As we move into a fresh school year and start to look forward to pumpkins, cooler weather, and, for my students and me, plans for an upcoming studio recital, it seems appropriate to wrap-up the summer with some updates on what has been happening in the studio. First off, it is time to announce the winners of this summer's "Passport Challenge." I was pleased by the opportunity this friendly competition provided for many of my students to focus particularly on sight-reading and technique. Many of the scores, in terms of passport stamps earned, were very close; so, it has been difficult selecting the winners. First place goes to Anais for her work on learning pieces, memorizing pieces, technical exercises, and sight-reading. Second place was a tie between Sarine and Paul. For third place, I decided to take into account effort and enthusiasm to break a three-way tie and selected Lauren as a winner for her eagerness regarding sight-reading. Congratulations to all four winners! On another note, the last week of July, I had the opportunity to attend the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Lombard, IL. It was a full week of seminars, recitals, lectures, and teaching demonstrations. Highlights for me included getting to spend time with faculty, students, and alumni from my alma mater (The Master’s University), watching inspiring teaching demonstrations, and buying discounted Piano Safari materials that I am already putting to good use. There were lots of reminders of what good teaching looks like, but I think the reminder that stood out to me most was the idea of keeping music the center of lessons. Not teaching only correct posture, notes, or rhythm, but the showing students the exciting and inspiring act of making notes and rhythms come together into that form of communication and art we call music. A final update from this past summer is that I am now an Active member or the Music Teacher’s Association of California! I eagerly anticipate my participation in this organization providing more performance opportunities for my students. For more information on MTAC view this webpage: http://www.mtac.org/about-us/history/
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