Iowa MTA State Auditions Results

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 | Uncategorized

Here are the results from the Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA) State Auditions competitions that Henry, Braydon, and Maria performed.

https://iamta.org/audition-results.php

Festival Video Performances

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 | Uncategorized

I know many of you are ready to make your videos for your Festival performance. You will make one video for each piece. In other words, stop the recording between pieces.

Introduce yourself with first and last name. Also include this information:
*Event
^Level
+Required piece Title
+Choice piece Title

All of this information is under “Repertoire” on my website:

* The Event is under “Title” and begins with “NFMC Federation Festival Performance...”
Solo = Piano Solo
LFO Solo = Lynn Freeman Olson Piano Solo
Hymn = Piano Hymn
Sacred Music = Sacred Music Piano Solo

^ The Level is under “Difficulty”

+ Whether the piece is Required or Choice is listed under “Genre” 

Below are some tips and instructions for how to make your video. Please read and follow these for best results!

1. "Dress up" in good clothing for the video, just as you would playing for the judge in person. Dress or skirt and blouse for girls, shirts with a collar and a tie and dress slacks for boys would look great. ;-)
2. Video recording must be made with one fixed camera angle/location, focused such that the performer and keyboard is visible at all times.  
3. Entrants should introduce themselves and include title of composition before each piece is performed. The following is an example of what the student will say.  “I am Nancy Schoen, playing Piano Solo Level Pre-Primary. My Choice piece is Fuzzy Baby Bird.”         
4. Each piece will be uploaded as an individual video file. Save the video file with student name and title, e.g. Nancy Schoen Fuzzy Baby Bird.        
5. No editing or enhancement of videos is allowed.           
6. Check videos for sound quality prior to uploading. 
7. I have created a link to Dropbox to upload your videos. (But I will be sending you a link to upload, as just clicking here has not been successful for some.)

Omaha Federation Festival Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tzezou6o437jfqe/AACa6l8oNat25XzssjCyiKjYa?dl=0

Bellevue Federation Festival Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o80gjk4b94r9y32/AAAn_7RICOIh_B8wAxrP735Qa?dl=0

If you are not sure which Festival you have entered, find your name on the registration on the website Calendar on March 13 (Omaha) or March 27 (Bellevue).

Now, read on for some great tips on making your performance videos!

Tips For Submitting your Digital Festival Video
Device
● A tablet or smartphone is all you need. (See Setup below)
● If the audio quality is subpar/muffled consider an external microphone.
● A simple tripod to ensure stability is be a good option.

Lighting
● Use natural light if possible or warm lamp light, but be careful about combining them.
● Only set up light in front of the student. Backlighting washes out the shot.

Setup
● Set up device horizontally (landscape orientation).  
● Be sure to capture the student, their hands, and the instrument.
● Treat the camera as if it were the judge.

Execution
● Remember the goal is to capture an honest and natural performance.

Test
● Run a technical dress rehearsal with everything in place.
● Test the dynamic extremes of the pieces.

Recording guidelines
● Each individual piece will be recorded in one continuous take. Meaning, no stopping or starting the video during piece is allowed.

Treat as a live festival
● Dress appropriately and follow festival etiquette.
● Keep playing from start to finish.
● Smile at the camera after your hands are back in your lap following the end of your piece.
 

LMTA Composition Contest Program

Saturday, March 20, 2021 | Uncategorized

Here's the Program for tomorrow's Winners Recital

Lincoln Music Teachers Association
presents
Recital of Composition Contest Winners
 
Grace Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
March 21, 2021
4:00 p.m.
 
 
Introductory Remarks – Jane Sonneland
 
Introduction of and comments from Tom Larson, Composition Contest Judge 
 
 
Early Elementary Division (through grade 2)
      First Place Winner                                                                       “Waltz (Cookie Monster)”
                      Daniel Alexandrov – Composer                                          Marina Fabrikant – Teacher
 
 
Late Elementary Division (grades 3-5)                                        
      Honorable Mention                                                                     “Day in the Life of Me”
                      Jonah P. Rabe – Composer                                                Jessica Freeman – Teacher
     Third Place Winner                                                                       “Wild Flower”
                       Kaelyn Murtaugh – Composer                                          Nancy L. Schoen – Teacher
     Second Place Winner                                                                    “Falling Snowflakes (Waltz)”
                      Vasya Mironov – Composer                                                Marina Fabrikant – Teacher
     First Place Winner                                                                         “The Three Enamigos”
                      Braydon V. Fujan – Composer                                          Nancy L. Schoen – Teacher
 
 
Junior Division (grades 6-8)
     Honorable Mention                                                                     “The Ascent”
                      Josiah D. Rabe – Composer                                              Jessica Freeman – Teacher
    Third Place Winner                                                                     “Medieval Knight”
                      Noah Robb – Composer                                                    Marcia Wiebers – Teacher 
    Second Place Winner                                                                  “The Traveler”
                      Zander Ferguson – Composer                                           Nancy L. Schoen – Teacher                                                        First Place Winner                                                                       “Life of a Tree”
                     Isaiah Paradise – Composer                                              Marcia Wiebers – Teacher
 
 
Senior Division (grades 9-12)       
     Honorable Mention                                                                     “The Trickster”
                       Xander Niebuhr – Composer                                            Marcia Wiebers – Teacher
    Third Place Winner                                                                     “The Goddess Persephone”
                      Dawson Dynek – Composer                                               Nancy L. Schoen – Teacher
     Second Place Winner                                                                 “Dream Burst”
                      Larissa Myers – Composer                                                 Lisa Myers – Teacher
     First Place Winner                                                                      “Journey Through Time: A Sonata”
                      Jonathan Handley – Composer                             neo-baroque, neo-classical, neo-romantic, contemporary                                                                                                                                 Marcia Wiebers – Teacher
 
 
Adult Student Division
      First Place Winner                                                                     “Music Poem for John Lewis”
                      Mark E. Westphalen – Composer                                      Marcia Wiebers – Teacher
 
 
Judge’s Composition                                                                  “Why”
                      Tom Larson – Composer 
Additional Participants and their Teachers
 
 
Late Elementary Division
    Teacher:   Marina Fabrikant                                     Student:    Anton Alexandrov    
     Teacher:  Nancy L. Schoen                                      Students:   Alexa Lemke, Lauren Lemke
     Teacher:  Marcia Wiebers                                        Students:   Daniel Campbell, Myra Nguyen,
                                                                                                               Erik Swartz, Ella Wray 
                                                                                                               
Junior Division
       Teacher:   Jessica Freeman                                   Student:    Jacob Langhorst
       Teacher:   Debra Bolte Redding                            Students:   Tanner McInteer, Lauren Walmrath
       Teacher:   Nancy L. Schoen                                   Students:   Cora Marie Hoeft, Sofia Lau, 
                                                                                                            Will Moreland
       Teacher:   Marcia Wiebers                                     Students:   Emily Lovegrove, Jeffrey Ogbonnaya, Eva Swartz,
                                                                                                            Sarah Webb
Senior Division
          Teacher:   Antonio Forgione                               Student:    Gabriel Marks 
          Teacher:   Nancy L. Schoen                                Student:    Ethan Riegsecker            
          Teacher:   Marcia Wiebers                                  Students:   Jesse Campbell, Grace Niebuhr, Will Niebuhr,                                                                                                                                        Everett Swartz, Kylie Wray
 
About our Judge:
 
Tom Larson is Assistant Professor of Composition (Emerging Media and Digital Arts) at the Glenn Korff School of Music at UNL. At the GKSoM, Tom has taught courses in Film Scoring, Digital Audio Recording and Production, Jazz History, Rock History, Jazz Piano, Creative Sound Design, and private Composition lessons. He is a member of the UNL Faculty Jazz Ensemble, for which he serves as Music Director and Composer in Residence.

Prior to becoming a faculty member at UNL, Tom was the co-owner of Studio Q Recording in Lincoln, where he produced music for TV and radio advertising, industrial videos, and documentary films. Among his many credits are the scores for PBS documentaries including Willa Cather: The Road is All, Ashes from the Dust, and the PBS specials Standing Bear’s Footprint, Most Honorable Son, and In Search of the Oregon Trail. He has written extensively for the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), South Dakota Public Broadcasting and the University of Illinois Asian Studies Department.

Tom is also the author of three textbooks, The History and Tradition of Jazz, Modern Sounds: The Artistry of Contemporary Jazz and the History of Rock and Roll. He has performed with many noted artists and ensembles throughout the Midwest and East Coast including Victor Lewis, Jackie Allen, Hans Sturm, Paul Shaffer, Bo Diddley, the Omaha Symphony, the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra, the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra and in Japan with The Tokyo Brass Art Orchestra.

A Lincoln native, Tom received a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also an avid runner and completed the Boston Marathon in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

For more information please visit:
http://arts.unl.edu/music/faculty/tom-larson or http://tomlarsonmusic.net

 
Presentation of Certificates and Awards, followed by taking of photos. 
 
First, Second and Third Place “Monetary Awards” are provided by Lincoln Music Teachers Association.
“Honorable Mention Awards” are courtesy of Dietze Music.
 
Composition Committee – Marina Fabrikant, Jane Sonneland, Marcia Wiebers