North Dakota Music Teachers Association Newsletter, August 2012 Beth Gigante Klingenstein, President A Message from your President: I would first like to thank you all for putting your trust in me and electing me to be the NDMTA president. As many of you know, this is an unexpected honor; I went to our last conference with no thoughts of holding this position and came away the newly elected president. Even though it was unexpected, I appreciate your vote of confidence and look forward to serving NDMTA, an organization to which I have always felt highly committed. I enjoyed being president in my first term (2001-2003) and look forward to serving again. I want to thank the members of the Bismarck-Mandan MTA for the fantastic job they did on this year’s conference. The conference went off without a hitch and the finances were actually in the black, something we don’t always see in a state conference! I enjoyed every minute of the conference – kudos to BMMTA! Thanks also to Kathleen Johnson for all she did as our president during her term. She, too, went to a conference without expecting a nomination and came away the president. She hit the ground running and did a fantastic job. Lisa Schuler is our new Vice President and she and I will be dividing the duties differently than in the past. First, Sue Nagel is taking over all of the competitions including the duties the VP did in the past– with the help of Judy Dietzler. Thank you both! That will free up the VP to work on some of the duties that have traditionally been done by the president, making the two positions work together more cohesively. Thank you, Lisa; I look forward to working with you. And thank you to Kathy Bresee for the fabulous job she does as treasurer. I am glad I can work with such a good treasurer! I have a favor to ask. At our conference, part of the induction for the new officers included this request to all the members of NDMTA, “Will you accept the authority of these newly elected and installed officers, and will you assist them in carrying out their sworn duties and obligations?” I hope that, should you be asked to assist a board member in some way, you will say “yes.” We all know that we have a small organization and that it is sometimes hard to find people willing to assist. If we each do something for the group (even though we are all busy) NDMTA will continue to be the remarkable state affiliate we have always been. I look forward to representing NDMTA at this year’s MTNA Leadership Summit in Cincinnati. I will brag about NDMTA the whole time! Beth Gigante Klingenstein Eileen Geske Nominated 2013 MTNA Foundation Fellow Submitted by Kathleen Johnson Eileen Geske has been nominated for the 2013 MTNA Foundation Fellow honor by the NDMTA. To complete the honor, $1000 needs to be raised for the MTNA Foundation with Eileen being the named honoree. Once that is completed, she will receive the award at the MTNA National Conference in March 2013 at Anaheim, California. D. Eileen Geske holds Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Elementary Education with a minor in Pedagogy from Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota. Prior to earning those degrees and since their completion, she has vigorously pursued professional development through attendance at conferences, workshops, and competitions as well as through private study. Born and raised in rural North Dakota, Geske pursued private lessons with local piano instructors, including Dr. Diana Skroch. During this time she began to teach lessons first to her own children, eventually adding other rural students. Geske has over 45 years of teaching experience in the private studio and in the public schools. She continues to be an accompanist, organist, and teacher in her local communities. Many of Geske’s students won competitions that led to scholarships at her alma mater, some completing degrees in music, and some serving as music directors in the public school systems. One former student honored the 9/11 First Responders by composing and recording a CD for them, giving all proceeds to their cause. In 1993 Geske formed the first annual Young People’s Concerts a la Leonard Bernstein, where her students have an opportunity to perform their own compositions and young people from other area communities are featured guest performers. The concerts take place every fall in two separate locations in rural North Dakota, and will soon celebrate its 20th consecutive year. Geske is also very active in music organizations. She has contributed over 30 years of service to the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) in which she serves as a certified adjudicator and presides as Chair of the Southwest Division. Since 1978 Geske has been a member of the NDMTA/MTNA, in which she holds memberships and offices locally, including Valley City, Fargo-Moorhead, South Dakota and Aberdeen Area. Known for her enthusiastic presentations on composition at local and state conferences, she emphasizes the creative component of composition in that it brings out important skills such as improvisation, theory, and independent thinking. In recognition of her many years of excellent and dedicated service to the music community, Geske was named North Dakota Music Teachers of the Year in 2003 and holds the distinguished honor of National Music Teacher of the Year for MTNA 2004. Our NDMTA Teacher of the Year for 2012 Submitted by Lynda Pearson Darla Sheldon, CTM, Park River, ND, was selected to receive the Teacher of the Year award at the North Dakota Music Teachers Association Conference in Bismarck. This award is given to an outstanding Independent Teacher of Music. Darla is an NDMTA Certified teacher whose piano teaching career spans over 45 years during which she has taught hundreds of students to play the piano. She excels in many areas of music from musical theatre and stage band work, to choral accompaniment and duet ensemble performance. She has been the primary teacher of several standout pianists like Bernadette Fromherz and Rebecca Lynn Raber. Sheldon is a member of the Upper Valley Music Teachers Association, the North Dakota Music Teachers Association and the Music Teachers National Association. A Note from the Past President Where does one begin? Kathleen Johnson The 2012 NDMTA Conference is now a pleasant memory and Bismarck/Mandan MTA deserves a BIG thank-you for all the work they did to accommodate the members and presenters at the conference. A special thank-you goes to Arlene Gray who headed up the conference committee to make all the arrangements and have people in place when and where needed. Thanks to Amy Koivula, Mary Leaf Schneider, and David Poffenberger who were always manning some station. It was well organized and all of our needs were accommodated. I’m sure there were others who deserve mention that I’ve probably missed. Thank you BMMTA! Pat yourselves on the back and take a well-earned rest! I also want to thank the members of NDMTA for the beautiful wind chimes. They are hanging on my porch and they make music all day long. The chimes are the sound of the prairie and the wind and the birds that make our state so unique. I just love them! Thank you so very much. The past year and a half have been good years for me – busy? yes, but a good busy. There are so many good people on the NDMTA Board and that is what makes any office easier. Thank you so much Board Members, for the time you have given to NDMTA to help make things happen in this state. Thanks to Kathy Bresee who is a great resource in the office of treasurer, Lisa Schuler for keeping an accurate history of past meetings and reporting in a timely manner, Arlene Gray, the former past president, who has such a passion for the NDMTA and was such a good resource for me……there are so many people that I could list, that have so helpful this year! I also need to mention Beth Klingenstein who, I always teased, had my back. Whenever I had an idea that I was having trouble clarifying, Beth would put it in words on paper. It was like shining a flashlight in the dark. We need to create a special award for Beth – what knowledge and experience she gives to the NDMTA so freely!! And last on my check list, is a huge thank you to Lisa Schuler, Wanda Wavra, and Ellen Croy for working so hard to come up with a slate of officers for the coming years! This was not an easy task and with a lot of maneuvering (or should we call it lobbying), Beth Klingenstein has agreed to another term as president, Lisa Schuler is taking on vice president, and Ann Delorme-Holman is the new secretary. We congratulate this new group of officers and I implore all of you to support them with lots of “I can”. Notes from the 2012 NDMTA Conference …. Creative Play by Wynn Anne Rossi Submitted by Ann DeLorme-Holmen Our morning began with a very fun session by Wynn Anne Rossi entitled: Creative Play. Wynn Anne stated that music and life are beautiful but can have tough days also. We as musicians need to deliver the message that music is a GLORIOUS JOURNEY. The core idea of this session was that kids learn by playing and having fun. Laughter, art and visual imagery help children open up and learn.