2006 Conference

Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska
October 26-29, 2006

The NMTA 2006 Conference will be held at Hastings College on October 26-29. Featured guest artist will be Nelita True, Professor of Piano at Eastman School of Music. She will perform a recital on the evening of Thursday, October 26 followed by a master class and special presentation on Friday. Other sessions are being planned and will be announced in early 2006.

DOWNLOAD CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM pdf file

Nelita True, 2006 Conference Guest ArtistNelita True

Ms. True has been a jury member for the China International Piano Competition (Beijing), the Queen Sonja International Piano Competition (Oslo), the National piano Competition in Brazil, the Horowitz Competition (Kiev), the Concours de Musique in Canada, the PTNA (Tokyo), the Lev Vlassenko Competition in Australia, and the Gina Bachauer, New Orleans, Hilton Head, and William Kapell International Piano Competitions in the U.S.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan with Helen Titus, Ms. True went on to Juilliard to study with Sascha Gorodnitzki, and then earned the DMA with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory, In Paris, she studied with Nadia Boulanger on a Fulbright grant. Ms. True is currently Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music. Many of her students have won top prizes at national and international competitions, including an unprecedented five First Prizes in national MTNA competitions. Ms. True was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching at Eastman, the 2002 Achievement Award from MTNA, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from National Keyboard Pedagogy Conference (USA).

SH Productions of Kansas City produced a series of four videotapes, “Nelita True at Eastman,” featuring her performances, lectures, and teaching. She has been the subject of feature articles in Clavier, Piano Today, The European Piano Teachers’ Journal, and was the subject of the cover story of Keyboard Companion. An interview with Ms. True appears in the latest edition of James Bastien’s “How to Teach Piano Successfully,” along with interviews with the legendary Rosina Lhevinne and Adele Marcus. Ms. True has been invited to record over 100 works for Advance, Mark, Educo, and Academy Records.

NMTA State Conference Program

Wednesday October 25

6:30-10:00 p.m. MTNA piano rehearsals and check in – Perkins Auditorium

Thursday October 26

8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. MTNA Young Artist piano competitions- Perkins
1:00-2:30 p.m. Nelita True rehearsal – Perkins
2:30-5:00 p.m. MTNA Junior piano competitions – Perkins
5:00-6:45 p.m. NMTA Board Meeting – Holiday Inn
6:15-7:15 p.m. Conference Registration – Perkins
7:30 p.m. Nelita True recital- Perkins. Sponsored by NMTA, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Hastings College Department of Music (The Hastings College Music Department will host a reception in the formal lounge following the recital.)
6:00-10:00 p.m. MTNA instrumental and vocal competitions rehearsals and check-in – Choir Room F 43

Friday October 27

7:00-8:00 a.m. Senior piano competitions warm-ups – Perkins
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Senior piano competitions – Perkins
8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. MTNA instrumental/vocal competitions – Choir room
8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. “Studio Makeover” Rachel Kramer – Holiday Inn
10:00-10:30 am Break – Holiday Inn
10:30-11:15 am “Echoes of Venice: The Barcarolle for Solo Piano” Jim Margetts – Holiday Inn
11:15-11:45 a.m. Toronto Conference 2007 Presentation – Holiday Inn
12:00-1:15 p.m. NMTA Awards Lunch & Annual Meeting – Holiday Inn
1:30-2:15 p.m. “Thoughts on Competition Judging” Nelita True – Perkins . This event is co-sponsored by the Artist Lecture Series.
2:15-2:45 p.m. Premiere of NMTA commissioned composition – Perkins. Luminous Mysteries by Darleen Mitchell for two pianos will be performed by Nathan Buckner & Valerie Cisler
2:45-3:15 p.m. Break – Lobby
3:15-4:30 p.m. Master Class with Nelita True – Perkins
4:30-5:30 p.m. MTNA Winners Concert and Foundation Raffle – Perkins
6:00-10:00 p.m. Nebraska State Competitions Warm-Ups – Perkins

Saturday, October 28

8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Nebraska Competitions and NMTA State Festival – Fuhr

Sunday, October 29

12:30-5:00 p.m. Nebraska Competitions and NMTA State Festival – Fuhr

Since Nelita True made her debut at age seventeen with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall and her New York debut with the Juilliard Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall, her career has taken her to the major cities of Western and Eastern Europe, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Iceland, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Canada, and to Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as to forty-nine states in America. Her most recent recital in Boston was cited as one of the “Ten Best Classical Performances of the Year.”