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Welcome 2021!
Dear Delaware Music Teachers; I am honored to step into the role of Delaware State Music Teachers’ Association (DSMTA) President, following in the footsteps of Christine Delbeau who has served our organization with distinction over the last two years. As we move into a new year, we owe a huge thank you to the 2019-2020 Board of Directors for their dedication, service and leadership, as well as to all of our committee chairs and members for giving your time and talents to make the year a success. Year 2020 will forever be known as the year COVID-19 changed everything, including the way we educate. It has no doubt been a challenge, but I can say with certainty that DSMTA has met the challenge well! We transformed our thinking, stretched our capabilities and became even more creative with the way we accomplish our mission. It makes me proud to be part of such a resilient and dedicated group of music educators! As I look ahead to the upcoming year, I am convinced even more of the critical role music plays in providing continuity in an ever-changing world. We need an organization to provide support and resources so music educators’ efforts and impact to our community can be maximized. I’m excited to say that DSMTA is poised and ready to fill this need. DSMTA is the place where music teachers (and their students) can and do thrive. I hope you will take some time to visit the DSMTA website and take advantage of the many offerings! The first Board Meeting of the new year (Jan. 23) is open to all members and held virtually. The month of February brings our Vocal Solo Festival as well as a student recital. The popular Theory Festival will be held March 7th. On-line registration capabilities for all of these events make participating easier than ever before! Thank you for allowing me to serve alongside you this year. I am thrilled to be working with such a dedicated and talented group of teachers. I appreciate your support and encourage you to share any feedback and ideas you may have as we work together. Gratefully, Joyce C. Harkey President, DSMTA  Virtual DSMTA Convention on Saturday, November 7, 2:00 p.m. Our convention clinician is Dr. Fred Karpoff, Winner of the Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award presented by Music Teachers National Association. Some of the topics Dr. Karpoff will cover at the DSMTA convention include:
Fred Karpoff presents workshops and master classes throughout North America and abroad, including appearances at the past several MTNA Conferences, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and the East-West Asia Conference. He is regularly featured as the conference artist and/or clinician at state and provincial music teachers’ association events, including those of Texas, California, Oregon, Oklahoma, Kansas, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Alabama, Alberta, and North and South Carolina. A former Artistic Ambassador for the United States Information Agency, Karpoff is a prize winner in the San Antonio, Dublin, and Competition Internationale international piano competitions. As guest artist at music festivals in the U.S. and Europe, he has collaborated with many of America’s foremost musicians. He has performed as soloist and collaborative pianist on four continents, including venues in Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Finland, Italy, China, India, and North America. He has been fortunate to study with Leon Fleisher, Ann Schein, Robert Weirich and Yoheved Kaplinsky, and to have had extensive coachings with Karl Ulrich Schnabel and Richard Goode. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory and his undergraduate training took place at Northwestern University. Fred Karpoff has served as visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music and is an international Steinway Artist. He is Professor of Piano and Ensemble Arts at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University. He is the artistic producer of Entrada Piano Technique, an online video resource for teachers and students to achieve effortless piano technique at https://entradapiano.com.
We were honored to have internationally known performer, teacher, clinician, author and adjudicator, Phyllis Lehrer, as our Convention Presenter this year. The morning session consisted of presentations on "Coping with Performance Anxiety" and "The Inner Game of Music." In the afternoon Phyllis gave a masterclass with students of Mitzi DeWhitt and Chris McCloskey performing. The Convention concluded with wonderful performances by our Competition winners.
 Pictured from left to right: Lumina Zhang, Junior High Piano Alternate-Student of Loretta Jankowski; Christina Wang, Junior High Piano Winner-Student of Stella Xu; Ruby Anderson, Senior High Voice Winner-Student of Marian Healy; Savannah Klumpp, Senior High Voice Honorable Mention-Student of Marian Healy; Sydney Kenton, Senior High Voice Alternate-Student of Marian Healy; Sophia Liston, Senior High Voice Honorable Mention-Student of Mary Ellen Schauber; Joseph Kang, Senior High Piano Winner-Student of David Brown; Victor Li, Senior High Piano Alternate-Student of Holly Roadfeldt; Miyu Mudalamane, Senior High Piano Honorable Mention-Student of Mitzi DeWhitt; Genevieve Hahn, Young Artist Performance Woodwind Representative-Student of Eileen Grycky.
 Congratulations to Lindsay Hawtof--student of Marian Healy. Lindsay was the Young Artist Vocal winner for the Eastern Division. She will advance to Nationals in March in Orlando, Florida.
 Lumina Zhang, a Maryland native and a student of Loretta Jankowski of Newark, Delaware, won third place in the “Great Composers International Competition” playing Shostakovich’s “Lyrical Waltz”. Students from around the world competed. Lumina, who recently turned ten years old, has other accomplishments. She performed in Carnegie Recital Hall this past May because she won two competitions sponsored by the Piano Teachers Society of America. One of these competitions required her to perform five pieces for memory, one of which had three separate movements.
There is an exciting event coming up in November! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the 2016 DSMTA Convention on Saturday, November 5. This year it will be held at the University of Delaware Bayard- Sharp Hall The MTNA Competitions will be held the weekend before on October 28 & 29 at the University of Delaware. The Honors Recital will be held on the day of the Convention in the afternoon. Our clinician this year is Dr. William Carr. Concert Pianist and Steinway Artist, Dr. Carr, is Professor of Music at Immaculata University and President of Informance Associates. As a concert pianist, Dr. Carr continues to perform with area orchestras including the Ocean City Pops Orchestra, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the University of Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Doctors Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Classical Symphony Orchestra. Because of his reputation as performer and teacher, he often adjudicates in piano juries and competitions. Dr. William Carr has given corporate seminars and recital presentations on creativity to the graduate schools of business and to over thirty Fortune 500 corporations worldwide. Some of his lectures touch upon the role of creativity in leadership and strategic thinking, the creative process, insight restructuring, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, and a comparison between the elements of music vs. the elements of management and their implementation in the teaching studio. Your $25.00 registration fee (member or non-member) will provide you with valuable teaching materials, coffee and breakfast items, lunch, and a very fulfilling day. The registration fee for students, including college students, is only $9.00. CONVENTION LETTER Convention REGISTRATION FORM Each year DSMTA teachers and students participate in a Piano Marathon which benefits Water Access Now to build wells for people in Guana. DSMTA first helped provide a well with other local fundraisers several years ago. The dig was so successful that people from neighboring villages were also given access! Last year DSMTA reached its own total for a well! (These are around 12K). Our logo recently traveled with a WAN representative to put on the new well a few weeks ago. What a wonderful way for students to share their talents to help others have access to clean water! This year's Marathon will take place at the Barnes and Noble on Concord Pike from 10am-6pm on Nov 12, 2016. Please stop by and listen. Vouchers will be available so that a percentage of purchases goes toward the cause. Or donate at the table! Grace Chen, pianist, age 10, student of Jennifer Chen, was recently awarded second place in the age 12 and under category at the American Protege International Concerto competition 2016. She competed with instrumentalists from all around the world. Grace performed at the winners' concert on July 2, 2016 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  On Sunday May 29th Alicia and Dennis Chu, residents of Newark, were two of forty other young pianists from around the country to play the stage at Carnegie Hall as part of a 36th anniversary concert of the Piano Teachers’ Society of America. The two were chosen from a large number of applicants after auditioning for a panel of judges. Alicia, age 9, a fourth grader at North Star Elementary School, performed Debussy’s First Arabesque. Dennis, age 13, who attendsH.B. du Pont Middle School, played Dance of the Water Grass, a Chinese classical piece made famous in the West by Lang Lang. The two study piano with Mitzi DeWhitt of Hockessin.  Six students from the piano class of Loretta Jankowski were winners in “The Piano Teachers Society of America” and performed in the Winners Recital on May 29th 2016 at Carnegie Recital Hall. In the photo above from left to right are Dylan Ortega, 10, of Bear; Pranav Padmanabhan, 12, of Pike Creek; Trysha Ortega, 15, of Bear; Matthew Ebron, 13, of New Castle; Grace Li, 13, of Bear; and Zachary Villamor, 12, of Bear. “The Piano Teachers Society of America” is a highly respected and competitive organization which originated in New Jersey and is now active in the East Coast. For more information about this fine organization, please contact Loretta Jankowski, who is the Chairperson for the Delaware, Maryland, and east Pennsylvania area at LorettaJankowski@gmail.com.
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January 2021
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