Presenter: Amy Mitani
Date: Wednesday, March 12th, 2025
Time: 10 AM PST – 12 Noon
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85478267818
Topic: Transforming Adult Piano Education: The Power of Cohort Learning and Nontraditional Methods
Presenter: Christopher Fisher
Date: Wednesday, February 12th, 2025
Time: 10 AM PST
Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86969247527?pwd=Zbj73Na3fYtxtLRlOOa6JBEyZCbsle.1
Topic: Motivation, Mindset, and Grit; the Powerful Role of Parents;
A Practical Guide to Student Practice
Dr. Christopher Fisher is Professor of Piano at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio where he co-chairs the Keyboard Division. He is the Artistic Director of the Ohio University Piano Pedagogy Seminar and is a Faculty Fellow for the 1804 Scholars Program. Dr. Fisher is the author of Teaching Piano in Groups, co-author of the revised and expanded edition of Piano Duet Repertoire, and co-author of Functional Skills for Pianists. To find more about him, check his website below:
http://www.chrisfisherpiano.com/
Presenter: Ory Shihor
Date: Wednesday, January 8th, 2025
Time: 10 am
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83177708740
Topic: Physical Gestures at the Piano – When Musical Expression Meets Kinesics
Bio: Ory Shihor is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning pianist and renowned master teacher who has spent the last 25 years helping young gifted pianists develop their musical talent to its fullest potential.
He has helped countless students ace their college auditions and get accepted into the world’s top music conservatories and universities, such as The Juilliard School and Yale University.
To date, his students have received over $3 million in scholarship offers, performing on the world’s premiere stages and winning top prizes in prestigious piano competitions.
A graduate of Juilliard and Curtis, Mr. Shihor is a frequent speaker and master class teacher at major conservatories and universities around the globe such as the Beijing and Shanghai Conservatories, Seoul National University, Taiwan National Normal University, Northwestern University, San Francisco Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory and the Royal Northern College of Music.
For over a decade, he served as piano professor at the Colburn Conservatory and as founding dean of its pre-college academy for highly gifted young musicians.
After a 20-year teaching career in higher education, Mr. Shihor co-founded the Ory Shihor Institute (OSI) together with his wife, Maria Liu, where he continues to teach young gifted pianists and train a new generation of piano teachers using his proven teaching approach.
Ory Shihor is a Bösendorfer and Yamaha artist.
Are you interested in learning more about what sets Piano Safari apart from other methods? Join co-author and internationally respected pedagogue Katherine Fisher as she provides an overview of this highly acclaimed piano series that is revolutionizing piano teaching and learning around the world. Topics covered include the essentials of elementary technique, the development of reading and rhythm, and incorporating improvisation into lessons for beginners.
Presenter：Katherine Fisher
Time: Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 10 AM PST
Zoom Link：
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2395165866
The upcoming monthly program Daily Rituals of the Modern Music Teacher is about organization and studio management. It includes technology and apps, studio policy must-haves. Here is the landing page and registration URL for Santa Clara branch members. Upon registration, members will receive the Zoom link.
Landing Page URL: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/pqnjk4k/lp/5a2b0e84-87d0-4107-b9cd-e6df8c2f1753
Registration URL: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/pqnjk4k
Presenter: Noreen Wenjen
Time: Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 10 AM PST
After a relaxing summer, we are ready to start the new academic year! Our annual branch general meeting will cover topics including monthly programs, branch recitals, Steinway Society concerts, and scholarship foundation. Please join us on:
September 11, Wednesday, 10 AM, via Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85404037961
I look forward to seeing you!
1. Technique and Artistry: You Can’t Have One Without the Other – how to master technical skills and how to implement them to make the playing of the music more beautiful, fluid, artistic and simultaneously maintain relaxed physicality.
2. The Magic of Imagery: Unlocking Creative Potential – how using imagery can inspire us as teachers and inspire our students to connect to the emotional and expressive character of the music as well as being more confident and intuitive interpreters.
Presenter: Catherine Rollin
Date: Wednesday, February 14th, 2024
Time: 10 am
Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88636307163?pwd=1E68ToNOB52owB9YXZbHBeqDEDEgSR.1
We will begin our year with an informative meeting covering significant changes in our monthly student recital program, details of this year’s pedagogy seminar, and an overview of several state programs that are available to members.
Meeting is Wednesday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m. on Zoom
Please join this meeting using this link: MTAC Zoom Meeting Sept 13
By Dr. Svetlana Belsky
Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Time: 10 am
Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84200630766?pwd=UlNGRGdydlBpQXVTOUh0K3ZMZHVnZz09
“Bach’s 18 Little Preludes, too rarely taught and performed, offer an unparalleled window into Bach’s own pedagogy. While Inventions and Sinfonias teach the contrapuntal style and compositional techniques, the Preludes concern themselves with expressive playing. Each one focuses on a specific challenge of technique, touch, style, or character – in a setting so beautiful that the students are meant to enjoy the struggle, as they prepare to tackle the great masterpieces of the Baroque Era.”
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Time: 10 am
Presenter: Nicola Cantan
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rcO2qrzgoG9yCMTqCYFO6n34Kh6DId-hb
Interleaved Teaching: Taking Practice and Lessons to the Next Level
Teaching this way so that our teaching can also be more efficient and so that our students can learn interleaved practice by osmosis.
The concept of interleaved teaching is really very simple, but it can provide extraordinary results for students in so many areas such as: reading, rote learning, and technique. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the benefits of interleaved teaching and practice.
Move it or lose it! 17 Easy Strategies for Rock Solid Rhythm Skills
The nitty gritty of teaching and what the students consistently struggle with, rhythm is a common topic of much agitation and exasperation. In this interactive session, we’ll play 17 different rhythm games that can be used with students of all ages and levels.
Bio
Nicola Cantan is a piano teacher, author, blogger and creator of imaginative and engaging teaching resources. She loves getting piano students learning through laughter, and exploring the diverse world of music making; through improvisation, composition and games.
Nicola’s membership site Vibrant Music Teaching is helping teachers all over the world to include more games and off-bench activities in their lessons, so that their students giggle their way through music theory and make faster progress. Nicola also runs a popular blog, Colourful Keys, where she shares creative ideas and teaching strategies, and hosts regular training events for piano teachers.