9:30-10:00 Pre-Meeting Discussion
Presenter: Ann Surace
Program: 40 Simple Solutions for Solving Common Technique Problems: Rapid passage work; Octaves and Double Notes; Trills, Hands Together; Counterpoint
Ann will describe and demonstrate ways to address specific technical challenges, based on actual practical experience.
BIOGRAPHY
Ann Surace is a piano instructor at the Music Institute of Chicago at Lake Forest and Director of Music/Organist at Christ the King Anglican Church in Evanston.
She holds a MM in piano performance from Northwestern University where she studied with Gui and taught in the preparatory department under Guy Duckworth. Her BM in performance is from St. Olaf College under Charlotte Donhowe. There she minored in violin and was principle first violin in the college orchestra.
Her musical background is enriched by many years of study in violin, clarinet, organ and voice, with experience in orchestral, chamber, and church music.
She was soprano soloist in countless oratorios and sang the role of Alice in her husband’s chamber opera, “Wonderland.”
Her teaching career began in her mother’s piano studio at age 13. After college she taught on the faculties of St. Olaf College, the U of Cincinnati College Conservatory, and Jacksonville State University: applied piano; pedagogy; theory; and class strings. When her two children were young she taught pre-college piano in her private studio for several years.
Her extensive experience in music competitions started in elementary and high school where she was a Wisconsin State Winner in piano, violin, clarinet, and vocal auditions. As a young adult she won the Farwell Piano Competition and was a finalist in the National Association of Teachers of Singing voice auditions at the graduate level.
Many of her students have won prizes in competitions: several state winners of the AMTA Mason-Hamlin High School Auditions and AMTA Baldwin Competition; NSMTA Sonata Festivals and AIM auditions; and numerous college scholarships in piano and voice.
10:00-11:00 Business Meeting
Meeting will be led by NSMTA President, George Radosavljevic
11:00-12:00 Program
Presenter: Dr. Sylvia Wang
Program: Memorization and the Pianist: A Holistic Approach
Dr. Sylvia Wang discusses the different types of memory, common pitfalls and their causes and strategies for improvement.
BIOGRAPHY
Sylvia Wang has performed as soloist and collaborative pianist across the U.S., Europe, Asia, Central America, Australia, Argentina and Lebanon. She has also recorded for the Newport Classic, CRI, Boston Records and Northeastern labels and been a winner and finalist for numerous awards and competitions. These include the Royal Overseas League Music Festival in London, the AVANTI award leading to a debut in London’s Purcell Room, Chamber Music Yellow Springs in Ohio and the J.S. Bach International Piano Competition in Washington, D.C.
Currently on the faculty at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, she has served as adjudicator and presenter for such institutions as the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, the Centre for Young Musicians in London, the Chautauqua Institution in New York and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia. Her students have won prizes and awards at the Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition (Grand Prize and bronze medal), the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Carnegie Millennium Book Project and the Concert Artists Guild and occupy teaching and playing positions in the U.S. and abroad.
At age 17, she left her native Penang, Malaysia to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London as a recipient of the prestigious Associated Board scholarship, earning the highest award in solo performance, the Recital Diploma. Thereafter, she graduated with the M.M. and D.M.A. with top honors from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. In recognition of “distinction in the field,” she was conferred an honorary Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
She returns regularly to Asia to teach and perform, with recent engagements at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore and a six-city tour of China. In addition to her work for “regular” audiences, she has presented animal-themed concerts for children in schools and concert halls across Southeast Asia.
Her eBook on Memorization and the Pianist, available on amazon.com, has sold in the United States and South America as well as across Europe, Asia and Australia