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Music Teachers' Association of California®
Alameda County East Branch
"The mission of MTAC is to pursue excellence in music education and advance the music teaching profession through innovative programs that foster artistic growth and achievement."
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Lectures
BRANCH LECTURES
Branch Lectures are a part of the MTAC-Alameda East continuing education program. Experts provide insightful information about a variety of topics for use in daily teaching. These lectures are given throughout the year and are open to all branch members.
Upcoming Lectures
November 18, 2024 (online - 10am-noon)
Lecturer: Jarred Dunn
Lecture Topic - Healthy Practice, Technique, and Perspective
Description - This seminar will focus on how to maximize efficiency of practicing through technical principles of piano playing. Among other technical concepts, we will discuss how to optimally position and move the hands and arms for optimal comfort and agility.
Pianist Jarred Dunn (Yamaha Artist) won First Prize and Concerto Award at the 7th Lithuanian International Chopin Competition and is a prizewinner of the Jan Hoffman, D. Vitti, Verona Zinetti, and Rome International Competitions. Mr. Dunn has performed in Australia, Europe, and North America as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. He is described by critics as “a piano sound-colour magician” (Muzikos Barai), “a performer with exquisite pedaling” (Ludwig van Toronto), and “technically perfect” (Belarus First Radio). Mr. Dunn is heard on CBC/Radio-Canada, Classical 96.3FM, WWFM, WQXR, 98.7 WVMO, Belarusian First, and Madison Radio-TV. CBC/Radio Canada featured him on This is My Music and Top Thirty Under Thirty: Hot Canadian Classical Musicians. His discography includes Chopin and Debussy, Brahms in Solitude, Chopin’s Diary: The Mazurkas. Recently, he recorded the complete piano solo and duo works of Górecki, alongside Górecki's daughter, pianist Anna Górecka. His teachers include Andrei Gavrilov, Maria João-Pires, Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, Anna Górecka, Andrzej Jasiński, Dorothy Taubman, Jacob Lateiner and Yoheved Kaplinsky. He is based in Montreal.
Past Lectures
Our focus will revolve around the exploration of Chopin's work and the pedaling within the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic musical eras. Please check back for more information
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Guest Lecturer: Frank Wiens
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Topic - First half: In Search of Chopin, An Examination of Performance Practice
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Second half : The art of the feet in Piano performance (all musical eras)
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Time: November 13th, 2023; Monday morning 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Pleasanton (will be disclosed to those who RSVP) -
Please check your email inbox for the signup link.
Frank Wiens is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, where he received the Stanley Medal, that school’s highest award for musical excellence. He has been an active touring concert artist since 1974, giving numerous recitals throughout the United States annually. He has had two concert tours of South Korea, and performed a series of concerts in the former Soviet Union in 1991 in celebration of the Prokofieff centennial. In the fall of 2006, he was a soloist with the Orchestra Dinu Lipatti in Romania and gave an all-Chopin recital at the Chopin Academy in Warsaw. A winner of numerous awards, he has performed in London, Vienna, and New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, and been a soloist with such orchestras as the Atlanta, Denver, and Detroit Symphonies. His compact disc recording of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Slovakia National Orchestra was released on the Fanfare-Intersound label. He is a Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of the Pacific, and was the recipient of the University’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 1997 and its Research-Lecturer Award in 2000. Please click here for his full bio.
March 26, 2023
Lecturer: Nahre Sol
Date: March 26th, 2023
Time: 1 pm - 3 pm
Title: Modern-Day Classical Music
Description: "Helping students see the relevance of classical music and compositional techniques in our daily lives and how to incorporate that knowledge in their future study"
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Nahre Sol's bio
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Website - https://www.nahresol.com/
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Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NahreSol
Click here for the video recording of the lecture
March 16, 2023
Lecturer: Music Testing Overview & Comparisons: MTAC, CAPMT/MTNA, RCM, ABRSM, and more!
Time: March 16th, Thursday 10 am over zoom (link will be provided a week before)
Participating Branches: Alameda, Alameda East, Delta, Contra Costa
Lecturer: Grant Kondo, NCTM (bio)
Session Title
Music Testing Overview & Comparisons: MTAC, CAPMT/MTNA, RCM, ABRSM, and more!
Session Description
This session will explore various music testing options for your students. Using MTAC's familiar Certificate of Merit program as a baseline, we will compare and contrast other opportunities offered by MTAC, as well as other organizations such as CAPMT/MTNA, RCM, Piano Guild, NFMC, ABRSM, and others.
Click here for the resources presented during the lecture.
