Workshops
Tradition and Transformation: Learning, Playing, and Teaching Outside the Box

Each registrant will have the opportunity to attend up to four out of six workshops presented by leading experts. You may indicate your preference for workshops on the registration form.

photo James Goldsworthy
Keeping Lesson One Open-ended

What and how we teach in the very first lesson can make all the difference in keeping our students' ears, eyes, and minds connected to the many possibilities of learning. We set the stage for years of playing and listening enjoyment in that first lesson. We ask ourselves: "How can I facilitate learning in such a way that the concepts taught in lesson one are alive and well fifty years hence in my students' listening, reading, and understanding?"

James Goldsworthy is on the faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where he teaches courses in piano pedagogy and literature, and private and group piano. In addition he teaches individual lessons and classes for children, and coaches chamber music groups. He is currently the Director of the New Works for Young Pianists Commissioning Project.

photo Joyce Grill
Review of New Publications

This workshop features the newest "hot off the press" publications from various publishers of pedagogical materials. Music will be chosen from all levels and for students of all ages and stages. Publishers' catalogs will be available to workshop attendees.

Although retired from teaching at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Joyce Grill remains active as a composer, recitalist, and clinician presenting workshops to teacher groups across the country. She holds the MTNA Master Teacher Certificate and was honored as an MTNA Foundation Fellow in March, 2006.

photo Jane Magrath
Teaching Literature for Piano: Outside the Box

This workshop will feature unusual, effective teaching repertoire for various levels. Enliven and refresh your lessons with this new material, and learn creative ways to present the pieces.

Jane Magrath holds the Grant Endowed Chair in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma where she serves as Director of Piano Pedagogy. Editor of several popular anthologies published by Alfred Publishing Company, she is author of The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature and the column "Polyphony" that appears regularly in American Music Teacher.

photo Kathleen Riley
Piano Performance Under the Microscope

This workshop applies concepts of human physiology, anatomy and bio-mechanics to musical performance. It offers a technique for assessing and retraining piano technique that addresses physiology and offers immediate feedback of piano performance.

Kathleen Riley, Ph.D. is an adjunct professor at NYU. Articles on Dr. Riley's research on aspects of piano pedagogy and performance appear in many peer reviewed journals. She presents lectures and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

photo Catherine Rollin
Technique and Artistry--The Inseparable Duet

We often refer to musicians as "technical players" or "musical players" as if the two are totally different. In reality, great music making only happens when the union of the two occurs. This lecture-demonstration will give many musical examples of how good technique is always musical technique.

Catherine Rollin combines teaching of prize-winning piano students with that of pedagogical composer. Her catalogue of published works contains over 200 solo pieces, as well as many duets and two concertos. Additionally, Rollin's work as teacher and composer led to her series: Pathways to Artistry, a method dedicated to developing technical understanding at the service of the music.

photo Karen Zorn
The Archangel and the Pig: Surprising Ways to Stimulate Your Teaching

Using creative exercises involving juxtaposition, reframing, form, and chance, participants will experience a model of instruction that relies on the interplay of freedom and form. Be prepared to have your pedagogical assumptions challenged, and leave with new ideas to invigorate your teaching.

Since 1999, Karen Zorn has been the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Berklee College of Music in Boston where she directs an innovative Faculty Development program for over 500 faculty, co-founding the International Faculty Exchange and the New Orleans Visiting Artist Project during the year following hurricane Katrina. Prior to 1999, she was the Director of Instruction at the MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis.