NMTA Conference to be held at Nebraska Wesleyan University

Nebraska Wesleyan University will be the site of the 2013 Nebraska Music Teachers Association (NMTA) State Conference and Music Teachers Association National (MTNA) Competitions on October 17-18, and the State Festival and Nebraska Only Competitions on October 19-20.

This year’s roster of international conference artists and clinicians will feature Grammy Award-winning composer Libby Larsen, who will present a session entitled “The Art of Composing Music” following a premiere of her new work “Ghosts of Old Pianos“ for two pianos by NMTA members Nathan Buckner and Valerie Cisler. This work was commissioned by NMTA/MTNA through the Commissioned Composer Program with additional funding support provided by the Nebraska Arts Council. Student composers, elementary through collegiate age, are invited to attend Larsen’s sessions.

Conference Artist Dmitri Vorobiev will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 17 as part of the Nebraska Wesleyan University Bravo! Bösendorfer Concert Series. A native of Moscow and a major prize-winner in the Busoni, Cincinnati World, UNISA International Piano Competition, among others, Vorobiev will present a solo recital of works by Beethoven and Liszt during the conference. He will also present a session entitled “The Lesser-Known Works of Beethoven” and co-present a master class for MTNA Piano Competition Winners with Conference Clinician Polina Khatsko. Dr. Khatsko, a native of Belarus, will present two sessions that feature the Russian School of Piano Playing in the context of the Russian system of music education. NMTA member, Jonathan Sokasits, will present a session entitled “Intersections: Selected Character Pieces in the Jazz Idiom” featuring works of Copeland, Barber, Bennett, Wilson, and C. Berg.

In addition to all the music performances and pedagogy sessions, plans include a field trip to visit the Nebraska Historical Society Museum. Featured exhibits at the museum will include: The First Nebraskans (10,000 years of Native American Life and Culture on the Plains), Nebraska Joins the Union (1803-1867), Building the State (1867-1916), Nebraskans in World War II, and Nebraska Cowboys: Lives, Legends, and Legacies.

The conference is open to interested nonmembers. Students may attend all events for $10. A biography of the featured conference artists and a conference registration form may be downloaded at www.NebMTA.org Conferences. Early registration rates are available through September 25.