News

News and Announcements of Bluebonnet Music Teachers Association, Williamson County Texas, USA

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Bluebonnet News

Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


MEETING

Next Meeting
The November meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday November  12  at 10:30 am.
Panera Bread, 10900 Lakeline Mall Drive, Cedar Park 78717. 996-8300. Turn
from 183 onto Lakeline Mall Drive by Strait Music. This is one half block
east of 183. Turn left into the shopping center.  Turn left at Target.

Last Meeting
The October meeting was held at Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday October 8 at 10:30 am.
If you missed the last meeting, we missed you. Check our newsletters at
http://bluebonnetmta.org/ so you know what we discussed. We had a great meeting.


FESTIVAL

Martha M is going to do the festival certificates.  She needs copies of festival registrations.

The judge for the Festival will be Jodi Blount.  Her bio is at: https://cpfumc.org/our-staff/


AGENDA

The agenda is attached.
I'm attaching Cindi's suggestions for your information.  We will discuss.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Bluebonnet News

Bluebonnet MTA
Website: http://bluebonnetmta.org/home.html
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1990327091212286/
email BluebonnetMTA@live.com


Dear Teachers:


THEORY

Can you help with the theory test?
We should have two teachers in each classroom.  We have scheduled a test from 8:30 to 10:30 and another test from 10:30 to 1:30. If you can help, please let me know. Lillian


MEETING

Next Meeting
The November meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday November  12  at 10:30 am.
Panera Bread, 10900 Lakeline Mall Drive, Cedar Park 78717. 996-8300. Turn
from 183 onto Lakeline Mall Drive by Strait Music. This is one half block
east of 183. Turn left into the shopping center.  Turn left at Target.

Last Meeting
The October meeting was held at Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday October 8 at 10:30 am.
 If you missed the last meeting, we missed you. Check our newsletters at
 http://bluebonnetmta.org/ so you know what we discussed. We had a great meeting.


TOPIC

Would anyone like to suggest a topic for our next meeting? And then we can all pool our knowledge about that one topic.  Thank you to Cindi for this awesome suggestion!


RECITAL

The Board of Directors has agreed to have a winter recital.
OK, gals, we're having a Bluebonnet recital! What would we like to name it? There are some name suggestions at  https://samusicteachers.org/student-recital/  Lillian's recital is converting to Bluebonnet recital.   The change of organization in charge was approved by Steinway.  The recital will be on Saturday February 8 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.  All teachers are invited to enter their students.
 Thank you to Cindi Nebeker for this great idea!

Martha V

 To: Lillian Simmons
Oct 9 at 9:30 AM
Lillian,
i remembered the meeting at 11:30 Tuesday morning.  Of course it was over by then. 
. . . .
Yes, I like the idea of having a recital in February.  Count me in.
Martha V


TEACHING COURSE

Hsin-Yi Nebeker 

 To: Lillian Simmons
Oct 9 at 5:51 AM
Hi Lillian,
I took this free online course this summer and it helps a lot on my teaching.  Don’t know if BBMTA members know about it.
Go to:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/becoming-a-better-music-teacher?utm_campaign=abrsm_becoming_a_better_music_teacher_november_2019&utm_medium=organic_email&utm_source=newsletter_segment
Have a good day,
Hsin-Yi Nebeker, BM, MM
Nebeker Music Studio
www.nebekermusic.com

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Bluebonnet News



Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


MEETING

Minutes of Last Meeting
The general meeting of BMTA was held on October 8 at Panera Bread in Cedar Park.  Present were Lillian, Hsin-Yi Cindi and Angela. 
Judges
Cindi turned in a list of names for suggested judges.
Topics
Cindi suggested we announce meeting topics and discuss topics during meetings each month.
Duets
Cindi suggested we have duet festivals because students benefit from learning rhythm and musicality in duets.
Website
Cindi suggested we streamline the website and give only main points of events and activities. and we add graphics to the web pages. Lillian said that we do have streamlined web pages, and we do need the yearbook in public view, especially because we get ADMTA out of association participation.
Teacher
Cindi suggested we name a teacher of the year each school year.
Recitals
Cindi suggested for next year having recitals instead of festivals because festivals are more expensive for the association and more stressful for students. And also, students don't get to benefit from listening to other students' performances as they do in recitals.  And she corroborated her suggestion by presenting calendars from the San Antonio MTA which offer recitals. Their recitals calendar is at: https://samusicteachers.org/student-recital/
Recital
Angela suggested having a BMTA recital in February this year and combining it with Lillian's studio recital which is scheduled for Saturday February 8 at 4:00 pm. Lillian said we need to vote on this by email.
Invite
Angela informed that some of Dianne's students had transferred to a neighbor teacher, and she suggested that we invite that teacher to join BMTA. Lillian said she will follow up on that suggestion.

Next Meeting
The November meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday November  12  at 10:30 am at Panera Bread in Cedar Park.
Panera Bread, 10900 Lakeline Mall Drive, Cedar Park 78717. 996-8300. Turn
from 183 onto Lakeline Mall Drive by Strait Music. This is one half block
east of 183. Turn left into the shopping center.  Turn left at Target.

Last Meeting
The October meeting was held at Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday October 8 at 10:30 am.
If you missed the last meeting, we missed you. Check our newsletters at
http://bluebonnetmta.org/ so you know what we discussed. We had a great meeting.


DELETING STUDENTS

  Hello Student Affiliate Chairs. 
There seems to be a misunderstanding about removing students from teachers' dashboards, so I'd like to clear that up. 

Many students return or transfer to another teacher after leaving a studio and teachers don't always realize this, so I had asked that students be left in the teachers' dashboards for one school year before being removed, so they were easier to find to transfer or enroll again.  I did not mean that students could not be removed at all.  If you know a student has graduated or moved out of state, you as SA Chairs may delete.  If a teacher is adamant that the student needs to be removed, you may delete.  I am able to restore deleted students if they return or transfer, but was just trying to reduce the risk of students losing their history if a new record is created and it's not caught that the student is returning or transferring. 

If teachers want students removed from their profiles, even if the students were enrolled last year, please wait until January in case they do return or transfer.  Once you've done your late enrollments prior to the Spring Theory test, any students left with a note to remove may be deleted.  I understand teachers want to clean up their dashboards.  But, please inform all teachers asking for students being deleted that they should not create a new record for any of their previous students if those students return.  We can't transfer the ID or test scores to a new record.  The original record must be retained for students to keep their enrollment, test, and contest history. This is also a good time to remind all teachers that if they know a student is transferring to them from another TMTA teacher, they should not create a new record then, but to make a list of any students they need transferred to them, and you, their SA Chair, will do ones coming from within your association and I will do any from a different association, or any who have been deleted or not found in your dashboard. 

Thank you for all you do for your associations and TMTA.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need my help with anything. 
--
Abby Hehenberger
Records Administrator
Texas Music Teachers Association
512-927-7355


MAIL RECEIVED

Contact Form
Oct 7 at 4:06 PM
A contact form was submitted at https://www.tmta.org/teachers/local-associations/list-of-local-associations/contact-local-president-blb/.
Contact Form Information
Name: Richard Shuster

Comments: Dear Lillian, I kindly ask that you forward this information about Music Major for a Day at Texas Woman’s University to piano teacher colleagues in your local association. Thanks! Richard Shuster, DMA Professor of Music, Piano Texas Woman's University
Dear Colleagues, The Texas Woman's University Department of Music will host a Music Major for a Day on Tuesday, October 29, on our Denton campus. Your junior and senior students who are considering majoring in music are welcome to participate in this event. They can observe lessons, sit in on classes, and participate in a master class or private lesson (depending upon availability). Please share the attached flyer and the Music Major for a Day website ( https://twu.edu/music/mmfad/ ) with any students who may be interested.
As you may know, since 1917, TWU has been a destination for students interested in careers in music. TWU graduates are women and men who enjoy successful careers as studio teachers, accompanists, music therapists and classroom teachers in the DFW area and beyond.
Here are some of the reasons why TWU music students thrive: Supportive environment and small class sizes guarantee personal attention Opportunities for performance on a variety of outstanding concert instruments, including Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Schimmel, and Bösendorfer pianos Studio and practice spaces equipped with new or newly restored instruments Pedagogy students have teaching opportunities through the TWU Community Music Center Professional development mentorship Historic music building on a beautiful and safe campus Located just blocks from the newly revitalized Denton Square Focus on diversity and inclusion Affordable tuition; scholarships and graduate assistantships available TWU offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees in music. The following degrees may be of interest to pianists: Graduate degrees in piano pedagogy, music therapy, music education, piano performance Undergraduate degrees in liberal arts-music, music therapy, music education, piano performance Undergraduate general studies degree with a concentration in music/piano Music minor with an emphasis in piano We will be holding one entrance/scholarship audition fall 2019 and four in spring 2020. Pianists should prepare 2-3 works from contrasting style periods. November 9, 2019 January 25, 2020 February 8, 2020 February 29, 2020 April 18, 2020 (Entrance Only) Please visit the TWU Music Department website ( https://twu.edu/music/ ) and the TWU Music audition website ( https://twu.edu/music/auditions/ ) and let us know about any questions you may have about our program. 
 Sincerely, Dr. Shuster Richard Shuster, DMA Professor of Music, Piano Texas Woman's University


OTHER EVENTS

MESSAGE FROM JASON KWAK AT TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Dear ADMTA Teachers,
I hope you are having a wonderful start to your fall season. I wanted to let you know about a special event we are hosting. Texas State Piano Department is happy to host our second ‘Piano Day’ on November 9th, 2019. The event will be from 9AM – 5PM. Piano Day will feature many aspects of our dynamic piano faculty and our thriving piano program. We will have lessons, masterclasses, mini-workshops, and performances. All this for, plus lunch, for $10.
Please recommend this to your students. You can click the following link for more information:
Best regards,
Dr. Jason Kwak


ARTICLES

8 Ways to Create a Positive Music Culture from the First Day
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