KMR - Kansas Music Review

KMTA offers:

Support for your private lessons "on the side"
Support for your path when you retire from classroom teaching
Reciprocal conference-fee discounts
Increased audition opportunities for your students:
- Elementary through high school piano or strings solo, piano duet or chamber ensembles
- National tracks for middle and high-school, collegiate, and young artist competitions
- Regional hobbyist (non-memorized) piano auditions
"Music Progressions" Curriculum Guide and Teachers Handbook (free online) to help you prepare your students for annual performance, written theory, and listening evaluations. For beginning levels through college-preparatory. Go to ksmta.org for more information.

The 15th edition of the KMTA Honors Auditions, sponsored by Capitol Federal will be at Washburn University November 8-9. Competitions are available for pre-college through collegiate piano, pre-college piano duets, solo strings, and chamber ensembles. Go to ksmta.net for more information

The President's Corner:

Sally Buxton, NCTM
President, KMTA

This year we'll enjoy the second year of our chamber-ensemble track for all pre-college grade levels, the fifth year of our national duet track, the 15th year of our State Honors Auditions program and our 104th State Conference! Our June 2015 conference will be at Friends University in Wichita. Dr. James Knight will be our conference host.

Our 2014 conference (June 5-7 at KU) was a terrific success, as evaluated by the teachers in attendance! We enjoyed a fast-paced, informational, and inspirational weekend in Lawrence—from learning about apps for our tech-savvy students to practical ideas and examples for motivation in this day of hyper-busy students, and an inspirational performance by the WSU Orfeo Trio! KMEA and former KMEA members (who discovered us at our booth at the ISW) joined us and enjoyed great camaraderie and discussions with KMTA members.

Our computer technicians helped us navigate web-site-building and the latest Google technology. (They thought they were herding cats!)

The author of How I Made $100,000 My First Year out of College, Kristin Yost, spoke of business plans, growing our studios in this economy, and using teaching-apps for our tech-savvy students. We were totally engaged by the presentations of this successful young musician, teacher, and entrepreneur!

KU Professor Jack Winerock spoke of a balance of nurture and the importance of contractual agreements with students who are preparing for competitions, as keys to his students' many successes. Here he is with former KMEA member, Kristi Baker, as he is named the 2014 MTNA Foundation Fellow nominee from Kansas.

Scott Smith, Clavier magazine contributing editor, American Popular Music method co-author, and director of the International Institute of Young Musicians, produced wonderful transformations in the playing of the students who performed for his master class. Then, he gave the teachers a veritable "earful" of ideas, warnings, and tools for motivating students in their music studies.

Friday evening was elegant and memorable at the historic Eldridge Hotel on Lawrence's famous Mass St. What a treat for us all!

Then we were treated again—this time to the shimmering sounds of The Orfeo Trio, Julie Bees, Evgeney Zhonnikov, and Leonid Shukaev, fresh from their Malaysian tour. It was an amazing, inspiring performance!

Next year, we can promise you fine clinicians with topics hand-picked for their timeliness and another great evening dinner and inspiring performance. We can also promise invaluable camaraderie and discussion—just as at KMEA's ISW. We'll be glad to have you, and you'll be so glad you joined us!!

Sincerely,

Sally Buxton, President of KMTA
(And one of those wayward cats!)

For complete information on KMTA's activities, go to www.ksmta.org