MMTA News : Missouri Music Teachers Association

MMTA members,

Sheila Ryerse of the St. Louis Area Music Teachers Association asked me to pass along the following to you.

Sheila says: "We are expecting a very informative program next week in St. Louis and would like to issue an open invitation to any out of area MMTA members to join us. The topic is important to every music instructor, I'm sure, and our guest speaker - Peteris Zarins from Toronto - is not only very knowledgeable but also a dynamic person."

The program is Monday, Feb. 18th, 9:30 - 12:30, at Steinway Piano Gallery, 12033 Dorsett Road, St. Louis MO 63043

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How often have you asked yourself these questions?

What was that judge thinking? How did the judge come up with his assessment of my student? What did the judge hear that I didn't? What can I say to my student when he got top marks from one judge and low marks from another for his playing of the same music?

On Monday February 18th, the St. Louis Area Music Teachers Association (SLAMTA) will present an exciting program that we hope will answer all of those questions and more. Peteris (Pete) Zarins, Chief Examiner and trainer for the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) and the National Music Certificate Program (NMCP), will be our guest in a program with two parts. At 9:30 a.m., he will begin by discussing the general topics of listening and critiquing followed at about 11 a.m. by a more focused demonstration of the RCM judging process and its ability to "level the field" when it comes to judging. He will work with a local piano student to demonstrate the topic.

As many of you know, NMCP and RCM train their judges for examination assessment through a methodology that holds up anywhere its exams are offered. The result of the time-tested system they developed and continue to refine is that students and teachers can be assured that 80% on an exam in Toronto means the same as 80% on an exam in California, North Dakota or Georgia. Over the many years that RCM and NMCP have offered exams, they have successfully implemented a relatively objective judging process for music performances, a field long saddled with overly subjective and unsystematic assessment methods.

This program not only will help us hear through the ears of a seasoned examiner/trainer but also will allow us to better approach preparation of students for exams and competitions and, for some, it may assist you in providing instructions to judges in your own competitions.

Date: Monday, Feb. 18 (Presidents' Day)

Time: 9:30 - 12:30 - note revised start/end time
Location: Steinway Piano Gallery, 12033 Dorsett Road, St. Louis MO 63043

Topic: 9:30 - 11:00 Part 1 "What Do You Hear?"
Critical Listening and Critiquing

11:10 - 12:30 Part 2 "The Level Playing Field"
The National Music Certificate Program: Standards and Criteria

Guest: Peteris Zarins, Chief Examiner for NMCP and RCM

Peteris Zarins

Peteris Zarins is a graduate of The Royal Conservatory of Music with both ARCT Performer’s and ARCT Teacher’s Diplomas, the University of Toronto, with a B. Mus., and he received his Master’s degree in Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan. His principal teachers included Gerald Rutledge, Patricia Parr and Benning Dexter. Mr. Zarins adjudicates locally and gives lectures across Canada, to the various Registered Music Teacher’s Associations, on behalf of The Royal Conservatory of Music, RCM Examinations and The Frederick Harris Music Co., Limited. Mr. Zarins co-authored the Exploring Music History three-volume series along with Dr. Janet Lopinski and Joe Ringhofer. He has also assisted with other publications of The Frederick Harris Music Co., Limited. Mr. Zarins continues to be active as a solo performer and accompanist at many venues including the Orford Centre in Quebec, the Parliament Buildings, the St. Lawrence Centre and the Art Gallery in Ontario, and in the USA at Chicago Symphony Hall, and in New York’s Weill Auditorium. He is also a member of the Kalais Trio along with Saxophonist Bruce Redstone and Flautist Jamie Thompson. Mr. Zarins is Chief Examiner for Training and Development for RCM Examinations and is a faculty member of the Glenn Gould school and Community School of The Royal Conservatory of Music. He serves as chairman of the Theory Department at The Royal Conservatory of Music.

http://www.nationalmusiccertificate.org

posted by Brent Hugh at 2/11/2008 07:13:00 PM
permanent link to article: St. Louis MTA program February 18th featuring Peteris Zarins

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