2012 Conference

October 25-26, 2012
University of Nebraska at Kearney

Sapphire TrioGuest Artist Ensemble: The Sapphire Trio

Sapphire Trio Bio pdf file

The Sapphire Trio was formed in 1998 to explore both the standard and newly created literature for clarinet, violin and piano, bringing to the concert stage the master works that exist in the repertoire. The artists are university faculty members from the Pacific Northwest-USA, and are active as soloists, chamber musicians, master teachers and clinicians, appearing regularly in performances and festivals throughout the Northwest region, the United States, and abroad.

Their concerts feature a wide range of repertoire from Arutiunian to Schickele, and often include multi-media presentations. The Sapphire Trio has been featured as the headline performance for both national and international conferences. An exciting part of their mission is to serve as cultural ambassadors in international concert events and exchanges. The Sapphire Trio is committed to continuing this legacy of fine art music, celebrating its universal language across the globe, and upholding the art of chamber music as an exciting and dynamic performance genre. Their concerts include a wide range of new works, traditional works and transcriptions, along with stories and vignettes about the composers and the music.

In 2006 the Sapphire Trio served as Cultural Ambassadors for the United States in the Persian Gulf, performing concerts and speaking about American music in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. They have maintained an international touring schedule since 1999, and return to the West Bank region for their third tour in 2012. The press reviews have called their performances “exciting…imaginative and compelling” (The Peninsula/Qatar, 2006) and that sponsored tour was acclaimed by the U.S. State Department as the Number One international tour event of the season. For more information and concert bookings please visit: www.sapphiretrio.com

 

Guest Clinician: Dr. Jody Graves, NCTMDr. Jody Graves

Dr. Jody Graves Bio pdf file

Jody Graves maintains an exciting, diverse and active performing career, and is recognized nationally as a distinguished artist and teacher of piano. Her recital engagements as a soloist and collaborative pianist take her across the United States and abroad. She has performed concerts in Austria, Norway, France, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Japan, and in May 2006 toured in the Persian Gulf serving as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. The Middle East Tour, with the Sapphire Trio, included concerts in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The press reviews have called their performances “exciting…imaginative and compelling.” In April, 2010, she was a judge for the National Palestinian Piano Festival in Jerusalem, and following that event toured the West Bank region with the Sapphire Trio performing concerts and giving master classes. The Sapphire Trio returned to the Middle East for a concert tour and master classes in April, 2011, and Dr. Graves will return to the Middle East and tour that region with the Sapphire Trio again in March 2012.

Dr. Graves is in great demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions and festivals. Each season takes her across the country as an MTA clinician, and she has an active schedule each year as a workshop presenter and master class teacher. Dr. Graves has been a presenter at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and has been a presenter and performer at numerous State and National Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) conferences. Recently Ms. Graves was a presenter at the National MTNA Conference (Milwaukee) in 2011. She has served as a judge for the International Piano Competition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and also served on the faculty with Dr. Alexandra Ngyuen for the Eastman Summer Session titled ‘Plays Well With Others’, featuring sessions on collaborative arts performance. Additionally, Dr. Graves has authored articles for the American Music Teacher and Clavier magazines.

Ms. Graves completed her third recording project ‘Whispers of Light’ in 2007, featuring the music of Edward MacDowell, Rachmaninoff and others. She has performed solo and chamber recitals across the country at university guest artist series and community concert events, and has been a featured performing artist several times on public radio. In the 2011-12 season she will be a soloist with the Mid-Columbia Symphony and the Butte Symphony. Ms. Graves is the pianist with the nationally acclaimed Sapphire Trio. They have been featured guest artists at the National MTNA conference in Seattle, WA and the International Clarinet Festival in Tokyo, and were featured again in concert at the ICF in Los Angeles in 2011.

Ms. Graves is especially interested in promoting concert art music, creating unique and contemporary ways to foster a collaborative experience between artist and listener, and is dedicated to maintaining the life of music in our schools and culture. Ms. Graves is recognized for her creative ability to engage the audience during her concerts with anecdotes, historical perspectives and humor. She has been referred to by the press as “Victoria Borge” in reference to her engaging humor from the stage.

She holds a Doctorate Degree in Piano Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and her Masters degree from Catholic University in Washington D.C. Dr. Graves is an Associate Professor of Piano at Eastern Washington University, in Cheney, WA.

You can find additional information about the artist at www.drjodygraves.com or www.sapphiretrio.com

Conference Hotel

Reservation cut-off date: September 25, 2012

Ask for the Nebraska Music Teachers Association rate!

Conference Hotel Information pdf file

Country Inn & Suites
105 Talmadge Rd.
Kearney, NE 68847
(308) 236-7500

Country Inn & Suites Information

If all rooms at Country Inn & Suites are booked, additional rooms will be available at:
Best Western Plus Inn & Suites
224 Second Avenue South
Kearney, NE 68847
(308) 234-2541

Best Western Plus Inn & Suites Information

Pre-Registration Form

Pre-Registration Form pdf file

NMTA Bulletin, Summer 2012

Summer Bulletin pdf file