for her selection as recipient of an RMM Studio Fellowship Award, presented by the National Piano Foundation. “The RMM Studio Fellowship Award is presented annually to new or established independent piano teachers who demonstrate a clear understanding of Recreational Music Making (RMM) philosophy and practices, and a proven passion for creating new music makers with RMM-based teaching.”  The award includes 2 new digital pianos from Yamaha or Kawai. Additionally, recipients will be assigned to an RMM teacher/mentor who will consult with them in all facets of starting, developing, and teaching an RMM program.  After graduation next month, Erin plans to launch an independent studio in her home town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and will include RMM classes for teens as a focus of her teaching.