Keeping Music Alive and Freaky at the 2017 MTNA National Conference
The 2017 MTNA Conference was held in Baltimore, Maryland March 18-22, and several of our OhioMTA Southwest colleagues were front and center as presenters. Clinton Pratt, Peter Oehrtman, Amy Immerman and Lian Tan gave presentations. In addition, there were almost twenty of our district's members in attendance at the conference!
Thank you very much to Clinton and Peter for sharing their pictures and videos below and for helping to put together this blog!
The opening act was the entertaining piano and violin duo, Igudesman & Joo!
Peter Oehrtman's presentation was entitled “The Freakonomics of Practice” and explored research and data on what creates effective practice.
Clinton Pratt presented “Music Alive!” which describes his Music Alive! recitals that he gives yearly that include visuals, lighting effects, skits, and student compositions. Clinton is pictured here with a local student who demonstrated a multimedia performance of a piece by Melody Bober, also pictured here.
Amy Immerman presented a session on "Successful Teaching Tips for Young Piano Students," and Siok Lian Tan's session was "Figuring Out Fugues: A Systematic Approach To Learning A Bach Keyboard Fugue." It was great having such a strong OhioMTA Southwest representation at the conference. We were also proud to recognize this year's OMTA Fellow, Richard VanDyke!
There were so many great sessions, including a Master Class by Leon Fleischer. There were so many attendees, they had to put cameras on the stage and at the piano so everyone could see.
Forrest Kinney gave an Improvisation Master Class.
As always, Pedagogy Saturday was full of tempting sessions, so many it was hard to decide which to attend. A favorite aspect of the conference is networking with various musicians and friends from across the country, gleaning ideas, and making connections. Each year teachers return to their own studios with a wealth of new and exciting new ideas to add to their own teaching toolbox.
Make plans to attend the 2018 MTNA National Conference to be held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, March 17-21, 2018. You can bet that plenty of your colleagues from Southwest District already have those dates on their calendars!
Special thank you to contributors:
Clinton Pratt, NCTM
Peter Oehrtman, NCTM
