Member Reports: 2019 MTNA National Conference
Two MMTA teacher members and five student members received travel grants to attend this year's MTNA National Conference in Spokane, WA. Following the conference, each grant recipient submitted a report on his or her experience [included below].
Maral Annaovezova
This past March, my husband Alexander Morollo and I were fortunate to attend the MTNA conference in Spokane, WA. The experience overall was wonderful, so I would like to say thank you to the board for their generous travel grant. The Conference was hosted in a beautiful center for the arts, just a five minute walk from downtown Spokane and a magnificent overlook of the Spokane River waterfalls. The entire conference was an array of wonderful experiences catching up with old friends and making new. One of the more bizarre of these interactions was meeting the composer Dennis Alexander. Almost an hour into a conversation with Dennis, we were able to establish that one of his best friends, a pianist he works with in Albuquerque and sees almost every day, turned out to be my mothers piano teacher, years ago on the other side of the planet. What are the odds? It is through these sometimes small but frequent chance occurrences that I am reminded of why we do what we do, and that we are all working toward the same goal. Being reminded of this is always as humbling as it is awe inspiring.
From my perspective a lot of the focus in both our state organization, and other states as they presented in the Eastern Division Meeting, was on welcoming younger generations of piano teachers, and recruiting a larger amount of new members as well as young enthusiasts. Among the sea of wonderful MTNA sessions, we stumbled upon one that particularly attracted our attention. Both Alexander and I loosely consider ourselves 'Millennial Music Teachers,' so we were both interested in the session 'The Millennial Music Teacher: What Sets Young Professionals Apart and What We Can Learn From Them' by Holly Kessis. I was thrilled in reading past conference reports to find that Lydia Reed-Guertin mentioned in the 2016 Spring Newsletter that she attended Pete Jutra's session "Teaching iLearners: The Learning Styles of Generation Z." While we were not at that conference I would love to hear the input on how the newer generations of students continue to challenge us and force us to find new ways to enlighten the material based on how they act. I find it somewhat poetic that not five years later, a teacher from a similar generation gives a presentation on how younger teachers act along with the possible ways we should examine the way we work with each other to best understand not only the learning styles of young students, but the teaching styles of new teachers.
During her presentation, Holly opened by attempting to define the array of generations present in the room (such as Millennials, Generations X,Y, & Z, The Baby Boomers, The Silent Generation, etc.) The definitions of such generations were drawn upon historical data and cultural studies and I found the definitions to be very apt. She herself is a Millennial from Gen. Y, just like me and husband, which is defined by a birthday that spans from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. Those of us who are "immediately immersed to the internet as children, experience turn-of-the-century upheaval, cultural upheaval as teenagers and in people who are now young professionals making their way in the world." This generation is the youngest generation to remember life before the technological age and the youngest generation to remember life before 9/11. Our generation created the modern Microsofts of today: Facebook, Airbnb, YouTube, etc.
Generation Y was raised to voice their opinions and was the first generation to grow up in environments where adults actually listened to, and valued those opinions. Holly Kessis stated that because of this, "millennials tend to respect the strength and merit of an argument, before considering the status, tradition, or authority of the figure making that argument." She goes on to state, "Older teachers might feel like the millennial teachers are disrespectful, when in fact millennials understand the older teacher’s experience and seek ways to improve on it."
Not lost on the presenter were some of the comically negative reputations millennials have garnished over the past decade, frequently misrepresented in studies and articles as "The most entitled, lazy, worst workers in history, deluded narcissists and responsible for the destruction of civilization." While the entire presentation was as entertaining as it was insightful, I feel the 'Millennial teaching philosophy' could be best summed up in her quote: "If the approach is not working, why should one conform to it?"
Not only have I found this information incredibly useful in working with other teachers and colleagues, I have also found it helpful in understanding some of the styles of teaching that my transfer students have been exposed to and what they’re used to hearing from their previous teachers.
I would like to thank all of you for the opportunity to attend the 2019 Conference in Spokane. Without the travel grant it would not have been possible and while I am thrilled to report on my favorite session, the entire conference was one of the best I have attended, and I look forward to Chicago 2020!
Kevin Hsu
This conference is through my favorite teacher Esther told me. I'm so cheerful that I attend this teacher conference, and this is my first time to go kind of big seminar in the huge hall. I received a lot of information about how to teach students and got the newest method book and teaching which is very interesting and helpful for teaching a little child. I met the friends who love music and also a piano major and a great deal of excellent professor at dinner, they told me about their teaching philosophy and teaching experience. Also, I was sharing about my life of pursuing piano studying. One of my favorite lesson in this conference is how to teach dynamic. This lesson is amazing because the instructor is an old man, and he used a lot of pieces to demonstrate about dynamic changing and which pieces he picked up are dulcet. The new methods book I like is "All in One," because it has a lot great tips to teach child and easy to explain the piece. Also, I'm amazed about the last day concert. It's so honor that I can hear the Ingird Fliter who is winner of Gilmore Artist Award. This is a rare opportunity to hear this amazing concert and she played a whole Chopin pieces. I like her articulation and sounds it seems from the ground. Next time I will definitely attend this wonderful conference.
Shiqi Li
It is a great knowledgeable and pleasure conference I have ever took. There are a great deal of excellent teachers and lectures in the conference which inspired me a lot and widen my horizon. What inspired me a lot is that there are huge enthusiasm and creative spirits inside them which encourage me to explore more and more in music, life and everything. And besides the lectures, I am very enjoy the basketball games in the conference. I felt the enegetic and aggressive energy in them which inspired me a lot in my study and life. It is a truthly excellent conference! And I want to go to the next conference if I can! Thank you very much!
Yingling Lin
I am very honored to attend MMTA conference this year at Spokane. I have learned a lot at this conference, also lots of ideas about teaching. As a young teacher, I went to different classes and read many different method books in the book exhibition. I get many ideas that have not been thought of before. I also met a lot of teachers who are passionate about teaching and told me how to maintain the enthusiasm of teaching. This meeting for me is not only limited to teaching, but also can help me for my performance. How to practice the piano more efficiently is not only for the students, but also for every teacher who pursues for their performance. There are also have a class talk about how to practice on scales. In this conference, so many excellent teachers can be met in this conference and we can discuss together is really a great experience.
Xiaobo Liu
I must tell you that I got a really unforgettable experience in the MTNA conference which from March 16th to 20th March. During the conference, I know many different genre knowledge, including pedagogy, abundant materials using, latest practicing APP and so on. Besides studying every day, we also made new friends, sheared what we learned with friends every day, went to the local restaurant and tasted delicious food, watched masterclass and concerts in the process. We had great fun with my friends and teachers in MTNA! Actually, this is my first time to study and attend this kind of big musical party with those great presenters. I never attended this kind of national teaching conference before, even when I study piano in China.
It is undeniable that MTNA is versatile teaching conference, which means it includes too many aspects and details of the teaching students from beginners to advanced. Conference was divided into several parts. Such as Teaching artistry, Entrepreneurism, Musician Wellness, Recreational Music Making and so on. You can really choose what you want to learn. Schedule was full every day. I still remember that when I arrived there on the first day (Saturday), I was not familiar with using MTNA information book at the beginning, I just casually went to a class room, then I fund presentation about how to teach students with special needs. I was shocked, because it was impossible that teaching special student to play the piano in my mind, but after professor Scott showed us his teaching videos that how he taught the special student to study piano, I thought I had to accepte this true thing. It is really hard for teacher to teach them, because teachers have to be more patient, and try to find physical issue. For example, one of the special student in the video, he always made sound from piano when teacher talked to him and student did not listen to what he said, whatever teacher asked him to stop, in this case, professor Scott held his hand then kept talking with him, after he said the requirements to him, then he let go of his hand. This was small point which Scott showed us, but there were too many small things they needed to deal with in his piano lesson. His presentation really expended my horizon of piano pedagogy. After this lesson, I was carefully browsing my MTNA information book, then I knew that how I should use this book. I selected the class one by one that I like to attend, then I marked it.
Beside the class, also there are different piano competition, two piano competition, chamber competition and other instruments competition in there, which mean you also can watch the great music performance in MTNA! On the second day (Sunday), I watched Senior Performance Competition, that competition was really high quality, every competitor almost played half hour and their repertories was very difficult, but every competitor completed their pieces very well although they were just Senior students. Very coincidentally, performance of the Kyle Chen was impressive to me, his Scriabin Sonata was really amazing, but I have never thought that he came from Massachusetts and my teacher Esther knew him, also my piano professor Spencer Myer judged his second around competition, it was interesting! His music was impressive to both us.
During the conference, I met my previous piano professor Thomas Lanners. Actually, we first met in China in two years ago, then I had audition in his collage we met again, then until MTNA. He and his wife were really a nice. We talked a little, and I also attended his presentation "Practicing With Presence."
Another interesting thing which I must writing into this experiences that after MTNA finished, I taken a same plane with Fred Karpoff and he was sitting next to me! I'm NOT kidding! Actually, I attended two his presentation during the MTNA conference, which is Boost Your Technique & Artistry and Chopin's Markings. These two presentations both were impressive to me, especially first one, because I was changing my playing habits recently, such as how to play piano with movement. His presentation really analyzed this point and he also did demonstration with exact steps. When Karpoff was just sitting next to me, I did not recognize him immediately, I just was familiar with his face, but I was not sure that he was Karpoff, then I put the information on my phone which is excuse me, are you Karpoff? I attended your presentation yesterday, and I showed my phone in front of his eyes, then he putted his headset down and we started our conversation. Our topic was related to the private things, music, teaching. He was a very kind person, we also added each other's Facebook, it was very interesting that he also could speak some Chinese, and he learned by himself. This trip in MTNA was unforgettable in my life, it was not just about what I learned from conference, also I made some friends, even how to communicate with other people. And at same time, I learned how to be ruminant and justify myself. It is important for me to improve myself in some different aspect.
Alexander Morollo
The MTNA 2018 Conference in Spokane, Washington was my third, and perhaps my favorite conference to date. I would like to profusely thank the board for funding our travel, without which this trip would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the South Shore Conservatory and the Community Music Center of Boston for the partial funding of registration fees. Not only did I feel that the sessions were some of the strongest of conferences past, I also felt the choice of city and venue best suited the needs of MTNA as well.
The Conference was held at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, a modern performing arts exhibition hall with plenty of facilities, and plenty of stages. I believe this is my first conference where the winners concerts and keynote address were given in an opera house!
There were many highlights to the conference including several sessions I found to be quite engaging. Many sessions were offered during "Pedagogy Saturday" where we followed the 'Advanced Piano Teaching' track including highly informative sessions such as 'Preparing Gifted Teenagers for Competitions,' 'Teaching Artistry through Form and Dynamic Planning,' 'The Five Artistic Building Blocks' and one in particular I found to be incredibly beneficial, 'The Art of Interpreting Keyboard Music from the Classical Period' in which Dr. Kay Zavislak, NCTM, presented an incredibly concise crash course in roughly ten different dance types (ex. Bouree, Minuet, Siciliano, Polonaise, etc) and ten different compositional styles (singing, learned, hunting, french, turkish, etc) and with definitions easy enough for the intermediate student to process, analyzed several larger works of the Classical period through the lens of smaller character pieces.
This prompted an idea in my own teaching to give the ability for a late beginner student to access larger keyboard music from the classical period (ie. a full sonata movement) without knowing it. Pieces could be given to a student throughout the year with simple titles, (hunting theme, pastorale theme, etc) and while the late beginner student is under the impression they're learning 10-12 short pieces in a semester or two, at the end of the cycle they will be able to tie each 'short piece' together to construct the entire sonata movement. This session was only one example of the many available geared toward advancing the progress of the beginner and intermediate student so that they may access the literature at earlier ages.
One other aspect of the conference I would like to mention: it was another goal of mine to reconnect with several members of our national organization to give teacher workshops at South Shore Conservatory. Some in the past have been given by Julie Knerr and Forest Kinney. During this past conference I had the pleasure of speaking with Veda Zuponic, Teresa Bogard NCTM, Marvin Blickenstaff NCTM, and Helen Marlias, in the hopes we will be hosting one or more for upcoming teacher workshops. I look forward to the opportunity to invite you all once that arrives. Thank you all so much again, and my best to all of you as we near the end of the semester.
Aochi Yang
It was my first time to join this kind of program, I got a really wonderful experience in MTNA, I was been there for 3 days, it is not very long, but I still get a lot of knowledge and make a lot of friends. During the conference, I studied a lot of different kind of knowledge such as teaching kid who special needs, pedagogy, abundant materials using and so on, we also shearing what we learn after class, I think this program will change me some habit in teaching, I will continue to find it.
MTNA is versatile teaching conference, it means this conference includes many aspects and details of the teaching students from beginners to advanced. Such as Teaching artistry, Entrepreneurism, Musician Wellness, Recreational Music Making and so on, I only can choose some class I interest because a lot of class open at the same time. Schedule was full everyday, I also need make a plan for my class which I want to join, and some class if you come late, there will be full of people, I still remember a class which the most I like, it was a class which teaching how to practicing piano pieces, they make a pie chart to show how our memorize work, the class was very useful but have too many people, the list was sending out and we have to sit behind the floor, it was a good experience, I get a lot of experience for my piano practicing.
Unfortunately, before I came here, my parents told me I must come bake to my home a few days, here is something I must finished by myself, so I didn’t finished all the conference, but I still study a lot just in 3 days, I think next time, I will come to MTNA again.
