Last Updated on 2020-12-30 | Originally Posted on 2019-11-15
The Choral Hall at NWACC – One of the two performance spaces of the Sonatina Celebration
The Scenario
Six of my students from Shepherd Music School and one of my private students participated in the annual Sonatina Celebration held at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) on November 9, 2019. I didn’t post on last year’s festival, but you can read my first go-round at the Sonatina Celebration in 2017. The group sponsoring this, the NW Arkansas Music Teachers Association, is a local affiliate of the National Music Teachers Association (MTNA). This particular festival was started by the group in 1995 to give students an additional chance to perform with no other testing included.
I participated in the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA) regional festival again this spring. I had four students enrolled, the same as last year. Two of those were continuing students; two were new students. This event was held on Saturday, April 6th, in the music building at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. I didn’t sleep well and woke up before 6 a.m. since I was petrified by the possibility that I could oversleep. I was scheduled to do musicianship testing, which took the entire morning after my 8 a.m. arrival.
I was able to get pictures of 3 out of my 4 students. That’s because I insisted they stop by my testing room before they left. All of them received a Superior rating of 1, but one did better than that by securing a 1+ as the first alternate to the winner for her level. My studio did a lot better this year in supplemental testing as well, with several certificates awarded for scores of 90 or better in musicianship and written theory.
It is always interesting to compare notes with teachers in the break room during lunch. We discussed the surprises and disappointments of the day, and traded stories about what else is going on in our lives, musical or otherwise. As you can imagine, this event only happens due to the hard work of several volunteers over weeks and months before the event; my helping out on the day of the event doesn’t compare to that! My thanks to them!
Last Updated on 2022-11-10 | Originally Posted on 2018-11-26
Introduction
Most of you have probably shared something on social media, but it’s that one share that made the difference. Social media experts encourage us to share more because you never know which post will benefit from the power of multiplication. I’m happy if a dozen or so followers like my posts, because it shows someone noticed that I took the time to celebrate my students. So what was different in this case?
I participated in the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA) regional state festival for the first time this spring. I’ve now lived through a full-year cycle of teaching which included the Northwest Arkansas Music Teachers Association (NAMTA) Sonatina Festival last fall. This event was held on Saturday, April 14th, in the music building at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. From the moment I arrived, some minutes before 8 a.m., the halls were filled with kids and their parents. My four students were scheduled later in the day, and I managed to see all of them at some point during the day.
However, the experiences were extremely different. The Sonatina Festival is solely a performance-based event, with none of the theory, technique, sight reading, and ear training that are a key part of the state event. However, the regional state festival is very worthwhile to the students who participate. But it is not for the recreational piano student. There is a lot of work required to prepare a memorized program in addition to doing the musicianship and theory work that is tested separately.
The good news is that all my kids played well. All of them scored in the superior range. In fact, one of my students did well enough to be considered as an alternate to go to the state finals! As for the other testing, there were mixed results. Two of the kids did pretty well, one did okay, and another, well, missed the boat as the expression goes.
Due to the nature of the festival, where each student tests and plays at different times, I wasn’t able to get a group photo. However, below is a picture of their ribbons, placed on top of a blank certificate. I am grateful to the committee who lost a lot of sleep doing the advanced planning. Many of my fellow NAMTA teachers donated their entire Saturday to run the festival. As always, they were very generous sharing their teaching insights with me. Finally, thanks to the parents and kids without whom there would be no point to any of this!
Two of my students from the Shepherd Music School participated in the annual Sonatina Festival held at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) on November 11, 2017. The group sponsoring this, the NW Arkansas Music Teachers Association, is a local affiliate of the Arkansas State and National Music Teachers Association.
Each of the students must perform a piece with Sonatina or Sonata in the title and must perform two contrasting movements by memory unless the piece is of significant complexity, in which case only one movement is required. Since this is essentially a public performance, with parents, teachers, and a judge in the audience, even the most confident kids will admit to being a little nervous at first. However, it helps that the end goal is not competition, but to play the best possible since everyone has the possibility to attain the highest ribbon and score.
Below are those students, playing a four-hand arrangement at a piano lesson, who earned the red ribbon (excellent) and the blue ribbon (superior).
Please Note: A version of this article was first posted on the Shepherd Music School Website
Last Updated 2018-02-19 | Originally Posted 2017-12-17
If you are enjoying my blog, why not take a peek at my twice-monthly newsletter, the Curious Squirrel?
