Newsletter

  November 27, 2017 

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In This IssueA Note From Our President

Eric SutzAIM Exam

Camp ScholarshipCollege Scholarship

HospitalityArticle HeadlineArticle Headline

Note from the Editor

October MinutesClick here for the October 16General Meeting minutes.

Upcoming Events

NOVEMBER

PROGRAM: Eric Sutz

"Myofascia Release forArms and Shoulders"

Monday, 11/27/17

A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Before theholiday NWSMTA wrapped up a busy falllineup of student events, including theFestival of Pianos, Classical and Pop-Jazzrecitals, the Sonata-Sonatina Festival, GoldMedal recitals, and the first AIM exams.Wow! Is it any wonder that we all forwardto a break over the holidays? 

I want to express my thanks on behalf of allthe members of NWSMTA to thechairpersons and committees who organizeand run these events as well as to all the

teachers who volunteer to work at them. It is no small task to organizeand schedule hundreds of students, find and schedule both judges andworkers, order and distribute medals, ribbons, pins, and certificates,make programs, handle payments, and solve the last minute problemsthat inevitably occur. I am very proud of the true professionalism whichNWSMTA members exhibit at all of our events. There is no better way toshow our dedication to music education than through providing theseopportunities to our students. 

Earlier this month I attended the ISMTA conference at Olivet NazareneUniversity in Bourbonnais. One of the first items on the agenda was avote on the revised by-laws. I want to thank Deb Lynch for her careful

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Rolling Meadows Library 9:15 A.M. IMT

(Independent MusicTeachers) Chat

9:45 A.M. Meeting

DECEMBER

HOLIDAY PARTY Monday, 12/4/17

Home of  Brenda Huang 1305 N. Deer Ave.,

Palatine 10:00 A.M.-11:30 A.M.

Thursday, 12/14/17  Deadline: AIM Levels 5-12 Theory Exams

All AIM registrations arenow online. 

Mail check by December14, 2017 to Helen Chang

JANUARY

Monday, 1/15/18  Deadline: Torequest permission touse non-Syllabusrepertoire

All repertoire throughLevel 11 that is not onthe AIM Piano SyllabusRepertoire List must beapproved by IllinoisRepertoire SubstitutionChair Stephanie Myers athisamimyers@gmail.com.

PROGRAM:

analysis of the proposed changes, which I asked her to send out to ourmembership via Constant Contact. We were very concerned that someof the proposed changes were not in the best interests of ourmembers. 

After discussion at the ISMTA Board meeting some of the moreproblematic proposals were modified. However, one of the biggestchanges, which was to greatly reduce the size of the Board byeliminating some positions and removing the local associationpresidents, was passed. The presidents will now be part of an advisoryboard but will no longer have a direct vote. We will be better able toreview all of the changes and consider their possible impact after thestate office distributes the updated bylaws. 

I would like to recognize and thank two of our members for theirservice on the ISMTA Board. Deb Lynch was the Vice President for LocalAssociations and Helen Grosshans was both the AIM chair and PastPresident. Their replacements will find that they have very big shoes tofill. Two of our members, Jennifer Cohen and Carol Walgren-Georgas,continue to serve on the Board. 

As I think about the recent conference as well as others I haveattended, my best memories are not necessarily of the sessions Iattended but rather of the time I got to spend with fellow teachers. Iencourage you to attend the NWSMTA Holiday party which will be heldon Monday, December 4, at the home of Brenda Huang in Palatine. Wespend so much time and energy doing things for our students andfamilies that we often forget to set aside time for ourselves. This partygives us an opportunity to get together with other teachers in a funsocial setting. I hope to see you there!

Suzanne Murray

ERIC SUTZ - MYOFASCIA RELEASE FOR YOUR ARMS ANDSHOULDERS

Eric Sutz graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Music andhas been at the Music Institute of Chicago since 2009, teaching privateand group piano, jazz studies, and adult lessons. 

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Wendy Unwrath  "Yoga for Pianists"

Monday, 1/15/18Rolling Meadows Library

9:15 A.M. IMT(Independent MusicTeachers) Chat

9:45 A.M. Meeting

Most of Mr. Sutz' achievements areconnected to local projects. Inaddition to playing for singers,production companies, and localgroups, he also worked as a musicaldirector and conductor for Chicagoarea theaters and choirs. For fifteenyears, he took part-time and full-timejobs as a rehearsal and audition pianistfor the Candlelight, MarriotLincolnshire, Wisdom Bridge, andGoodman Theater. He was president ofNSMTA from 2006-2008, and receivedan award as Member of the Year forNSMTA in 2008 and 2011. He has

received his Arts in Action certification for 15 straight years inNorthbrook, and also published a book, "How to Play and Teach PopularMusic Creatively," in 1986.

Beyond accompanying theater groups and various choirs, Eric alsotaught at Carmel High School as the associate and primary choraldirector. He was also the accompanist, rehearsal, and solo pianist forthe European tour of their concert choir. Currently, he is a facultymember of the Music Institute of Chicago along with being a piano andguitar teacher at Stevenson High School.

When not teaching, performing, or accompanying, Eric enjoys history,travel, yoga, scuba diving and martial arts. In the martial art world heis a Sifu/Guro under Dan Inosanto, Ron Balicki, Rick Faye, Grand MasterAtillo, Marc Halleck, Hoch Hochheim and Master Shim. His favoritecomposers to play include Bach, Chopin, Gershwin, Ellington, andDebussy.

Myofascia Release for your Arms and ShouldersFascia is the term used to describe the connective tissues of the body.Dysfunction in this tissue can occur time and causes a great deal ofmovement restriction and pain. Learning how to release thoseadhesions and knots will give you the opportunity to create the correctmovement patterns and range of motion. Learn the correct way to usethese important techniques to create movement efficiency. If you haverollers, bands,yoga straps, baseballs, yoga tuneup balls, or lacrosseballs please bring them to the program.. No special clothing needed.

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NOVEMBER AIM EXAM

109 students from 24 teachers participated in theNovember AIM exam on Sunday, November 12th atHarper College.

Low Average Median High # Students JudgedOverall 52.25 94.12 95.75 100.25 109

L04 81.00 93.91 95.00 100.25 25L03 52.25 93.82 96.25 100.00 26L02 68.50 92.44 95.00 99.00 31L01C 93.00 96.32 96.75 99.75 7L01B 91.00 96.78 98.00 100.00 15L01A 90.50 96.10 96.00 99.50 5

CAMP SCHOLARSHIP

NWSMTA  offers a camp scholarship to acamp of the student's choosing.  Thescholarship money will be sent directly tothe camp.  We provide a $300 scholarshipto 1st place winners in each division,junior (up to 8th grade) and senior (9ththrough 12th grade).  We also provide a$200 scholarship to 2nd place winners ineach division.  The deadline is April 15. Complete rules & application form are onthe website.  If you have any questions,please call or send an email.

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Pat Borchardt847-356-6016pborch@ameritech.net 

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

NWSMTA offers a college scholarship inthe amount of $1000 which goes to 1winner.  The first installment is $500 andis sent directly to the school the studentwill be attending and the 2nd installmentof $500 will be sent to the school afterthe student has shown a copy ofacceptable grades to the chairpersonafter the 1st semester.  Complete rules &application form are on the website.  Ifyou have any question, please call oremail.

Pat Borchardt847-356-6016pborch@ameritech.net

HOSPITALITY

A card was sent to Joan Drolet in the loss of her brother. A card was sent to Marcia Mally in the loss of her cousin. A card was sent to Rachel Wojcicki in the loss of her grandma.

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A check was sent to Kathlyn Sbarboro to be used for her sons' collegefund.

NEW NWSMTA LIBRARY ADDITIONS

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE NWSMTA LIBRARYDonated by Marilyn L. Crosland and RachelWojcicki   

The Art of Practicing, a Guide to Making Music from the Heart     Madeline Bruser Famous Pianists & Their Technique Reginald R. Gerig Form in Music                                                                                       Wallace Berry            Great Lessons from Great Pianists Pianists  Stuart Isacoff, ed. Great Pianists on Piano PlayingJames Francis Cooke Intelligent Music TeachingRobert A. Duke Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music Sandra P. Rosenblum The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling Joseph Banowetz A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers:  Strategies to Develop the Mindand Body for Optimal PerformanceKris Kropff, ed.

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 With Your Own Two HandsSeymour Bernstein 

HOLIDAY PARTY

HOLIDAY PARTY Monday, December 4, 2017   

Home of  Brenda Huang 1305 N. Deer Ave., Palatine

10:00 A.M.-11:30 A.M.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

I just spent a week with my eight-year-oldtwin grandsons from California.  We had oursecond "in person" lesson on the duet,"Canon in D" by Pachelbel.  They are gettingready to audition for their school talentshow.  Because I skype their piano lessons,it's crucial that I hold their attention andimaginations with imagery and creatingexpressive sounds at the piano.  After aweek of them falling in love with

Burgmuller's Arabesque, in which the A section represents little elvesrunning to hide from the ogre while whispering, "Gotta get away," andthe B section which represents the ogre chanting, "Gonna getcha now!"my brother-in-law suggested it was time to teach them a new song.  Wemade the elves and ogre move in different ways, depending on if theelves had just eaten a whole turkey, or if the ogre was getting "hangry"because he had had nothing to eat for a very long time, resulting in ademonstration of a variety of touches at the piano.  We reversed themajor and minor of each section, transposed up and down an octave,and tried multiple tempi, just to experience what it would sound like. 

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Once a student has command of the notes, fingerings and rhythms, it'stime to take advantage of their comfort level and explore any directionthey may wish to go with it.

During the week, we often found them lost in the music as they played;sometimes both playing pianos in different rooms.  The sounds mergedtogether, sometimes contrasting, and sometimes melting into the piecethe other one was playing.  It's a rare opportunity to be in thebackground as your students practice.  When we teach music, we touchthe future through our students as they are encouraged to grow anddevelop their humanness, through music.

Deb LynchNewsletter Editor

PS  If you plan to enter students in AIM, you may wish to do apreliminary registration for the repertoire portion of the exam, eventhough it's months away.  The OPERA program (under AIM on theNWSMTA website) will let you know if all the repertoire you're planningmeets the criteria.  You are always free to make changes, or delete theregistration.  

Deborah LynchEditor

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