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Melody
Bober
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As a composer, Melody Bober enjoys creating motivational
piano pieces that foster her students' understanding and love of music.
Melody graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
with a bachelor's degree in music education. She later received a master
of arts degree in piano performance from Minnesota State University, Moorhead.
Melody credits much of her success to her influential teachers who include
Joel Shapiro and Andrew Froelich (piano), Mary Hoffman (music education),
and Tony Caramia (jazz).
An active church pianist and accompanist, Melody has also held the position
of church music director. In addition to teaching piano in her private
studio, Melody's music-teaching experience includes 20 years of public
school and two years at the university level.
A dynamic clinician and innovative composer, Melody is in great demand
at conventions and workshops for piano teachers across North America.
She resides in Minnesota with her husband Jeff.
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Dr. Jane
Solose
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A native of Niagara Falls, Canada, Dr. Jane Solose is a
graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music, the University of Toronto,
and the University of Western Ontario in Canada. She received her DMA
from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, where she was
awarded their prestigious Performer's Certificate and was David Burge's
first teaching assistant.
She studied with noted teachers David Burge, William Aide, Myrtle Guerrero
and Patricia Parr, and also received private piano instruction from Guido
Agosti, Damiana Bratuz and Peter Katin. She performed in master classes
and summer festivals for Malcolm Bilson (fortepiano), Leon Fleisher, Grant
Johannesen, Adele Marcus, Gyorgy Sebok, Abbey Simon and Rosalyn Tureck.
Dr. Solose leads an active career as a featured concerto soloist, recitalist,
chamber musician, duo pianist and master teacher that has taken her to
Korea, Japan, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Canada and around the U.S. She
is a past winner of the CBC Canada National Radio Competition and received
special commendation at the International Vienna Modern Masters Performers
Recording Award Competition. The president of the European Piano Teachers
Association (EPTA)-Voyvodina invited her to participate in the 2009 and
2010 World Piano Conferences, Serbia.
Eroica Classical Recordings released two of her CDs, Style Hongrois and
Variations: Three Centuries of Solo Keyboard Variations. Capstone Records
released Array, which celebrates works by American composers. Her articles
have been published in the journals 20th Century Music and Clavier.
Dr. Solose is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Keyboard Division
at the Conservatory of Music and Dance, University of Missouri-Kansas
City, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate students and piano
literature classes.
SESSION: Images and Imagination
We as teachers need to find ways in which to keep our students' creative
spark alive. "Images and Imagination" is a broad topic with
many facets in the realm of teaching and performing. The workshop will
relate imagery and analogies to a variety of musical examples from repertoire
from the beginner to the advanced levels. Topics will include touch, tone
color, physical freedom/technique, and interpretation.
CONCERT: Program
15 Variations and Fugue in E-flat major, "Eroica", Op. 35 by
Ludwig van Beethoven
Liszt Fantasie (1984) by Mary Jeanne Van Appledorn
Sonata in B Minor by Franz Liszt
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Dr. Virginia
Houser
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Dr. Virginia Houser is associate professor of piano, pedagogy
and group keyboard, and director of the music preparatory program at Kansas
State University. She holds a B.A. from Columbia College (SC) and a Master
of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance
and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma.
She is an active solo and collaborative pianist with concerts and workshops
in many cities around Kansas and the United States. As a frequent adjudicator
and clinician, she works with all levels and ages of students. In addition
to her teaching duties at K.S.U., she maintains a precollege studio. Dr.
Houser is a past president of Kansas Music Teachers Association.
SESSION: Off-the-Beaten Path Teaching
Treasures
Ever on the lookout for interesting not-so-well-known piano literature,
Virginia Houser will share the results of her latest repertoire-sleuthing
adventures. She will include commentary on leveling, characteristics,
and teaching tips.
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Dr. Sylvia
Coats
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Sylvia Coats, NCTM, is active as a teacher, performer,
adjudicator, and workshop leader. For 25 years she has been Professor
of Piano Pedagogy and Class Piano at Wichita State University. The Kansas
Music Teachers Association honored her as 2007 Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Coats was a member of the Sotto Voce Trio that crowned their 20-year
collaboration with a set of CDs of their commissioned works. The unique
trio, comprised of soprano Dorothy Crum, saxophonist Jean Lansing, and
pianist Coats, performed at universities, recital series, and children's
concerts in Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Virginia, Nevada, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Coats also plays with
the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and a Piano Duo with Judith Fear.
Coats' book, Thinking as You Play: Teaching Piano in Individual and Group
Lessons, was published by Indiana University Press in 2006. She has presented
sessions about the book for the International Society of Music Education
in Bologna, Italy, Malaysia, Hawaii Music Teachers Association and Punahou
School, the MTNA in Austin, and the Kansas, Arizona, and Missouri MTA
conferences. She has also published articles in the journals Clavier Companion,
American Music Teacher, Keyboard Companion, The Piano Adventures©
Teacher, and Piano Pedagogy Forum, and numerous state journals and newsletters.
She is in demand for adjudicating piano competitions and festivals throughout
the Midwest.
Coats holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in the Process of Group Environments
from the University of Colorado where Dr. Guy Duckworth was her major
professor, and bachelor and master's degrees in piano performance from
Texas Tech University where she studied with Louis Catuogno.
She lives in Derby, Kansas with her husband, Casey. They have two children;
Michelle, a CPA in Denver and Jason, a veterinary student at KSU.
SESSION: Encouraging Creative Interpretations
How do we teach emotional expression? Drawing from her book Thinking as
you Play, Sylvia Coats offers ideas to get students actively involved
in the creative process. Teachers can encourage a student's self-expression
by teaching principles of creative thinking.
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Nancy
Blockcolsky
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Nancy Blockcolsky received her Bachelor of Music Education
from Baker University and her Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from Kansas
State University. A native of Kansas City, she now resides in Olsburg,
Kansas (near Manhattan). She has held many offices in the Manhattan Area
Music Teachers Association and has served KMTA as District 3 President,
Vice President for Associations, Outstanding Teacher and Service Awards
Chair, Music Progressions Chair, President-Elect, and is the outgoing
KMTA President. "Mrs. B," as her students call her, teaches
piano, Music Appreciation, and Introduction to Music Technology at Manhattan
Christian College while maintaining a private piano studio of around 20
students. She is the Minister of Music at Agape Family Church and is the
concert mistress of the Community Chamber Orchestra (of Clay Center).
SESSION: Remediating Reading - Win,
Lose, or Draw
At the first lesson, you realize your new transfer student loves to play
piano but can't read a note. What do you do? Nancy Blockcolsky shares
stories of some of her failures and successes and discusses her current
approach to this dilemma.
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Betty Todd
Smith
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Betty Todd Smith, NCTM began her study of piano at the
age of 8. Her teachers include Adah Coe, Rosalie Talbot, Miriam Spindler-Lynch,
Ron Rathbun, and Eugene Pridonoff. She presented yearly solo recitals
during her college years, and holds the Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance
from Abilene Christian University, and the Master of Music in Piano Performance
from Arizona State University. Betty taught class piano at Arizona State
University and Tulsa Junior College. She founded and directed the piano
and preschool music programs for Tulsa Institute for Music Education,
Inc., a school based on the Suzuki philosophy of teaching music and offering
instruction in piano, violin, cello, flute, guitar, fiddle, and preschool
music. Betty provided the music program for Undercroft Montessori School
in Tulsa, OK for 8 years, and has taught piano and Musikgarten at Agape
Montessori, Small Beginnings, and Pembroke Hill in the Kansas City area.
She is active in Suzuki and traditional piano instruction, and has obtained
Suzuki training through all piano levels at various institutes in the
United States and Canada. She is a Permanent Nationally-Certified member
of the Music Teachers' National Association, a state Board Member of the
Kansas Music Teachers' Association, an active member of the Kansas City
Music Teachers Association, and an adjudicator for the National Piano
Guild, as well as a licensed Musikgarten instructor and area teacher-training
coordinator. She is active in ensemble performances, lectures and workshops
for teachers, and adjudicating piano auditions. Betty has trained in Kindermusik,
Musikgarten, Music Mind Games, and has obtained a copyright for an innovative
music curriculum designed to teach young children rhythmic concepts privately
or in small groups, based on Montessori principles.
SESSION: You Like to Practice?
Why?
We've all heard it: "I love to play (or sing, or perform), but I
HATE to practice!" Why do our students feel this way? How can practice
time become an exciting experience of discovery, growth, artistic expression
and learning that our budding musicians will look forward to? From motivational
ideas, to practice games, to specific practice techniques and suggestions,
this session will explore several different approaches in training our
students how to practice so that they can reach their full potential and
experience the joys of music on a daily basis.
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Natalie
Wickham
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Natalie Wickham, NCTM, has operated
a private music studio in Derby since 1998. She teaches a wide range of
ages in private lessons and loves dreaming up creative ways to motivate
and inspire her students. Her motivation and inspiration stem from her love
for the Lord and a desire to see Him glorified in all of her teaching and
business endeavors.
Natalie is past president of South Central Kansas MTA and Wichita Metropolitan
MTA and is currently serving as Technology Chairperson for KMTA. She also
runs the popular Music Matters Blog, an online compendium of creative,
practical, and up-to-date resources for the independent music teacher.
When she's not teaching, Natalie can often be found sitting at her computer
working on a project of some sort. From developing websites to writing
and publishing her book, Pajama School, and her CD, Journey
to Self Publishing - 12 steps to successfully publish your book, to
designing materials for her students, each project encourages a fresh
approach and presents an exciting opportunity to try new ideas!
SESSION: Creative Collaboration - Making
Every Lesson Come Alive!
Whether you're teaching an individual student or working with a group,
you can make every lesson a rich and rewarding musical experience. In
this fast-paced session Natalie Wickham, NCTM will walk you through the
process of cultivating, implementing, and infusing creativity. Then, she'll
load you up with ideas to use in all sorts of scenarios: Fun with One,
Friendly Duos, Family Favorites, and Groups Galore!
SESSION: Technology Treasure Trove!
With millions of places to travel on the web today, it can be overwhelming
to navigate to the destinations that will prove the most beneficial for
your studio. In this enlightening workshop, Natalie Wickham, NCTM, will
help you discover some of the most exciting possibilities that are available
at little or no cost. Whether you want to utilize technology to teach
long-distance lessons, make CDs of your students' playing, create your
own YouTube channel, learn to upload video clips on the fly, or live stream
studio recitals so that friends and relatives around the world can tune
in, you will leave inspired and equipped to make these dreams a reality!
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KMTA welcomes non-member to attend the conference as an invited "buddy"
of a member teacher. As an invited buddy, non-member conference fees are waived
and registration is the same as for members. Each buddy is encouraged to send
their registration information along with his/her inviting KMTA member's registration.
