Piano Pedagogy and Competitions

Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019 

Mark your calendars.  We are offering more than competitions on our October 12, NYSMTA 2019 Competition Day.  Running concurrently with Competition Day is the inaugural 2019 Piano Pedagogy Mini Symposium, designed for collegiate students and faculty, competitors, and community teachers to come together to share ideas and research about pedagogy.  There will be a call for participation in presentation opportunities including lightening talks by collegiate students, community teachers, and faculty members, as well as poster displays/sessions, round table discussion, and networking opportunities.  

We hope you will not only consider entering your students in our 2019 Heddy Kilian Empire State or MTNA Competitions, but also consider spending the day, or part of it, listening to our student performers, sharing ideas and mingling with members informally and formally in meetings and sessions. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jacob Ertl and Dr. Leonidas Lagrimas

Piano Pedagogy Mini-Symposium Co-Chair

Questions regarding either competition may be forwarded to NYSMTA Competition Vice-President, Dr. Tracy Lipke-Perry at lipkeptd@potsdam.edu. 

Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to bring to your attention to 2 upcoming opportunities for your students: the Heddy Kilian Empire State Competition and the NY State Competition of the Music Teachers National Association. The Heddy Kilian Empire State Competition is for advanced players of all orchestral instruments, pianists, and vocalists. Performers compete in their separate categories in 3 levels determined by age. A cash prize is awarded for each of 9 categories, and winners are invited to perform on the Winners Recital at the end of the competition day. The NY State MTNA Competition is for individual performers, composers, and chamber musicians. Age requirements vary by category, but there are opportunities for students age 5-26.

HEDDY KILIAN EMPIRE STATE COMPETITION & NY STATE COMPETITION OF MTNA
Date: October 12, 2019
Location: Nazareth College
Please feel free to forward this information to interested colleagues and students. Please don’t hesitate to contact me regarding any questions or if you would like any further information. Thanks very much for considering our effort to “get the word out” about this valuable opportunity for your players.

Sincerely,
Tracy Lipke-Perry
Vice President for Competitions, NYSTMA
lipkeptd@potsdam.edu
315.267.2441

Message from State President Beverly Smoker

Dear NYSMTA Members,

Attending the recent 2019 MTNA Conference in Spokane made me acutely aware of the great privilege we share in belonging to New York State Music Teachers Association.  NYSMTA members Fred Karpoff, Kathryn Sherman and Barry Snyder were stellar conference presenters, Hendry Wijaya (MTNA Foundation Fellow), Laura Amoriello (Leadership Service) and Elier Suarez (50-year member) received MTNA recognition. the Two Piano Competition was established by members Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz, and every NYSMTA Eastern Division winner who entered the MTNA Competitions took home a prize.

As NYSMTA members, each of us has something unique to offer, and when we come together to spend a day, our offerings and rewards are magnified.   Please consider coming to Rochester for the 2019 NYSMTA Competition Day enhanced with a Mini Piano Pedagogy Symposium.  I look forward to seeing you.

Sincerely,

Beverly Smoker
President, NYSMTA