2024 NMTA State Conference
October 17-18, 2024
University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Nebraska
2024 NMTA Conference Competition and Festival Bulletin
2024 NMTA Conference Registration Form
The campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Omaha, NE is co-sponsoring our conference. Most events will take place in the Strauss Performing Arts Center.
NMTA State Conference: Thursday & Friday October 17-18
MTNA Performance Competitions: Friday (evening) & Saturday October 18-20
NMTA Performance Competition: Saturday October 19
NMTA State Festival: Saturday & Sunday October 19-20
Conference Mission Statement: to enrich our members through connection, education, and inspiration
Conference Guests, Artist and Presenters
Christopher Fisher, conference clinician:
Dr. Christopher Fisher is Professor of Piano at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio where he co-chairs the Keyboard Division and directs the nationally recognized undergraduate and graduate piano performance and pedagogy programs. He is the Artistic Director of the Ohio University Piano Pedagogy Seminar and is a Faculty Fellow for the 1804 Scholars Program. Dr. Fisher served as Director of the Ohio University School of Music from 2020-2022 and Assistant Director from 2019-2020. Recognized for his teaching, Dr. Fisher was the 2010 recipient of the Ohio Music Teachers Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year Award and the Ohio University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award.
Dr. Fisher is the author of Teaching Piano in Groups (Oxford University Press, 2010), the only comprehensive group piano pedagogy textbook of its kind. A Chinese translation of Teaching Piano in Groups is also available. Dr. Fisher is the co-author of the revised and expanded edition of Piano Duet Repertoire (Indiana University Press, 2016) and co-author of Functional Skills for Pianists (Oxford University Press, 2022). He is also co-editing the Oxford Handbook for Piano Pedagogy (Oxford University Press) with Dr. Sally Cathcart. He has published in leading keyboard journals including Keyboard Companion, American Music Teacher, Clavier, and Clavier Companion. He is a contributing composer for the innovative piano method, Piano Safari (www.pianosafari.com), which is used by piano teachers and students around the globe. His educational compositions are published by Alfred Music and Piano Safari.
In demand as a workshop clinician, Dr. Fisher has presented lectures nationally and internationally, including the National Conferences of the Music Teachers National Association (Washington, D.C., 2001; Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007; Atlanta, Georgia, 2009; San Antonio, Texas, 2016; Orlando, Florida, 2018, Atlanta, Georgia, 2024), the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (Lombard, Illinois, 2013; 2017; 2019), the Music & Drama Education Expo (London, England, 2018), Centro para la Pedagogia de los Instruments de Cuerda (CEPIC) (Madrid, Spain, 2023), the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (Norman, Oklahoma, 2006; Austin, Texas, 2010), the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference (Canberra, Australia, 2008), Encontro Internacional de Pianistas de Piracicaba (Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2016), The Curious Piano Teachers Live Conferences (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2018 and Oxford, England, 2018) and the American Music Therapy Association (Orlando, Florida, 2005). He has served as a guest lecturer at leading universities and conservatories across the U.S. and abroad including recent engagements at The Juilliard School in New York (USA), the Tianjin Juilliard School (China), the Manhattan School of Music, the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Oxford (UK), and Trinity Laban Conservatoire (UK).
As a performing artist, Dr. Fisher frequently plays both solo and collaborative recitals, including duet and duo piano performances with wife, pianist Katherine Fisher. The Fisher Piano Duo was awarded first prize in the Adult Duo Division of the Graves Piano and Organ Company/OhioMTA Piano Competition in 2007. As a recording artist, Dr. Fisher can be heard on the MSR Classics label (Samplings: New Music for Bassoon and Piano; MS1547).
Dr. Fisher is an active member of Music Teachers National Association and has served as Vice-President for Conferences and Vice-President for Membership for the Ohio Music Teachers Association; he presently serves as Collegiate Chapter Chair. He is the faculty advisor for the Ohio University Collegiate Chapter of MTNA, recipient of the 2021, 2019, and 2015 MTNA Collegiate Chapter Award. Dr. Fisher maintains a studio of pre-college students who have been successful at state and regional piano competitions and festivals. He frequently serves as an adjudicator and master class clinician at piano festivals and competitions throughout the United States and abroad, including the MTNA Stecher & Horowitz Two Piano Competition, the OHIO International Piano Duet & Duo Competition, and the United States Virtuoso Artists International Piano Competition.
A native of Missouri, Dr. Fisher holds degrees from Wichita State University (Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy) and Northwest Missouri State University (Bachelor of Arts). He was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma where he was the recipient of the prestigious Alumni Graduate Fellowship. His piano and piano pedagogy teachers include Edward Gates, Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Julie Bees, Sylvia Coats, Richard Bobo, and Betty Preston.
Dr. Fisher resides in Albany, Ohio with his wife Katherine and their children Isaiah and Anna.
Christopher Fisher is a Yamaha Artist.
Mark Clinton, conference artist:
Since entering the Preparatory Division of the Peabody Conservatory at age eight under the tutelage of Julian Martin, Mark Clinton has worked extensively with some of the world’s foremost pianists, among them Leon Fleisher, John Perry, Carlo Zecchi, and Tatiana Nikolayeva. This critically acclaimed pianist has garnered prizes at such prestigious international competitions as the William Kapell International Piano Competition and the Joanna Hodges Piano Competition. He has been featured frequently on national radio and television broadcasts, including Monitor Radio and American Public Media’s Performance Today. Critics have noted his “powerful performance [combined with] sublime lyricism” (Salisbury Daily Times), the “…drive and security of his pianism” (Baltimore Sun), and his “luminous, concentrated playing” (Washington Post). He has appeared throughout the United States as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the National Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the United States Air Force Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, Concert Artists of Baltimore, and the Springfield (Missouri) Symphony.
For a number of years, Clinton joined with pianist Nicole Narboni to form the highly successful Clinton/Narboni Duo. They received prizes at several major international competitions, including the ProPiano New York Recital Competition, the National Federation of Music Clubs Ellis Duo Piano Competition, the Concorso Internazionale «Carlo Soliva» (four-hand division), and the Alvin Perlman Prize at the Fifth Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition. Clinton and Narboni’s debut compact disc recording (Élan CD #82278), featuring previously unpublished works for two pianos by the French composer Germaine Tailleferre, received critical acclaim in broadcast and print media throughout the United States and abroad. Gramophone magazine honored the recording as an “editor’s choice” selection for the month of November 1997, while describing Clinton and Narboni as “absolutely first rate.” Their recording of works for two pianos by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinù (Élan CD #82422) was hailed by critics as “a major release” and “an indispensable album for devotees of European Modernism.”
Clinton’s numerous concert activities reflect his continuing commitment to a wide range of performing experiences. Performance highlights from recent seasons include enthusiastically received solo recitals at the American Cathedral in Paris, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, and the historic rotunda of Steinway Hall in New York City. Other noteworthy performances have included a recent appearance as guest soloist in Brahms’ D minor Piano Concerto with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, performances of the Dvořák and Brahms Piano Quintets with the Chiara String Quartet, and frequent performances around the United States with the Amicitia Duo.
Mark Clinton has shared his musical insights with gifted students from around the world while serving on the faculties of Salisbury University, the Aspen Institute, Missouri Southern State University, and the Ameropa Chamber Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. He is currently professor of piano and head of the piano area at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mark Clinton is a Steinway artist and a member of the Steinway & Sons Educator Hall of Fame.
Stacey Barelos, commissioned composer
Omaha native Stacey Barelos is a sound artist who actively performs, creates and teaches throughout the Omaha community, the U.S. and abroad. Her work Clockworks was featured at the 2023 Monte Compatri Film Festival in Rome, Italy.
As a performer, Stacey specializes in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly the music of living composers. In 2023 Dr. Barelos released her third album, “Toy, Toy, Toy” featuring solo and chamber works for toy piano.
As an educator, Dr. Barelos developed Soundry, an experimental music program encouraging all people young and old to explore and create with sound. In 2022, Stacey released her first educational product “Creativity Cards”, flashcards aimed at fostering creativity in young music students.
In 2020, Dr. Barelos’s work as a composer, performer and educator was featured on Nebraska Public Media’s “What If”, a state-wide program celebrating innovation and creativity in Nebraska. For more information, visit her website: www.staceybarelos.com
Plus
- Sessions by NMTA members Marina Fabrikant and Kristín Jónína Taylor.
- Group Session: Captivate with Composition featuring four individual presentations followed by Q & A
- Humanities Nebraska sponsored session: David Seay, The Tradition in Traditional Folk Music including a mini-harmonica workshop. Thanks to Dietze Music for covering the cost of the harmonicas!
- Awards Luncheon with music provided by La Dolce Vita, a duo featuring Lindsay Bartlett, flute, and Antonio Forgione, classical guitar
- NMTA Annual Membership Meeting
- Guided Tour of Sheldon Art Gallery
Lodging
The Graduate Hotel Lincoln
141 North 9th St. Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: (402)-475-4011
Rate: Two Queen Beds or King Room $129 plus tax—includes breakfast and garage parking
Conveniently located within a few walking blocks from UNL
Call 402-475-4011 for group code Nebraska Music Teachers Association or make your reservation using the following link:
Booking Link: https://www.graduatehotels.com/lincoln/#/booking/step-2?group=1715913&arrive=10%2F16%2F2024&depart=10%2F20%2F2024
Note: the link defaults automatically to a Wednesday October 16-Saturday October 20 stay. Check-in time is 4:00 PM and check-out time is 11:00 AM. Special arrangements can be made to guarantee early check-in or late check-out prior to arrival at a half-day rate based upon the Hotel’s current availability.
Cut-off date for group rate: Sunday, October 2, 2024. There are a limited number of rooms available at the group rate.