News

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

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Bluebonnet News

 

Dear Teachers:


Hope you all are doing well.


MINUTES

The November general meeting was held on line  November 10. Present were Lillian and Angela.  Plans for recital were discussed. Procedures for Baroque Festival were discussed.


MEETING

The next general meeting will he on zoom. Looking forward to seeing you.


RECITAL

During November you may upload your winter recital videos. The online instructions are in the yearbook..


Monday, October 26, 2020

Bluebonnet News

 

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


MINUTES OF MEETING

The monthly general meeting was held on zoom on October 13.  Present were Martha V., Angela and Lillian.

UPON MOTION MADE AND SECONDED, IT WAS RESOLVED:
That the Judgeś instructions be amended to delete the gag instruction at item 4.
That festivals registration fees be increased to $25.


NOTES

That Martha V will prepare ear training CDs for theory test.
That the Baroque Festival will be by recordings.

MAIL RECEIVED


Mon, Oct 26 at 12:04 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

Address:

Address2:

City:

State:

Zip:

Phone: 940-898-2517

Comments: Dear Lillian, The Texas Woman's University Department of Music will host Virtual Music Major for a Day on Wednesday, November 11, 2020. 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). I ask that you help us spread the word about this exciting event by forwarding this message with the teachers in your local MTNA/TMTA association. MMFAD info and registration: https://twu.edu/music/mmfad/ MMFAD flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yvJXq4LUMp9iwtuxkP2BMuL4X8cL7HNo/view?usp=sharing 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 *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 *Supervised teaching opportunities for pedagogy students through the TWU Community Music Center *Professional development mentorship *Historic music building on a safe and beautiful 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 For information about entrance and scholarship auditions, please visit https://twu.edu/music/auditions/. We look forward to seeing you on November 11! If you have any questions about MMFAD or our programs, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Rich Shuster Richard Shuster, DMA Professor of Music Piano Texas Woman's University  940-898-2517


VIDEO CLIP

Trick or Treat
Go to:

Sunday, October 18, 2020

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


Dear Teachers:


MINUTES OF MEETING

The monthly general meeting was held on zoom on October 13.  Present were Martha V., Angela and Lillian.

UPON MOTION MADE AND SECONDED, IT WAS RESOLVED:
That the Judgeś instructions be amended to delete the gag instruction at item 4.
That festivals registration fees be increased to $25.


NOTES

That Martha V will prepare ear training CDs for theory test.
That the Baroque Festival will be held by video recordings.

Bluebonnet News

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


Dear Teachers:


EVENT REPORTS

The pandemic is really hitting us.
Event registration report:
The registration for fall theory test is one.
The registration for Baroque Festival is four.


MEETING

Lillian Simmons is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: BMTA
Time: Oct 13, 2020 10:30 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Bluebonnet News

 

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:

MEETING

Next Meeting
I'm planning to have meetings in my home studio patio.  It's private, quiet,, open air.  The September meeting will be held at  International Studio of Music on Tuesday September 8  at 10:30 am . In the patio. Looking forward to seeing you all!
Please wear a mask and keep social distancing.  And if you have a a fever or other symptoms of COVID, please don't come.

Last Meeting
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.


SUMMER RECITAL

I think I finally figured out how to play the playlist of the Summer Recital.  Go to this playlist link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt07yS8FzgY&list=PLPWhBYNzS2JKYZ3T5tQszZJScr45r8i-V . I have also updated the link to the recital in the Bluebonnet webpage. Thank you for your patience. It only took me a month to figure out how to play a playlist!

We will be accepting performances for the Summer Recital for the rest of the summer. If you would like to perform, make a video and upload it to the BMTA channel.

Students should record their pieces, and upload them to our  youtube channel.
To upload your performance:
2. login with Bluebonnet login.
3. Enter Bluebonnet password.
4. Go to Bluebonnet Channel.
5. Upload your video.
6. Add it to the appropriate recital playlist.

VIDEO CLIP


Tempo video clip
go to:

Monday, August 17, 2020

Bluebonnet News

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


Dear Teachers:


CONCERT

We got a nice little on line concert!
 It is at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt07yS8FzgY&list=PLPWhBYNzS2JKYZ3T5tQszZJScr45r8i-V&index=1
You can also find a link to it in the BMTa website under the subtitle Gallery.


MEETING

Next Meeting
I'm planning to have meetings in my home studio patio.  It's private, quiet, open air.  The September meeting will be held at  International Studio of Music on Tuesday September 8  at 10:30 am . In the patio. Looking forward to seeing you all!
Directions: http://www.yrose.us/ls/directions.html

Last Meeting
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.


REFERRAL

Remember to update your contact information in the updated website area.  Go to the new Teacher Referral page. Cindy has set it up. Thank you, Cindy!

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Bluebonnet News



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


Dear Teachers:


MEETING

The next general meeting will be on Tuesday September 8 at 10:30 am. at International Studio of Music, in the patio. Directions: http://www.yrose.us/ls/directions.html


SUMMER RECITAL

Are your students ready to perform in the Summer Recital?  If so, have them record and upload to:
In the BMTA channel


REFERRAL

Teachers, remember to enter your listing in the teacher referral page in the new WordPress area of the Bluebonnet website.  Cindy was so kind to get it set up, and it is very nice. She did a great job! Thank you, Cindy! http://bluebonnetmta.org/


CALENDAR

The event calendars have been updated .  They are in the yearbook at: http://bluebonnetmta.org/yearbook.html
.

Monday, July 27, 2020

Bluebonnet News

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


SUMMER RECITAL

Are your students ready to perform in the Summer Recital?  If so, have them record and upload to:
Put it in the playlist: Summer Recital


SEPTEMBER MEETING

From what I have read, it seems that meeting in outdoor places is safer than in air conditioned places where air gets recirculated.  Do any of you know of a sidewalk café close to our usual meetings?  If you do, please let me know.


CALENDAR

The event schedule has been updated for the fall.  It is at: http://bluebonnetmta.org/yearbook.html


Bluebonnet News

THEORY

The Covid theory test instructions are attached. We should plan to do theory tests in small groups in teachers' homes or outdoor places.  I do have a patio that we can use. If you can be in charge of a test, please let me know.
Lillian


MARTHA M

Martha M said she is retiring.  She will be so missed! She has been so instrumental and essential that it's hard to imagine how we can do without her!

Bluebonnet News

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


RECITAL

The deadline for registering for Summer Recital is August 1.  Record and upload whenever you're ready, the sooner the better. Send registration form to Lillian.  The deadline for uploading videos is August 15. The first performance has already been uploaded. It is at: https://youtu.be/kt07yS8FzgY

Have them add their recording to our BMta playlist titled Summer Recital 2020.


MAIL FROM MARTHA

Martha Marks
To:Lillian Simmons
Mon, Jul 6 at 4:02 PM
Hi All, I have a large amount of music and I would like to get some compensation for it. Also I have games , world of music and theory booklets. If you're interested, I will bring some of it the first meeting. Let me know!
Martha M


Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Bluebonnet News

Lillian Simmons

Secretary

Bluebonnet MTA

Website: http://bluebonnetmta.org/home.html

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1990327091212286/

email BluebonnetMTA@live.com





Dear Teachers:


SUMMER RECITAL

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I did ask last month how we should proceed with the summer recital, and I got no comments. So now it's clear:  we will have an on line recital in our BMTA youtube channel. We will also invite ADMTA students.

When your students are ready to record, ask them to record and upload to Bluebonnet youtube channel.


MUSIC APPRECIATION

Texas Music Teachers Association offers a music appreciation course. This is an excellent course.  Each level can be completed in two months during the summer with self study.  Then students can take the World of Music examination in the fall. 


CLEANING PIANO KEYS

Go to:
https://www.steinway.com/news/features/utilty/cleaning-your-piano?fbclid=IwAR2rQ7a5IdnjcvpAV2j6RcGc4t7il6XfYtAAHoCEIu5JaNSXpoRSS2R4AEA


VIDEO CLIP

The Cat and the Mouse
For elementary students.
Go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOvSgtV9wNc

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Bluebonnet News

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear Teachers, how are you all doing? Is everybody OK?


WEBSITE

The wordpress website is up.  I have set up a teacher referral page.
Please go there and add your contact information.


CALENDAR

For your information, the school calendar for Round Rock ISD is now available for the 2020-2021 school year. Go to: https://roundrockisd.org/about-rrisd/calendars/


CLEANING KEYS

Go to:


Sunday, April 5, 2020

Bluebonnet News

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


Dear Teachers:


Hope you all are staying safe.


AUDITIONS

The Festival is being done on line, and is proceeding well.  The Judge has received entries from Lillian and Angela. Judge Eduardo is handling the on-line auditions expertly.


MEETING

There will be no more meetings for the rest of this school year.  If you all need to discuss anything, we can do that by email.


NEW ADDRESS

Eduardo has a new postal address. I'm enclosing updated membership list.


Take care.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Bluebonnet News

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers,


PANDEMIC
The coronavirus guidelines
are  that events of ten people or less are acceptable,
but events of more than ten people, the event should be cancelled.

RECITAL
Last week I asked for a vote on whether to cancel the festival recital.  I got a tie vote. I think we need to cancel the festival recital. Because it is an event of more than ten people.  OK, so know that i"m cancelling the festival recital.

FESTIVAL
I think we can go ahead with the Romantic Festival, because it is an event of ten people or less.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Minutes of Meeting

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers:


MINUTES

The March general meeting was held on March 10 at Panera Bread.  Present were Angela, Eduardo, Martha M, Lillian.

The following appointments were made for Event Chairmen.
This school year Spring Festival Chair Martha V. This is an open audition.
Appointments for next school year are:
Martha M Fall Festival Chair
Eduardo Spring Festival Chair

Other decisions that were made:
Topics
Eduardo will be  meeting topics chairman
Wordpress
We will set up the website to use WordPress, which is more interactive.
Monitor
Teachers who register Theory test students may pay $50 for a substitute monitor if they have less than five students taking the test. For any additional students the teacher must pay an additional $10 per student for a substitute monitor.
Ear Training
For Ear training at theory tests we will use CDs and internet as a backup.


NOTES


May Recital
The Festival Recital will be an open recital, that is, any student may participate. The chairman is Angela.

Recital
Martha M will call Matthew about setting up a Bluebonnet recital in midAugust.

Festival
The Romantic Festival will be held from 1:00 to 2:00. The judge will be Eduardo.

Promotion
Eduardo will call Cindy to invite her to attend meetings.
We will set up a page of testimonials explaining what benefits teachers get by joining BMTA. We may mention that advanced students may work as accompanists and get paid $25. Thank you to Eduardo for these suggestions.


MEETING

Next Meeting
The April meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday April 14  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
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.



Saturday, February 15, 2020

Bluebonnet News

MINUTES OF MEETING

The general meeting of BMTA was held on February 11 at Panera Bread. Present were Martha M, Lillian, Angela, Martha V.

It was decided that:
Martha V will be the chair of the Romantic Festival
By email it was decided that Angela will be the chairman of the festival recital in May.

Nominations
The following nominations of officers were made for the 2020-2021 school year.
Treasurer Martha V
President Lillian
VicePresident Martha M
Secretary Lillian

Standing Committees
Theory Chair Martha M
Ensemble Eduardo

Teachers of ADMTA may be substitute monitors at theory tests.


NOTES
Lillian will remind the judge Eduardo to attend the Romantic Festival.
Martha M will invite teachers of TMEA to join BMTA.
The Teacher  of the Year for 2020-2021 school year will be Martha M.
Lillian will add date and teacher name blanks to theory and festival registration forms.
Students will not be required to sit away from their families at recitals.
Out of association teachers will pay $10 to have their students perform at BMTA recitals.
Performance limits at BMTA recitals will be one movement of pieces or 7 minutes maximum time.
Festival superior students will be announced at the BMTA recitals.
Out of association teachers will be invited to BMTA recitals.
Out of association students will be invited to the May recital. All students of Bluebonnet teachers may perform.
There will be three recitals in the 2020-2021 school year: Fall recital in November, Spring recital  in February and Summer recital in June.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

bLUEBONNET nEWS


Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers,


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.

Next Meeting
The February meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday February 11  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.

The agenda is attached. If you would like to add any items, please let me know.
Lillian


Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Minutes of Meeting

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers,


MEETING

Minutes of meeting
The January meeting was held at Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday January 14 at 10:30 am. Present were Angela, Lillian, Eduardo, Martha M, Martha V.
The Treasurer presented the treasurer's report.
The following appointments were made:
Martha M will be the Spring  Recital Chairman.  She will prepare programs, certificates.
Lillian will prepare a new yearbook page about Bluebonnet recitals.
The following teachers will monitor the theory test. Eduardo, Lillian, Martha M, Martha V.
We will nominate a teacher of the year for next school year.
Martha V will make ear Training CDs.
Eduardo will be the Romantic Festival judge.
The Romantic Festival will be at 1:00-2:00 pm
Eduardo will be the outreach chairman.
Eduardo will be the ensemble chairman next school year.

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.

Next Meeting
The February meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday February 11  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.


PIANO GUILD

The auditions of the Piano Guild will be held on Saturday March 28 in Round Rock.  If you would like to participate, please let me know. Piano Guild of Round Rock: http://www.yrose.us/wp/guild.html

Monday, January 6, 2020

Bluebonnet News

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


Dear Teachers,


MEETING

Next Meeting
The January meeting will be held at  Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday January 14  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.
The agenda is attached.

Last Meeting
The December meeting was held at Panera Bread in Cedar Park on Tuesday December 10 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.


THEORY

The theory test schedule is attached. 
We need volunteers to monitor the theory test. Can you monitor?


RECITAL

The registration form for the Spring Recital is attached.
I'm attaching the Recital Protocol handout. I suggest that you give this handout to your students that will perform in the Spring Recital.


VIDEO CLIP

Chopin, Impossible Love
Good movie.
Go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT0EZrurjY4


Thursday, January 2, 2020

 
Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers,


RECITAL

The recital program is attached for your information.


OTHER EVENTS
1.
Austin Chamber Ensemble presents:
“Harp and Oboe: An Evening of French and Czech Music”
Andy Parker, oboist and Delaine Fedson Leonard, harpist will perform works by Czech
musicians. These musicians were heavily influenced by the early 20th century French
aesthetic.
January 24th and 25th, 7:30pm at First Presbyterian Church of Austin 8001 Mesa Drive
Austin 78731
2.
“On Wenlock Edge”
Favorite Austin Artists Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, tenor; The Artisan Quartet (Patrice
Calixte, Caleb Hans Polashek, Bruce Williams , and Douglas Harvey) and Marti
Mortensen Ahern, pianist will present the rarely performed song cycle “On Wenlock
Edge” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. This work is based on a setting of poems by A. E.
Housman (from the collection "A Shropshire Lad"). The Artisan Quartet will also perform
Dvorak’s Quartet Op. 51.
February 28th, 7:30pm – St. Marys Cathedral, Bishop's Hall 203 East 10th Street 78701
February 29th, 7:30pm – First Presbyterian Church of Austin 8001 Mesa Drive 78731
$30.00 general admission, $25.00 seniors (60+), $10.00 students with ID, and FREE
for ages 5–17.
See www.austinchamberensemble.org for ticket information.
 
 
REGISTRATION DEADLINES

The theory registration deadline is January 1.  Because of the holidays, I recommend that you set your studio registration deadline for December 21.
Lillian
Theory Chair

The SA registration deadline for students who will take the spring theory test is January 2. The late fee after September 15 is $20.
Lillian
SA Chair

MEMBERSHIP

The updated membership list is attached.

Bluebonnet News

Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA


Dear Teachers,


RECITAL

Teachers, please have your performing students plan to dress well for the recital.  Boys should wear dress shirts and dress pants, and girls should wear a dress or skirt/slacks and a blouse/sweater.  T-shirts/sweatshirts and blue jeans are not acceptable.  No dangling jewelry!


OTHER EVENTS

Costa Rica Piano Festival
Go to:


VIDEO CLIP

Santa Claus is Coming
Go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMvFqy9_RUo