2007 Conference

University of Nebraska at Kearney
October 25-28, 2007

Guest Artist
ANTON NEL

Anton Nel

Anton Nel, winner of the first prize in the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall enjoys a remarkable and multifaceted career that has taken him throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and South Africa. Following an auspicious debut at the age of twelve with Beethoven’s C Major Concerto after only two years of study, the Johannesburg native captured first prizes in all the major South African competitions while still in his teens, toured his native country extensively and became a well-known radio and television personality. A student of Adolph Hallis, he made his European debut in France in 1982, and in the same year graduated with highest distinction from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He came to the United States in 1983, attending the University of Cincinnati, where he pursued his Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees under Bela Siki and Frank Weinstock. In addition to garnering many awards from his alma mater during this three-year period he was a prizewinner at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition in England and won several first prizes at the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition in Palm Desert in 1986.

Highlights of Mr. NelÕs nearly three decades of concertizing include performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the symphonies of Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit, and London, among many others. (He has an active repertoire of more than 100 works for piano and orchestra.) An acclaimed Beethoven interpreter, Anton Nel has performed the concerto cycle several times, most notably on two consecutive evenings with the Cape Philharmonic in 2003. He was also chosen to give the North American premiere of the newly discovered Piano Concerto No. 3 in E Minor by Felix Mendelssohn in 1992. Stephen Paulus composed a piano concerto for Mr. Nel and the acclaimed world premiere took place in New York in 2003.

As recitalist he has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick Collection in New York, at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, Davies Hall in San Francisco, and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Internationally he has performed recitals in major concert halls in Canada, England (Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls in London), France, Holland (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam), Japan (Suntory Hall in Tokyo), Korea, and South Africa.

A favorite at summer festivals he has performed at the Ravinia Festival, at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, as well as at the Aspen and Blossom Music Festivals (where he is on the artist-faculties), among many others. Possessing an encyclopedic chamber music and vocal repertoire he has, over the years, regularly collaborated with many of the world’s foremost string quartets, instrumental soloists, and singers. With acclaimed violinist Sarah Chang he completed a highly successful tour of Japan as well as appearing at a special benefit concert for Live Music Now in London, hosted by HRH the Prince of Wales.

Eager to pursue dual careers in teaching and performing he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in his early twenties, followed by professorships at the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan, where he was chairman of the piano department. In September 2000, Anton Nel was appointed as the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor of Piano and Chamber music at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches an international class of students and now heads the Division of Keyboard Studies. Since his return he has also been the recipient of both the Austin-American StatesmanÕs Critics Circle Award for his performance of the Rachmaninov Second Concerto, as well as the University Cooperative Society/College of Fine Arts award for extra-curricular achievement. In 2001 he was appointed Visiting “Extraordinary” Professor at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, and continues to teach master classes worldwide.

He has three solo CDs (including a disc for EMI) as well as several chamber music recordings to his credit. The 2005/6 season saw three new releases: “Anton Nel in Recital”, as well as the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations for Piano and Cello (with Bion Tsang) by Artek Recordings (with distribution by Naxos) and his performances of the Faure Ballade and Franck Symphonic Variations with the Philharmonia Virtuosi, on the ESS.A.Y label.

Anton Nel became a citizen of the United States of America on September 11, 2003.

He is a Steinway artist.

Guest Piano Pedagogue
Samuel HollandSamuel Holland

Samuel S. Holland is an associate professor of music, and head of keyboard studies and pedagogy at Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts. Dr. Holland holds degrees in performance from The University of Texas and the University of Houston where he studied with John Perry and Abbey Simon, respectively. He received a Certificate in piano pedagogy with distinction from the New School for Music Study and a Ph.D. music education with an emphasis in piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Holland has pioneered the application of electronic and MIDI technology to performance and teaching in both contemporary and classical idioms. His current and former students have received consistently high recognition in state, national, and international competitions. He has co-authored over 25 critically acclaimed books with Frances Clark and Louise Goss, including the latest edition of The Music Tree (Warner Bros., 2000). His articles have appeared in the Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments (Garland, 1994), in every major piano journals in the US, and in the English Piano Journal. He is the author of Teaching Toward Tomorrow: A Music Teacher’s Primer for Using Keyboards, Computers, and MIDI in the Studio (Alfred, 1993). Active as a composer, recitalist, clinician, and pop musician, Dr. Holland has presented hundreds of concerts and lectures throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. He has served on the board of directors of the World Conference on Piano Pedagogy and as both a trustee and executive vice president of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.

2007 NMTA Play-A-Thon

Benefit for the Museum of Nebraska Art
October 27 and 28, 2007
Hilltop Mall, Kearney, Nebraska

The Nebraska Music Teachers Association (NMTA) will present a weekend-long Play-A-Thon as a benefit for the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA). The event will take place in the courtyard of the Hilltop Mall in Kearney, Nebraska and run from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Teachers and students of NMTA will provide five- to ten-minute performances. While the musicians are playing, those listening will have the opportunity to donate funds to MONA in the name of the individual who is playing. The top fund raisers will receive prizes and medals. Music selections will include a wide range of styles from classical to jazz, rock and pop. Donations to the museum may be regarded as non- profit contributions.

The Museum of Nebraska Art began as the Nebraska Art Collection in 1976 and became the Museum of Nebraska Art in 1986. It is located in the old Kearney Post Office, a 1911 Renaissance revival building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum, with its eleven galleries, has been designated as the state’s official art collection. Works of art include artist-explorers like George Catlin; early Nebraskans Robert Henri and J. Laurie Wallace; modern era artists Grant Reynard and John Falter, and Nebraska artists of today. MONA also displays a collection of works by John James Audubon focusing on indigenous Nebraska wildlife. The permanent collection contains over 5,000 works by artists of regional, national, and international importance.

For further information, contact the Museum of Nebraska Art at 308 865-8559 or monet@unk.edu or the President of Nebraska Music Teachers Association, Dr. Roger Foltz at 402 554-2474 or rfoltz@mail.unomaha.edu.

Download Play-A-Thon Registration Form pdf file