#18 District 9 President’s Report_S2013_18 District Officers:

Becky Barlar, President Betty Chester, Vice-President Theo Boylan, Secretary Ana Bravo, Treasurer

Local Associations: Mid-State MTA – Shuyuan Tsai, President – 45 members Upper Pinellas MTA – Angela Baptiste, President – 35 members Ridge MTA – Viola Jane Spencer, President – 19 members Greater St. Petersburg MTA – Ana Bravo, President – 18 members Tampa MTA – Ruth Johanboeke, President – 16 members

The 2013 District 9 Concerto Competition, chaired by Theo Boylan, was held on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at the Performing Arts Center of Hillsborough Community College’s Ybor City campus in Tampa and was hosted by Ken Hanks and Keith Arsenault. A total of 44 students, representing 16 teachers, competed for the titles of Winner, Alternate and Honorable Mention. Of the 44 entrants, 20 were string players, representing 6 teachers, and 24 were pianists, representing 10 teachers. String Judges were Lowell Adams, Oleg Geyer and John Posadas. Piano Judges were Laurent Boukobza, Xu Hui and Svetozar Ivanov. The results were: Elementary Strings: Winner – Max Lou (teacher: Lu); Alternate – Daniel Deng (teacher: Lu) Junior Strings: Winner – Sophia Chen (teacher: Lu); Alternate – Celine Wang (teacher: Lu) Intermediate Strings: Winner – Daniel Park (teacher: Lu); Alternates – Crystal Min (teacher: Lu) and Emmeline MacMillan (teacher: Jung-Yuen) Senior Strings: Winner – Alyssa Jouret (teacher: Jung-Yuen); Alternate – Sherry Zhang (teacher: Lu) Elementary Piano: Winner – Sophia Chen (teacher: Glick); Alternate – Daniel Park (teacher: Glick) Junior Piano: Winner – Celine Wang (teacher: Khokhlov) Intermediate Piano: Winner – Claire Chen (teacher: Glick); Alternate – Catherine Bai (teacher: Khokhlov) Senior Piano: Winner – Justin Ma (teacher: Khokhlov); Alternate – Tianbo Chen (teacher: Khokhlov)

Winners received cash prizes plus a certificate with gold seals and appropriate blue, red or yellow ribbons. All contestants received judges’ comment sheets and Certificates of Participation. Update on the merger of Upper Pinellas MTA and Greater St. Petersburg MTA: UPMTA and SPMTA have been discussing the possibility of a merger throughout this past year. The St. Petersburg association did not have enough members to be effective, and the Upper Pinellas group had many activities planned but needed more members to help implement all of these activities, so a merger seemed to be beneficial to both groups. Since UPMTA was incorporated and has 501(c)3 status, under the advice of the MTNA lawyer, SPMTA has merged into UPMTA. SPMTA members voted to raise their dues from $13 to $20 to match the current dues of UPMTA. They are hiring a lawyer to legally change the association’s name to “Greater Pinellas Music Teachers Association.” They had a transition meeting on May 6th with their present and future officers where they looked at their Constitution and By-Laws to see if

anything needed to be amended. The new officers will be Alfred Gratta, President, Kelly Hunt, Vice-President, Carol Alexander, Recording Secretary, Naoko Hill, Corresponding Secretary, Ray Luck, Treasurer, and Darlene Webster, Membership Chair. Of this group, Ray Luck is the only SPMTA member, but Carol Alexander is a founding member of their group and was part of the original Pinellas MTA before it divided into two associations. On May 11 they had a meeting at Bascom’s Chop House with a ceremony to symbolically merge the two groups into one and install their new officers followed by a celebration dinner. A planning meeting will take place on June 10. The 2013 District 9 Conference will be held on Saturday, October 26, from 9:00-2:30 at Florida College in Temple Terrace. After the business meeting and election of new officers, Dr. Judith Jain will present a workshop entitled “The Well-Balanced Piano Lesson” followed by a master class with students of District 9 teachers. Dr. Jain’s workshop will explore one of Frances Clark’s most important teaching principles: the lesson should provide the student with a comprehensive music education. Dr. Jain will use video examples as she offers simple ideas on how to include the following elements: new repertoire, ongoing repertoire, technique, theory, introduction to upcoming concepts, follow up on previously introduced concepts, composition and improvisation, sight reading, rhythmic development, and performance skills -- all in a thirty to sixty-minute private lesson time span. It is her hope that this cornerstone of good teaching will bring greater success to the independent teacher’s lesson. Dr. Judith Jain balances a career as performer and pedagogue. Dr. Jain’s Carnegie Hall debut took place in October of 2010. Her solo, chamber music and orchestral performances have been heard in the US, Mexico, Cuba and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As a pedagogue, Dr. Jain has appeared as lecturer, clinician and consultant in the U.S. and abroad. Her teaching career has been associated with the New School for Music Study in Kingston, NJ, the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, OH, and Indiana University in Bloomington. Dr. Jain holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from Indiana University, a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (UC-CCM) and a Doctorate Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at UC-CCM. Dr. Jain also completed a post-graduate Fellowship in Piano Pedagogy at the prestigious New School for Music Study, NJ; the school specializes in the training of piano pedagogues, based on the teaching philosophy of Frances Clark. Dr. Judith Jain has recently opened New Tampa Piano Lessons, LLC, while she continues concertizing and lecturing. Members from other districts are invited to join us for this event. Look for more information in the August FSMTA newsletter. Respectfully Submitted, Becky Barlar, District 9 President