Music Teachers' Association of California

Music Teacher’s Association of California

San Mateo County Branch

Newsletter

February 2010

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

President's Pen

· Certificate of Merit: entering repertoire deadline - February 20, 2010

· Certificate of Merit Honors Recitals: March 27 and March 28, 2010

· Recital Hall

· Programs: February 12, 2010: review, Annual Luncheon – May 21, 2010 and

· Teachers in Performance – June 13, 2010

· Branch Recital: review of January 24, 2010 concert

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President’s Pen

Pat McNutt

Have you noticed?! This time of year gets very busy. Even if you are not entering students in Certificate of Merit, things pop up – recitals, shows, etc. And if you are helping students prepare for CM, you are active with them, as well as busy preparing for your teacher responsibilities – all of which make our CM experience easier and a good one for all! I wish you all peace, confidence and good humor as you teach your way to their musical hearts (seems appropriate for Valentine’s!).

This year, 2010, marks the end of two-year terms for several officers of our San Mateo Branch Board. One of my presidential jobs is to appoint a nominating committee who will select new candidates for the Board positions. I asked several people and almost all of them said yes. Music to my heart!! This nominating committee will be convening in the next month or so to ask members if they will serve on our Board. The nominating committee consists of the following members; many thanks to all.

Vera Shamis

Vija Norkvesta

Cynthia Brown

Lora Konnaya

Joyce Morse

Li-Ying Wu

JoAnn Stenberg

It takes a great deal of time and effort behind the scenes to have a healthy Branch organize the details, run our programs as well as our recital hall. If you are contacted by one of the committee members, please consider taking your part in assisting our Branch!

The MTAC Convention 2010 marks the 100^th Annual Convention. It is going to be awesome, exciting and memorable. You can begin registering soon – look for information on the MTAC State website. You will soon receive an email invitation to register. Please use this easy online method of registering. The location is the Los Angeles Marriott – the group rate is $130 plus tax for both single and double rooms.

There are a limited number of rooms with double beds. It is advisable to make your reservations early. The daily self parking rate during convention will be $9.00 and $18.00 for valet parking, plus tax.

Read on in this newsletter for important and relevant Branch news!

Certificate of Merit

Marcela Toma

A few quick reminders and wishing you well!

February 20^th: Deadline for entering Piano Repertoire!!

March 3^rd: Deadline for changes to Path B or dropping from CM evaluation. No changes can be made to the schedule after March 3.

Please let us know as soon as you have made a decision!!

Email me or Tom Hansen: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

CM Evaluation Dates:

Voice:  February 21st

Strings:  March 6th - 7th

Piano:  March 13th - 14th

Question: What causes a student to receive “Ineligible for Certificate?”

Answer: Reasons for the new “Ineligible for Certificate” Performance rating include, but are not limited to:

· Incorrect repertoire categories

· Advanced Level: same composer for Etude and another piece

· Played technique from incorrect syllabus

If there is not a copy of the musical score for the evaluator, the student will not qualify for Branch Honors or Convention Recital. However, this will not result in “Ineligible for Certificate.”

Reasons for automatic Remain at Level are the same as in the previous years:

· No attempt at Sight reading

· No attempt at Technique or cannot play without notation

· Advanced Etude not memorized or not from Etude list

· Required number of pieces not met

· Memory requirement not met

· Brings Photocopy into evaluation room

Certificate of Merit Honors Recitals

Pat McNutt

As you know, we are going to have Honors Recitals, honoring our outstanding students.

The recital dates are Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28, from noon until 6:00 p.m. There will probably be four recitals each afternoon. They will include voice and string students, as well as piano.

The Honors Recitals committee consists of Sumi Nagasawa, Janice Sheng and each teacher who has students in the recitals. One teacher will need to be present at each recital to organize students and preside. You will email the Honors Recital Form to Sumi Nagasawa following receipt of your student’s CM results.

Please save these two afternoons – we will try to work with your schedules when assigning recital times to teachers. You may have to work at a recital that does not include your students.

Evaluators will determine the Honors’ repertoire.

The Branch Honors Requirements were sent to each CM teacher in an email.

Recital Hall

Yvonne Ho

There are some available times for your students’ CM rehearsals/recitals between April and June. Please submit requests to me by the 15^th of the previous month to reserve a spot. For current dates and times, please check our calendar at: http://www.mtacsanmateo.org/recital-hall/recital-hall-reservation-calendar.html

Available times as of February 8^th:

April 3^rd from 3-9 PM

April 18^th from 1-3 PM and 6-9 PM

April 24^th from 4:30-6 PM

May 12^th from 12-2:30 PM

June 19^th from 12-6 PM

June 20^th from 5-9 PM

Note: When reserving a time slot, please be considerate and INCLUDE any set up or tear down and clean up time for your event. Please do not arrive earlier than your scheduled start time or leave later than your scheduled finish time. Arriving earlier or leaving later may cause an interruption to the other members’ recitals/events. Please let your students and families know: NO EARLY ARRIVALS AND LATE DEPARTURES. Thank you for your cooperation.

I would like to remind our members regarding rental hall rules. These rules are also on our rental hall contract:

Cancellations – If a reservation is cancelled more than three months prior to the reserved date, all payment will be refunded minus a $50.00 cancellation fee. If a reservation is cancelled less than three months in advance, the entire rental fee is forfeited.

Submitting Changes – You must email or call me by the 15^th of the previous month in order for me to make any changes. This includes cancelling your event, switching to a different time or requesting the seating arrangement for your event. For example, if your event is on February 19^th, you must let me know of any changes by the morning of January 15^th.

Locking the Pianos – Teachers who reserve the hall to use the piano(s) are responsible of locking up the piano(s) after their events. The keys to the pianos are always with the Community Center receptionist. After the pianos are locked, please return the keys to the receptionist.

Moving the Pianos – When you are finished using the pianos, it is your responsibility to move the pianos back to the original storage spots on the north wall. Leave the piano benches near the pianos. Do not expect the building attendants to move the pianos after your event. If you need assistance with moving the pianos, you may ask one of the receptionists to help you.

Programs

Janice Sheng

Thanks to everyone who attended our program “Brainstorming Over Brunch” on Friday, February 12^th. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other better and exchanging ideas on subjects related to teaching.

I’d like to especially thank Pat, Marcela, Yvonne and Barbara for their help in executing this event. I’d also like to thank Vera, for inviting us to use Allegro Music School for this branch program.

We have two more branch programs planned for you before the end of this school year. Please mark your calendars. We look forward to seeing you soon!

1.  Annual Luncheon

Friday, May 21, 2010

11:00am – 1:00pm

The Van’s Restaurant (Belmont)

$12 per person

More information regarding this event (including menu options) will be available in next month’s newsletter.

2.   Teachers in Performance:

“Celebrating Music, Celebrating Friendships”

We had a wonderful time enjoying and supporting each other in performance at the previous Teachers’ Concert last November.

We are now accepting applications to the next Teachers’ Concert: “Celebrating Music, Celebrating Friendships.”

Here are some quick facts:

· Date: Sunday, June 13^th, 7:00-9:00pm

· Venue: Foster City community Center, Wind Room

· This concert will feature SOLO and CHAMBER music, performed by our branch members and friends.

· Please keep each entry less than 15 minutes

· It is fine to invite guest performers that are members of other MTAC branches (or performers that are not part of the MTAC organization), as long as ONE of the performers in the ensemble is a current MTAC – San Mateo member

· It is fine to perform with music

· This event is admission-free and a reception will be provided

Please submit your application to: Janice Sheng ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), indicating:

1) Name(s) of Performer(s)

2) Title of Composition, including titles of movements

3) Name of Composer

4) Length of entry

5) If you’d like to say a few words about the composition

Branch Recital

Denise Chevalier

The last recital, Sunday, Jan 24^th was amazing! We had maximum capacity and 23 students performed marvelously, represented by ten teachers. Students and teachers alike commented on how much fun it was; the teachers especially loved reconnecting with other colleagues and friends.

I will keep you posted for the next Branch Recital!