All Posts – Page 3 – SRMTA Saskatoon

Medieval and Renaissance Feast and Festivity

We’re hosting an exciting event in January! Come join us for the Medieval and Renaissance Feast and Festivity.

With Guest Speakers Gerard Weber and Weldon Gray
Performances by Troubadors de Bois and Voci Strane
Medieval Feast catered by Prairie Meats and cash bar.

Tickets are $35, (or $30 for RMT Members)
If you’d like tickets, please contact us at this number: 306-652-2335

More internet resources for teaching

As a follow up to the last post about piano teaching on the internet, I thought I’d make another short list of a few more great resources for information on the internet.

If you’re on facebook, there’s lots of great resouces to check out. There are a number of groups on Facebook that piano teachers can join. It can be exciting to hear ideas from piano teachers all over the world! Here’s our page.
Another place to check out is the website Colour in my piano. This is another page with some great resources.
Thirdly, check out your local library’s website. The library has great online resources, awesome books, and you can request books from anywhere in the province and pick them up at your local branch.

Walter Thiessen Festival Class

The Walter Thiessen class is new to the Saskatoon Music Festival this year. It was put together by the RMT Saskatoon Branch to honour Walter Thiessen, who was great piano teacher and long time member of our organization. Below is a little information about this class, as found in the Saskatoon Music Festival’s local addenda to festival classes. This can be found on the Saskatoon Music Festival’s website.

This class has been setup to support and celebratepiano students at the Grade 10 level. There is a $300 scholarship which will be decided at the discretion ofthe adjudicator. The competitor must prepare three (3) contrasting selections from the Grade 10 repertoire – RCM or Conservatory Canada. The scheduling of this class will happen towardsthe end of the General Festival week.

FAQ: Why Join the RMT?

So you’re wondering about the Registered Music Teachers Association. Why should you join them? Do you know what joining the RMT requires? This post is to help answer some common questions we have about our group.

What is the benefit to me?
- The Saskatoon branch holds monthly meetings from September until May. These events are a great way to keep educating yourself, as well as giving you the opportunity to network with other musicians and music teachers in your local branch area. You can check out our calendar to see what kinds of topics we discuss.
- Participation in the Liability Insurance Plan.
- Students of RMT can enter various competitions, and can apply for some of the organizations’ scholarships.
- Belonging to our organization shows your students that you are a professional.
- Our provincial branch has an even more comprehensive listing of benefits – check it out for more details!
Do I have to be a piano or a voice teacher to join?
- Whilst there are a lot of piano teachers in our organization, our local Saskatoon branch includes members who teach saxophone and clarinet as well. Music teachers who have the necessary qualifications are welcome, no matter what instrument you play. We would love to have a variety in our organization!
- We regularly have workshops that apply to all kinds of students – for example, our past seasons have included subjects such as composition, playing by ear, and how to teach rhythm, to name only a few. There’s a lot teachers can learn from each other, no matter what your instrument is. Your presence in our association would be beneficial for you as well as enriching our membership.
What credentials do I need to join the RMT?
- Our provincial website has much information on this topic as well, as do we elsewhere on our local branch website.
- There are a few levels of membership. These are all outlined wonderfully on the provincial and local website, but here’s a summary for your help. The three levels of membership are: Affiliate level 1, Affiliate level 2, and Full member.
- A Full member can use the designation “RMT” and must have completed pedagogical training (either as part of their diploma/degree or as a supplement to their diploma/degree) or show proof of successful teaching and have completed at least one of the following:
  - A music degree from a university recognized by the Executive, subject to approval by the Board of Examiners.
  - Associate Diploma or equivalent to that granted by the Royal Conservatory of Music, Conservatory Canada, Canadian National Conservatory of Music, or any university or school of music recognized by the Executive.
  - An Associate or Licentiate Teacher’s or Performer’s Diploma granted by Trinity College, London, England, any one of the Royal Schools of Music, London, England, accompanied by successful completion of all the Royal Conservatory Grade IV theory exams (Harmony, History, and Counterpoint) or their equivalent.
- Affiliate Level 1 – Applicants may apply for this category if all requirements for Full Membership are not yet met, and must have completed a Grade 10 certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Conservatory Canada, or the Canadian National Conservatory of Music, or the equivalent thereof.
- Affiliate Level 2 – Applicants may apply for this category if all requirements for Affiliate Level 1 Membership are not yet met, and must have completed a Grade 9 certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Conservatory Canada, or the Canadian National Conservatory of Music, or the equivalent thereof.

Do I have to charge a certain amount if I join your group?
- The RMT has a suggested fee, the purpose of which is to sustain a province-wide minimum. The RMT recommends this rate as it is important to assure professional music teachers are being fairly paid for their services.

If you’d like further information about us, please drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you!

If you’d like to join us, here’s links to our provincial membership application form, and also the local branch membership application form.

SRMTA Convention 2014 – day two (Cedar Room)

Whilst some of us were having fun at Knox, there was more activity at the Parktown as well! The morning was extremely interesting – attendees enjoyed Post-Romantic and Contemporary Style followed by a Masterclass on Teaching Chopin’s Most Popular Works by Marc Durand. Later, Mark Durand and Thomas Yu did a clinic on The Piano Teacher – This is Your Life.

The AGM luncheon started with a great performance by Whitney Mather and Karen Reynaud.

Penny Joynt won the 2014 SRMTA Outstanding Achievement Award. Congrats, Penny!

After lunch, another Masterclass: The Senior Student: Haydn, Debussy, Beethoven and Grieg. Look how well attended it was.

The conference ended with The Journey from Here with clinician Marc Durand and Pianist Thomas Yu.

It was an excellent conference, and thanks to all the folks who worked so hard to put it all together.

SRMTA Convention 2014 – day two (Knox)

Another exciting day at the SRMTA conference! There was much going on today, and I’m sure the teachers had difficulty deciding what to go see.

At Knox United Church, the morning began with Phoebe Voigts, who gave a great lecture: Motivating Our Students. A great topic for all teachers! The photo is of the attendees warming up our voices. Members of the Saskatoon Children’s Choir were present to show us how it’s done.

Following this at Knox, Mary-Lou Fallis and Peter Tiefenbach’s first Masterclass of the day was: Performance Skills: Expression in Folk Songs and Contemporary Literature.

After lunch, we returned for another excellent Masterclass: Performance Skills: Expression in French and German Art Songs.

SRMTA Conference 2014 – day one

The first afternoon of the SRMTA conference was great! We had four great lectures – Two by Dr. Thomas Green (the RCM 2015 syllabus and From Excellence to Artistry: Building an Elegant Technique).

Presenting also were Noreen Wensley and Karen King with their lecture In the Key of “Now”: Junior Piano Pedagogy from a Multi-Generational Perspective.

Finally, at Knox United Church: Twenty-First Century Voice: Bel Canto and Beyond by Dr. Helen Pridmore. What a great way to start off the conference!

Hope to see you all at the Fallis and Tiefenbach concert in half an hour!

Convention 2014 is coming soon!

It’s convention time soon!

I hope you’ve been keeping up with us our Facebook Page because we’ve been keeping everyone posted on the lasted conference news!

There’s this:

Here’s a few pictures, but you can check out the full schedule here.

Convention 2014

Announcing the SRMTA Fall Convention and AGM 2014!

Inspiring the Next Generation – October 17^th and 18^th, 2014 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

The convention is going to be a great experience. You can read about the workshops, masterclasses, and other events planned in the documents linked to on this post. You will also find the events in our events calendar. We hope to see lots of you out at the conference in the fall!

To Register, you can download this registration form. Full registration is $140 before the early bird deadline of July 2, 2014.

Here you can look at the schedule for the conference.

Read about Marc Durand by clicking here.

Read about Mary Lou Fallis and Peter Tiefenbach.

Fun Music History Facts – Adolphe Sax

Fun music history facts #1:

Adolphe Sax, inventor of the Saxophone, was really accident prone. His mother’s only recorded words are: “The child is doomed to suffer; he won’t live.” Here’s some of his near death experiences:

He nearly drowned
fell headlong down three flights of stairs and cracked his head on a stone floor
nearly got poisoned four times
he swallowed a pin
received severe burns from a gunpowder explosion
burned knocking a frying pan over
hit on the head by a falling roof-stone
nearly asphyxiated from varnish fumes

Apparently the locals in Brussels called him “Young Sax, the Ghost.”

For those interested in reading more about his life, you can check out this article here, which you can access through the Saskatoon Public Library’s website.

Or see if you can find a book (such as the reference book I used, ‘Adolphe Sax 1814-1894’ by Wally Horwood)