February 2019 - Volume 22, No. 5

General Meeting

• Date: Wednesday, February 13
• Time: 9:30am – Business Meeting
  
• 10:30am – Featured Program: Dr. Erin Bennett – “Transitioning out of Method Books”
• Location: Keyboard Connection, 9912 San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville, 32257

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President’s Pen
Dear Colleagues,

One month of 2019 is already gone! How time flies when we are making beautiful music!

Many thanks to Erin Bennett and Kamila Shahtakhtinski for their spirited “Certification” presentation in January. It motivated us to seriously consider the benefits of being certified. As an added bonus, we got to meet baby Jack! What a cutie!

Our next meeting is February 13 at 9:30 am at Keyboard Connection. Dr. Erin Bennett will present a program about “Transitioning Out of Method books.” This has been a personal challenge for me and I am looking forward to Erin’s words of wisdom. Keeping students on track and motivated after the method books is a stabilizing factor in our studios. Also, we will be introducing the JMTA officer candidates as well as considering the constitution and bylaws revisions. Be sure to come and let us hear your input.

Our meeting is the day before Valentine’s Day. It is an excellent time to remind those dearest to us how important they are in our lives. YOU are special and IMPORTANT to JMTA. Thank you for all you do.
See you soon.

Blessings,
Dr. Sandra Roberts
President, JMTA
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District IV Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Keyboard Connection

• Members Present: Betty Atkinson, Stefanie Batson, Erin Bennett, Lynn Freeman, Angie Holt, Denise Homsley, Paulette Kilts, Martha McKie, Anita Renfroe, Maureen, Rhodes, Sandra Roberts, Kamila Shahtakhtinski.

Call to Order 9:30 am: Dr. Erin Bennett District IV Representative

• Secretary Minutes: Minutes from January 2018 District IV meeting read by Martha McKie, motion to approve by Anita Renfroe, seconded by Lynn Freeman
• Treasurer’s Report: Chelsea Chacon has stepped down from her role as the treasurer. Denise Homsley graciously agreed to take over the role, but has not received the necessary documents and files from Chelsea, nor is she on the bank account yet. As such, there was no Treasurer’s Report to  include at this meeting.
• Student Day: Student Day will take place March 2, 2019 at First Baptist Church downtown. Application deadline is January 19th. Honors Recital date is still TBA but Erin is exploring some dates available at UNF.
  • Student Day fees are $30 per student. Please include an additional $15 for your continental breakfast and lunch. Submit all fees as one check to Denise, made payable to FSMTA District 4.
• Jack Melvin, owner of Keyboard Connection, announced that the sheet music section of the store will be closed at the end of January. We will miss Martha, who has been running the sheet music desk for some years. Also the organ section is closing as manufacturers are no longer seeing enough business to profit and thrive. Jack added that the Christmas season sales were very high for both acoustic and digital pianos.
• Officers: Erin noted that the district is in violation of its own bylaws in terms of the schedule for the nomination and election of District officers. We should have been voting on a new slate of officers at this January meeting; but instead, the current officers have only served half a term. There was some discussion as to how to remedy the situation ahead of this fall’s FSMTA State Conference, when all officer changeover should take place. Paulette proposed using the June Executive Board meeting to nominate a new slate of officers (which could be brand-new or if the current officers are willing to continue to serve for the next two year term they could remain in position), and then those nominated could be voted on at the September meeting of the membership. This would put us back in compliance with the new slate of officers taking over as of the state conference in October.
• Concertos: The District 4 Concerto Competition will take place Saturday, March 23rd in the UNF Recital Hall. Application deadline is February 23rd. This year there will only be an online application (no paper copies), found through the state portal at https://www.fmta.org/d4-concerto-comp.html. All rules and regulations can be found on the State Competitive Events page www.fmta.org/fsmta-competitive-events.html
• By-laws: A quorum of 8 District IV Board Members passed two changes to the by-laws.
  
  1. The removal of “Provisional Membership” status was unanimously approved, involving the removal of several references to that status in the existing document.
     
  2. Historian: The title for this position is changing to Archivist. (The Archivist position is still open and needs a volunteer.)
  • Paulette Kilts moved that the above changes be voted on. The motion was seconded by Erin Bennett, and approved unanimously by the Executive Board.
  • Paulette Kilts clarified the current membership status descriptions since these changes in bylaws. Associate Members (interested in the organization/not teaching music), Active Members (teaching), Retired Members (not teaching), Collegiate Members.

NEW BUSINESS:

• FSMTA Conference Teachers Recital: Anita Renfroe volunteered to be the District 4 performer for the Teachers’ Recital at this fall’s State Conference in Gainesville.
• Sonatina/Sonata Festival: Dr. Erin Bennett, proposed a Sonata and Sonatina repertoire event be initiated in the JMTA as an adjudicated but not competitive event. Kamila Shahtakhtinski suggested that this event be held in the month of March to avoid over-scheduling with the other events in the area, specifically mentioned were Federation Festival event and JMTA Student Day. March would be a time frame providing time between the three events. Dr. Bennett envisions the event as being one in which the participants listen to one anothers’ performances. One of the educational benefits would be playing on unfamiliar pianos. Further exploration of this idea includes projecting how many students would participate in the event. There would be a fee that would reimburse the adjudicator(s). Sandra Roberts suggested that Spring of 2020 would be a good inaugural timeframe. Erin Bennett moved to create a Sonata/Sonatina event, starting in the Spring of 2020. Anita Renfroe seconded the motion and the motion was passed by those present.

The meeting of District IV Board was closed.

• Dr. Bennett presented a slideshow and oral explanation of NCTM: becoming a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music. Kamila Shahtakhtinski also provided knowledgeable encouragement for members to participate in this enriching experience!

– Meeting Minutes submitted by Martha McKie
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February JMTA General Meeting
JMTA members,

You all will want to be at the next JMTA meeting and program on February 13th.
Dr. Erin Bennett will present a session entitled “Level Up! Ascending Beyond the Standard Method Book.”

This presentation will address the process of transitioning students out of method books and into advanced literature. Focused primarily on Classical-era repertoire, Erin will map a path from Clementi and Kuhlau Sonatinas to Beethoven’s Pathetique.

Come and get inspired to share some new ideas with your own students.

See you there,
Dr. Anita Renfroe, NCTM
JMTA Program Chair
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Proposed Programs for JMTA General Meetings
2018-19

• February 13, 2019: Dr. Erin Bennett – “Transitioning out of Method Books”
• March 13, 2019: Mr. Anthony M. Butler – “Teaching as a Business Professional” –Mr. Butler is the Director for E3 Business Group, Inc., an entrepreneurial endeavor that fosters a philosophy for business, professional and personal success.
• April 10, 2019: Dr. Diana Dumlavwalla – topic TBA. Dr. Dumlavwalla is a professor of piano and Coordinator of the Pedagogy Program at FSU.
• May 8, 2019: –Concerto winners and Luncheon. Let’s invite the students’ teachers to join us for lunch. Lunch at Outback Steakhouse?

Submitted by Dr. Anita Renfroe, Program Chair
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DISTRICT IV NEWS
2019 District IV Student Day
Denise Homsley, Mus.M., NCTM, Chair, District IV Student Activities

• 2019 District Student Day will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at First Baptist Church Jacksonville. The address is 119 W Beaver Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202.
• Parking: Free parking will be available in the Preschool Garage. Please go up to Level 4 and use the crosswalk over to the Preschool Building. As one enters the Preschool Building via the crosswalk, the Registration Table will be in view. For the safety and convenience of everyone, please park in the Preschool Garage, not on the street. For the same consideration, please ask all your piano studio families coming to Student Day to also park in the Preschool Garage and use the crosswalk on Level 4.
• Student Day Requirements: Please check the updated Student Day requirements for each student’s level. They are available on the fmta.org website. A few inconsistencies have been reported; however, the FSMTA revision committee is working diligently to correct any of these inconsistencies.
• Student’s Schedules: All applications have been submitted, and the scheduling should be complete by mid-February. Each student’s schedule will be emailed to their teacher.
• Teachers/Staff: An email will be forthcoming detailing the time and place to meet for briefings on Student Day. Your participation and support are greatly appreciated!

We are looking forward to a great 2019 District Student Day!
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