Collaboration In the Cascades
June 26 – 28, 2023
Sun Mountain Resort
Winthrop, Washington
2023 Presenters
2023 Guest Artist Dr. Wu has been described as “brilliant” by the Pittsburgh Tribune, and has performed in venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. He has been a featured performer at the Tanglewood, Aspen, Castleton, Lake George, and Walla Walla Chamber Music Festivals.
Dedicated to the performance and promotion of new music, Dr. Wu is currently pianist for the [Switch~ Ensemble] as well as Duo Axis, which was cofounded with flutist Zach Sheets. Duo Axis has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works by many up-and-coming composers, including Katie Balch, Anthony Cheung, Tonia Ko, and many others. Dr. Wu previously served as pianist for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and the president of OSSIA New Music.
As an accomplished vocal coach, Dr. Wu has worked with artists such as Susanne Mentzer, Vinson Cole, and Nancy Gustafson. He is currently on the faculty at Shenandoah University and Peabody Conservatory, and served on the faculty for the Washington National Opera Institute. More recently, Dr. Wu has served as music director for several opera productions in the D.C. area.
A member of Pi Kappa Lambda, he is the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Juilliard School, the Felicia Montealegre Fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Collaborative Piano Fellowship from Bard College. Dr. Wu holds degrees from Northwestern, University of Michigan, and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a double doctorate in piano performance and collaborative piano.
Neurodiversity refers to the range of ways that minds function around sociability, learning, attention, mood, and others. Neurodivergent students differ in mental or neurological function from what is considered typical or “normal;” the term frequently refers to ADHD and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Neurodivergent students are being diagnosed at a staggering rate and are finding it increasingly difficult to make meaningful connections with their teachers, while teachers are left feeling unable to impact their students. Learning adaptive teaching techniques will allow you to build stronger relationships with your students, keep instruction time supportive and productive, while building the connections with students that will keep them feeling confident and excited to learn.
Bio
Amora Bussey has been a music educator for over 25 years, with a focus on piano, flute, and vocal performance. Recognized by the HCPC as a BAMT trained music therapist, Amora has worked in schools across Western Europe, bringing music to communities of special needs children and adults. Now settled in the Pacific Northwest, Amora offers lessons to students locally and internationally who seek instruction delivered through the comfort and understanding of adaptive teaching methods. Currently the Puyallup Valley Chapter President, Amora is also the recipient of the Paul Mazzola Best Teacher in Your Area, Puget Sound Award of 2020 and 2022. A guest performer at the Opening Ceremony, Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and recipient of The Semper Fidelis Award from The United States Marine Corps, for Musical Excellence, Amora now serves as the founder of the Briar Thomas Conservatory.
Movement adds a rich artistic dimension and enhances our musical practice, performance, and teaching. In this experiential workshop, you will learn three fabulous dances (complete with lesson plans for you to take home). Laura breaks down the steps for the following dances: the Tarantella from Italy, a salsa combination from Cuba, and a country folk dance – the Schottische. You will leave the workshop with the knowledge and skills to teach these dances in your private studio, group classes, or summer music camps. This session is for everyone – even if you don’t consider yourself a dancer. Come kick up your heels!
Laura Dean’s dynamic music career spans over twenty-five years and includes audiences in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. Originally from Montana, Laura lives in Seattle, Washington where she performs, teaches, performs, writes, and offers a variety of workshops. She thrives on travel to both domestic and international destinations which inspires all aspects of her work. Her first book, Music of the Westward Expansion: Songs of Heart and Place on the American Frontier (McFarland Publishing), was published in May of 2022. For more information on Laura and her musical projects, please visit her website: www.lauramusic.biz.
Mexican composers have produced a wealth of piano music of pedagogical value. This lecture will offer a panorama of elementary to late intermediate teaching repertoire by Mexican composers from the 19th to the 21st centuries, discuss its main characteristics and performance tradition, and provide information about its availability in the U.S.
Bio
In demand as a performer, teacher, adjudicator and presenter, Dr. Ricardo de la Torre serves as Visiting Artist for WSMTA’s MAP program, and as instructor for the Community Music Program at the University of Puget Sound, and at Pacific Lutheran University.
Born in Mexico City, Ricardo attended Escuela Superior de Música in his hometown, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and the University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked as a teaching assistant.
Currently, he is pianist at First Lutheran Church in Tacoma, where he directs its summer concert series Listen Live at Lunch.
Come and learn what your colleagues are doing to encourage and inspire change in their studios, chapters, and communities.
The session will be part presentation and part small-group discussions where attendees can share challenges and successes in their efforts to move towards equity and inclusion in the music profession. All are encouraged and welcome to join the session.
The WSMTA DEI Task force meets virtually on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month. Please contact Kathy Mortensen (kmortensenpiano@gmail.com) for more information.
What skills do you teach to establish efficacious practice routines, intentional listening, and confident memorization in your studio? This presentation will outline the five teacher profile projects of MTNA Certification, the process of renewal, and share valuable resources to support you in the process. If you are considering Certification, or have already started the process, come see how MTNA Certification can be a system for reconnection to the heart of what you teach and why you teach music.
Rose Freeman is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music who offers classical, composition, pedagogy, and collaborative piano lessons from her home studio in Bothell. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Pedagogy from Whitworth University, is past president of Snohomish County Music Teachers Association, and is the National Certification chair for WSMTA. It’s her joy to play in the duo, “The Musical Mountaineers,” where she joins violinist Anastasia Allison to play unannounced sunrise serenades from summits in the Cascade Mountains. Rose invites her students on a personal, intuitive, and creative journey with an approach that fosters connection to their own hearts and the world around them through the practice of music. It’s her delight to deliver a well-rounded education that equips students to arrive at the piano with curiosity, courage, and freedom.
Has this ever happened to you: A student excitedly tells you about the new keyboard they purchased & how motivating it will be; later you look it up online, only to see that it’s—oh no!—a dud?
Many teachers can recognize a dud (whether used or new), but are less frequently able to describe that dud beforehand so students & colleagues can avoid it.
Learn how to distinguish between, and therefore recommend to students, the three basic types of modern electronic keyboard (electronic pianos, keyboard/synth, and MIDI controllers). You’ll learn when each type of keyboard is most appropriate, common techniques & methods of use, the pros & cons of practice use, and how to integrate (or exclude) each from your teaching studio.
Davis Hill, NCTM, MA is a pianist, composer, and Owner & Lead Teacher of Peak Piano Studios in Spokane, WA. Mr. Hill holds an MA and BA in music from Eastern Washington University, where instructors included Dr. Jody Graves, Ms. Kendall Feeney, Dr. Jonathan Middleton, and Dr. Donald Goodwin.
In addition to his work with Peak Piano Studios, Mr. Hill teaches Jazz Piano and Composition at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. He is an active presenter & adjudicator at the state and local levels and is a volunteer with WSMTA (New Music Review Chair, Education Board) and Spokane MTA (Recitals Chair, Board member).
Mr. Hill frequently composes and enjoys exploring extended techniques, aleatory, and improvisation, as well as experimental forms and genres, and electro-acoustics. Current projects include a collaboration with microtonal composer Benjamin Luca Robertson.
New music can sound just as beautiful and deeply meaningful as the established masters’ works!
In this talk and play presentation, we will explore five piano compositions, all written within the last two decades by contemporary composers from the five continents: Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Profoundly influenced by their rigorous Western musical training, these composers have found their own novel voices in expressing their dynamic cultural and educational backgrounds through these powerful works. Many have written a vast repertoire of works of varied levels, which can be given to intermediate and advanced-level students to widen their repertoire choices.
Bio
A native of Taiwan, pianist Michelle Huang has a rewarding career as a dynamic soloist and chamber musician. She is equally at home performing music ranging from the esteemed masters to the novel voices. A devoted educator, she held teaching positions at Lincoln Memorial University, Edward Waters College, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Huang received a Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Florida State University. Currently she resides in Seattle, WA with her husband and maintains a vibrant private teaching studio, where she works with a group of pre-college piano students with immense talent.
Does the idea of teaching popular or jazz styles make you uncomfortable? Do you feel out of your comfort zone when your student says they want to learn the latest YouTube sensation? Does the thought of reading a lead sheet bore you because it’s not notated sheet music?
These presentations, including a beginning and advanced talk, will resolve some of the most common mysteries regarding teaching popular and jazz styles. Come discover how to engage your students in this kind of learning modality, and perhaps learn some new skills yourself, with lots of interactive fun along the way!
Elizabeth Morris, NCTM has wanted to be a pianist since she was five years old. She earned her Master’s of Music in Music Education and Technology from Boston University and her Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance from Washington State University. She worked as a worship pastor and music director at a large church for 10 years, where she learned to master the lead sheet. While she loves classical music and manages a very rigorous classical OMTA Syllabus program, her real love is popular styles, gospel, R&B, and jazz, and she loves being able to inspire musicians of all ages.
Cultivate your ideal studio culture with group classes along with private lessons. In this presentation we will discuss how to use group sessions to practice performance skills, build mental stamina, reduce stage fright, develop ear training skills. We’ll work on building pulse through conducting, developing growth mindset, exchange positive mantras, create “feel good plans” (pre-performance routines), and teachers from all disciplines can share their best practices with the group.
Known for her expressive and passionate performances, pianist Jensina Oliver has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, China, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, and throughout Europe. Ms. Oliver earned her DMA at the University of Washington and has taught at Shoreline Community College since 1998. As a National Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), she has a thriving studio with students of all ages. Ms. Oliver currently resides with her family in Seattle, where she is a well-known performer, teacher, clinician, and adjudicator.
Start the day right with a gentle movement practice to awaken the body and the mind! This class will use the Feldenkrais Method® to explore gentle movements related to basic activities like sitting, turning, or reaching. You will be guided through a series of movement variations for enhancing the body-map and calming the nervous system. The process of mindfully exploring novel movement creates a natural shift towards a centered mood and greater ease as you move through the day. This class is suitable for anyone regardless of level of physical fitness. We will do this movement practice in sitting and standing, so no need to bring a mat. Join us to prepare yourself for a day filled with learning!
Katie O’Rourke is a piano instructor, Feldenkrais Practitioner® and Oxygen Advantage® Functional Breathing Instructor offering private lessons and movement coaching in the Seattle area and online. Katie also runs the Awareness Through Music Blog, which is dedicated to providing free resources on injury prevention, musicians’ wellness, breathwork, and mindful pedagogy. As a pianist, Katie has collaborated with many local groups including Whatcom Symphony, Skagit Opera, Whatcom Wind Ensemble, and Bellingham Chamber Orchestra. She is a performing member of Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. Katie’s other musical interests include Dalcroze Eurythmics, Taubman Technique, and composition.
Jeffrey Pettijohn invites you to join him as he shares an approach to improvising that is as effective for the student who just learned to play a C Major 5-finger scale, as it is for the advanced improviser. In this presentation, Jeffrey shows you how to master any element involved in creating organized improvisations. From creating melodies and developing phrases, to discovering chord progressions and creating accompaniment patterns for them, Jeffrey will show you a simple step-by-step approach that will allow improvisers of any comfort level to experience an ever-expanding relationship with improvisation.
Jeffrey Pettijohn is a composer, pianist, teacher and public speaker. Jeffrey has composed over a hundred piano pieces, three major choral works, and a commissioned piece for the Swedish Women’s chorus. As a composer, he has a close relationship with scales and chords and enjoys showing his students the value and fun that they can provide. His compositions have been performed at venues including Cornish College of the Arts, Columbia Tower Club, Sherman Clay, Starbucks Coffee Company, the Swedish Cultural Center and studio recitals, and are always well received by audiences and piano students alike.
Coming soon
John Pickett , now retired, served as Professor of Piano at Central Washington University for 33 years. His students have been winners of the WSMTA state solo competition, attend Graduate programs and serve on music faculties across the U.S. John Pickett has received critical acclaim in the U.S. and Europe for his solo performances. He was a finalist in the Orleans Concours International held in Orleans, France and was invited back to give solo recitals in Paris and Orleans. John Pickett was the founder and director of the CWU Sonatina Festival which brought many of Washington State’s brightest students to campus.
Folk songs have much to offer developing students: accessible melodies, limited harmony, balanced phrases, variety of character, as well as a connection to past generations. However, a common lament is that children no longer know folk songs. This presentation will explore strategies to bring folk songs into students’ lives, and ways these melodies help develop music theory and musicianship skills. In addition, resources will be shared for finding multicultural folk songs from varied backgrounds. Discussion will be included about equity of representation and avoiding lack of contextualization, as well as information about evaluating the historical context of problematic folk songs.
A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and a Washington State Visiting Artist, Dr. Lark Powers teaches at Pacific Lutheran University where she instructs applied lessons, coordinates the group keyboard program, and coaches collaborative piano. She presents regularly and is frequently engaged as a judge for competitions and festivals. Dr. Powers has performed in Europe, Mexico and Canada, and along with ensemble collaborations, appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the Duo Powers-de la Torre. Lark received a DMA from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees and a graduate performance diploma from the Peabody Institute.
An experienced collaborative musician gives an overview of the field of professional accompaniment. What to bring out, what to leave out, how to set the tempo, how to discuss artistic goals diplomatically, how to set fees, how much to practice. The importance of sight reading skills. Developing the art of deep listening, and instant responsiveness. Learning to read body language. Sensitizing oneself to breathing and bowing. This is a field where people learn by doing, but everyone has to begin somewhere. Suggestions about a normal progression in collaboration, from duet work, to choir accompaniment, to instrumental accompaniment and collaboration.
Mr. Presley has appeared as soloist with the Spokane Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Yale Symphony and has performed many concertos with the Spokane Opera Orchestra. He frequently performs two-piano and chamber music works, including recent seasons collaborating with Zuill Bailey and Connoisseur Concerts and has also appeared with Thomas Hampson and Christopher O’Riley in concert. He is principal keyboard player for the Spokane Symphony. He had a long career in modern dance music collaboration, worked closely for several years with Martha Graham
Voice teachers, choral directors, music educators, collaborative pianists, and coaches work with a variety of ages. A singer’s vocal anatomy and physiology changes throughout their life which affects their respiration, phonation, resonance, and articulation. In this presentation, we will cover the main anatomical parts for singing, discuss the systems needed to produce sound, then align developmental stages with those systems to focus on pedagogical goals. Ages covered include: the child, teen, young adult, adult, and senescent singer. Presentation will include interactive exercises/demonstrations with time for audience questions.
Mezzo-soprano Melissa Schiel has established herself in the Pacific Northwest as a concert soloist, stage performer, and recitalist. Past chamber and orchestral highlights include Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’éte, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, De Falla’s El Amor Brujo, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Mahler’s Symphony No.2, and Verdi’s Requiem. Recent soloist performances this past season include Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Yakima Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with Wenatchee Valley Symphony.
Since 2011, Schiel has been on faculty at Central Washington University where she teaches applied lessons, vocal pedagogy, and diction. She is President of the Intermountain region NATS Chapter and Area Coordinator of voice at CWU. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from University of Maryland, a Master of Music in vocal performance from University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from McGill University.
For the piano student in the twenty-first century, composition is a critical part of musical training. Just as students learn spoken language in order to communicate their own thoughts, music students should learn musical language as a means to express their original ideas. In this presentation, Garrett and Natalie Snedeker will explain how to integrate composition into the pre-instrument group and private piano studio. The presenters will specifically describe how to use solfège to teach melodic composition, harmonization, and notation. The presenters will provide materials to use alongside any regular teaching method for pre-instrument groups and private piano lessons, with a high degree of flexibility depending on the students’ strengths and interests.
Garrett and Natalie Snedeker (NCTM) are based in the Wenatchee Valley and teach piano at the Wenatchee Valley College Academy. Garrett is the music teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Wenatchee, WA.
Garrett and Natalie recently completed their masters degrees in Piano Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, England and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, respectively. They both studied with Dr. Jeff and Karen Savage at Washington State University for their bachelors degrees. During their degrees, they presented together at state and national MTNA conferences. Garrett and Natalie are passionate about using music for social change and empowering communities.
The Music Literacy Program is a great tool for your studio! Members of the Kitsap Music Teachers Association will demonstrate how to administer each different kind of exam, and we’ll chat best practices with plenty of time for questions. Are you a chapter chair? We’ll talk about the most efficient and fun ways to implement the MLP in your chapter. Don’t have a chapter chair yet, but you’d like to use the exams in your studio? Come find out how that can be a possibility!
Melanie Stroud, NCTM, is a member of the Kitsap Music Teachers Association, heading into her second term as President. She began teaching piano in 1996, as a student teacher under her mother, Debra Florian, NCTM. Melanie received her BME from Pacific Lutheran University in 2004, and taught high school choir for 8 years before her third baby was born, and she decided to fully commit to her home studio of voice and piano students. Between lessons, KMTA responsibilities, the new addition of chairing the WSMTA Music Literacy Program, a husband and three children, and starting a new kickboxing studio, Melanie has no problem staying busy!
“SLOT” has nothing to do with gambling! “SLOT” is an analytical tool that businesses use to solve a problem, prepare for an expected change, or deal with an unexpected event. As Independent Music Teachers, we will analyze the Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities and Threats each of us encounters in running our studios. Join friends and colleagues from across the state to strategize how to position ourselves for the current and future challenges we face as Independent Music Teachers (there will be treats!).
RoseMarie Tamburri holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Cornish College of the Arts. She is an active member of the Seattle MTA, serves as the WSMTA Independent Music Teacher Forum Chair and is a founding member of the chamber group Play On!
She is grateful to her first teacher, Sister Agnes Marie, who noticed a twinkle in her eye when she sat at the piano!
It’s easy to recognize beautiful movement in young children, great performers, and elite athletes. Yet, can we change ourselves? Why doesn’t the message “just relax” work reliably? And, is there a better way to approach performance anxiety besides pretending that the audience is in their underwear?? The Alexander Technique is a way to tap into your neuroplasticity and bring greater joy, efficiency, and clarity to anything you do. It offers solutions to these questions, and more! You will leave with information to integrate into your playing and teaching right away.
Lisa Toner is a certified Alexander Technique teacher and Suzuki violin teacher. After earning a Bachelor in violin performance, her curiosity about the process of teaching and learning led her to study educational psychology. For her graduate research, she completed a three year project examining student-teacher interaction during deep learning segments. After that, she spent ten years building a private violin studio in Northeast Seattle. When she discovered the Alexander Technique, she was delighted by how it transformed her playing, teaching, and overall quality of movement. She and her family recently returned home to beautiful Bellingham, WA.