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Noteworthy News
Newsletter of the Santa Cruz County Branch
Music Teachers’ Association of California
SCCMTAC Calendar of Events
March
6 - Friday, 9:00-10:30 - Board meeting, hosted by Ellen
Khayat
8 - Sunday, 2:30 - Student Recital, Santa Cruz Public Library, 224 Church Street, Santa Cruz (upstairs meeting
room)
15 - CM Branch Honors forms for piano (2015 version) to
Vlada Volkova-Moran
19 - Thursday, 12:10 - Munch Mo, Santa Cruz Public Library, main branch
21 - Saturday, Certificate of Merit Evaluations, voice, St.
Andrew Presbyterian Church
21 - Saturday, 2:00-4:30 - Watsonville Woman’s Club Annual Tea
29 - Sunday, Certificate of Merit Evaluations, piano/strings/
winds, UCSC
April
3 - Friday, 9:00-10:30 - Board meeting, hosted by Kathleen
Kasdorf
12 - Sunday, CM Branch Honors Recitals - 12:30 piano;
2:30 voice, strings, winds, Kuumbwa Jazz Center
16 - Thursday, 12:10 - Munch Mo, Santa Cruz Public
Library, main branch
19- Sunday, 9:00-5:00 - Talent Bank Festival Auditions,
Cabrillo College
26 - Sunday, 2:30 - TBAF Barbara Call Recital, Kuumbwa
Jazz Center
May
1 - Friday, 9:00-10:30 - Board meeting, hosted by Michael
Rindt
8 - Friday, 10:00-noon - Teachers discussion group, topic
TBA, hosted by Robin Murray
17 - Sunday, 3:00-5:00 - A Musical Mingling, adult recital,
hosted by Joanne Tanner
21 - Thursday, 12:10 - Munch Mo, Santa Cruz Public Library, main branch
June
12 - Friday, 9:00-10:30 - Board planning meeting, hosted by
Carolyn Christian
12 - Friday, 11:00-2:30 - General Membership Meeting,
Installation of Officers, lunch potluck, hosted by Samantha
Allott
18 - Thursday, 12:10 - Munch Mo, Santa Cruz Public Library, main branch
Deadline for April newsletter:
March 20, 2015
cchristian43@gmail
March 2015
Volume 29 Number 6
March 8th Recital, 2:30 PM - Carol Panofsky
Our branch will be hosting a recital at the Central Branch
of The Santa Cruz Public Libraries on MARCH 8th. We
chose this date because it provides a great opportunity for
your students to try out their CM repertoire in a public venue. The deadline for applications is February 26, but if you
email me program information immediately upon receipt of
this, your newsletter, I will almost certainly be able to fit
your students on the program.
The Library Meeting room is a really nice space, and we
hope to see you there!
Watsonville Woman’s Tea - Barbara Jirsa
Don’t forget: the deadline for making
reservations for the Watsonville Woman’s club Tea is March 7th (tickets are
not available at the door). The Tea is on
Saturday, March 21 at 2:00 (seating starts
at 1:30).
The contact person is Jane Amaral
359-3357 or [email protected].
The WWC is one of the biggest donors to our Talent Bank.
Come raise a glass (and a pinkie) and enjoy a performance of
past Talent Bank winners along with Tea!
Practice-a-thon - Barbara Jirsa
Remember to have your students finish up their Practice-athon by Certificate of Merit day (March 29th). Students need
to collect their pledges and return them to me (Barbara Jirsa,
221 Nevada St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060) by April 5th (Easter)
of the month if they want to be eligible for prizes. Students
who participate will receive a personalized letter of thanks for
their support of the Opportunity Grant program and a free
cookie card at Pacific Cookie Co.
Noteworthy News
Talent Bank Awards Festival - Susan Parrish
We are quickly approaching the Talent Bank Awards Festival
on April 19, 2015. All final repertoire lists were due on March
1st to Susan Parrish. All changes in repertoire must have the
approval of the Talent Bank committee or be subject to disqualification. Teachers will be notified of the TBAF schedule
shortly.
The performers should be moving into the final stages of their
preparation which includes memorization. The TBAF memorization requirements are as follows:
Piano and voice: at least two pieces must be memorized
Strings: at least one piece must be memorized
Winds and Chamber music: memorization is not required
Here are a few strategies to help with memorization taken
from the Nov/Dec 2014 edition of the Clavier Companion:
* Memorize in small manageable sections - During performance performers recall a link series of several memorize
sections. If the sections are too long we tend to remember only the beginning and the end of the segment and forget what's
going on in the middle. Create memory cues for these short
manageable sections. Memorize from back to front so that the
end of the piece is memorized better than the beginning.
* Memorize passages just before bedtime - Research shows
that even after we stop practicing our brains continue to replay and consolidate the new memories and the neural connections that were formed are further activated. Memory consolidation continues during sleep; this step results in more
stable memories.
* Change the way you practice - Work away from the instrument (instrumentalists can work in the air, pianists can play
on a table top, singers can recite the lyrics or sing without
accompaniment). Vary the tempo & rhythmic variations, dynamics, Distract yourself - Practice other things or take a
short break, then go back to memorization. This will get you
accustomed to the recall process more quickly. Work those
neurons!
* Practice mentally - Once the brain has formed a memory of
the skill, it is activated every time the skill is imagined. Mental practice that focuses on what a piece sounds like, looks
like on the page or on the keyboard or feels like in our bodies,
activates the neural connections associated with that skill.
Mental practice conducted while lying down and relaxing the
entire body helps musicians associate a feeling of common
ease with the memory of the skill of performing the music.
Use all of your senses - See the music, see your body while
you're playing it and away from your instrument, feel the sensation of your body as it is producing the music, hear the music while you were playing it, hear the music while you were
not playing it. Analyze the music and recall that analysis
while you're making the music.
* Record a rehearsal - If you want to experience the pressure
of performing, turn on the recorder! This will help you identify problem areas caused by nerves.
Tyler Hayford Concert - Barbara Jirsa
MTAC Members Kathleen Purcell and
Ivan Rosenblum to Perform - Ivan Rosenblum
The Santa Cruz Chamber Players Presents:
Classical and “All That Jazz” - Sat., March 28th 8 p.m.
& Sun., March 29th 3 p.m., Christ Lutheran Church,
10707 Soquel Dr., Aptos
Information: 831.425.3149 www.scchamberplayers.org
Music by Marais, Beethoven, Schumann, Piazolla, Schulhoff,
Scriabin, Richard Rodgers and Nicolai Kaspustin
Ivan Rosenblum, Pianist and Artistic Director
Kathleen Purcell, Flutist
Kristin Garbeff, Cello
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Tyler Hayford performed for the home crowd at the
Kuumbwa Jazz Center in January. He demonstrated
the skill and sensitivity that earned him membership
in MTAC’s Young Artist Guild; his expressiveness
has grown since his participation in the YAG concert
at the MTAC convention last summer. His program
included Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G minor (from
the Well-Tempered Clavier), Beethoven’s Pastoral
Sonata, the Andante Espressivo movement from
Brahms’ Sonata #3, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata #2.
The enthusiastic crowd of over one hundred attendees included many students, teachers, and family
friends and community members of all ages. Tyler
mentioned that he was inspired by seeing former
YAG members perform here (Ashley Hsu and David
Wu both performed house concerts in recent years)
which could be incentive to our branch to continue to
bring these fabulous young performers in the future!
March 2015
CM Story March 2015 - Ellen Khayat
The dates of our 2015 CM Evaluations are fast approaching:
Saturday, March 21, for Voice and Sunday, March 29, for
Piano, Winds, and Strings.
Student Evaluation Reports are printed with their chosen repertoire, and teachers will be contacted in early March with
their student’s arrival and evaluation times and their own
work assignments.
Teachers should have students practice their technique as a
routine, with only the outline boxes provided in their syllabus
to refer to. Getting students used to performing evaluation
pieces in evaluation order should be considered as
well. They should be acquainted with evaluation language:
technique, sight-reading, repertoire.
Make sure each student has his or her own music to take to
CM and that measures are numbered in all books. Numbers in
left hand margin for each line is sufficient. The music should
be clipped to the selection being performed. Borrow or buy
any extra copies of music you need well in advance of CM
day. And of course NO PHOTOCOPIES are allowed. If the
Evaluator even sees a photocopy, the student receives an automatic RAL (Remain at Level).
Here’s a Checklist to go over with your Parents and Students:
Piano Reception will open at 8 p.m. Students are expected to
check in at the Reception Table no later than their given ARRIVAL TIME; however, the test room at UCSC will be open
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so students can get their exams completed earlier or later than their evaluation time if they so choose.
Students who have an evaluation time of 3 p.m. or later
should arrive early enough to ensure that they can complete
their written exam and ear training prior to the 5:00 p.m. test
room closure.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, the schedule can run late at
the end of the day. Please caution parents and students that they
might encounter delays. Students, please bring a book to read.
Cellphones are not permitted in the testing area or evaluation
rooms and should be checked with the test room attendant.
Students should bring a book and/or a sketch pad, NOT electronic devices, in the event they need to wait.
Pencils and paper keyboards will be provided for student use
in the test room. Although earbuds will be provided for ear
training, invite your students to bring their own if they prefer.
Branch dress standards are in effect for CM evaluations as
well as for Branch Honors Recitals. Allow extra time for travel, traffic, parking ($4 fee). I find credit card payment of the
parking fee is easiest. Campus maps are available at http/
maps.ucsc.edu/
Parents may wait in the lobby or outdoors. The entire process
typically takes about an hour or an hour and a half
(somewhat longer for upper levels).
Teachers should feel free to direct any questions to Ellen or
other members of the CM Committee. We are here to help.
CPE Concert: We Really "Banded" Together! - Nicki Kerns
Those who came to the CPE concert on February 8 were in for
a very special afternoon. Not only did the concert feature the
standard group of fabulous performers and a pair of "firsts" for
CPE, the audience was also treated to stellar performances by
several members of Susan Bruckner's piano ensemble group
from Cabrillo, the 88 Keys Piano Club. Those club members-Kiefer Taylor, Adam Fixler, Stefanie Malone, and Lauren
Urroz, treated the audience to two delightful pieces by Kevin
Olson, including his 2 piano 8 hand piece, Rush Hour, which
inspired some enthusiastic fist-pumping from Kiefer and Adam during the piece as they mimed a truck driver honking a
big rig's horn. Other gems included Kiefer and Lauren's arrangement of selections from Mary Poppins and a mashup of
Phantom of the Opera and Star Wars (I can't even describe it;
you had to be there to fully appreciate its over-the-top creativity), as well as a mashup of two Chopin Etudes.
throughout their performance of Bach's Double Keyboard
Concerto in C. Lavinia Livingston and Nicki Kerns also sparkled - literally, thanks to beaded and sequined gowns - with
their performance of two movements from the suite from Prokofiev's ballet, Cinderella. Somehow a silver high-heeled shoe
got left behind onstage as those two exited after their performance, but a gallant stage hand bravely returned the glass slipper - I mean, silver shoe - to the gal whose foot it fit and they
lived happily ever after and - whoops! I got sidetracked; back
to the review! You can view this piece, along with the shoe,
on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_eMdwLk7sNA&feature=share
A technological first for CPE took place with Tom and Karen
Cole's gorgeous rendering of Samuel Barber's Souvenirs.
They didn't have sheet music - they had iPads onto which their
music had been downloaded! Secured by custom holders designed and built by Tom, it was a marvel to watch them simply slide a finger across the screen instead of flipping a page.
More traditional programming was also thoroughly enjoyed
by the nearly sold-out audience. Vlada Moran and Leah Parker-Zumberge gave a sweet performance of Faure's "Dolly"
suite, and Ivan Rosenblum with Lynn Kidder sparkled
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(Continued on pg 4)
Noteworthy News
(CPE recital continued)
Branch Officers
The other first for CPE was the performance of an original
transcription for 2 pianos 4 hands by yours truly of Stairway
to Heaven (yes, THAT one) which I performed with Lynn
Kidder. What made this so unusual for CPE was that not
only was it classic rock, but my rock band, The Raytones,
came down and performed with us! From what I could tell,
the audience loved it and comments overheard in the lobby
after the concert confirmed that they wanted more.
In this writer's never-ever-humble opinion, this year's CPE
concert was a smashing success. We raised over $1,600 for
Talent Bank, we had new performers join us, we had iPads,
and we had a band - which also brought in an audience who
would otherwise never have come, thus exposing them to the
magic that is piano ensemble music. Bravi tutti on a job
President: Michael Rindt
Vice President: Cheryl Dougan
Treasurer: Barbara Jirsa
Recording Secretary: Kathleen Kasdorf
Corresponding Secretary: Mariann Eichhorn
Membership Secretary: Carolyn Christian
Directors:
Certificate of Merit: Ellen Khayat
Event Coordinator: Carol Panofsky
Publications/website: Robin Murray
Noteworthy News
Newsletter of the
Santa Cruz County Branch of the
Music Teachers’Association of California
Next copy deadline: March 20, 2015
Send contributions to: [email protected]
On the web - http://sccmtac.org
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