Nominations Now Being Accepted for 2019 Teacher of the Year

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Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Indiana MTA Teacher of the Year. This award is given annually at the State Conference and is one of IMTA’s highest honors.

This award recognizes an individual who demonstrates excellence in teaching and service to the music teaching profession and community.  Recipients are nominated by current members (individuals and/or local associations) and selected by the Teacher of the Year Chair and State President.

To see a list of all past recipients as well as details for submission, please click here.

 

IMTA Teacher of the Year winners at the 2018 State Conference at Sweetwater. From left to right: Lori Rhoden 2010), Margy Roby (2005), Reginald Rodgers (2004), Jim Helton (2016), Euni Rickey (2017), Marylee Morton (2018), Juliana Lockman (2014), Hamilton Tescarollo (2015), Karen Thickstun (2008), Cheryl Everett (1999)~Anonymous IMTA Member who nominated a fellow colleague

 

2020 Collegiate Symposium to be held at Ball State

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Hoosier Auditions State Winners 2019

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Hoosier Auditions and IMTA would like to congratulate the following students for their fabulous performances at the 2019 State Competition.  Thanks to all who participated!

 

Elementary Piano
Winner: Jessica Flowers – Student of Beverly and Sylvia Scott
Alternate: Elaine Zeng – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky

Early Elementary Piano 
Winner: Albert Lu – Student of Linda Belleville
Alternate: Andrew Lee – Student of Svetlana Soleimani

Middle Piano
Winner: Micah Young  – Student of Ada Shebanova
Alternate: Eugene Zhang – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Honorable Mention: Jayden Wang – Student of Linda Belleville

Junior Piano
Winner: Rachel Yuan – Student of Linda Belleville
Alternate: Cade Neely – Student of Grace Hemaida
Honorable Mention: Rachel Wu  – Student of Dr. Karen Taylor
Honorable Mention: Lily Shen – Student of Aleksey Madan

Senior Piano
Winner: Madison Weiss – Student of Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim
Alternate: Sage Hamm – Student of Dr. Robert Palmer
Honorable Mention: Christina Shi – Student of Nadya Dubikovskyi
Honorable Mention: Joe Coman – Student of Anthony Beer

Collegiate Piano
Winner: Jonathan Kroll – Student of Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim
Alternate: Allyn Beifus – Student of Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo

Early Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Audrey Zhang & Olivia Zhou – Students of Svetlana Solemani
Alternates: Andrew Weng & Ochro Angar – Students of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Joyce Chen Ni & Jamie Chen Ni – Students of Natalia Rachford
Alternates: Ethan Zhang & Gavin Ruan – Students of Aleksey Madan

Junior Piano Duet
Winners: Kyle Tong & Daniel Slipchenko – Students of Aleksey Madan

Senior Piano Duet
Winners: Anna Lin & Michelle Zheng – Students of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Junior Voice
Winner: Abigail Peltier – Student of Stephanie Deckard & Leslie Peltier

Middle Winds
Winner: Josie Peltier  – Student of Jan Applegate & Leslie Peltier

Early Elementary Strings
Winner: Hayune Jun – Student of Regan Eckstein
Alternate: Luna Rubio – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano

Elementary Strings
Winner: Amyrah Tovar – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano
Honorable Mention: Hajean Jun – Student of Leslie Peltier

Middle Strings
Winner: Haseung Jun – Student of Regan Eckstein
Honorable Mention: Theresa Fussner – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano

Junior Strings
Winner: Niya Koh  – Student of Sara Wollan

Senior Strings
Winner: Samantha Sudhoff  – Student of Leslie Peltier

Hoosier Auditions District Winners 2019

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IMTA would like to congratulate the following students for their achievements at the 2019 District Hoosier Auditions!

District A

Early Elementary Piano
Honorable Mention: Stacey Sun – Student of Kimiko Nakamura

Elementary Piano
Honorable Mention: Kate Huang – Student of Kimiko Nakamura

Middle Piano
Honorable Mention: Amy Mao – Student of Kimiko Nakamura

Junior Piano
Winner: Alexander Borowiak – Student of Nicole Lee 
Alternate: Aidan Feeney – Student of Nicole Lee 

Elementary Strings
Winner: Noelle Streuber-Eden – Student of Tamara Ringas

 

District B

Early Elementary Piano
Winner: Albert Lu – Student of Linda Belleville
Alternate: Ingrid Lund – Student of Dr. Mary Rose Norell

Elementary Piano
Winner: Omolabake Johnson – Student of Linda Witchie

Middle Piano
Winner: Jayden Wang – Student of Linda Belleville
Alternate: Raymond Luo – Student of Linda Witchie
Honorable Mention: Anton Alstrom – Student of Dr. Luke Norell

Junior Piano
Winner: Rachel Yuan – Student of Linda Belleville
Alternate: Elsa Lund – Student of Dr. Luke Norell

Senior Piano
Winner: Joseph Coman – Student of Anthony Beer
Alternate: Felix Perez-Diener – Student of Dr. Luke Norell

Early Elementary Strings
Winner: Luna Nicole Rubio – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano

Elementary Strings
Winner: Amyrah Tovar – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano
Alternate: Cade Gentry – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano

Middle Strings
Winner: Theresa Fussner – Student of Dr. Rosalyn Troiano

 

District C 

Early Elementary Piano
Winner: Andrew Lee – Student of Svetlana Soleimani
Alternate: Olivia Zhou – Student of Svetlana Soleimani
Honorable Mention: Kelvin Yan – Student of Natalia Rachford
Honorable Mention: Audrey Zhang – Student of Svetlana Soleimani

Early Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Audrey Zhang & Olivia Zhou – Students of Svetlana Soleimani
Alternates: Jayden Xia & Laura Cai – Students of Natalia Rachford

Elementary Piano
Winner: Jessica Li Flowers  – Student of Beverly & Sylvia Scott
Alternate: Ivy Wei – Student of Chuyoung Yon

Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Jamie and Joyce Chen Ni – Students of Natalia Rachford

Middle Piano
Winner: Micah Young – Student of Ada Shebanova
Alternate: Advaith S. Iyengar – Student of Dr. Karen Taylor
Honorable Mention: Brooke Liao – Student of Dr. Karen Taylor

Junior Piano
Winner: Rachel Wu – Student of Dr. Karen Taylor

Senior Piano
Winner: Madison E. Weiss – Student of Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim
Alternate: Richard Wu – Student of Dr. Karen Taylor
Honorable Mention: Grace Tubbs- Student of Dr. Karen Taylor

 

District D 

Early Elementary Piano
Winner: Elva Gu – Student of Christina Whitlock
Alternate: Danyal Syed – Student of Galit Gertsenzon

Elementary Piano
Winner: William Washburn – Student of Galit Gertsenzon 

Middle Level Piano
Winner: Anna Gu – Student of Christina Whitlock

Junior Level Piano
Winner: Samuel Eskew – Student of Reginald Rodgers
Alternate: Andrew Bruce – Student of Christina Whitlock

Senior Level Piano
Winner: Sage Hamm – Student of Robert Palmer
Alternate: Tristan Galeon – Student of Daniel Lin
Honorable Mention: Colleen Fernung – Student of Reginald Rodgers

College Level Piano
Winner: Jonathan Kroll – Student of Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim
Alternate: Brenna Green – Student of Reginald Rodgers

 

District E

Early-Elementary Piano Solo
Winner: Andrew Weng – Student of Lai Ping Jean Ho
Alternate: Lucille Hu – Student of Dilya Meehan

Early-Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Andrew Weng and Ochro Angar – Students of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Elementary Piano Solo
Winner: Krishaa Motycka – Student of Dilya Meehan
Alternate: Ethan He – Students of Dilya Meehan
Honorable Mention: Christopher Park – Student of Lynette Browne

Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Jeffrey Chen and Crystal Wang – Students of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Middle Piano Solo
Winner: Annie Li – Student of Lai Ping Jean Ho
Alternate: Christine Liu – Student of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Middle Piano Duet
Winners: Christine Liu and Jenny Li – Students of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Junior Piano Solo
Winner: Michael J. Johnson – Student of Lynette Browne
Alternate: Isabella Meier – Student of Dr. Claudia Bossard

Senior Solo
Winner: Elise Boutell – Student of Dr. Janet Palmberg
Alternate: Priscilla Liu – Student of Lai Ping Jean Ho

Senior Duet
Winners: Anna Lin and Michelle Zheng – Students of Lai Ping Jean Ho

 

District F

Early Elementary Piano Solo 
Winner: Name Jozlynn Wagner – Student of Dr. Starla Raley
Alternate: Name Maddie Guirguis – Student of Dr. Starla Raley

Junior Piano Solo
Winner: Mitchell Adams – Student of Dr. Starla Raley
Honorable Mention: Lilly Guirguis – Student of Dr. Starla Raley

 

District G

Early Elementary Piano Solo
Winner: Alex Li – Student of Grace Hemaida

 

District H

Pre-Early Elementary Piano
Winner: Jackson Bade – Student of Anny Chiu 

Early Elementary Piano
Winner: Yi Wei Chen – Student of Anny Chiu
Alternate: Mazie Hoffman – Student of Anny Chiu
Honorable Mention: William Bade – Student of Anny Chiu 

Elementary Piano
Winner: Ramona Andersen – Student of Anny Chiu 
Alternate: Ashley Hong – Student of Anny Chiu 

Middle Piano
Winner: Hadley Snell – Student of Evan Keenan
Alternate: Chloe Park – Student of Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo
Honorable Mention: Eliza Andersen – Student of Anny Chiu
Honorable Mention: Srika Kumar – Student of Anny Chiu

Junior Piano
Winner: Katherine Grable – Student of Anny Chiu
Alternate: Yoonji Choe – Student of Pamela Haynes

Senior Piano
Winner: Serena Broxon – Student of Christine Freeman 

Collegiate Piano
Winner: Allyn Beifus – Students of Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo 
Alternate: Olivia Bressler – Students of Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo 
Honorable Mention: Josiah Lund – Students of Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo

 

District J

Pre-Early Elementary Piano Solo
Winner: Felicia Xie – Student of Aleksey Madan

Early Elementary Piano solo
Winner: Aiden Zhang – Student of Jane Wilson
Alternate: Jessica Xie – Student of Aleksey Madan
Honorable Mention: Melody Fei – Student of Melanie A. Manges
Honorable Mention: Leon Zeng – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Honorable Mention: Emily Oh – Student of Cindy Gribble

Elementary Piano Duet
Winners: Ethan A. Zhang  and Gavin Ruan – Students of Aleksey Madan
Alternates: Marco Tindel and Daniel Oh – Students of Cindy Gribble 

Elementary Piano Solo
Winner: Elanie Zeng – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Alternate: Eric Jin – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Honorable Mention: Russel Weaver – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Honorable Mention: Ahmed Khan – Student of Dalia Mockiene
Honorable Mention: Aaron Du – Student of Jane Wilson
Honorable Mention: Cailyn Cho – Student of Mary Heller
Honorable Mention: Hajean Jun – Student of Mary Heller

Middle Piano Solo
Winner: Eugene Zhang – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Alternate: Isabel Olivetti – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Honorable Mention: Bill Fei – Student of Melanie A. Manges
Honorable Mention: Daimon Onishi – Student of Dalia Mockiene

Junior Piano Duet
Winners: Kyle Tong and Daniel Slipchenko – Students of Aleksey Madan 

Junior Piano Solo
Winner: Lily Shen – Student of Aleksey Madan
Alternate: Peter Zhang – Student of Aleksey Madan
Honorable Mention: Abigail H. Lee – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Honorable Mention: Richard Zhang – Student of Mary Heller

Senior Piano Solo
Winner: Christina Shi  – Student of Nadya Dubikovsky
Alternate: Song Kim – Student of Aleksey Madan
Honorable Mention: Rachel Zhang – Student of Mary Heller

String Early Elementary
Winner: Hayune Jun – Student of Regan Eckstein

String Elementary
Winner: Hajean Jun – Student of Leslie Peltier
Alternate: Kayla Xu – Student of Regan Eckstein
Honorable Mention: Caleb Wu – Student of Regan Eckstein
Honorable Mention: Amelia Goodspeed – Student of Karen Isaacs

String Middle
Winner: Haseung Jun – Student of Regan Eckstein
Alternate: Joseph Yu – Student of Sara Wollan
Honorable Mention: Paul Rickert – Student of Leslie Peltier
Honorable Mention: Amelia Eicher-Miller – Student of Karen Isaacs
Honorable Mention: Joseph Yu – Student of Sara Wollan

String Junior
Winner: Niya Koh – Student of Sara Wollan
Alternate: Alicia Wang – Student of Regan Eckstein
Honorable Mention: Christian Shockley – Student of Karen Isaacs

String Senior
Winner: Samantha Sudhoff – Student of Leslie Peltier
Alternate: Jane Liang – Student of Regan Eckstein 

Woodwind Middle
Winner: Josie Peltier – Student of Leslie Peltier

Voice Junior
Winner: Abigail Peltier – Student of Leslie Peltier 

Looking for a Program for Your Local Association?

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Are you looking for a program for your Local Association? Have you considered one on MTNA Certification? There is an abundance of information on the MTNA website (www.mtna.org). Someone could research the topic and/or a Nationally Certified teacher from your group could talk about his/her experience.
I am also available to travel to speak on the topic, if you would prefer. Just contact me at nbspahr01@comcast.net or 765-438-6435.

–Nancy Spahr Huskey, State Certification Chair

2019 Opus Composition Festival Winners Announced

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We are very pleased to announce that the 2019 Opus Competition Festival results are in and students did a fantastic job! We received many high-quality compositions and it made the festival very competitive. Congratulations to all the students who submitted entries!
Elementary: No winner in this category this year
Junior: Carter Jackson, student of Caroline Ahn, Abstract
Senior: Aidan Feeney, student of Jennifer Feeney,  Sonata 2 in C# minor (1st movement)
Young Artist: Jacob Zaring, student of Caroline Ahn, Rite of Growth for Saxophone Quartet
 
Judge: David Farrell
The winners in each category have the opportunity to perform their composition at the IMTA State Conference in the fall of 2019 at University of Indianapolis.
Winners of each category will receive their entry fee paid in full by IMTA into the state round of the MTNA Composition Competition in September 2019. (*Please note that IMTA will not pay any applicable non-teacher fees for entry into the MTNA Composition Competition.)

Reflections on attending the 2019 MTNA Conference

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Members of the IMTA Board of Directors, as well as any student competitors from Indiana, are eligible to apply for the Stickley Grant. As part of the grant, recipients are asked to write a reflection of their time at the conference. We hope their words might encourage someone who has never attended a conference to go next year! The deadline for the grant is always January 31.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Daniel Lin:

The 2019 MTNA Conference in Spokane was incredibly memorable in so many ways.  Not only did I have the opportunity to connect with many esteemed colleagues around the world, the educational benefits of a wide variety of sessions featured were invaluable.  Lectures given by Midori Koga, Rose Grace, and Christine Guptill were eye-opening in the sense that they all dealt with teaching and practice strategies that do not directly involve the keyboard.  Some of these include using movements and gestures to cultivate a more musical phrase; the role of visualization in practicing; and taking care of our instrument (our body) in order to maximize performance.  The highlight of the conference must certainly be given to the preeminent scholar, Alan Walker, the keynote speaker.  His lecture on Chopin was simply breath-taking in every way, and I left the venue being reminded of this important truth—music is capable of expressing that which words cannot; and we, as music teachers, are responsible for conveying this important truth to our students.

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From Christina Whitlock:

I don’t think it’s any secret how much I love attending conferences, but I must say – Spokane was one for the record books!  I feel as though I’ve come home with more ideas and practical applications to my everyday lessons than ever before.

Highlights, for me, included:

·         An inspired keynote address by renowned musicologist, Alan Walker

·         Exposure to new pedagogical materials, including Paula Dreyer’s latest Little Gems for Piano collaboration with Marilyn Lowe

·         Uni-nostril and alternate-nostril breathing techniques as coping methods for performance anxiety

·         Kazoos as a light-hearted alternative to singing

·         Dozens of simple techniques to expose students to the art of Prepared Piano

·         Oodles of new applications of Music Learning Theory

·         New-to-me repertoire by African-American Composers

…This list could go on for days.  However, what I’d most like to remind my fellow teachers is the fact that our biggest takeaways are often found over lunch, or while chit-chatting our way through the Exhibit Hall.  As Karen Thickstun so aptly noted in her session on Originals, peer groups and colleagues are our best sounding boards.  I have been so uplifted from spending several days with “my people”.   I am continually impressed with the individuals our profession attracts.  I love my partners in this art.

I’d like to offer my most heartfelt thanks to the Board of Trustees and the IMTA Board of Directors for assisting me in this trip through a Stickley Travel Grant.   If anyone is interested in reading a (much!)  longer overview of MTNA 2019, you are welcome to do so here.  (include link to www.whitlockpianostudio.com/blog).

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From Lori Rhoden:

It was a great pleasure to be back at MTNA this year and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip.  Here are some of my highlights:

It is always fun to be a presenter, and I was happy to have a good group of folks in my session who were very attentive.  They asked a lot of questions and gave me some nice feedback at the end and during the next few days.  I enjoy talking to teachers about teaching music!

I was very proud of our Ball State alums Amy Chaplin and Christina Whitlock who were selected as presenters.  They are such great professionals who are really thriving and we are proud to have them represent Ball State University!

I really enjoyed the keynote speech on Chopin given by Alan Walker, a highly-respected music historian.  He pointed out some of the myths about Chopin we have heard for years – it was a reminder that not everything we read in books is necessarily accurate!  I was one of the fortunate ones to be able to purchase his lengthy new biography of Chopin and get him to autograph it.  Now that I have heard his voice, I will be able to imagine him reading the words to me as I delve into what promises to be a fascinating book on one of our most revered composers.

It was a thrill to hear Dominic Muzzi, the Indiana state Young Artist Piano winner who went on to win the East Central Division and then represent us at the national competition. Having been one of the judges when he won the state competition, it was exciting to hear him again and then to celebrate when he won the national competition.  We are all very proud of him.  By the way, we both got our undergraduate degrees at  FSU – I was just a few years earlier (haha)…… Go Seminoles!

Attending MTNA for many years has given me a chance to see a lot of wonderful places in the USA. It was a treat to be able to explore Spokane, Idaho, and even a little bit of Montana.   I checked off two more states (Idaho and Montana) on my quest to see them all (only about 10 left to visit). Just beautiful…..

The best thing about attending MTNA is the opportunity to connect with my music teacher colleagues.  We had a blast at the Indiana dinner and it was so great to see so many of my friends from around the country whom I have met and gotten to know through MTNA. If you have never had the opportunity to attend one of the MTNA national conferences, I encourage you to plan now to attend the 2020 conference in Chicago – an easy trip for us Hoosiers!  Start making your plans now to be able to give yourself this opportunity – you won’t regret it!