NEWSLETTERS

JUNE 2023 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

This is our last Newsletter of the academic year. We also just wrapped up our final recital – our Achievement Awards Recital – last weekend with some wonderful performances. Thank you to Svetlana and Aroutioun for all their help with this program!

I also am sadly saying goodbye to our Hollywood Branch as I am moving to New York. I have been a member since the early 1980ies, and have served in all the various positions in our branch including the MTAC State Board. So, I leave with many fond memories! I will miss the friendships, I will miss you all, but I hope many of you will contact me to say hi and perhaps meet for a cup of coffee when you are in New York.

I hope to see many of you at our last meeting, our Annual Meeting and Potluck Lunch tomorrow at my home. Wishing you all a wonderful summer.

Warm regards,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch (2019-2023)

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING ANNUAL MEETING AND POTLUCK LUNCH:

FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2023

11 am to approximately 1pm

4745 Cromwell Ave, LA 90027 (Lieschen’s home)

You are invited to join us for our in-person General Meeting (our Annual Meeting) and potluck lunch!

We will be introducing our new Branch Board of Directors and thanking our outgoing Board.

We will visit over a potluck lunch.

For your perusal, we will have a display of our Branch History Project including scrapbooks, photos, historical programs etc.

You are welcome to bring a partner or friend. The event will be outdoors – bring a wrap to keep warm.

You are asked to contribute to the potluck lunch – salad, sandwiches, fruit, or dessert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WELCOME TO OUR NEWLY ELECTED BRANCH BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

President: Dr. Svetlana Transky

Vice President: Jeesung Kang

Treasurer: Galina Berezovsky

Recording Secretary: Susanna Zhamkochyan

Corresponding Secretary: Aroutioun Mikaelian

Membership Secretary: Grigor Akopyan

Directors: Dr. Alan Oettinger

Virginia Whitehead

Lieschen Bierstedt (in transition)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Members:

We are delighted to welcome two new members to our branch –

Lily Lim and Colleen Carney.

We look forward to meeting you and getting to know you both!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS RECITAL UPDATE:

We had a successful Achievement Awards Recital with some wonderful student performances. Thank you to all the participating teachers and their students! It is always good to get together for some beautiful music.

Here are some photos of the event. If anyone has more photos to share, we would love it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONVENTION REMINDER:

I hope that some of you will join us at our Annual MTAC State Convention in Santa Clara at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Friday, June 30^th through Tuesday, July 4^th

Refer to the State website for further information

https://www.mtac.org/events-information/convention/

or log in to make your reservation: https://new.mtac.org/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We just completed our annual Spring Festival. Thank you to Galina Berezovsky for a beautifully presented program. The quality of playing was excellent, and it was lovely to hear some of our violin student performances.

We are leading up to the end of our academic year – our ballots have gone out to ask for your vote on a new Board of Directors and our last recital and meeting are upon us. Thank you to our Nominating Committee for all their effort to put the slate together and adhere to the deadlines!

We are featuring two of our students in this Newsletter for their achievements. If you have students who have excelled, please send me some information or a short bio and I can include the info in our next Newsletter.

I hope you will join us at the upcoming events and come and enjoy one another’s company!

Warm regards,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPRING FESTIVAL Update:

We presented four programs, starting with a Virtual Program at 9am and continuing with three more In-Person programs at LA Valley College. The venue may have been new to some, but to many of us it was a return to a very familiar space. The recital hall is spacious and comfortable and creates an authentic performance setting with a big stage. We hope the campus construction around the music hall will soon be completed to allow for a better approach to the entrance.

I think these photos capture the warmth and enjoyment of the event.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING BOARD MEETING (online):

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 10am

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS RECITAL:

Date: Sunday, June 4, 2023

Venue: Los Angeles Valley College, 5800 Fulton Ave, Valley Glen, Ca 91401 (A campus map is attached to this email)

Each of our Hollywood Branch events were carefully developed over the years, with guidelines to best recognize and support our students’ musical journey. The goal behind this final event is to recognize all those students who have participated fully in the events offered by our branch and also to encourage the study of various musical historical periods. Each participant will be receiving a trophy which will be presented on stage. It is important to encourage your students not to leave early!

We also like to celebrate all the individual student achievements throughout the year, such as CM, Winterfest and Sonata Sonatina Competition achievements. These awards will be listed in the recital programs and students will be recognized.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING ANNUAL MEETING AND POTLUCK LUNCH:

Date: Friday, June 9, 2023, at 11am

Venue: Lieschen’s home at 4745 Cromwell Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90027

Please join us for this in person gathering and bring something to share for lunch. It will take place in the garden at Lieschen’s home.

We will be be introducing the new board of directors through an induction ceremony.

Our historical photo albums will be on display for your perusal.

RECOGNIZING SOME OF OUR STUDENTS:

ENNI HARLAN:

We all know Enni, Dr. Cynthia Harlan’s daughter and student, who together with her brother Oliver, have enchanted us with some beautiful music. Enni is now studying with Professor Bernadene Blaha of USC Thornton School of Music. She has just been honored as one of the new inductees to the Young Artist Guild – the ultimate achievement in the Certificate of Merit program and a huge honor. I quote Cynthia: “ It’s been such an incredible journey – she has really enjoyed being in the CM program to the fullest, and so many wonderful years at the Hollywood Branch! Our branch recitals and competitions have been hugely instrumental in helping her grow as a performing artist. We’re so grateful!”

AMELIA PIETROPAOLO:

Amelia is the daughter of Dr. Svetlana Transky – Amelia Pietropaolo was a 1st place winner In the Elite International Competition and was chosen as one of the high scored winners to perform in a Winner’s Concert at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York last month. She played Debussy Passepied from Suite Bergamasque. It was an incredible experience to have a chance to perform at Carnegie Hall and to meet winners from different parts Of the United States. Svetlana Commented that “the Hall is newly renovated with superb acoustics, relief walls and ceiling, Swarovski Chandeliers and of course a magnificent 9-foot concert Steinway on the stage. Something to look forward to is to ultimately play a Solo Piano Recital at Carnegie Hall.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MARCH 2023 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

March is a busy month. We presented an online Bach Master Class, with Dr. Svetlana Transky as chair. Despite some technical difficulties, our presenter, Dr. Elvin Rodriguez, offered in-depth advice and suggestions. He is truly an exceptional musician and our students benefited from his comments.

Our Bach Festival took place this past weekend at a beautiful new venue (Westside Music Conservatory). We had just a few participants, but the quality of the performances was outstanding and the enthusiasm at the event was special. All our participants were selected as winners! Congratulations to the teachers and their students.

I hope to see many of you again at the upcoming events.

Warm regards,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JUNIOR BACH FESTIVAL:

We had a small, but high-quality event on Sunday, March 19th at the Westside Music Conservatory. We are proud of our branch students – every single one was selected as a winner!

Adjudicators were: Dr. Judy Huang, Dr. Janet Freveau, Dr. Mark Sullivan

WINNERS:

Noah Farkas

Reese Fujikawa

Megan Kong

Amelia Pietropaolo

Jacob Chan

Thomas Zhuo

STUDIOS REPRESENTED:

Nonna Ayrapetova

Dr. Svetlana Transky

Virginia Whitehead

Some photos of our event:

SCJBF REGIONAL KEYBOARD FESTIVAL

Sunday, May 21, 2023

At Westside Music Conservatory

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRANCH GENERAL MEETING:

Friday, March 31^st at 10:30am via Zoom

Presentations:

10:30am – Dr. Andrew Banks

Dr. Andrew Banks, the Southern California representative of the London-based music exam board ABRSM (The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) will give an introductory presentation including an overview of ABRSM, exam requirements and marking criteria, and the differences between the ABRSM exams and the CM (Certificate of Merit) evaluations.

Useful links include:

Exam syllabi for for face-to-face Practical exams:

Piano 2023 & 2024 / Bowed Strings 2020-2023 / Singing from 2018
Marking criteria for face-to-face Practical exams
On Your Marks – videos of Practical exams
Exam syllabi for Music Theory: Grades 1-5 (online) and Grades 6-8 (face-to-face)

11:10 am: Dr. Svetlana Transky and Dominic Pietropaolo

Listen On! is a successful set of a Live Online Music Appreciation Lectures created and taught by Dr. Svetlana Transky and Dominic Pietropaolo. Thoroughly researched surveys of music related subjects are intended for a wide variety of audiences, but are carefully designed to keep the novices engaged, as well as to deepen the musical knowledge of the experienced music aficionados. Svetlana and Dominic will present a reenactment of the Music Appreciation Lecture titled

Early Romanticism from 1790’s to Early 1800’s: Essential Inspirations

The lecture will journey into the importance of early Romantic philosophies, literature, art and even politics, and their role in creating new Romantic sensibilities and new musical content.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOARD MEETING (online):

Monday, April 14, 2023 at 10am

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARDS OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline: April 1, 2023

A reminder that the deadline for applying for an Award or a Scholarship for your students is fast approaching.

We offer three types of opportunities with the goal of encouraging and inspiring students through participation in branch activities. Teachers representing the applicants, will be given an opportunity to make a short presentation on behalf of their students at the Hollywood Branch General Meeting at the end of March. The Board of Directors will evaluate and select the qualifying student. In case of a tie, more than one qualifying student may be selected.

The award will be announced and presented at the Achievement Award Recital.

Olga Balogh Award:

A plaque of recognition plus $50. Student shall be no younger than 13 and no older than 18 years of age by April 1. Student shall have participated in branch activities for a minimum of three (3) years.

Eugenia Clemmons Award:

A plaque of recognition plus $50. Student shall be twelve (12) years of age or younger by April 1. Student shall have participated in branch activities for a minimum of three (3) years.

Andrew Clemmons Memorial Scholarship:

Scholarship of $200, plus a plaque of recognition

Student shall be a recent high school graduate or a graduating high school senior. And be planning to pursue a degree in music. Student shall have demonstrated promising musical abilities through Hollywood Branch activities.

Student shall have participated in branch activities for a minimum of five (5) years and have studied with his/her current Hollywood Branch teacher for a minimum of five (5) years except if the student has a proven record of Hollywood Branch event participation through studies with another branch teacher. In this case, the student shall have studied with his/her

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPRING FESTIVAL:

Access the application forms on this website under Members Corner

Date: Sunday, May 7, 2023

Application Deadline: Sunday, April 9, 2023

In-Person recitals –

12:30pm to 4:30pm only.

Venue:

Los Angeles Valley College,

5800 Fulton Avenue

Valley Glen, CA 91401

One Virtual Recital –

9am to 10am via Zoom

Upload video files by Wednesday, April 26, 2023 (link is posted on the application page)

Chair: Galina Berezovsky

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, postmarked by deadline to:

Galina Berezovsky,

2749 Selby Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90064

Fees:

No teacher’s fee
Solo Student’s fee: $25 flat fee per student

Young beginners may perform two short pieces within the 7-minute time limit (not an option for intermediate or advance students). Complete two application forms for these students.

Duet fees – Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 per additional student.

Compositions by students and teachers are encouraged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CM UPDATES:

Please refer regularly to the State MTAC website for further updates and information (https://new.mtac.org/program/CM/)

March 20, 2023 Results available to teachers

March 22, 2023 Results available to parents

April 15, 2023 CM Convention Application deadline

April 15, 2023 Request Collaborative Artist for convention by this date

April 15, 2023 Make-Up Evaluation application deadline

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEBRUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We had a very successful Sonata Sonatina Competition. Thank you to Aroutioun Mikaelian for all the hard work as Chair of this event. And thank you to all those teachers who arrived a bit early to help run the event. It is not only fun to see you all, but your help makes all the difference!

All student consent forms must be submitted to me directly, either electronically or by mail. These forms will be kept on file for all branch events.

I hope to see many of you again at the upcoming events.

Warm regards,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRANCH GENERAL MEETING Update:

Our meeting on Friday, February 3, 2023 via Zoom was very informative. Let me know if you would like a link to the Zoom recording of the meeting.

Thank you to Dr. Svetlana Transky for presenting an interesting overview of “How to Prepare your Students for Entry into Music Schools”. We will continue this conversation at our next meeting at the end of March.

We also had a presentation on The Global Musical Arts Competition by Gretchen Kirby. Below are a few resources they offered us:

Our website

Discount code for Hollywood Branch members: MTACHollywood

“The Global Musical Arts Competition fosters consistent opportunities for music students to set and achieve their goals. Monthly competitions provide twelve different themes a year that pose unique artistic challenges. Students and teachers alike can prepare new repertoire with a tangible objective in mind—without leaving the comfort of their home.

We also provide an Honors Program in which students can become part of a larger musical community. Honors members can participate in three competitions a year for a lower annual fee and receive a completion certificate. They can also request letters of recommendation from our organization for summer programs and school auditions.

Our next upcoming competition in February is seasonally inspired! Students can choose one piece with “winter” in the title or a related titular theme. The deadline for applications is February 15th. Results will be announced via email by the end of the month. Students can apply by visiting our website at www.gmacompetition.com.

Other competitions on the horizon include March’s theme of “Animals and All Living Things” and music from the Classical period in April. Check out our website for more information about our esteemed panel of international judges, how to apply, and all the awards and prizes we offer! “

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION Update:

Below are the results of our competition. The quality of playing was outstanding, and our congratulations go to not only the winners, but all the participants!

Our two Grand Prize Winners receive a check for $100 plus a trophy each. All other winners will receive a trophy each. Honorable Mention recipients receive an Honorable Mention Certificate.

Trophy orders have been placed and will be available for pick up from Lieschen’s home. Teachers will be notified.

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS:

Amelia Pietropaolo

2023 Senior Grand Prize Winner

Student of Dr. Svetlana Transky

and

Katherine Liu

2023 Junior Grand Prize Winner

Student of Marina Geladze

WINNERS


Izabella	Poliakova
Hillary	Yao
Veronika	Poliakova
David	Zadeh
Daniel	Savluk
Thomas	Zhuo
Matthew	Sun
Emma	Feng
Charles	Sun
Penelope	Rosales
Debbie	Zhao
Michelle	Kan
Henry	Moughalian

HONORABLE MENTION

Melody	Zheng
Maya	Plaks
Lila	Kim
Ella	Chan
Maggie	Nguyen
Megan	Kan
Chris	Kim
Kayla	Hong

These students are represented by the following teachers:

Nonna Ayrapetova, Marina Bykhovsky, Marine Geladze, Dr. Cynthia Harlan,

Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Victoria Roizen, Dr. Svetlana Transky and Aroutioun Mikaelian.

Some photos of our Event:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING BACH MASTER CLASS 2023 – an Online Event:

To be presented by: Dr. Elvin Rodriguez

Date: Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 3pm via Zoom

Fee: $50 per selected participating student (no application fee and no attendance fee)

Chair: Dr. Svetlana Transky

Video Submissions Deadline: February 19, 2023

https://driveuploader.com/upload/L0bZjcRz5c/

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline February 26, 2023

Three to four students will be selected to participate, based on their performance quality.

Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above
Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers
A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student.
The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

——————————————————————

UPCOMING BACH FESTIVAL:

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 9am only

Applications Deadline: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Registration: www.scjbf.org

Venue: Westside Music Conservatory, 12424 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90025

Regionals: Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the Westside Conservatory of Music

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt (lieschen@bierstedt.com)

Fees:
Student Fee: $35 per student

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, postmarked by applications deadline to:

Lieschen Bierstedt: 4745 Cromwell Ave. Los Angeles, Ca 90027

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“

UPCOMING BAROQUE FESTIVAL:

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023 (pm only)

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Venue: Steinway Hall, 8801 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, Ca 90211

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, to:
Lieschen Bierstedt, 4745 Cromwell Ave. LA 90027

Fees:

No teacher’s fee
Solo Student’s fee: $25 Flat Fee per student

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

Young beginners may perform two short pieces within the 7-minute time limit (not an option for intermediate or advance students). Complete two application forms for these students.

The Baroque Festival is open to any age or level of difficulty.

Repertoire must be chosen from the Baroque era. Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Please note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants on our branch website. Your attendance signifies acceptance of these postings. A consent form must be on file.

Dress code guidelines:

A dress or elegant pants outfit for females and long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes) for males.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS (online):

Standing Rules and Bylaw Committee: Friday, February 17, 2023

Board Meetings: Monday, February 27, 2023

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPCOMING SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARDS OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline: April 1, 2023

A reminder that the deadline for applying for an Award or a Scholarship for your students is fast approaching.

The award will be announced and presented at the Achievement Award Recital.

Olga Balogh Award:

Eugenia Clemmons Award:

A plaque of recognition plus $50. Student shall be twelve (12) years of age or younger by April 1. Student shall have participated in branch activities for a minimum of three (3) years.

Andrew Clemmons Memorial Scholarship:

Scholarship of $200, plus a plaque of recognition

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CM UPDATES:

Please refer regularly to the State MTAC website for further updates and information (https://new.mtac.org/program/CM/)

February 18, 2023 CM Media submissions opens

February 28, 2023 CM Media submissions deadline

March 20, 2023 Results available to teachers

March 22, 2023 Results available to parents

April 15, 2023 CM Convention Application deadline

April 15, 2023 Request Collaborative Artist for convention by this date

April 15, 2023 Make-Up Evaluation application deadline

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JANUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Happy New Year to you all!

January is always a bit of a shock to the system after the Holiday Season. It brings responsibilities and events in close succession to contend with. But it also provides opportunities for us to see one another and catch up!

Please note that we have had to make a few date changes – for our General Meeting as well as for our Bach Master Class. The website has been adjusted accordingly and the dates are listed here in the newsletter.

I hope to see many of you at the upcoming events.

Warm regards,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WEBSITE ATTACK UPDATE:

As you know, our website was one of thousands of websites, using WordPress as its website builder, that was attacked by a series of bots. Our web designer has now secured it and fortunately we do not keep any sensitive information that could be compromised on the website. It is up and running, but a few of our application forms (the Jotforms) were disabled. We are working on redoing those forms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRANCH GENERAL MEETING:

Please note that this meeting has been moved to –

Friday, February 3, 2023 at 10:30 am via Zoom

Join us for updates and information. We love your input and your presence!

We will have a discussion, lead by some of our teachers, on how to prepare students for acceptance to a music school. All teachers are invited to join in the discussion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION:

Sunday, February 5, 2023

at Cammilleri Hall on USC Campus, 3620 McClintock Ave, LA CA 90089

Chair: Aroutioun Milkaelian

Aroutioun has completed the scheduling and you will be notified of your students’ performance times soon. (How fortunate we are to have Aroutioun manage this event for us! Thank you!)

Please be sure to submit your check if you have not done so yet! To:

Aroutioun Mikaelian, 3640 Monon Street, Apt 214, LA Ca 90027

Our Standing Rules state that students will not perform if the Chair has not received payment.

Fees:
Teachers Fee: $10.00
Solo Student’s fee: $30.00

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

Reminders:

Students shall have on hand their original music scores, opened at the pieces to be performed and with the first measure of each line numbered. Be sure to provide a translation of the title if necessary. The judges will expect one score from each student to refer to. No photocopies are allowed.
Participating teachers will be contacted to do certain jobs to help run the event. We are always grateful for your willingness to help! Thank you!
If you have not yet picked up your students’ Winterfest trophies, you may pick them up at this event. It will be available in the green room area.
Please submit a signed consent form for each of your students directly to Lieschen (lieschen@bierstedt.com) – to be kept on file for all future events. You can submit it electronically or hand it over at the event.

Parking:

Free street parking is available on Vermont Avenue – your best choice!

The parking structure – Downey Way Parking Structure tickets now, must be purchased at the entrance gates to the campus at a cost of $20 per day – there are kiosks and attendants. A smaller parking lot is available right in front of Cammilleri Hall at $4 per hour – use pay by phone app. system.

The best entrance is from Vermont Ave at 36^th Street, but if this entrance is closed, the entrance from Jefferson Blvd at McClintock Ave. is open 24 hours a day.

USC-walking-map.pdf

Cammilleri Hall is located in the Seeley G. Mudd building (which houses the Brain and Creativity Institute) at 3620 McClintock Ave, LA CA 90089. There will be signs to Cammilleri Hall at the Downey Way Parking structure and up the road next to the Seeley G. Mudd Building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS (online):

Standing Rules and Bylaw Committee: Friday, February 17, 2023

Board Meetings: Monday, February 27, 2023 and Friday, April 14, 2023

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CM UPDATES:

Please refer regularly to the State MTAC website for further updates and information (https://new.mtac.org/program/CM/)

February 18, 2023 CM Media submissions opens

February 28, 2023 CM Media submissions deadline

March 20, 2023 Results available to teachers

March 22, 2023 Results available to parents

April 15, 2023 CM Convention Application deadline

April 15, 2023 Request Collaborative Artist for convention by this date

April 15, 2023 Make-Up Evaluation application deadline

A reminder –

The Practice Portal opened in November 2022 for paid applications. Students will be able to take practice versions of their Theory & Ear Training Test, and Sight-Reading tests. Please note, students are only able to take one Practice Theory Test or Practice Sight Reading test per day. Students do not need to pay an additional fee to use the Practice Portal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BACH MASTER CLASS 2023 an Online Event – date changed from March 5^th to March 12^th

We are very fortunate to have Dr. Elvin Rodriguez agree to do our Master Class again this year! He was absolutely wonderful last year. I hope that many of you will join us on Zoom for this special event.

Chair: Dr. Svetlana Transky

Presented by: Dr. Elvin Rodriguez

Date: Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 3pm via Zoom

Video Submissions Deadline: February 19, 2023

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline February 26, 2023

Three to four students will be selected to participate, based on their performance quality.
There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student.
Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above
Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers
A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student.
The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BACH FESTIVAL:

The Branch Bach Festival Registration is now open (www.scjbf.org). Please let Lieschen know if you have problems with registering your students.

This year’s Bach Festival will be in combination with two other branches at this venue. Our students will play in the morning. No time requests can be made. Please ask your students to keep the morning available.

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023 (am only)

Applications Deadline: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Registration: www.scjbf.org

Regionals: Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the Westside Conservatory of Music

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt (lieschen@bierstedt.com)

Fees:
Student Fee: $35 per student

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, postmarked by deadline to:

Lieschen Bierstedt: 4745 Cromwell Ave. Los Angeles, Ca 90027

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BAROQUE FESTIVAL:

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023 (pm only – following the morning Bach Festival Competition)

Venue:

Steinway Hall, Beverly Hills (waiting on confirmation.)

8801 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, Ca 90211

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, send to:
Lieschen Bierstedt, 4745 Cromwell Ave. LA 90027

Fees:

No teacher’s fee
Solo Student’s fee: $25 Flat Fee per student

Young beginners may perform two short pieces within the 7-minute time limit (not an option for intermediate or advance students). Complete two application forms for these students.

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

The Baroque Festival is open to any age or level of difficulty.

Repertoire must be chosen from the Baroque era. Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Students are expected to perform from memory (with the exception of ensembles), and it is customary for students to bow before and after their performance.

Please note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants on our branch website. Your attendance signifies acceptance of these postings. A consent form must be on file.

Dress code guidelines:

A dress or elegant pants outfit for females and long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes) for males.

DECEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Here we are – approaching the end of 2022! I hope 2022 was an improvement over 2021 for you all. I wish you a Holiday Season full of joy and filled with memorable moments. I am on my way to my homeland, South Africa, and will be out of touch for a few weeks on safari. I am sure our Vice President, Grigor Akopyan, will be able to answer any questions if necessary.

Keeping you in my thoughts,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Update on WINTERFEST 2022:

A thousand thank yous to all the teachers who helped out on Sunday, December 4^th! And how nice it was to see everyone! I think we all love the opportunity to get together in person.

We truly had the most amazing performances from the participating students. We can be proud of our teachers who produce such quality work. Thank you to Aroutioun Mikaelian for all his hard work to help chair the event.

We had a wrap-up meeting two days after the event and I hope we can continue this with other events. It gives everyone an opportunity to give feedback while the event is still fresh in one’s mind. We like to hear your opinions on the parking, the hall, the piano, the judges’ comments and anything else you wish to share. Please join us on Zoom at future events.

Congratulations to the following selected students and their teachers:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry Moughalian

2022 Senior Grand Prize Winner

Student of Aroutioun Mikaelian

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kathrine Liu

2022 Junior Grand Prize Winner

Student of Marina Geladze

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2022 Winterfest Winners:

Rita	Badalyan
Josiah	Chu
Emmanuel	Erlikhman
Ryan	Erlikhman
Noah	Farkas
Emma	Feng
Reese	Fujikawa
Adriana	Gurulyan
Lily	Huang
Megan	Kan
Daniella	Khorozian
Bella	Kim
Jaewon	Kim
Aditya	Kiran
Madison	Lee
Chloe	Moral
Ian	Park
Amelia	Pietropaolo
Daniel	Savluk
Annie	Shen
Noe	Spencer
Karah	Tan
Emma	Wang
Gabriel	Wu
John	Xie
Isabella	Xiong
Jiaqi	Xu
Evan	Yang
Hillary	Yao
David	Zadeh
Able	Zhang
Melody	Zheng
Thomas	Zhuo

The Winners represent the following teachers:

Nonna Ayrapetova, Galina Berezovsky, Marina Bykhovsky, Tina Chapkinyan, Tae Im Chung, Marina Geladze, Dr. Cynthia Harlan, Hasmik Kotelyan, Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Marina Lomtatidze, Aroutioun Mikaelian, Victoria Roizen, Dr. Svetlana Transky and Matthew Young.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2022 Winterfest Honorable Mention Recipients:

Maryam	Akelyan
Tomo	Charnis
Adrian	Erlikhman
Kayla	Hong
Ibrahim	Khan
Geo	Kim
Oliver	Kim
Lucy	Kim
Maggie	Nguyen
Leo	Shahverdian
Wesley	Yao

The Honorable Mention recipients represent the following teachers:

Nonna Ayrapetova, Galina Berezovsky, Tina Chapkinyan, Marina Geladze, Dr. Cynthia Harlan, Hasmik Kotelyan, Remi Lee, Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Aroutioun Mikaelian and Chizuru Sanada

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some photos of the event:

A bevy of lovely dresses????

Cammilleri Hall created a professional setting:

The anticipation before the performance….

And some of our wonderful participants:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CM UPDATES:

Please refer regularly to the State MTAC website for further updates and information (https://new.mtac.org/program/CM/)

January 15, 2023 – Deadline for all teachers (Panel and Non-Panel) for:

CM Repertoire entering and editing
To submit a Change of Teacher request,
To apply for Convention Recitals – this includes requesting a Convention Collaborative Pianist, Carpool Requests, and Convention Scheduling Requests
To submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.

February 18, 2023 CM Media submissions opens

February 28, 2023 CM Media submissions deadline

March 20, 2023 Results available to teachers

March 22, 2023 Results available to parents

April 15, 2023 CM Convention Application deadline

April 15, 2023 Request Collaborative Artist for convention by this date

April 15, 2023 Make-Up Evaluation application deadline

A few reminders –

The Practice Portal opened in November 2022 for paid applications. Students will be able to take practice versions of their Theory & Ear Training Test, and Sight-Reading tests. Please note, students are only able to take one Practice Theory Test or Practice Sight Reading test per day. Students do not need to pay an additional fee to use the Practice Portal.
If you are missing your students’ 2022 certificate(s), you can request a reprint through December 31, 2022 through the form available on your CM Resources Page on your Teacher Portal. There is no additional charge for a 2022 certificate reprint. Please note that requests can be made for CM 2022 certificates only. We are not able to reprint certificates from a previous year. Requests can include senior medallions and the State Honors seals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRANCH GENERAL MEETING:

Friday, January 27, 2023 at 10:30am via Zoom

Please join us for updates and information. We love your input and your presence!

We will also hear a presentation by Dr. Svetlana Transky and Nick Pietropaolo. More info about this presentation will follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SONATA SONATINA 2023 (In Person Only)

Scheduling and Trophy Chair: Aroutioun Mikaelian (aamikaelian@yahoo.com)

Committee: to be announced

Date: Sunday, February 5, 2023

Application deadline: Sunday, January 8, 2023

Mail check, postmarked by application deadline, to:

Aroutioun Mikaelian, 3640 Monon Street, Apt 214, LA Ca 90027

Venue:

Cammilleri Hall on USC Campus, 3620 McClintock Ave, LA CA 90089

Fees:
Teachers Fee: $10.00
Solo Student’s fee: $30.00

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

Parking:

Free street parking is available on Vermont Avenue – your best choice!

The best entrance is from Vermont Ave at 36^th Street, but if this entrance is closed, the entrance from Jefferson Blvd at McClintock Ave. is open 24 hours a day.

The Sonata Sonatina Competition is open to any age group and any difficulty level.

Only ONE movement of a sonata or sonatina from standard repertoire is acceptable – simplified versions and arrangements are not acceptable.

Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Students are expected to perform from memory (with the exception of ensembles), and it is customary for students to bow before and after their performance.

Students shall have on hand their original music scores, opened at the pieces to be performed and with the first measure of each line numbered. Be sure to provide a translation of the title if necessary. The judges will expect one score from each student to refer to. No photocopies are allowed.

Adjudication will be based on the following age categories: age 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, age 17 and over and one Instrumental category (all ages)

Two Grand Prizes:

Senior Grand Prize (age 13 and above) – $100

Junior Grand Prize (age 12 and under) -$100

The Grand Prize awards will be limited to a one time win per student.

Trophies are presented to the winners in each age category.

Winners from the previous year’s competition compete in a separate Winners Program.

Please note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants and audience on our branch website.

Dress code guidelines:

A dress or elegant pants outfit for females and long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes) for males.

Your attention to these issues are appreciated;

If you have any outstanding payments due from another event, your students will not be allowed to participate in future events.
Your payment is due when you submit your student applications. No refunds or exceptions are allowed as per our Standing Rules.
We offer a choice of am or pm performances for each student. More specific time requests cannot be considered.
We expect our participating teachers to be present and willing to help at each event. Please notify your chair if you have an emergency and cannot attend.
Please submit a signed consent form for each of your students directly to Lieschen (lieschen@bierstedt.com) – to be kept on file for all future events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BACH MASTER CLASS 2023 an Online Event

Chair: Dr. Svetlana Transky

Presented by: Svetlana is in the process of finalizing a presenter – to be announced!

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 3pm via Zoom

Video Submissions Deadline: February 12, 2023

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline February 19, 2023

Three to four students will be selected to participate, based on their performance quality.
There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student
Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above
Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers
A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student
The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BACH FESTIVAL:

The Branch Bach Festival Registration is now open (www.scjbf.org). Please let Lieschen know if you have problems with registering your students.

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023 (am only)

Applications Deadline: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Registration: www.scjbf.org

Regionals: Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the Westside Conservatory of Music

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt (lieschen@bierstedt.com)

Fees:
Student Fee: $35 per student

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, postmarked by deadline to:

Lieschen Bierstedt: 4745 Cromwell Ave. Los Angeles, Ca 90027

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BAROQUE FESTIVAL:

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023 (pm only – following the morning Bach Festival Competition)

Venue: Steinway Hall, Beverly Hills (to be confirmed..)

8801 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, Ca 90211

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, send to:
Lieschen Bierstedt, 4745 Cromwell Ave. LA 90027

Fees:

No teacher’s fee
Solo Student’s fee: $25 Flat Fee per student

Young beginners may perform two short pieces within the 7-minute time limit (not an option for intermediate or advance students). Complete two application forms for these students.

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

The Baroque Festival is open to any age or level of difficulty.

Repertoire must be chosen from the Baroque era. Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Students are expected to perform from memory (with the exception of ensembles), and it is customary for students to bow before and after their performance.

Please note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants on our branch website. Your attendance signifies acceptance of these postings. A consent form must be on file.

Dress code guidelines:

A dress or elegant pants outfit for females and long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes) for males.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOVEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We had a very successful Fall Festival at Steinway Hall – thanks to the hard work of our Chair, Grigor Akopyan and his daughter Anna! We would love to get your feedback about this event and about the parking. It helps us to plan for future events.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FALL FESTIVAL:

Sunday, October 23, 2022

A few photos:

Students had an opportunity to view and try the various pianos in the showroom.

Some of our teachers with their students. And several groups of participating siblings.

Grigor Akopyan, Fall Festival Chair, presiding.

Our morning virtual recital with guests tuning in from other parts of the country.

Our participants, each presented with a certificate and a flower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CM UPDATES:

CM enrollment has now concluded. CM online payment is due by Saturday, November 5, 2022

Please refer to the CM menu on our Hollywood Branch website (see link) for a record of all the State Office communiques. https://mtachollywood.org/certificate-of-merit/communications-from-chair/

For your information, this is a summary of how CM will be conducted in the future.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

For Certificate of Merit in 2023

Evaluations are available online only
Testing period dates have rotated for fairness, so please consult your student’s teacher for your specific Region testing dates
Your student will submit videos of their repertoire performance via the MTAC Online System, to be evaluated by a State CM Evaluator
Your student will take their Theory Tests/Ear Training on their own device through the MTAC Online System
Your student will submit a video of their technique performance via the MTAC Online System to be evaluated by a State CM Evaluator
Your student will take the Sight Reading Test through the MTAC Online System while recording themselves
Results are posted for your student and their teacher through the MTAC Online System
Certificates are distributed by the State Office to your student’s teacher

For Certificate of Merit in 2024

A hybrid choice will be provided to your and your student starting in 2024
You will be asked to select to do all evaluations in-person or online
In-person CM will be conducted at a State-Run Regional location for all elements of the evaluation, not at your teacher’s Branch
Theory tests will be taken in-person on a laptop provided by MTAC through the MTAC Online System
Sight Reading/Singing tests will be taken in-person at a State-Run Regional location
The cost for your student’s evaluations will differ based on their selection of online or in-person. The fees for in-person CM evaluations are higher than online CM evaluations based on the high costs of facility rentals and staffing.
A second paid adult will be present in the room with your student during the performance/technique/sight reading/singing evaluation in compliance with a new insurance requirement designed to be a safeguard against abuse.

A few reminders –

The Practice Portal will open in November 2022 after applications are paid. Students will be able to take practice versions of their Theory & Ear Training Test, and Sight Reading tests. Please note, students are only able to take one Practice Theory Test or Practice Sight Reading test per day. Students do not need to pay an additional fee to use the Practice Portal.

The new CM Syllabus will be available for the CM 2025 season, which means it will be released in the summer of 2024. The syllabus will be available free of charge on the MTAC Teacher and Student Portals.

If you are missing your students’ 2022 certificate(s), you can request a reprint through December 31, 2022 through the form available on your CM Resources Page on your Teacher Portal. There is no additional charge for a 2022 certificate reprint. Please note that requests can be made for CM 2022 certificates only. We are not able to reprint certificates from a previous year. Requests can include senior medallions and the State Honors seals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WINTERFEST: IN-PERSON ONLY

Winterfest Event Date: Sunday, December 4, 2022

Venue: Cammilleri Hall, USC Campus, 3620 McClintock Ave, LA CA 90089

Parking:

Vermont Ave has free street parking available on Sundays

Or USC – Downey Way Parking Structure ($4 per hour)

3667 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, California

Scheduling Chair: Aroutioun Mikaelian (aamikaelian@yahoo.com)

Online Application Deadline: Sunday, November 6, 2022 https://mtachollywood.org/members-corner/program-application-forms/winterfest-student-application/

Fees:

Teachers Fee: $10.00

Solo Student’s fee: $30 Flat fee per student

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

Complete the student application and mail your check, postmarked by the deadline to:

Aroutioun Mikaelian, 3640 Monon Street, Apt 214, LA Ca 90027

Your attention to these issues are appreciated;

If you have any outstanding payments due from another event, your students will not be allowed to participate in future events.
Your payment is due when you submit your student applications. No refunds or exceptions are allowed as per our Standing Rules.
We offer a choice of am or pm performances for each student. More specific time requests cannot be considered.
We expect our participating teachers to be present and willing to help at each event. Please notify your chair if you have an emergency and cannot attend.
Please submit a signed consent form for each of your students directly to your chair – either by mail or as a pdf electronically.

This competition is open to any age or difficulty level and repertoire may be chosen from any historical period.

The music of J.S. Bach is excluded.

Only ONE composition or ONE movement may be chosen for performance.

Repertoire must consist of an original composition – simplified versions are discouraged. Refer to the Certificate of Merit Syllabus for acceptable arrangements. Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Students are expected to perform from memory (except for ensemble performances), and it is customary for students to bow before and after their performance.

Students shall provide the judges with original music scores, opened at the pieces to be performed and with the first measure of each line numbered.

No photocopies are allowed.

Adjudication will be based on the following age categories: age 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, age 17 and over and one Instrumental category (all ages)

Trophies are presented to the winners in each age category.

Winners from the previous year’s competition compete in a separate Winners Program.

Please note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants and audience on our branch website.

Dress code guidelines:

A dress or elegant pants outfit for females and long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes) for males.

Two Grand Prizes:

Senior Grand Prize (age 13 and above) – $100

Junior Grand Prize (age 12 and under) -$100

The Grand Prize awards will be limited to a one time win per student.

Application Requirements:

A completed and signed consent form:

Please submit the Consent form to the event chair with your check. Note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants on our Branch Facebook page as well as our Branch Website. Participants must have a Consent Form on file unless you submit a formal objection. Participation, plus a completed consent form, signify acceptance of these postings.

The recital Day:

The day will be divided up in 45 minute programs. Each program will feature a limited number of students with two audience members per student. Masks and social distancing will be required. There will be an approximate 20 minute break between programs.

Participating teachers will be expected to be present and to contribute to the running of this event.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENERAL MEETING:

November 18, 2022 at 10:30am via Zoom.

10:15 – Zoom meeting will be open for sharing a cup of coffee and conversation.

10:30am to11am – Business Meeting

11am to 12noon- Presentation

We are very fortunate to have a special speaker for this meeting, Noreen Wenjen. She will be speaking to us about how to run a successful and profitable studio or music school, touching on issues such as adjusting your studio for inflation and keeping up with electronic offerings.

NOREEN WENJEN, NCTM

(NATIONALLY CERTIFIED TEACHER OF MUSIC)

Noreen Wenjen, NCTM is President of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT), a leader in business and technology, and author of Two-Year Waitlist: An Entrepreneurial Guide for Music Teachers.

Noreen Wenjen received a BM from UC Santa Barbara in Piano Performance, an Artist Diploma from the American College of Musicians, and the 15-year MTNA National Teaching Certification in 2012 and Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Teaching Certification in 2018. Noreen has received top prizes from international piano competitions and is listed in Who’s Who Among American Women. Her teachers include Joanna Hodges, Nancy Rohr, Peter Yazbeck, Dr. Stewart Gordon, and Jim McCormick.

Noreen is the President of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT). She also serves on the MTNA AMT Editorial Committee for their national magazine American Music Teacher. She served as the state Membership Secretary for CAPMT and as Piano Auditions/Ensemble Auditions Chair for CAPMT District 3 for almost 20 years. Noreen has been a member of MTAC since 1998 and served as 1st Vice President for the Long Beach Branch for ten years and Community Outreach Chair for the South Bay Branch for four years.

Noreen’s experience in marketing with Nissin Foods and MacTemps (now Aquent) has helped her bring her business savvy to her piano studio and www.wenjenpiano.com website. She Recently presented The Business-Minded Piano Teacher: Protection, Prevention, and Development Tips for Your Music Studio and presented Two-year Wait List: How to Build and Maintain a Recession-proof Music Studio at the 2015 MTNA Conference in Las Vegas. She presented three music technology sessions at the 2016 MTAC Convention in Los Angeles (see below).

Noreen has two books that will be published in 2019 and 2020 entitled Two-Year Wait List: An Entrepreneurial Guide for Music Teachers and Zoom, Text, Tweet: Interacting with Today’s Music Students through Videos , Websites and Technology.

She is privileged to-have taught extraordinary students who are blind, deaf, gifted, gifted Profoundly, dyslexic, and-have ADHD. Her students-have received awards in piano competitions and she serves as an adjudicator the MTAC, SYMF, and SCJBF, among other events.

She maintains piano studios and Seal Beach in Torrance, CA and enjoys playing tennis, cooking, and surfing with her family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOARD UPDATE:

Welcome to Galina Berezovsky who has agreed to fill a board vacancy as a director. Thank you, Galina, for being willing to help out! We are very happy to have you on board.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRANCH HOLIDAY LUNCHEON:

Friday, December 2, 2022 at 12 noon

At The Messhall Kitchen in Los Feliz.

4500 Los Feliz Blvd, LA Ca 90027

Cost: $17 per person

RSVP to Lieschen by November 26^th

Time to just be together enjoy one another’s company – no business to conduct! Please join us!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OCTOBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Happy Fall to you all! October is the month for our Fall Festival. Our Chairman, Grigor Akopyan is hard at work scheduling and planning the event. We will have both virtual recitals as well as in-person recitals. Many of our teachers are participating and I look forward to seeing you all.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch. Tel: (323)365-2103

Fall Festival:

Sunday, October 23, 2022

In-Person – at Steinway Hall, 8801 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills Ca 90211 from 12 noon to 5:30 pm

Virtual via Zoom – at 9:30am (encourage your students to invite family and friends to tune in!)

Video Submissions deadline: Wednesday October 12, 2022

https://driveuploader.com/upload/LvyVd4slhS/

Please note that this facility does not have a dedicated parking lot. Please allow enough time to make use of street parking or use these public parking lots:

8900 Wilshire Blvd Public Parking (at 121S North Swall Dr. Beverly Hills, Ca 90211

9025 Wilshire Blvd Garage

9100 Wilshire Blvd Parking

CM Updates:

CM enrolment is now open until October 31, 2023.

Our branch website contains a running record of all the State Office communiques that are sent out. Please refer to the CM pull down menu for up-to-date information and the CM calendar https://mtachollywood.org/certificate-of-merit/

A few reminders –

CM Teachers have access to an Information Video and CM Teacher Quiz through October 25. It is no longer required that CM teachers watch the Information Video and complete the Quiz, although it is strongly recommended as the video includes annual updates. Teachers can access links to the video and quiz from their Teacher Portal as well as through an email notification.
The Practice Portal will open in November 2022 after applications are paid. Students will be able to take practice versions of their Theory & Ear Training Test, and Sight Reading tests. Please note, students are only able to take one Practice Theory Test or Practice Sight Reading test per day. Students do not need to pay an additional fee to use the Practice Portal.
The new CM Syllabus will be available for the CM 2025 season, which means it will be released in the summer of 2024. The syllabus will be available free of charge on the MTAC Teacher and Student Portals.
If you are missing your students’ 2022 certificate(s), you can request a reprint through December 31, 2022 through the form available on your CM Resources Page on your Teacher Portal. There is no additional charge for a 2022 certificate reprint. Please note that requests can be made for CM 2022 certificates only. We are not able to reprint certificates from a previous year. Requests can include senior medallions and the State Honors seals.

Enrollment is a multi-step process, requiring active cooperation between Teacher and Parent over an extended period of time. Teachers must actively monitor each stage of the process.

Verify Teacher-Student Studio Relationship

(a) The teacher initiates the verification process in the Teacher Portal from the Student Complete Roster page.

(b) Parent goes to the Parent Portal through an email link initiated by the teacher;

Parent creates a Parent Account and a Student Account

Parent verifies Student is studying with the Teacher

(c) When the Parent has completed this part of the process, the MTAC Online System will notify the Teacher.

To create an application for a student’s enrollment in CM, go to www.mtac.org > Login > Teacher Portal > “Apply” button under “CM/Panel/YAG” column of the Student Complete Roster page. Select the student to enroll and create the application. Once all required information is entered and submitted by the teacher, the MTAC Online System sends an email link to each parent to verify the information, and to pay the applicable fees.

Parent Payment: October 1 – November 5, 2022

Board update:

We have had a few changes to our board of directors. Our teachers are all are busy, and finding time to serve on the board is not easy. Thank you to all our current board members for all they do and thank you to those who have had to step out to work on other projects (Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Remi Lee, Chizuru Sanada and Marina Lomtatidze). We will miss them, but they will all remain active and continue to help out with our events. Welcome to our new board members – Jeesung Kang and Gloria Choi!

General Meeting:

November 18, 2022 at 10:30am via Zoom. We will update you about the program for this meeting. It should be interesting!

Holiday Luncheon:

Planning ahead, I hope you will all join us for a Holiday Luncheon on Friday, December 2, 2022 at 12 noon at the Messhall Kitchen in Los Feliz. The cost will be $17 each and it will be served in their protected outdoor area.

Winterfest: In-Person only

Winterfest Event Date: Sunday, December 4, 2022

Scheduling Chair: Aroutioun Mikaelian (aamikaelian@yahoo.com)

Online Application Deadline: Sunday, November 6, 2022

Venue: Cammilleri Hall, USC Campus, 3620 McClintock Ave, LA CA 90089

Calendar of Upcoming Events:

Oct-22	Oct-22
October 1, Saturday	CM Registration open
October 2, Sunday	Fall Festival applications deadline
October 8, Saturday	Bach Complete Works Awards Concert, 2pm at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Long Beach
October 12, Wednesday	Fall Festival Video Submissions deadline
October 23, Sunday	Fall Festival at Steinway Hall, 8801 Wilshire Blvd. Ca 90211
October 31, Monday	CM Registration closes
October 31, Monday	Halloween

Nov-22	Nov-22
November 1, Tuesday	VOCE online applications opens
November 5, Saturday	CM Applications due date
November 6, Sunday	Winterfest applications deadline
November 6, Sunday	Daylight Savings
November 11, Friday	Veterans’ Day
November 18, Friday	Board Meeting at 10:00am and General Meeting at 10:30am (online)
November 24, Thursday	Thanksgiving

Dec-22	Dec-22
December 1, Thursday	VOCE online applications closed
December 2, Friday	Branch Holiday Luncheon at 12 noon at Messhall Kitchen in Los Feliz
December 4, Sunday	Winterfest at Cammilleri Hall, USC Campus, 3620 McClintock Ave, LA CA 90089
December 25, Sunday	Christmas Day

SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I am writing to you from Martha’s Vineyard where we are spending the last few days of the summer break with family and friends.

I am sure you are all gearing up for the new academic year and scheduling your students. This newsletter will hopefully help you plan your 2022/23 calendar.

First, I want to share a few photos from our June Meeting and Potluck Lunch with our speaker, Carl Matthes. I hope you will all join us again in June 2023 for our annual event! It is a special opportunity to get together and enjoy one another’s company.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

Our guest speaker – Carl Matthes

WRAP UP OF THE JULY MTAC STATE CONVENTION:

Branch Delegates: Dr. Alan Oettinger and Lieschen Bierstedt

In compliance to State Bylaws, our branch board is required to appoint two delegates to vote and represent the Hollywood branch at the convention. This quota is based on branch membership numbers.

At the Annual Meeting a vote was taken on two issues –

a detailed set of revisions to the State Bylaws
an amendment to allow for a dual system to conduct CM virtually as well as in person.

130 delegates were in attendance. The vote on the Bylaw Revision was as follows: yes – 35 no – 95. The vote on CM as a dual platform: Yes – 107 No – 21

Thus, the Bylaw Revisions were voted down. The State Board and legal advisors will have to present clearer and more convincing reasoning for these revisions at next year’s convention meeting.

There was overwhelming support to require the State Board to create a dual system to allow for both virtual as well as in person CM Evaluations. Theory will probably remain as an online exam. In person evaluations will probably not be feasible for 2023 as it will take time to create a new system. In person evaluations will be conducted at regional centers and according to legal advice, these centers will be administered by employees. The issue of the high cost of creating this dual system remains to be resolved.

Ultimately, it was impressive to see how each MTAC program adapted to the virtual platform. Excellence in performance needs a platform and the convention remains the ultimate platform. The convention is the best way to get exposed to all the opportunities offered by MTAC. I hope that more of our branch members will join us nest year at the convention in Santa Clara.

Some photos of the business meeting, masterclasses, and performances (several photos credited to Kento Tchii) –

and a photo taken at our traditional Past State Presidents Luncheon at every convention

FIRST GENERAL MEETING – EVENT INFORMATION AND COMMITTEE ROLES (online)

Friday, September 23, 2022 at 10:30 am

Our first meeting will take place on Friday, September 23, 2022 via Zoom. The focus of the meeting will be to update you on our events and programs such as CM, the Fall Festival and our Winterfest.

OTHER UPCOMING BRANCH EVENTS:

BRANCH GENERAL MEETINGS:

Friday, November 18, 2022 at 10:30am (online)

Friday, January 27, 2023 at 10:30am (online)

Monday, March 27, 2023 at 10:30am (online)

Friday, June 9, 2023 at 11am – Meeting, Potluck Lunch and Installation of New Board. In person at Lieschen’s Studio

BOARD MEETINGS:

Friday, August 8, 2022 – Summer Planning Meeting at 9:45 am at Lieschen’s home

Tuesday, September 13, 2022 (online)

Friday, November 18, 2022 at 10 am (online)

Friday, January 27, 2023 at 10 am (online)

Monday, March 27, 2023 at 10am (online)

Monday, April 14, 2023 10:00 am – selection of Awards/Scholarship recipients (online)

PROGRAMS AND EVENTS (dates are tentative until venues are finalized)

Sunday, October 23, 2022 Fall Recital

Sunday December 4, 2022 Winterfest

Sunday, February 5, 2023 Sonata Sonatina Competition

Sunday, March 19, 2023 Master Class (Online)

Sunday, April 2, 2023 Bach/Baroque Festival

Sunday, May 7, 2023 Spring Recital

Sunday, June 4, 2023 Achievement Awards Recital

BRANCH WEBSITE:

Our website is in the process of being updated. Dates and details will be finalized as soon as possible.

NEW MEMBER:

Welcome to Anna Solodilova who is joining us from the Santa Monica Bay Branch! We look forward to seeing you at our meetings Anna!

MAY/JUNE 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

The year has gone by too fast and here we are at the end of the academic year! We wrapped up our Spring Festival in May and this past weekend we presented our last recital of the year, the Achievement Awards Recital.

Our Annual Potluck Lunch Meeting will take place this Friday and I hope to see many of you at this meeting.

In July we are looking forward to the Annual MTAC State Convention in Orange County.

May your summer be filled with enjoyable, relaxing activities!

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bach Regional Festival update:

Congratulations to our colleague Jeesung Kang. Three of her students were selected as winners at the Regional Bach Festival in May.

Elizabeth Johnstone

Evan Xiong

Iris Xiong

Spring Festival Update:

We had a very successful Spring Festival with a good turnout. Thank you to Galina Berezovsky for all her work to schedule and organize this event and to Hasmik Kotelyan for typing and coordinating and to them both for overseeing and running the event.

Achievement Awards Recital Update:

It is always heartening to see the students receive their various awards and trophies at this recital. The quality of playing was exceptional, and the repertoire was wonderfully varied. Our congratulations to all the teachers and their students who participated.

Senior Awards (Medallions) were presented to several students. Those present were: Nicholas Takashima and Oliver Harlan. Other recipients were: Pratika Prasad, Armen Andranikyan, Vivian Kim and Josephine Lee.

Those students present, who received State Honors on their CM Evaluations, were asked to stand, and be recognized. The CM requirements for both these categories were explained to the audience.

Oliver Harlan was presented with our Andrew Clemmons Memorial Scholarship, as a graduating senior continuing his musical studies at the Oberlin Conservatory. He received a commemorative plaque as well as a check for $200.

Oliver and his sister, Anni also performed one of his own duet compositions. The brother and sister team will be performing in Paris this summer and our Hollywood Branch’s good wishes go with them!

Thank you to Marina Bykhovsky, Aroutioun Mikaelian and Hasmik Kotelyan for preparing and organizing this event!

Oliver Harlan

Upcoming Annual Meeting and Potluck Luncheon:

This Friday, June 10^th at 11am

At Lieschen’s home

4745 Cromwell Ave, LA 90027

We would love to see you all at this in-person meeting/luncheon. It will take place under a tent in the garden. Our speaker will be Carl Matthes and we are fortunate to get a sneak preview of his upcoming convention presentation on:

Carl Matthes on: “Bach Dances: Descriptive 2 & 3 part Inventions”

Using the 5 Dances from Bach’s G minor English Suite, Carl Matthes will give a lecture/demonstration on tempo, meter, dynamics, touch, ornamentation, and pedal to capture the rhythmic feel of dancing and dance sound.

Our Agenda will be as follows:

11am CM and Bylaw proposal – Presented by Dr. Alan Oettinger

All MTAC members received a package from the State Office about a CM proposal to allow for both virtual as well as in-person CM Evaluations. Dr. Alan Oettinger will clarify and present the options to be considered. Two delegates from our branch will be attending the convention business meeting to represent our branch and vote on the proposal. It is thus important to get our branch members opinions. Come and share your thoughts! The State Office is also proposing some Bylaw changes to be voted on by the delegates.

11:30am Presentation by Carl Matthes on “Bach Dances: Descriptive two and Three Part Inventions”

The meeting will take place outdoors with some indoor seating available for the presentation.

12:30pm Potluck Lunch in the Garden

Lunch will be served around the pool.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, June 7^th

Food contributions: Fruit, salad, sandwiches, or dessert.

Branch Bylaw Change delay:

Our Board and the Bylaws Committee have worked on refining and updating our Bylaws to reflect current technological developments. The revisions have been approved by our board. However, with the recently proposed State Bylaw changes, we will have to get back to the drawing board and bring our Bylaws in compliance with the State. A vote on the branch Bylaws will thus be postponed to next year.

Upcoming MTAC Annual Convention:

Hyatt Regency Orange County

Friday, July 1 through Tuesday, July 5th

We are looking forward to a return to an in-person convention. Members are required to be vaccinated or to show proof of a negative covid test. More detailed information is available at: https://new.mtac.org/home/

I would like to encourage you all to attend the convention with us. I think you will be amazed to find how energizing it is. One always comes away with new inspiring teaching and performing ideas. Truly a time for musical renewal and for building friendships and contacts!

Our Hollywood Branch will have a member get-together at the convention on Saturday. The time and place will be announced soon.

——————————————————————

APRIL 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

These last few months of the academic year are busy for us all. We just wrapped up the Bach/Baroque Festival and are working towards the Spring Festival in May and the Achievement Award Recital and our Annual Potluck Lunch Meeting in June. I hope to see many of you at these upcoming events!

And just for your information, we celebrated the 66^th anniversary of our branch on April 8^th!

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

(323)365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Board Member update:

We are happy to welcome two new members to our Board of Directors: Grigor Akopyan as Corresponding Secretary and Dr. Svetlana Transky as Recording Secretary. They will be replacing Cesar Corona and Riko Weimer who have had to step down for personal reasons.

Bach and Baroque Festivals update:

My thanks to Remi Lee for all the work on this event! Though small, we had a wonderful virtual recital with some great performances. The students were responsive and communicative – an enthusiastic audience. We were able to inform the teachers of the Bach Festival winners at the end of the recital. The good news was that 8 out of the 9 Bach Festival students were selected as winners and one was selected as an Honorable Mention! We have never had such a high percentage of winners.

Congratulations to the following Bach Festival students:

Winners:

Evan Xiong

Eric Jia

Iris Xiong

Josiah Chu

Stefan Kurtluyan

Maneh Margaryan

Lila Kim

Elizabeth Johnstone

Honorable Mention:

Prescott Lorenz

The students were represented by the following teachers:

Dr. Cynthia Harlan, Jeesung Kang, Lidia Telunts and Marina Lomtatidze.

March General Meeting update:

Thank you to Dr. Cynthia Harlan, Dr. Sanaz Rezai and Dr. Svetlana Transky for serving on a panel to discuss “What do we Focus on in Teaching Technical Skills?” It was very successful, and the idea can be built on for future meeting presentations. We are open to suggestions from all!

Dr. Cynthia Harlan presented a short background on her son and student, Oliver, in support of his application for our Andrew Clemmons Memorial Scholarship. Oliver has grown up in our branch and has a history of participation in all our events (even attending our board meetings as a little infant????). The application will be voted on by the board at their April meeting.

Upcoming April Board Meeting:

A board meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 25^th. If any of our members wish to bring up an item for discussion, please let me know.

Upcoming Spring Festival:

Galina Berezovsky is working hard on planning and scheduling this event which will take place on May 1st. Applicantions have poured in, and we are planning on a full day of recitals. It will be in-person at the Los Angeles Music and Art school. Masks will be required.

Our branch needs the personal interaction of our teachers and I look forward to seeing many of you there!

Upcoming Achievement Awards Recital:

The application deadline for this event is Sunday, May 8^th and the event is scheduled for Sunday June 5^th.

For those of you not familiar with this event, students are required to have participated in at least two other branch events to qualify for participation in this recital. Each participant in this event is presented with a trophy. We also present any other special awards at this recital.

More details and further requirements can be found on our website: https://mtachollywood.org/members-corner/program-application-forms/achievement-award-recital-student-application-form/ (password “Hollywood”)

Upcoming Annual Meeting and Potluck Luncheon:

Please make a note of this event on your calendars! Friday, June 10^th at 11am. We would love to see you all at this in-person meeting/luncheon. It will take place at my home under a tent in the garden. We will have a speaker and more info will follow later.

Bylaw Change approval:

Our Board and the Bylaws Committee have worked on refining and updating our Bylaws to reflect current technological developments. The revisions have been approved by our board and now needs the approval of our general membership. If passed, it will be presented to the State Board for their final approval before taking effect.

You will be receiving an electronic copy of our proposed revisions and will be asked to vote on it at our Annual Meeting on June 10th.

Certificate of Merit Calendar

May 10 – CM Make-up Evaluation (MUP) Media Submission Deadline.

May 15 – Convention Recital Final Schedule posted in the Teacher Portal at www.mtac.org/login

July 1 to July 5 – Convention 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County

Branch Events Calendar:

April 25, Monday	Board Meeting at 10:30am online
May-22	May-22
May 1, Sunday	Spring Festival
May 8, Sunday	Achievement Awards Recital applications deadline
May 8, Sunday	Mothers’ Day
May 15, Sunday	SCJBF Regionals at Westside Music Conservatory, Santa Monica
May 23, Monday	Board Meeting at 10:30am
May 30, Monday	Memorial Day
Jun-22	Jun-22
June 5, Sunday	Achievement Awards Recital
June 10, Friday	Annual Meeting and Pot-Luck Lunch at 11am

MARCH 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Since my last newsletter, the war between Russia and the Ukraine has occupied our news and our thoughts. I have been in touch with many of you who have family and friends connected/involved with this war. Our prayers are with you all!

Please stay in touch and keep me updated.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Member update:

Congratulations to Dr. Sanaz Rezai and her husband Conor with the birth of Pascal! We celebrate with you????!

Bach Master Class Update:

We had a wonderful Bach Master Class presented by Dr. Elvin Rodriguez on March 13^th. It was one of those events that one wished not to end! The students were totally absorbed, and I am sure they took some of Dr. Rodriguez’ ideas and tried it out after the Master Class. Fortunately we can share the Zoom recording with you all:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Mpte3pwV8mngk3qeJOu-vUeUXSW2o5JhHddEAH002WzWKrwR2Jw7q-LEYtBGsDA9.Pbg5F4jaEmciFpyl

My thanks to Dr. Svetlana Transky for Chairing the event with professionalism and grace.

Upcoming Bach and Baroque Festivals:

Registration was very low this year, and we decided to revert to virtual adjudication of the Bach Festival. We will however offer a special Bach program at the Spring Festival to recognize these Bach Festival students and to give them an opportunity to perform live.

The deadline for Bach Festival participants to submit their performance videos, is: Sunday, April 3, 2022. Our judges will have the results available on Sunday, April 10^th by the end of the day.

Upcoming March General Meeting:

Our next General Meeting is scheduled for March 30^th on Zoom. We will open the Zoom meeting at 9:30am to share a cup of coffee and conversation before the meeting. Please feel free to join us all!

At 10 am we will have a panel of three branch teachers to lead a discussion on various topics related to “What do we Focus on in Teaching Technical Skills?”

Dr. Cynthia Harlan, Dr. Sanaz Rezai and Dr. Svetlana Transky will discuss their individual approaches to building a solid technique in teaching their students. We invite you all to join in with questions and opinions.

We will also make time available for those teachers applying on behalf of their students for a Branch Scholarship or Award, to do a short presentation to recommend their student/s.

Upcoming March Board Meeting:

A board meeting will follow the General Meeting on Zoom at 11am on March 30^th. The first half of the board meeting will be open for anyone who wishes to attend and be updated on branch issues.

Upcoming Branch Scholarship and Awards application deadline:

Applications for our Branch Scholarship and Awards will close on April 1^st. Our branch offers three types of opportunities to recognize and award students who have excelled through participation in our various branch events. These awards recognize students of different age groups and the scholarship offers a financial award to a student accepted into college as a music major. The recipients of these awards and scholarship, will be formally recognized at our Achievement Awards Recital in June. The details can be found on our website: https://mtachollywood.org/awards-scholarships/

Upcoming Events:

Certificate of Merit Calendar

March 22 – Panel Final Auditions Submission Deadline. Evaluation videos for Panel Final Auditions for all instruments must be uploaded by this deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

April 4 – Theory test materials will be released statewide.

April 10 – Deadline for teachers to report Evaluation results errors in the Online System. No changes made after this date.

April 15 – Deadline for Convention Applications. Deadline for Parents to pay Convention Application Fee. No late payments accepted.

April 15 – Deadline to apply for Make-up Evaluations (MUP) for both Performance and Theory in the Online System for all students, with valid excuse.

May 10 – CM Make-up Evaluation (MUP) Media Submission Deadline.

May 15 – Convention Recital Final Schedule posted in the Teacher Portal at www.mtac.org/login

July 1 to July 5 – Convention 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County

Branch Events Calendar:

March 30, Wednesday	General Branch Meeting at 10am Online Board Meeting at 11am Online
Apr-22	Apr-22
April 1, Friday	Deadline for Awards and Scholarship applications
April 3, Sunday	Spring Festival applications deadline
April 8, Friday	Hollywood Branch’s 66th Anniversary
April 10, Sunday	Bach/Baroque Festival
April 17, Sunday	Easter Sunday
April 25, Monday	Board Meeting at 10:30am online
May-22	May-22
May 1, Sunday	Spring Festival
May 8, Sunday	Achievement Awards Recital applications deadline
May 8, Sunday	Mothers’ Day
May 15, Sunday	SCJBF Regionals at Westside Music Conservatory, Santa Monica
May 23, Monday	Board Meeting at 10:30am
May 30, Monday	Memorial Day
Jun-22	Jun-22
June 5, Sunday	Achievement Awards Recital
June 10, Friday	Annual Meeting and Pot-Luck Lunch at 11am

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEBRUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

February is a busy month for all our teachers. I am sure many of you are heavily involved with CM preparation. In addition we have just wrapped up two competitions and are preparing for our next event; our Bach Master Class.

I regard our monthly newsletter as a wrap up to inform you of what took place, as well as a notification of what is to come. Please feel free to let me know if there were something you would like to share with our members.

Warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

Cell: 323-365-2103

Email: lieschen@bierstedt.com

Sonata Sonatina Competition Wrap-Up:

We completed our Sonata Sonatina Competition on Sunday, February 6^th. As you probably know, we had to transition to an online event because of the Omicron variant. We are all indebted to Chizuru and Riko for their work on the program and to Aroutioun for organizing the trophies. I especially want to thank Chizuru for always carefully checking all the details (and many times catching my mistakes)!

The winners, Honorable mention Recipients and the two Grand Prize winners are listed below. Our two judges, Carl Matthes and Dr. Sumy Takesue, wrote a special note of thanks and congratulations to the teachers and the students to applaud the quality of the performances. The trophies and the Honorable Mention Certificates are now available for pick up from my home (4745 Cromwell Ave, LA, 90027)

(There are three containers with materials and trophies outside my studio door – Winterfest trophies, Sonata Sonatina Competition trophies and the RCM complimentary material bags.)

Congratulations to the following students and teachers!

Winners, Sonata Sonatina Competition 2022:

Ella Chan

Michelle Kan

Ashley Kim

Vivian Kim

Maggie Nguyen

Maya Plaks

Gabrielle Shiao

David Zadeh

Representing these teachers – Nonna Ayrapetova, Marina Bykhovsky, Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Aroutioun Mikaelian and Dr. Cynthia Harlan

Honorable Mention, Sonata Sonatina Competition 2022:

Lila Kim

Ian Park

Daniel Savluk

Andrew Upperco

Representing these teachers – Marina Bykhovsky, Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Aroutioun Mikaelian and Dr. Cynthia Harlan

Grand Prize Winners, Sonata Sonatina Competition 2022:

Thomas Zhuo (Junior Grand Prize)

Henry Moughalian (Senior Grand Prize)

Representing these teachers – Nonna Ayrapetova and Aroutioun Mikaelian

General Meeting Wrap-Up:

Our January General Meeting on Zoom, with a presentation by Dr. Stephen Pierce on the Royal Conservatory of Music program, was very well attended and I think very well received. Several of our members are planning to make use of this program, (which offers remote as well as in-person choices) as an addition to our CM program. A complimentary three-month ear-training program has been offered to our members and is still available to anyone interested. Several bags with music books and syllabi are available for pick up at my studio door for those who attended the meeting. Please email me if you have any questions (lieschen@bierstedt.com).

Upcoming Bach Master Class:

Chair: Dr. Svetlana Transky

Presented by: Dr. Elvin Rodriguez

Date: Sunday, March 13, 2022, at 3pm via Zoom

Our next event is the Bach Master Class. I invite you all to join us on Zoom on March 13^th. There will be four outstanding students (we already have received the video performances) and Dr. Rodrigues will work with each and offer suggestions. It is a wonderful opportunity for your students to join the Zoom meeting and learn more about Bach performance practices and techniques. Svetlana is arranging for a short presentation by Dr. Rodriquez on the subject of Bach performances prior to the Master Class. A Zoom invitation will be sent out to all teachers for sharing with their students.

Upcoming CM deadline:

Our CM Online Submissions deadline is March 8^th. I am sure you are all aware of this deadline. As always, be sure to read your State Office communiques. For your information, there is a Facebook group called Certificate of Merit Piano Teachers of CA. If you are a Facebook user, this may be a helpful forum.

Upcoming Branch Scholarship and Awards application deadline:

March General Meeting:

Our next General Meeting is scheduled for March 30^th at 10am. It will be on Zoom and we will have a panel of branch teachers discussing their individual approaches to building a solid technique in teaching their students; both for violin as well as piano. The focus could be wide ranging; from technical finger exercises, to body posture and arm and hand positions. We invite you all to join in with questions and opinions. More details about this presentation will be forthcoming.

We will also make time available for those teachers applying on behalf of their students for a Branch Scholarship or Award, to do a short presentation to recommend their student/s.

Upcoming Bach and Baroque Festivals:

Our Bach and Baroque Festival applications deadline is coming up on March 13^th. Be sure to note that these are two separate events – the Bach Festival is competitive and the application form is filed on the SCJBF website ( www.scjbf.org). The Baroque Festival is a non-competitive recital open to all baroque period music performers. The application form is available on our own website (https://mtachollywood.org/baroque-festival/)

Both events will take place on the same day, live, on April 10^th at Riko Method School of Piano (3363 Glendale Blvd. LA 90039).

JANUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Welcome to the New Year! Some of you may still be savoring the last few days of a holiday break. I hope you all have remained healthy and safe.

The beginning of the year always brings many deadlines to observe. This newsletter serves as a reminder:

January 14th – Sonata Sonatina Applications deadline
January 15^th – January 15 – Deadline for all Teachers, Panel, and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.
January 15 – Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.
January 15 th – RSVP deadline for our General Meeting
January 31^st – Branch General Meeting
February 6^th – Sonata Sonatina Competition at LAMAS
February 13^th – Video submission deadline for Bach Master Class

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

Warm regards,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION – A Virtual Event

Sunday, February 6, 2022.

Application deadline: Friday, January 14, 2022

https://mtachollywood.org/members-corner/program-application-forms/sonata-sonatina-student-application/

GENERAL BRANCH MEETING:

An In-Person Meeting

Monday, January 31, 2022, at 10 am

At Salle Scarlatti, Riko Method School of Piano, 3363 Glendale Blvd, LA 90039

We will start off with a short Information meeting regarding upcoming competitions and recitals followed by a presentation:

“An Introduction to the RCM Certificate Program with a Peek inside the Remote Exam Room”

Presented by Dr. Stephen Pierce

Join Dr. Stephen Pierce to explore The Royal Conservatory Certificate Program as a roadmap to guide your students on their journeys towards musical excellence. The session will include exploration of the Certificate Program requirements including repertoire, technical elements, and musicianship skills, insights into exam expectations, and preparation tips. In addition, learn about the benefits of having your students take a remote exam from the comfort of their own home, and experience a peek inside the online exam room in this session.

All attendees will receive a free gift from the RCM so be sure not to miss out!

We need to know how many teachers will be attending

Please RSVP by January 15^th

BACH MASTER CLASS – An Online Event

Presented by: Dr. Elvin Rodriguez

Date: Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 3pm via Zoom

Video Submissions Deadline: February 13, 2022

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline March 3, 2021

Post video recording on our Hollywood Branch Google Drive by using this link:

https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

· Three to four students will be selected to participate, based on their performance quality.

· There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student

· Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above

· Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers

· A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student

· The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

STATE OFFICE NEWS

The State Organization announced that new editions of the CM Syllabus will be used starting in the 2024 CM year. The new syllabus will include updated repertoire and level requirements, as well as updated general information.

The new syllabus will be provided digitally to all MTAC members through your Teacher Portal at no additional cost.

Parents and students who are enrolled in MTAC Programs, will also be able to view the syllabus through their Parent/Student Portal.

SCOLARSHIP AND AWARDS APPLICATIONS:

Application Deadline: April 1, 2022

https://mtachollywood.org/awards-scholarships/olga-balogh-award/

https://mtachollywood.org/awards-scholarships/eugenia-munoz-clemmons-award/

https://mtachollywood.org/awards-scholarships/andrew-clemmons-memorial-scholarship/

Start thinking about applying for one of our Student Awards or Scholarship. These Awards will be formally presented to the qualifying students at our annual Achievement Awards Recital.

CM DATELINE:

January 15
Deadline for all Teachers, Panel and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.

January 15
Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.

CM Evaluation Dates

Online Submissions Deadline for Hollywood Branch CM Evaluations

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Panel Regionals Dates
February 1
Panel Regional Video Evaluation Media Submission Deadline. Evaluation videos for Panel Regional Evaluations for all instruments must be uploaded by this deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

February 1
Deadline for Panel applicants to complete online theory test.

Panel Finals Dates

March 10
Deadline for Panel Final Application to be submitted online. No late applications.

March 22
Panel Final Auditions Submission Deadline. Evaluation videos for Panel Final Auditions for all instruments must be uploaded by this deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

Convention and Other Year-End Deadlines

April 4
Theory test materials will be released statewide.

April 10
Deadline for teachers to report Evaluation results errors in the Online System. No changes made after this date.

April 15
Deadline for Convention Applications. Deadline for Parents to pay Convention Application Fee. No late payments accepted.

April 15
Deadline to apply for Make-up Evaluations (MUP) for both Performance and Theory in the Online System for all students, with valid excuse.

April 30-May 1
CM Council Meeting.

May 10
CM Make-up Evaluation (MUP) Media Submission Deadline.

May 15
Convention Recital Final Schedule posted in the Teacher Portal at www.mtac.org/login

July 1 – July 5
Convention 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County

DECEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

I wish you all a peaceful and safe Holiday Season! May this year be good to us all, and lead to the culmination of this pandemic.

Our branch has been busy. We just completed a successful in person Winterfest at the Los Angeles Music and Art School. I think most teachers agreed that the venue enhanced our event. Our judges, Arlene Ferrolino and Jeffrey Lavner were complimentary about the quality of the performances and the organization …. thanks to the hard work of our Winterfest Committee (Aroutioun, Sunyoung, Katerina and Marina). It was wonderful to spend time, face to face with our teachers!

Please see our collection of photos of the event on this website: https://mtachollywood.org/members-corner/members-questions-and-answers-and-photos/ Thank you to all the teachers and student families who shared these photos with us!

We also had a very insightful General Meeting in December with a presentation by Film Composer Jiwon Jay Jeon. We live in the world’s entertainment capital, and it is a fact that some of our students will follow a career in this field. I hope this presentation provided you all with new insight.

Please join us for our January General Meeting. (See details below.)

We have several other events coming up on the calendar. Please keep track of all the deadlines.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

323-365-2103

GENERAL BRANCH MEETING:

An In-Person Meeting

Monday, January 31, 2022, at 10 am

At Salle Scarlatti, Riko Method School of Piano, 3363 Glendale Blvd, LA 90039

10am – Information meeting regarding upcoming competitions and recitals with Q&A time

10:30am – Presentation:

The Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations and Learning Resources

presented by Dr. Stephen Pierce.

Thank you to our Vice President, Remi Lee, for organizing this event!

Materials will be distributed to teachers in attendance. More info will be upcoming.

I hope that many of you will join us! We will need your RSVP by January 15^th.

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION

Date : Sunday, February 6, 2022

An In-Person Event only

Venue: Los Angeles Music and Art School.

3630 East Third Street, LA 90063

Application deadline: Sunday, January 9, 2022

Mail check, postmarked by January 9th application deadline, to:

Chizuru Sanada, 4236 Arch Drive #208, Studio City Ca 91604

Fees:
Teachers Fee: $10.00
Solo Student’s fee: $25.00

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

Committee:

Chizuru Sanada (chizurusanada@gmail.com)

Riko Weimer (riko@justriko.com)

Cesar Corona (teacher@openlidpiano.studio)

The Sonata Sonatina Competition is open to any age group and any difficulty level.

Only ONE movement of a sonata or sonatina from standard repertoire is acceptable – simplified versions and arrangements are not acceptable.

Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Students are expected to perform from memory (with the exception of ensembles), and it is customary for students to bow before and after their performance.

Students shall provide the judges with original music scores, opened at the pieces to be performed and with the first measure of each line numbered. Please be sure to plan ahead and have the music available.

No photocopies are allowed.

Adjudication will be based on the following age categories: age 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, age 17 and over and one Instrumental category (all ages). Duets are judged according to the average age of the participating students.

The Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants and audience on our branch website. We also love for you to share your photos with us for posting!

Trophies are presented to all the Winners and Certificates of Recognition are presented to all Honorable Mention Recipients.

Two Grand Prizes of $100 each will be presented to students earning the top score for age 12 and under, and age 13 and above.

Dress code guidelines: A dress or elegant pants outfit for females and long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes) for males.

The recital Day: The day will be divided up in 30-minute programs. Each program will feature approximately 7 students. The audience size will be limited to 15. Masks and social distancing will be required. There will be a 15-minute break between programs.

Proof of vaccination or negative test results will be asked for at the door. Please notify your student families so that they can plan ahead. We do not want to discourage participation, but we also are committed to maintaining a safe environment.

Participating teachers will be expected to contribute to the running of this program.

BACH MASTER CLASS

2021/2022

An Online Event

Presented by: Dr. Elvin Rodriguez

Date: Sunday, March 13, 2022

at 3pm via Zoom

Video Submissions Deadline: February 13, 2022

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline March 3, 2021

Post video recording on our Hollywood Branch Google Drive by using this link:

https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

· Three to four students will be selected to participate, based on their performance quality.

· There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student

· Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above

· Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers

· A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student

· The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

Reporting on State Programs:

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

Students enrolled in the 2022 Certificate of Merit® will be able to log into their applications and take practice versions of their Sight Reading and Theory tests so they are comfortable with the testing portal when they take their actual evaluations.

Evaluations begin in February. All students will have 10 days prior to their submissions deadline to submit their Sight Reading, Technique, and Theory exams through the testing portal.

Students who have their repertoire entered can begin to upload their performance videos to their applications now.

As the Universal Deadline approaches on January 15, please note the following items that must be completed by this date:

• Repertoire Entry

• Indicate one (1) Repertoire as the Syllabus piece

• Apply for Convention (check box)

• Indicate the piece to be considered for Convention Recital

• YAG Supplemental Repertoire (for YAG Applicants only)

• YAG Letter of Intent (for YAG Applicants only)

Please note that if a student’s repertoire entry is not completed by the January 15 Universal Deadline, then the student’s enrollment is void. Please verify that all your students have the “Enrolled” symbol next to their names in your CM Student list by January 15.

As your students prepare their video recordings, please review their videos to ensure they follow the video recording guidelines that are available in both the Teacher and Parent Portals.

Please submit your CM Program questions using the e-Support Submission Form by clicking the red “Help” button in the CM section of your Teacher Portal.

PIANO CONCERTO AND SOLO COMPETITION:

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the PCS State Chairs and Organization have decided that the PCS regional competition will continue to remain online. However the PCS Final competitions will be held in person during the MTAC Convention in July 2022.

CONVENTION HONORS ENSEMBLE:

The MTAC Convention Honors Ensemble will be accepting applications for the 2022 MTAC Convention Honors Ensemble State Honors Choir soon! The goals of the MTAC Convention Honors Ensemble are to provide a performance experience for MTAC students, merit-based recognition to MTAC Students, and inspiration to our musical community. The Choir will feature SSA voices and is open to both female and unchanged male voices. Students from grades 7 – 12 are welcome to audition. Refer to the State website for deadlines.

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Online Submissions Deadline for Hollywood Branch CM Evaluations

Tuesda, March 8, 2022

January 15 – Deadline for all Teachers, Panel and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.

January 15 – Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.

February 1 – Panel Regional Video Evaluation Media Submission Deadline. Evaluation videos for Panel Regional Evaluations for all instruments must be uploaded by this deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

February 1 – Deadline for Panel applicants to complete online theory test.

March 10 – Deadline for Panel Final Application to be submitted online. No late applications.

March 22 – Panel Final Auditions Submission Deadline. Evaluation videos for Panel Final Auditions for all instruments must be uploaded by this deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

April 4 – Theory test materials will be released statewide.

April 10 – Deadline for teachers to report Evaluation results errors in the Online System. No changes made after this date.

April 15 – Deadline for Convention Applications. Deadline for Parents to pay Convention Application Fee. No late payments accepted.

April 15 – Deadline to apply for Make-up Evaluations (MUP) for both Performance and Theory in the Online System for all students, with valid excuse.

April 30 to May 1 – CM Council Meeting.

May 10 – CM Make-up Evaluation (MUP) Media Submission Deadline.

May 15 – Convention Recital Final Schedule posted in the Teacher Portal at www.mtac.org/login

July 1 to July 5 – Convention 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOVEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We are leading up to Thanksgiving already. Time flies. I hope you all will enjoy a restful and joyful holiday.

Our branch had a wonderful Fall Festival on Halloween Day, with many students arriving in costumes. The overall quality of performances was outstanding. Thank you to our Chair, Grigor Akopyan for planning and running the event! It was well done and enjoyable!

I hope to see many of our teachers at the upcoming General Meeting and Winterfest Competition.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

323-365-2103

GENERAL MEETING:

Friday, December 3, 2021, at 10 am (online)

Information Session – CM questions and answers

Program – Presentation by Film Composer Jiwon Jay Jeon (https://www.jiwonjayjeon.com) on “Daily Life of a Music Composer”

I hope that many of you will join us! Thank you to Remi Lee for organizing this special presentation. A Zoom invitation will be sent to you all closer to the time.

WINTERFEST:

Date: Sunday, December 12, 2021

An In-Person Event only

Venue: Los Angeles Music and Art School.

3630 East Third Street, LA 90063

Online Application Deadline: Sunday, November 14, 2021

https://mtachollywood.org/members-corner/program-application-forms/winterfest-student-application/

Mail check, postmarked by November 14th application deadline, to:
Aroutioun Mikaelian

3640 Monon Street, Apt. #214, Los Angeles, Ca 90027

Fees:

Teachers Fee: $10.00

Solo Student’s fee: ⦁ Up to 2 minutes $18 ⦁ Up to 5 minutes $24 ⦁ Up to 7 minutes $35
Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus $1 additional per student

Awards:

Trophies presented to winners in each age category (as before)

Two Grand Prizes of $100 each –

Junior (age 12 and below)

Senior (age 13 and above)

Please note: the audience is limited to two persons per student due to COVID restrictions (excluding teachers).

MEMBER ACTIVITIES UPDATE:

A few photos of our Fall Festival participants:

A Community Outreach program hosted by Dr. Cynthia Harlan’s Studio on an outdoor patio at the Silverlake Public Library:

Hollywood Branch member, Dr. Giorgi Latso and his wife Anna in concert at the Utah Music Teachers’ State Conference as Conference Artists.

VOCE:

As from this year, all VOCE applications, enrollments, and events will be completed online and run on the State Online System (like CM). Branches will not be conducting a VOCE event.

VOCE is comprised of four broad Performance Categories: (1) Solo Voice, (2) Solo Orchestral Instruments, (3) Voice Ensemble, and (4) Orchestral Instrumental Ensemble. Each category is further split into Age Divisions with age limits that are determined based on the age of each student as of November 1^st.

Please refer to the VOCE Policies and Procedures on the State Website for further details.

Applications are completed on the MTAC State website under Teachers’ Portal (new.matc.org

VOCE Dates & Deadlines:

September 1, 2021 – VOCE Regional Audition videos can be recorded starting on this date.
November 1, 2021 – MTAC Online System opens: Teachers enroll students in VOCE Regional via the Teacher Portal.
December 1, 2021 – VOCE Regional Applications must be completed in the MTAC Online System
December 5, 2021 – Parents must submit Proof of Age Documentation
December 10, 2021 – Repertoire must be completely entered; Parents/Students must pay through the MTAC Online System by this date in order be enrolled in VOCE
January 10, 2022 – Regional Audition video submission upload deadline
February 10, 2022 – VOCE State Finals Audition videos can be recorded starting on this date.

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT:

Online Submissions Deadline for Hollywood Branch CM Evaluations

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Dates to remember:

September 15 to October 25 – Virtual Teacher Training made available to teachers. Training component must be completed to be unblocked. Teacher will be unblocked within 48 hours after completion and passing quiz.

October 1 – MTAC Online System opens for Student Enrollment.

October 31- Deadline to submit Special Needs Accommodation Request Form online. No late requests accepted.

October 31 – MTAC Online System closes for Student Enrollment. No late Enrollment exceptions.

October 1 to November 5 – Parent Payment Period in the Online System. No late payments accepted after November 5.

October 1 – Online System opens for entering student evaluation information and Repertoire online.

January 15 – Deadline for all Teachers, Panel and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.

January 15 – Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.

February 1 – Deadline for Panel applicants to complete online theory test.

March 10 – Deadline for Panel Final Application to be submitted online. No late applications.

March 22 – Panel Final Auditions Submission Deadline. Evaluation videos for Panel Final Auditions for all instruments must be uploaded by this deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

April 4 – Theory test materials will be released statewide.

April 10 – Deadline for teachers to report Evaluation results errors in the Online System. No changes made after this date.

April 15 – Deadline for Convention Applications. Deadline for Parents to pay Convention Application Fee. No late payments accepted.

April 15 – Deadline to apply for Make-up Evaluations (MUP) for both Performance and Theory in the Online System for all students, with valid excuse.

April 30 to May 1 – CM Council Meeting.

May 10 – CM Make-up Evaluation (MUP) Media Submission Deadline.

May 15 – Convention Recital Final Schedule posted in the Teacher Portal at www.mtac.org/login

July 1 to July 5 – Convention 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County

OCTOBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Our new academic year is off to a running start and I hope your studios are doing well.

We had a productive combined General and Chairs Meeting last week, preceded by a board meeting a few days prior. It was good to see many of our members and to get your advice and input at these meetings! The highlight of the General/Chairs Meeting was the concert by Dr. Giorgi and Anna Latso.

This newsletter contains updates on our events of this year and policy decisions. Please keep it handy for future referral.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt, President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

FALL FESTIVAL INFORMATION:

Date: Sunday, October 31, 2021

Chair: Grigor Akopyan (arax13@sbcglobal.net)

Venue: Los Angeles Music and Art School. 3630 East Third Street, LA 90063

Format: Two Options – In-Person (morning) or Virtual (afternoon)

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES MAY BE WORN!

But please be sure to allow for free arm and foot movement.

Online application Deadline extended to: Monday, October 11, 2021

(Please note the Virtual Performance Guidelines further down in this newsletter)

MEMBERSHIP:

We welcome two new active members to our branch; dr. Giorgi Latso and Esther Lee; one reinstated member; Tina Chapkinyan and one contributory member; Victoria Roizen from the West LA Branch. Welcome! We are delighted to have you join our branch. We hope to see you at some of our upcoming events.

PROGRAM FORMATS for 2021/2022:

To comply with safety regulations, we will be offering virtual as well as in-person programs for our Fall, Spring and Baroque Festivals, but our Winterfest and Sonata Sonatina Competitions will be in-person only.

In-person programs will consist of small programs (about 7 students each) with a limited number of audience members. Masks will be required, and temperature checks will be done upon entry. We are requesting that unvaccinated (yet eligible), students (above age 12) and family members, rather choose the virtual option than attend the in-person programs.

Virtual programs will be conducted directly on Zoom – thus a “live” performance on Zoom. We will try this out for the Fall Festival and may reconsider the format for future programs.

EVENT VENUES FOR 2021/22:

We had to pursue various options to rent halls for our events this year because many venues are not yet renting out space during these pandemic times. We were, however, fortunate to obtain the Los Angeles Music and Art School. They have recently upgraded their facilities and have installed a new filtration system. Our Bach and Baroque Festival will take place at Riko Weimer’s music school in Atwater – thank you to Riko for accommodating us!

If any of our teachers know of a church hall or other facility with a good grand piano, that might be available for rent, please let me know (lieschen@bierstedt.come). We are still looking for a recital space for our Achievement Awards Recital on June 5, 2022.

FEES FOR 2021/22 :

All our recital and event fees remain the same as last year. The only adjustment is the fee for duets: each student now pays the same fee as a single solo performance rather than $1 additional per student.

AWARDS FOR 2021/22:

Last year we introduced Monetary Awards for winners in various age categories for both our Winterfest and our Sonata Sonatina Competition. To refine the award policy, our board has decided to offer instead this year, two Grand Prizes for the Winterfest as well as the Sonata Sonatina Competition. The awards will consist of a Junior and a Senior Grand Prize (age 12 and under and 13 and above) in the amount of $100 each. These awards will be limited to a one time only win per student.

The Grand Prizes will be awarded to those students who receive the two highest combined scores by the judges. Instrumentalists will not be judged separately.

The goal of the Hollywood Branch is to encourage participation in our programs and to financially channel what funds we can, to benefit our students.

PARTICIPATING TEACHERS’ EVENT OBLIGATIONS:

As from this year, all teachers submitting students in an event, will be expected to help run the event. We have always asked one or two people to do the Herculean task of running our events. Our chairs worked endless number of hours to do so.

As from this year, we will be breaking up the job obligations into smaller tasks and each teacher will be responsible for his/her/task. The jobs could be tasks at the event or tasks that can be completed before the event.

ONLINE SCAM:

There is an online scam targeting our MTAC members. If you get an email from me, or any other member in our branch, asking you to purchase gift cards for them, please don’t do so. Or at lease check the email of the sender vary carefully.

VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES:

Our Virtual programs will be conducted “live” on Zoom for the Fall Festival. To achieve the best sound quality, we recommend using the following guidelines; please share this with your students:

Zoom Performance Guideline:

For the best sound quality, enable the “original sound” in your zoom app. Remember to do this as
you join the Zoom meeting!

Enabling Original Sound On A Computer:

1. Make sure you have downloaded the Zoom app to your computer.

2. Open the Zoom app.

3. Click on “Settings” (the gearbox in the upper right corner).

4. Select “Audio”.

5. Turn off “Automatically Adjust Microphone Volume” and then select a level that is 3/4 to
full.

6. Click on “Advanced”.

7. Click on “Show in-meeting option to enable original sound” from the microphone.

8. When you join the meeting – on the upper left of your screen you’ll see the ability to
“Turn off or turn on original sound” – please do this before the recital begins (turn it ON).

9. For newer versions, you can also click “High Fidelity for Music” option.

Enabling Original Sound On A Device:

1. Open the Zoom app.

2. Click on “Settings” at the bottom.

3. Click on “Meetings”.

4. Scroll down until you see “Use Original Sound” – turn this ON.

5. When you join the meeting, click on the three dots along your bottom menu bar where it
says “More”.

6. Click on “Enable Original Sound”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEPTEMBER 2021 COMMUNICATION

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

I am writing to you from a yacht while sailing around the Greek islands with a some good friends – enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation. This communication comes to you with good wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery from the pandemic throughout the world and a return to normal life! Welcome to the new academic year and the beginning of a new series of branch activities. I hope you are all healthy and safe.

Our board of directors have had a Summer Planning Meeting and we are hoping to be able to present most of our events live this year, but we will keep monitoring the situation always, to make it safe for members and the participants. We always appreciate your input! Venues and meeting presentations are still being finalized and these will be added to our Calendar as they become available.

Hollywood Branch General Meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 11am

at Lieschen’s home.

4745 Cromwell Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90027

I would like to invite you to our first meeting of the year. The meeting will take place in an outdoor setting for all of our safety. Please wear a mask. We will have a short business meeting at 11am followed by a piano duet performance by internationally recognized pianists

Professor Giorgi and Anna Latso

Seating for the performance will be available both inside (for those that are vaccinated) as well as outside the studio on the patio. The performance will be streamed to a screen outside via a Zoom connection.

Chairs/Committee Meeting at 10am on September 29, 2021 at 10am

at Lieschen’s home (Preceding the General Meeting)

This is an important meeting for all those of you who are involved with our various events. Information packets will be handed out and job distribution will be discussed.

Fall Festival (in person)

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Application Deadline: October 3, 2021

Chair: Grigor Akopyan

Los Angeles Music and Art School

3630 East Third Street, LA 90063

We will be doing a series of small programs with approximately 7 students each and a maximum of 15 audience members. The venue will have good ventilation and enough space to allow for social distancing.

Calendar of Events:

this has been updated. Refer to the Calendar pull down menu or:

https://mtachollywood.org/calendar/meeting-dates-at-a-glance/

https://mtachollywood.org/calendar/detailed-calendar/

Membership:

I would like to welcome new member Esther Lee and returning member, Tina Chapkinyan. We are very happy to have you in our branch! We hope to see you and meet you at our first Branch General Meeting on September 29, 2021

Our website has been updated and contains the complete, updated list of our branch membership. Please check that the information is correct and let me know if you would like to add or change anything.

https://mtachollywood.org/contact-a-teacher/

Certificate of Merit:

Be sure to check the deadlines on our CM Calendar – under the Certificate of Merit pull-down menu or:

https://mtachollywood.org/certificate-of-merit/cm-calendar/

To be able to enroll your students, you need to complete a teachers’ quiz.

Communication/social networking:

A committee (consisting of Cesar Corona, Remi Lee, Riko Weimer and Chizuru Sanada) is working on updating overall communications within our branch. We are developing an Instagram account that will interact with our Facebook and our website. We look forward to introducing all this to you within the next few weeks.

My warm regards to everyone,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, Hollywood Branch

Email: lieschen@bierstedt.com

Cell: 323-365-2103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JUNE 2021

END OF YEAR WRAP-UP

From Lieschen….

Dear members,

We had a wonderful get-together for our last meeting of the year on Friday. Our Annual Meeting in June is always the highlight of our year. I hope more of you will join us next year in June and schedule your day to allow you to linger over lunch and enjoy the company of your colleagues.

I want to welcome our new Board of Directors! I look forward to the new term with you all. The members are listed below.

I also want to thank Grigor Akopyan who did a wonderful, dignified presentation of introducing the new board. Each one’s bio was read and I think we can all be very proud of the competence and range of experience of the members of this board.

Dr. Sanaz Rezai organized and helped produce a Zoom presentation on Jazz Improvisation with Yuko Maruyama. Amazing how our virtual world has opened up opportunities for communication! All of our members were projected back to the presenter at her home from where she participated. Sanaz will be very much missed on our board in the new term! But both Sanaz and Hasmik know that they are welcome to return when the time is right!

A special plaque of recognition was presented to Hasmik Kotelyan as outgoing board member after 16 years and who has served three terms as President. Dr. Alan Oettinger presented the plaque to Hasmik with his usual capable charm!

Marina Lomtatidze provided us with the most beautiful orchids for all the outdoor tables! Thank you Marina! I am very happy that you are joining the board.

Thank you also to all of you who forwarded some of these photos that we are sharing with everyone. And thank you to those who so generously contributed to our very heavily laden food tables! Thank you to Riko Weimer, Marina Lomtatidze and Chizuru Sanada for organizing the food for us!

We were joined by a few guests – Mark Mendez from the Hacienda Branch, Berj Karazian who judged our VOCE program this year and my husband Peter.:) I was sorry that guests Giorgi and Anna Latso could not join us (Giorgi is judging the Beijing International Piano Competition, but will hopefully be back to perform as our guest at our October meeting). Wayne Behlendorf, one of our Bach Festival Judges, had a cold that kept him home.

It was a special day. I wish you all a wonderful, relaxing summer!

My warm regards to all,

Lieschen

New Board of Directors 2021/2023

President: Lieschen Bierstedt

Vice President: Remi Lee

Treasurer: Chizuru Sanada

Membership Secretary: Dr. Susanna Zhamkochyan

Recording Secretary: Riko Weimer

Corresponding Secretary: Cesar Corona

Director: Dr. Alan Oettinger

Director: Dr. Sunyoung Lee

Director: Marina Lomtatidze

Director: Virginia Whitehead

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JUNE 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We completed our last performance event of this academic year, the Achievement Awards Recital, this past weekend. Thank you to Hasmik, Aroutioun and Susanna for a beautifully run event! What amazing student talent we have in our branch! I wish you could all have heard the performances!

Riko Weimer’s Music School was a perfect setting for our first in-person recitals. The Virtual Recital took place in the afternoon on Zoom. Scroll down for some pictures!

I hope to see many of our members at our first live meeting and potluck lunch on Friday. This event will be strictly outdoors and everyone will is asked to wear a mask. More information is posted below. Please remember to RSVP.

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MTAC HOLLYWOOD BRANCH ANNUAL MEETING

FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021

10:30 am until after lunch

4745 Cromwell Ave, LA 90027 (Lieschen’s home)

You are invited to join us for our first, live general meeting and potluck lunch of the past year and a half!

We have much to celebrate –

Firstly, we celebrate the opening up of our city and our studios after the dark days of our pandemic

Secondly, our Hollywood Branch is celebrating its 65^th Anniversary

Thirdly, we will be introducing our new Branch Board of Directors and thanking our outgoing Board

Fourthly, we will have a special presentation on Jazz Music by Yuko Maruyama

Fifthly, we will celebrate and visit over a potluck lunch

And lastly, for your perusal, we will have tables with a display of our recently completed Branch History Project including scrapbooks, photos, historical programs etc.

We will be welcoming a few special guests and you are welcome to bring a partner or friend. The event will be totally outdoors and masks will be required. Everyone will be asked to contribute to the potluck lunch.

Agenda –

10:30am – Call to order

Recognizing our Hollywood Branch 65^th Anniversary; a short history – Lieschen Bierstedt
Introduction of new Board of Directors (2021/2023) – Grigor Akopyan
Thanking the nominating committee & outgoing board members – Lieschen Bierstedt

11am – Adjourn for a Jazz Music Presentation by Yuko Maruyama – introduced by Dr. Sanaz Rezai

12 noon – Potluck Lunch and Perusing the History Project Display

********************************************

BACH REGIONALS RESULTS

Congratulations to the following students who were selected as winners!

Enni Harlan

Oliver Harlan

Elizabeth Johnstone

These are students of Dr. Cynthia Harlan and Jeesung Kang

*******************************************

CONVENTION:

The convention schedule is now available:

https://mtac.informz.net/MTAC/data/images/Convention_schedule_2021_6.04.21%20CL.pdf

The Virtual Convention will take place July 2 – July 5, 2021.

Registration is now open on the MTAC website. To obtain the teacher discounted rate of $150, please enter your MTAC ID into the “Enter promo code” field.

If your students are interested in attending the Convention as a Student Track participant, registration will open Friday, April 16. Student Track is a great option for students who are not on the Performer Track but would like to attend Student Track sessions and Artist Recitals. For more details, refer to the MTAC website.

**********************************************

Photos of our June 6^th Achievement Awards Recital

Hasmik (chair), Susanna and Aroutioun with Riko at the venue

OLGA BALOGH AWARD PRESENTED TO

BRIAN CHU, STUDENT OF MARINA LOMTATIDZE

PARTICIPANTS

An audience view

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We are nearing the end of our academic year and thus leading up to our last student event and our last branch meeting.

This has not been an easy year! I want to thank you for your willingness to embrace the unknown virtual world with us and guide your students through the methods we were forced to adopt to keep our programs running. It has been gratifying to see the enthusiasm on our student and audience faces at the Zoom recitals.

As our city is slowly returning to normal, we will follow suit. I hope that by September we will be able to return to our former recital venues.

My thanks to our board members and chairs for all the technical help and expertise in running our virtual programs!

My warm regards to you all,

Lieschen

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

*****************************************************************

ANNUAL MEETING

June 11, 2021

from 10:30am to 2pm

A Potluck Meeting, Installation of our New Board of Directors,

Lunch, Jazz Presentation and History Display in Honor of our Branch Anniversary

In an outdoor garden setting at Lieschen’s home.

4745 Cromwell Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90027

This meeting will not only be a celebration of our return to live gatherings (though outdoors), but will involve the induction of our new Board of Directors. Our Nominating Committee has worked hard on putting a slate together for us to elect the Board of Directors for 2021/2023.

Yuko Maruyama will be our guest speaker and she will do a presentation on Jazz Music. In addition, we will exhibit our Hollywood Branch historical scrapbooks and records for your perusal – a Hollywood Branch History Project that has been two years in the making, to correspond with our 65^th Hollywood Branch Anniversary.

This will be an outdoor potluck event and I hope you will all plan to join us and celebrate together. Masks will be required.

****************************************************************************

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS RECITAL:

Sunday, June 6, 2021

A set of live recitals and a set of virtual Zoom recitals

Video Upload Deadline: May 23, 2021

Video Upload Link: https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Chair: Hasmik Kotelyan (allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

Assistant Chairs: Aroutioun Mikaelian and Susanna Zhamkochyan

Venue:
Salle Scarlatti, Riko Method School of Piano

3361 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca 90039

This event will consist of a set live recitals in the morning and will be followed by a set of virtual Zoom recitals in the afternoon. This is designed to satisfy the divergent safety requirements of our teachers and students. No video recording is needed if you plan to do the live recital.

Masks will be required at the live recital (except for performers during the brief period of playing) and social distancing will be adhered to. Participants and audience members will be required to sign a COVID waiver upon entering. Recitals will be small to enable limited numbers gathered together.

********************************************************************

SPRING FESTIVAL

Thank you to Galina Berezovsky and Marina Bykhovsky for all their hard work in running and organizing this recital! This was the largest of our recitals so far this year, and running it on a virtual platform is an enormous job. We appreciate all you did!

Program 1 Program 2

Program 3 Program 4

**********************************************************************

CONVENTION:

The Virtual Convention will take place July 2 – July 5, 2021.

Registration is now open on the MTAC website. To obtain the teacher discounted rate of $150, please enter your MTAC ID into the “Enter promo code” field.

Your ticket includes access to the Convention website and all events, access to the Virtual Marketplace, a digital download of the Convention Program book and access to the Virtual Convention 2021 Archive.

Richard Kaufman will be the Keynote Speaker

*********************************************************

MEMBERSHIP:

Membership renewals begin on May 1st. Please update your contact information on the MTAC website and renew. Registration for Active over 80 members is free (if they have been Active for 10 years or longer) but you must still renew. Membership renewal can be completed online at new.mtac.org. The last day to renew your membership is July 31.

***********************************************************************************************

APRIL 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! APRIL 8th 2021

Happy Birthday to us, to our Hollywood Branch! We are now officially 65 years old!

On this day in 1956 our branch was inaugurated at a Foundation Meeting convened in an auditorium at 1717 North Vine Street, Los Angeles. Present at the meeting, were members of the State Executive Board, by whom the meeting was authorized. MTAC State President, Helen Adele Daun spoke and the vote was unanimous in favor of the formation of the Hollywood Branch. The following members served as the board of directors for the remainder of the fiscal year from April 1956 thru July 1956:

President: Gene Byram

Vice President: Zadah Guerin

Treasurer: Lydia Shapiro

Recording Secretary: Dorothy Gontzhoff

Corresponding Secretary: Marie Malore

Membership Secretary: Ruth Widenham

Directors: Vahda Bickford

Madeline Banks

Grace Helen Nash

Our celebration of this special day has had to be postponed because of the pandemic. However, we will be able to have our first live get-together on:

June 11, 2021 from 10:30am to 2pm

Annual Meeting, Induction of New Board, Potluck Lunch and Jazz Presentation plus our Branch History Project Display

in the garden at Lieschen’s home.

This meeting will not only be a celebration of our return to live gatherings, but we will also belatedly, celebrate our Hollywood Branch Anniversary. Yuko Maruyama will be our speaker to do a presentation on Jazz Music. We will also introduce the newly elected Board of Directors. In addition, we will exhibit our Hollywood Branch historical scrapbooks and records for your perusal – a Hollywood Branch History Project that has been two years in the making.

This will be an outdoor potluck event with some inside as well as outside seating for the Jazz presentation. I hope you will all plan to join us and celebrate together.

Warm regards to all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

******************************************************************

BACH AND BAROQUE FESTIVAL (virtual):

Sunday, April 11 at 3pm

Thank you to our chair, Remi Lee, for all the hard work and planning to put this program together for us!

Our three judges for the Bach Festival, were given access to the student video performances and will make their selections at their own convenience.

Our Zoom recitals are always open to all our members and students – gathered here for their screen shot!

*************************************************

SPRING FESTIVAL (virtual):

Date: Sunday, May 2, 2021

Application Deadline: Friday April 9, 2021

Video Submissions Deadline: Sunday, April 18, 2021

Copy this link into browser: https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Chairs: Galina Berezovsky (gberezovsky@gmail.com) and

Marina Bykhovsky (maripal336@hotmail.com)

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, to:

Galina Berezovsky
2749 Selby Ave, LA, CA 90064

Fees:

No teacher’s fee
Solo Student’s fee:
⦁ Up to 2 minutes $14
⦁ Up to 5 minutes $18
⦁ Up to 7 minutes $22

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus additional $1 per student

********************************************************

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS RECITAL: Live

(The option to participate virtually, will be available)

Event Date: Sunday, June 6, 2021

Application Deadline: Thursday, May 6, 2021

Mail check, made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch, postmarked by May 6th to:

Hasmik Kotelyan
2300 North Sparks Street
Burbank, Ca 91504

Fees:
Teacher’s Fee: $10
Solo Performer’s Fee:
⦁ Up to 2 minutes $18
⦁ Up to 5 minutes $24
⦁ Up to 7 minutes $35
Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus additional $1 per student

This will be our first live recital since the start of the pandemic. The venue will be announced soon. We will have smaller programs to allow for smaller audiences and we will comply with social distancing. Masks will be required with the exception of performing students during the brief period on stage.

To perform in this recital, students are required to have performed in a defined number of Hollywood branch events covering different historical musical eras.

Pianists are required to perform a total of four pieces during the academic year, each representing a different musical era (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic and Contemporary).V

⦁ One or two of these pieces must be performed at the Achievement Awards Recital and the remaining pieces must be performed at recitals/competitions of the Hollywood Branch throughout the year leading up to the Achievement Awards Recital.
⦁ Only ONE movement from a sonata or sonatina may be chosen for performance as part of requirements.
⦁ Repertoire must consist of original compositions – simplified versions are discouraged. Refer to the Certificate of Merit Syllabus for acceptable arrangements. Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

⦁ String students are required to perform 3 pieces throughout the academic year, one of which one must be a Concerto or Variations written for a string instrument.

⦁ Students are expected to perform from memory and it is customary for students to bow before and after their performance.

⦁ Trophies are presented to all participants in recognition for their achievement.

************************************************************

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

The online Certificate of Merit evaluations were concluded smoothly this past month – this was the consensus among our members at our recent branch General Meeting.

Information about CM recitals:

The recitals will be virtual this year
Recital registration is now open through Thursday, April 15
Videos will be submitted via a Dropbox link and the deadline is Friday, April 30; the Dropbox link will be sent to parents after April 15
Recording guidelines are available in the “What’s New” section of the Teacher and Parent portals under New Program Updates
Along with their registration, students will have access to view all other MTAC State Program Recitals and Master Classes. Registration is $40, plus a processing fee.
If Performer Track students would like to attend the Student Track, there is a separate fee

*************************************************************

MUSIC STUDY ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM:

The purpose of the Music Study Assistance Grant program is to assist highly motivated students of MTAC music teachers (Active Members only) whose families have demonstrated financial inability to support ongoing, private music study. Grants are awarded to those based on financial need and commitment to continued private music study.

Information

Grants may be awarded up to $1,000.00 per selected student.
Five (5) grants are available per Year of Study. The Year of Study begins on August 1 and ends on July 31, in the same year that the application was due and submitted.

Applications must be submitted to MTAC Foundation between March 1 and May 1, with a final deadline of May 1.

The application process if fairly detailed – so plan on giving yourself enough time to research and complete all the requirements .

******************************************************

MARCH 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

I want to thank our VOCE chair and co-chair, Hasmik Kotelyan and Susanna Zhamkochyan for the enormous job of producing a well run first VOCE event for our branch. The quality of performances was outstanding, and several instruments were presented – violin, cello, oboe, clarinet and voice. We look forward to continuing the tradition next year.

March is CM time and many of our members are in the thick of preparing your students for CM. I hope you will join us for the CM Info Meeting next Wednesday. We are fortunate to have our own CM Council member, Dr. Sunyoung Lee, to answer questions.

Most of you refer to this branch website for information. We are also developing our Branch Facebook page where you can communicate with us and with one another. Look for Hollywood Branch MTAC Facebook or follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMTACH/

This newsletter contains a recap of recent past events and information about upcoming events.

Warm regards to all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

FEBRUARY RECAP…

VOCE

Congratulations to these outstanding VOCE winners. The First Place Winners will now proceed to the State Finals and if they are selected, we will see them perform at the State Convention.

The results of our Branch VOCE Competition are:

1st place

Eunice Lee (Junior Solo Strings)
Eric Lee (Intermediate Solo Winds)
Colin Kim (Senior Solo Winds)
Joon Hyung Noh (Intermediate Solo Voice)

2nd place

Jinheon Kim (Intermediate Solo Strings)
Grace Rhim (Junior Solo Strings)
Ashley Y. Hahn (Intermediate Solo Winds)

These students are represented by the following teachers:

Eric Cha, Bom An, Pauline Gehai Yi, Sang Keun Chang and Jongeui Kim

Trophies for the First Place winners are now available for pickup at Lieschen’s home: 47454 Cromwell Ave, LA 90027

*************************************************************

UPCOMING EVENTS….

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

Deadline for uploads and tests: March 22, 2021

HOLLYWOOD BRANCH CM INFO MEETING

Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 11am via Zoom

Please join us for this CM Info session. Dr. Sunyoung Lee will be available to answer questions and explain how to avoid the pitfalls of online CM.

*************************************************************************

BACH and BAROQUE FESTIVALS

Applications deadline: Thursday, March 11, 2021

Online Zoom event: Sunday, April 11, 2021

Submit Video Performances by Sunday, March 28, 2021

https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

BACH FESTIVAL (online):

To apply for the Bach Festival, go to www.scjbf.org and enter your personal ID and password – you will be asked to pay a $10 teacher website usage fee before being able to sign up your students.

The Bach Festival is administered by the Southern California Junior Bach Festival and is open to students of all M.T.A.C. teachers. Three judges will adjudicate the contestants. The Southern California Bach Festival consist of various consecutive and competitive performance opportunities; starting with the Branch Bach Festival, followed by the Regional Festival, the Complete Works Audition, a Special Concerto Audition and concluding with the Los Angeles Bach Festival Honors Program.

At the branch level, pianists may play any original music of J. S. Bach or compositions of other Baroque composers. However, to be eligible to be considered among the 50% chosen to qualify for performing in the Regional Festival, the following exceptions must be kept in mind:

No music from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, ANH 113-132.
No transcriptions other than those made by J. S. Bach himself from his own works.
No works by other Baroque composers. Regional winners are eligible to perform in the Complete Works Competition if performing a complete work as categorized on the Complete Works Audition list.

Chair: Lieschen Bierstedt (lieschen@bierstedt.com)

Co-Chair: Remi Lee (parantomatomusic@gmail.com)

Fees:
Teacher online registration fee to register on Bach website: $10
Student Fee: $35 per student

Mail check, payable to MTAC Hollywood Branch and postmarked by March 11, 2021 to:

Lieschen Bierstedt: 4745 Cromwell Ave. Los Angeles, Ca 90027

(No student/parent checks are accepted)

BAROQUE FESTIVAL (online):

This is a non-competitive event.

This recital is open to any age or level of difficulty. Repertoire will be limited to composers from the Baroque era. Only one movement or one composition may be chosen for performance. The Baroque Festival takes place on the same day as the Bach Festival, but registration for the Baroque Festival will be through our branch website. To register, go to Members Corner, Application Forms, Baroque Festival.

Co-Chairs:

Remi Lee (parantomatomusic@gmail.com)

Cesar Corona (teacher@openlidpiano.studio)

Mail check, payable to MTAC Hollywood Branch and postmarked by March 11^th to:
Remi Lee, 525 S Serrano Ave #202, LA 90020

(No student/parent checks are accepted)

Fees:

No teacher’s fee
Solo Student’s fee:
⦁ Up to 2 minutes $14
⦁ Up to 5 minutes $18
⦁ Up to 7 minutes $22

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus additional $1 per student

*******************************************************************

GENERAL MEETING (online)

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 10:30am

Please join us for this General Meeting. Teachers applying for any of the Awards or Scholarships will have an opportunity to do a short presentation in support of their applicants.

As with our previous general meetings, we are inviting members to share their musical expertise with us. Twenty minutes of the meeting will be dedicated to teacher performances.

*************************************************************************

HOLLYWOOD BRANCH SCHOLARSHIP AND STUDENT AWARDS

Application Deadline: April 1, 2021

Our branch offers one scholarship and two achievement awards to selected students every year, based on their years of participation and achievement in our branch events. The presentations take place at the

Achievement Awards Recital on June 6, 2021

The Eugenia Clemmons Award is presented to a student under the age of 13
The Olga Balogh Award is presented to a student between 13 and 18 years of age
The Andrew Clemmons Scholarship is offered to a selected graduating senior who is planning to pursue a degree in music.

Information is available on our website under Awards and Scholarship and application forms are available under members Corner; Application Forms.

Teachers will have an opportunity to present a short introduction of their student applicants at the March 31^st General Meeting.

****************************************************************

BRANCH ANNIVERSARY

Our Hollywood Branch will be 65 years old on April 8, 2021 !

Our hope has been to get together for an Anniversary Concert and Dinner (originally scheduled for Saturday, April 10, 2021), but pandemic conditions are not conducive yet. We will postpone this event to the summer by which time we will be able to relax and be safe. I hope we will all be able to gather and enjoy one another’s company by that time! More to come on this….

*****************************************************************************************

FEBRUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

The start of the new year is always busy for us! We hosted a wonderful Bach Masterclass and we had our Sonata Sonatina Competition this past weekend and we are looking forward to our first branch VOCE Competition as well as our CM Evaluations, very soon.

I would like to thank each of our chairs who are working and have worked on events so far this year! I don’t think our members realize the amount of planning that goes into presenting virtual events. It normally takes time to schedule and plan a branch event, but the added complications of doing it all virtually, have really challenged our chairs to find solutions! I am constantly impressed with each new technical solution that they have been able to come up with. We are fortunate to have such competent people to call on in our branch!

We would love to hear feedback from our teachers about the format of our events. We are always open to improvements. Join us at the upcoming Zoom General Meeting on Wednesday, February 3^rdto share your thoughts.

This newsletter contains a recap of recent past events and a few reminders of upcoming events.

Warm regards to all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

**************************************************

JANUARY RECAP…

BACH MASTERCLASS –

JungHae Kim’s presentation was very approachable and intellectually stimulating. I think our teachers and students all gained insight. She used her harpsichord to provide examples and spoke about its history and use. JungHae clearly has much more to offer and I hope we will be able to have her back for a lecture in the future. Thank you to Dr. Cynthia Harlan for introducing her to us and for organizing the masterclass with Dr. Sanaz Rezai!

***********************************************

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION –

Thank you to Dr. Sanaz Rezai and Chizuru Sanada for organizing a very successful competition! This was the first time we were able to conduct every aspect online – from our usual registration, to submissions of video and music scores to the processing of judges’ evaluation sheets.

Here are two screen shots of our participants with their families and the results:

PROGRAM I

PROGRAM II

Sonata Sonatina Competition Results

Student’s Name	Award
Kim, Vivian	First Prize
Harlan, Enni	First Prize
Harlan, Oliver	First Prize
Kim, Bella	Winner
Wang, Benjamin	Winner
Lee, Yale	Winner
Jia, Eric	Winner
Park, Ian	Winner
Chan, Ella	Winner
Hong, Mindy	Winner
Kim, Ashley	Winner
Zhuo, Thomas	Honorable Mention
Rhie, Elisha	Honorable Mention
Shiao, Gabrielle	Honorable Mention
Savluk, Daniel	Honorable Mention
Goldkorn, Maya	Honorable Mention
Chu, Brian	Honorable Mention

These students represent the following teachers:

First Place winners – Dr. Sunyoung Lee and Dr. Cynthia Harlan

Other: Dr. Sunyoung Lee, Dr. Cynthia Harlan, Remi Lee, Nonna Ayrapetova, JeeSung Kang, Marina Bykovsky and Marina Lomtatidze.

***********************************************************************

UPCOMING EVENTS….

GENERAL MEETING

Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 10:30am

Please join us for an update and recap of our branch events such as CM and VOCE and for an open discussion on how our teachers are coping with online teaching. We hope to share new technical ideas and developments.

**********************************************************************

VOCE

Branch Event (virtual): Sunday afternoon, February 21, 2021

Deadline to upload videos and PDF scores: February 7, 2021

Google Drive for uploading videos: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Committee: Chair: Hasmik Kotelyan (allegrettoms@yahoo.com), Susanna Zhamkochyan (zhsusanna7@gmail.com), Riko Weimer (riko@justriko.com)

Our VOCE auditions will be virtual and will follow the same format as our other events. Students will be required to attend the virtual program on Sunday afternoon, February 21^st. They will introduce themselves and present their video performance. Copies of the program will be forwarded to each teacher for distribution to their students.

We have procured three outstanding judges (voice, strings and winds) and they will each receive copies of the student videos one week prior to the event, to make their selections. The results will be available by the end of the day on February 21^st.

We look forward to our first VOCE audition and hope that many of our members will join in viewing this event.

A Zoom invitation will be sent to all participating teachers and branch members.

************************************************************

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

All videos must be uploaded between 3/12/2021 through 3/22/2021.
Theory and SR will be sent to the students close to 3/12 and students must complete their Theory test and upload their SR video between 3/12-3/22.
The system will accept uploads of repertoire videos and scans of PDF scores now. Teachers/students don’t need to wait until 3/12!
Be sure to upload one PDF file per piece, so all pages of the score are included in one file. So if there are 3 pages total for one piece, all 3 pages need to be in one file, they will not be able to upload 3 separate files for each page.

The recording guidelines for the CM 2021 Virtual Evaluations are now available on your Teacher Portal.

These guidelines include visual examples of how students should look in the recordings, the acceptable file types and other recording tips.

Students are welcome to begin recording their videos before their assigned upload period. You can review your student’s assigned deadline located on the CM application page.

The recording guidelines and other CM documents are available in the CM Resources section located on your Teacher Portal. You can login to new.MTAC.org > home page > click on the yellow “Certificate of Merit” button > Resources.

CM 2021 participants and parents will also receive the guidelines posted on the Student and Parent Portals.

Please note, the CM Council and MTAC State Office will not review videos prior to upload. Please be sure to read through the guidelines carefully prior to recording.

If you have any questions about the repertoire, please contact your CM Regional Coordinator through the Teacher E-Support link.

If you need technical assistance, please contact the MTAC State Office. available Monday – Friday, from 9 am – 5 pm.

JANUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2021 will bring recovery and healing to our country and the world. There has been a great deal of suffering and I just hope that our teachers are coping well enough. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Fortunately, our branch has been able to continue to operate virtually and no programs or meetings have had to be cancelled since we started the academic year. We have refined our online performances and our audiences have responded enthusiastically. Zoom has been a life saver!

This newsletter contains a recap of recent past events and a few reminders of upcoming events.

Please join us at our upcoming meetings and programs!

Warm regards to all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

******************************************************************

DECEMBER RECAP…

WINTERFEST

Chair: Zewhong Lee

Co-Chairs: Dr. Sunyoung Lee and Lieschen Bierstedt

The Winterfest Competition was very successful! Thank you to our Chair, Zewhong Lee and to Dr. Sunyoung Lee! Zewhong and Sunyoung have worked on this event for approximately 10 years now and it has grown to become a very popular competition among our branch members. Our two judges, Mark Richman and Sharon Townsend wrote copious comments and I think our teachers will find these very helpful.

The trophies and teachers’ envelopes (which include judges’ comments and Honorable Mention Certificates), are now available for pick-up at Lieschen’s home studio:

4745 Cromwell Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027

Enter through the front gate up the stairs, then turn right to follow the garden path to the studio door where the big plastic containers are. There is no need to call ahead.

Here are some photos of each program for your enjoyment –

Program I

Program II

Program III

Program IV

**************************************************************************

UPCOMING EVENTS….

BACH MASTER CLASS

Sunday, January 17, 2021 at 3 pm

Presented by JungHae Kim

Committee: Dr. Cynthia Harlan and Dr. Sanaz Rezai

You are invited to attend this Zoom meeting in which JungHae Kim will work with three selected students from our branch, to refine their chosen Bach repertoire. Baroque performance is such a distinctive art and we all have questions at times, about teaching ornaments or the execution of passages. This will be a good time to tune in and be able to ask questions and listen to recommendations from a recognized authority. We scheduled this event in advance of our Bach Festival to give you an opportunity to benefit from this masterclass. We are very fortunate to have Ms. JungHae Kim presenting for us.

A Zoom invitation will be sent to all branch members.

**************************************************

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION

Date : Sunday, January 31, 2021

Our program can still accommodate a few more student participants (up to the end of this week), if you wish to file an application.

Application forms are available on our website; mtachollywood.org under Members Corner (Password: Hollywood)

Video Submissions Deadline: Sunday, January 17, 2021

Google Drive: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Make checks out to MTAC Hollywood Branch and mail to:

Chizuru Sanada, 4236 Arch Drive #208, Studio City Ca 91604

Fees:
Teachers Fee: $10.00
Solo Student’s fee: $25.00

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus an additional $1 per student

Chairs:

Chizuru Sanada (chizurusanada@gmail.com)

Dr. Sanaz Rezai (sanazrezaipiano@gmail.com)

Trophies Coordinator: Aroutioun Mikaelian (aamikaelian@yahoo.com

*****************************************************************************

TEACHER PERFORMANCES at Branch General Meetings

Submit videos by January 27, 2021 for the February 3^rd meeting

Google Drive Upload: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Program Chair: Dr. Sanaz Rezai (sanazrezaipiano@gmail.com)

We would love for you to share your musical talents!

Our hope is to dedicate 40 minutes of our virtual General Meeting in February, to teacher performances. You are invited to submit a video of your performance via our Google Drive and we will present these videos (preceded by your personal introduction of it!) after the business part of the meeting.

Our Program Chair, Dr. Sanaz Rezai will be compiling the videos and will be introducing our teachers.

*************************************************************

VOCE

Branch event (virtual): Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 3pm

Deadline to upload videos: February 7, 2021

Google Drive for uploading videos: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

VOCE Committee –

Chair: Hasmik Kotelyan (allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

Susanna Zhamkochyan (zhsusanna7@gmail.com), Riko Weimer (riko@justriko.com)

Our VOCE auditions will be virtual and will follow the same format as our other events. Students will be required to attend the virtual program on Sunday afternoon, February 21^st. They will introduce themselves and present their video performance. Copies of the program will be forwarded to each teacher for distribution to their students.

We look forward to our first VOCE audition and hope that many of our members will join in viewing this event.

A Zoom invitation will be sent to all participating teachers and branch members.

**********************************************************************

DECEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We are entering the 2020 holiday season with ongoing concerns for the safety and health of our loved ones and ourselves. I hope you are all coping and that the corona virus has not touched you and your families. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing.

We continue to function virtually as an organization and as teachers. Our November online general meeting program was inspirational. Thank you to Dr. Sanaz Rezai for organizing the presentation by Dr. Ponce of his teaching philosophy as propounded in his book “The Tradition of Tyranny in Piano Teaching”.

Preparation for our virtual December 6^th Winterfest is underway. Our members have submitted their applications and the students have all successfully uploaded their videos to our Google Drive. You will all be receiving Zoom links to the program recitals and we invite you to log in and watch some of the programs.

Keep in mind that there are three application deadlines to observe during December:

VOCE applications deadline (imminent)
The Bach Masterclass application and video submissions deadline
The Sonata Sonatina Competition application deadline.

I wish you all a beautiful, joyful Holiday Season and may the New Year bring us all peace and happiness and recovery!

Warm regards to all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

************************************************************

DECEMBER UPDATES…

New! TEACHER PERFORMANCES

To be featured at our February 3^rd General Meeting

Submit videos by January 27, 2021

Google Drive Upload: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Program Chair: Dr. Sanaz Rezai (sanazrezaipiano@gmail.com)

We would love for you to share your musical talents!

Our hope is to dedicate 40 minutes of our virtual General Meeting in February to teacher performances. You are invited to submit a video of your performance via our Google Drive and we will present these videos (preceded by your personal introduction of it!) after the business part of the meeting.

Our Program Chair, Dr. Sanaz Rezai will be compiling the videos and will be introducing our teachers.

*********************************************************

VOCE

Branch event (virtual): February 21, 2021

Deadline to upload videos: February 7, 2021

Google Drive for uploading videos: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Chair: Hasmik Kotelyan (allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

VOCE Committee: Susanna Zhamkochyan (zhsusanna7@gmail.com) and Riko Weimer (riko@justriko.com)

The VOCE Application Portal closes December 1, 2020 at 11:59 P.M.!

Keep in mind:

Proof of age for students is required and must be provided by the parent or student (if over 18) by December 4. This is a one-time process, but it must be submitted by December 4 for first-time students.
Applications cannot be created after December 1 at 11:59 P.M.
All members of the ensembles must be on your student roster. To create an ensemble with any student member who is not your private student, you need to first add the student to your roster and indicate “MTAC Ensemble” as the instrument.
If the proof of age is not submitted by December 4, a student or parent will not be able to make a payment. Payments must be submitted by December 10 at 11:59 PM.

For tips and tricks for the VOCE enrollment process, refer to the VOCE Policies and Procedures found on your Teacher Portal for information about categories and eligibility requirements.

*********************************************************

WINTERFEST (virtual)

Chair: Zewhong Lee

Co-Chairs: Dr. Sunyoung Lee and Lieschen Bierstedt

December 6, 2020

All branch members are invited to join us to view this recital via the Zoom links that will be made available to all branch members.

The recital will be divided up into 45-minute programs during which time the individual student videos will be presented by our contestants. The competition results will be made available the day after the event.

**********************************************************

BACH MASTER CLASS (virtual)

Presented by JungHae Kim

Committee: Dr. Cynthia Harlan and Dr. Sanaz Rezai

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Video Submissions Deadline: December 15, 2021

Upload to our Google Drive: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline January 7, 2021

Applications are available on our website mtachollywood.org (password: “Hollywood”)
Three students will be selected to participate, based on their video submissions
There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student
Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above
Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers
A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student
The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

***************************************************************

SONATA SONATINA COMPETITION (virtual)

Date : Sunday, January 31, 2021

Application Deadline : Thursday December 31, 2020

Video Submissions Deadline: Sunday, January 17, 2021

Google Drive: : https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Mail check, postmarked by December 31, 2020, to:

Chizuru Sanada, 4236 Arch Drive #208, Studio City Ca 91604

Fees:
Teachers Fee: $10.00
Solo Student’s fee: $25.00

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus an additional $1 per student

Chairs:

Chizuru Sanada (chizurusanada@gmail.com)

Dr. Sanaz Rezai (sanazrezaipiano@gmail.com)

Trophies Coordinator: Aroutioun Mikaelian (aamikaelian@yahoo.com)

The Sonata Sonatina Competition is open to any age group and any difficulty level.

Only ONE movement of a sonata or sonatina from standard repertoire is acceptable – simplified versions and arrangements are not acceptable.

Repertoire must consist of an original composition – simplified versions are discouraged. Repeats, other than first and second endings, are discouraged.

Students are expected to perform from memory (with the exception of ensembles).

No photocopies are allowed.

Adjudication will be based on the following age categories: age 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, age 17 and over.

Please note that the Hollywood Branch may use images of the participants on our branch website. Your participation signifies acceptance of these postings, unless otherwise stated.

Student Awards:

Winners from the previous year’s competition perform in a separate Winners Program.

Trophies are presented to all winners.

New in 2021: One top winner per category will receive an Award check in the amount of:

8 and under – $20, 10 and under – $30, 12 and under – $30, 14 and under – $40, 16 and under – $40, 17 and over – $50.

Dress code guidelines:

Male – long dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes (no sports shoes)
Female – a dress or elegant pants outfit, dress shoes (comfortable enough to pedal).

Application Requirements:

1.Prepare a performance video and upload it by January 17, 2021 onto our Hollywood Branch Google Drive via this link: https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Student Application and Summary(complete and submit online). Be sure to highlight and print your application before clicking the Submit button. If you have more than ten students performing, simply complete additional forms, but make only one total payment calculation.
One check made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch and mailed to the chair, postmarked by December 31, 2020 (no individual parents’ checks are accepted).
A completed and signed consent form– to be held on file by teacher for each student

The recital day will be divided up in 45 minute programs. Each program will consist of a Zoom meeting, during which time students shall be available online to introduce themselves and state what they will be performing. Students are required to take part in this online recital to qualify. Our facilitator will present the students’ videos after their individual introductions. At the conclusion of each program, participants and their families will be asked to gather together for a group photo. There will be a 15 minutes break between programs.

Judges will be provided a link to each student’s video performance prior to the event and will be asked to select the winners according to the Winterfest guidelines. The judges’ selections will be made public soon after the competition.

A Zoom invitation will be sent to each teacher prior to the competition – to be shared with their students. A copy of the program will be attached.

After the competition, a copy of the group photo will be sent electronically to each teacher for distribution to his/her students. Trophies and the Award checks will be available for pick-up at an arranged location after the competition.

********************************************************************************************

NOVEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

We had two very enjoyable and successful events this past month to jump-start our academic year.

Our Fall Festival was a success and I received very favorable feedback from teachers as well as students. My sincere thanks to Remi Lee who has been so kind to help chair this recital in addition to the Summer Virtual Recital Series.

Remi has a warm and gentle rapport with the students, and it is heartwarming to see their enthusiasm to share despite the restrictions that our current pandemic has placed on the arts. We will continue to explore ways to improve and refine our virtual presentations. We always appreciate your feedback and advice.

We also had a wonderful General Meeting presentation by the Bastien Sisters where they shared some of the new Bastien literature and spoke about teaching online and how they integrate their music literature to adapt to our COVID environment. My warm thanks to Dr. Sanaz Rezai who organized the presentation for us and introduced the presenters to us.

We have more upcoming events that are listed below. I hope to see many of you use the opportunities offered!

Warm regards to you all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

NOVEMBER UPDATES….

GENERAL MEETING (online)

And Presentation: Dr. Walter Ponce discussion of his book on technique

Arranged by Program Chair, Dr. Sanaz Rezai

November 11^th at 10am

We will meet at 10am for a short business meeting to update you on upcoming events and to answer questions.

This will be followed by a discussion by Dr. Ponce on his book: “The Tyranny of Tradition in Piano Teaching”.

Here is a summary of the book, available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Tradition-Piano-Teaching-Critical/dp/1476678324

“The strict traditions of piano teaching have remained entrenched for generations. The dominant influence of Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), the first composer-pedagogue of the instrument, brought about an explosion of autocratic instruction and bizarre teaching systems, exemplified in the mind-numbing drills of Hanon’s “The Virtuoso Pianist.” These practices–considered absurd or abusive by many–persist today at all levels of piano education. This book critically examines two centuries of teaching methods and encourages instructors to do away with traditions that disconnect mental and creative skills.”

************************************************************************************************

VOCE

Chair: Hasmik Kotelyan

Branch event: February 21, 2021

Applications available on your Teacher’s Portal; new.mtac.org

Applications open: November 1, 2020

VOCE is a prestigious competition for vocalists, strings, winds/brass, and chamber music at the Branch and State levels.

Applications are completed on the MTAC State website under Teachers’ Portal (new.matc.org). Fees for all VOCE events (Non-Competitive and Competitive) are run through the Online System.

Students first perform at our Branch Competition. A non-competitive format is available for students who are not quite ready for competition, allowing them to perform for judges’ comments without being judged against other students.

First place winners of our Branch Competition will advance to State Finals. First place winners of the State Finals perform at the State Convention and will receive cash awards and plaques.

VOCE Dates & Deadlines

November 1, 2020 Online System opens: Teachers enroll students in VOCE via the Teacher Portal at http://new.mtac.org > Teacher Portal > VOCE.

December 1, 2020 VOCE Applications must be completed in the Online System

December 4, 2020 Parents must submit Proof of Age Documentation

December 10, 2020 Repertoire must be completely entered; Parents/Students must pay through the Online System by this date in order be enrolled in VOCE

March 5, 2021 Deadline to apply for VOCE State Finals and submit payment in the Online System

March 9, 2021 Deadline for VOCE State Finals payment March 19, 2021 VOCE Finals submission upload deadline

April 7, 2021 VOCE State Finals Results are posted in Online System

July 4, 2021 VOCE WINNERS RECITAL at MTAC Convention

VOCE Divisions and Categories:

Instrumental Ensemble – competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Solo Strings – competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Solo Voice– competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Solo Winds– competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Vocal Ensemble– competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

*****************************************************************************************

WINTERFEST (virtual)

Chair: Zewhong Lee

Co-Chairs: Dr. Sunyoung Lee and Lieschen Bierstedt

December 6, 2020

Application deadline: November 6, 2020

Information and application forms are available on our website:

mtac.org; Members Corner (password “Hollywood”)

Video recording submissions deadline: November 22, 2020

For uploading videos, use our branch Google Drive: (file name format: student name/repertoire/composer)

https://driveuploader.com/upload/zbFQyU4hN5/

Apologies for some last-minute changes to our Winterfest Guidelines on the website! We will NOT be requiring YouTube recordings. You may upload your videos via our Google Drive link (see above) as before.

The format will be the same as our Fall Festival. Students will record their performance videos ahead of time and submit these by the deadline via the upload link. The event will be divided up into 45-minute programs and students will be required to attend their appointed live Zoom program. At these programs, the facilitator will ask each student to introduce themselves and tell the audience what they will be playing. The facilitator will at that time present their video.

The judges will be provided with links to the recorded performances ahead of time. Our judges will have the option to view the Zoom programs or to access the links to judge the recorded performances at their own time and pace.

The judges will provide us with the results by the end of the performance day and these will become available within days after the competition.

In addition to offering trophies to the winners in the various categories, we are introducing an additional Awards Program – one outstanding winner will be selected per category, as incentive to students in these complicated times. The awards will be in the form of monetary awards.

New in 2020 – One Award for the winner in each category

Age 5 and under: $20. age 8 and under: $20, age 10 and under: $30, age 12 and under: $30, age 14 and under: $40, age 16 and under: $40, age 17 and above: $50

*************************************************************************************

BACH MASTER CLASS (virtual)

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Video Submissions Deadline: December 15, 2021

Presented by

JungHae Kim

Committee: Dr. Cynthia Harlan and Dr. Sanaz Rezai

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline January 7, 2021

Application forms and the video upload link will be available on our website
Three students will be selected to participate, based on their video submissions
There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student
Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above
Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers
A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student
The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

*********************************************************************************************

VIDEO RECORDING GUIDELINES

Prepared by our VC Committee

Remi Lee, Dr. Sanaz Rezai, Riko Weimer and Cesar Corona

General –

Signed consent form – Make sure that the families understand the level of “publicity”
Filming rehearsal – It takes some getting used to performing in front of the camera. Good to sound check and lighting as well.
Saving the clip – Always play it back and save the video before submitting
Naming the file – Follow the format for the title of the file: student name/repertoire/composer
Submission – Each event administrator will create the folders for upload and provide an upload link
Dress code – As formal as in-person performance.
Stage setting – Fix for clean backgrounds (books on the piano, wrinkles on the curtain, etc.)

Recording –

You can record on your smartphone (e.g. iPhone, Samsung, Pixel, etc.) or tablets/laptops
Use the default settings of one of the following
1. 1080p (1920 x 1080, approximately 130 MB per minute)
2. 720p (1280 x 720, approximately 60 MB per minute)
Using a webcam or a tripod to mount your device onto is preferable. Holding an smartphone in your hand while recording results in a blurry video.

Set-Up –

Please record in landscape mode by turning your phone or tablet sideways and at eye level.
Arrange it so the device is placed solidly either on a tripod or leaning against a heavy object so that it will not shake or move during the recording.
Being close to the camera is generally better so that we can see and hear you well.
Include the instrument and music stand (especially when memorization is required)

Sound –

Microphone – Additional external microphone that plugs directly into your USB port on your laptop, would be helpful. One option is the Blue Yeti USB Mic for Recording and Streaming on PC or the FiFine USB Recording Microphone. There are many others on the market. Experiment with the best location of the mic for recording your video.
Environment – Check for background noise or interruption

Lighting –

Lighting has a huge impact on the quality of the video. Please make sure you have ample lightning when recording. Ideally, the light source should be behind the camera that is recording.
Please make sure that you don’t have strong light coming from behind you.

Video Submissions Process –

Create a recording of your performance following the above guidelines.
Upload your video onto our branch Google Drive via this link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rN_k5zRbkBZD84uEp5VeCSNqr8S5DzIk

*******************************************************************************************

GOOGLE PLATFORM FOR SHARING

pedagogical comments, questions, answers and advice.

Managed by Dr Sanaz Rezai

Please remember that we have this resource available for questions and answers. All you need to do is access the site via the link below, and pose your question. We have so many wonderfully capable and accomplished teachers in our branch. We can learn much from one another!

Your communication can be anonymous if preferred – just post your comment on the Google Form and the answers will be shared for all to benefit from. Any teaching related subject is open for discussion.

Follow this link and post your first comment!

https://forms.gle/cZhN3KDu8BENAy816

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

OCTOBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Our board of directors have been working hard to create events that will emulate (and even enhance) the live performances we have always relied on. Our Fall Festival will be our first large virtual recital. We will provide all our members with links to the scheduled programs so that you can check in to see how it is being conducted. As you probably know, we will be presenting recorded videos, but the participating students will be attending live via Zoom to introduce their videos.

Again, I want to encourage you all to embrace the virtual presentations that have become our new norm for the foreseeable future. Let me point out the benefits of virtual recitals;

our students can relax and enjoy sharing their pre-recorded performances without the stress of performance anxiety
our students can display the very best of their capabilities – the benefit of refining their videos
the Zoom link can be shared with family members from all over the country (or world) to view the performances
the event can be attended in the privacy of a home without traveling long distances
students are refining their recording methods and the sound quality of the videos has improved over these past months
these performances encourage our students to maintain their lessons and provide our teachers with a stable student load
and it is also the pathway to building up performance credit to qualify for participation in the Achievement Awards Recital!

I hope to see many of you on-screen for the Fall Festival programs and our October General Meeting as well as all the other programs!

Warm regards to you all,

Lieschen Bierstedt

President, MTAC Hollywood Branch

*********************************************************

OCTOBER UPDATES….

FALL FESTIVAL (virtual)

Chairs: Remi Lee and Lieschen Bierstedt

Sunday, October 18, 2020

All the participating students have by now uploaded their videos successfully. Thank you all for your cooperation! A Zoom invitation plus a recital program will be forwarded to each teacher.

Students and audience members are asked to access the Zoom meeting link 10 minutes before the start of the program. Students are required to attend the live Zoom program to have their performance video presented. The facilitator will ask each student to introduce themselves and tell the audience what they will be playing. The facilitator will at that time, present their video.

Programs are scheduled for 11:30 am, 1 pm and 2 pm.

Feel free to join in and watch the programs. Zoom links will be provided to all branch members.

******************************************************

BRANCH GENERAL MEETING (virtual)

Thursday, October 22, 2020

10:30 am to 11:30 am

Bastien Sisters Virtual Piano Workshop

We are fortunate, thanks to the work of Dr. Sanaz Rezai, our VP and Program Chair, to present the Bastien Sisters Virtual Piano Workshop. Please look for the invitation in your email inbox, and if you are able to attend, please RSVP at the link and e-mail email@kjos.com to receive your free packets. We look forward to seeing you there!

Webinar Instructions

Make Sure to RSVP
Please email Kjos Music at email@kjos.com with your preferred shipping address to receive your FREE packet of books
Login to the Zoom Workshop 10 minutes ahead of time
• Zoom ID: 854 1118 9110 Password: 753483
All attendees will receive a special discount for attending the event, good through October 31, 2020.**

Please join Lisa in New York, and Lori in California, as they share their unique, personal teaching insights and present captivating compositions from their NEW Bastien New Traditions, All in One Piano Course. As active, full-time piano teachers for over 30 years, The Bastien Sisters know what motivates and delights students of all ages and abilities and they will offer practical and inspiring teaching tips and ideas. Lisa and Lori will discuss how to bring musical meaning and value to each and every lesson, whether those lessons are in person or virtual.

*******************************************************

VOCE

Chair: Hasmik Kotelyan

Branch event: February 21, 2021 (format and venue to be decided)

Applications available on your Teacher’s Portal; new.mtac.org

Applications open: November 1, 2020

Applications close: December 15, 2020

State Finals: April 19, 2021

We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting a VOCE competition this year. We have several teachers who are interested in the program and who teach a variety of instruments.

VOCE is a prestigious competition for vocalists, strings, winds/brass, and chamber music at the Branch and State levels.

First place winners of our Branch Competition will advance to State Finals, scheduled for April 19, 2020, at Chapman University, Orange, California.

First place winners of the State Finals perform at the State Convention and will receive cash awards and plaques.

VOCE Divisions and Categories:

Instrumental Ensemble – competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Solo Strings – competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Solo Voice– competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Solo Winds– competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

Vocal Ensemble– competitive and non-competitive and according to age group

*******************************************************

WINTERFEST (virtual)

Chair: Zewhong Lee

Co-Chairs: Dr. Sunyoung Lee and Lieschen Bierstedt

December 6, 2020

Application deadline: November 6, 2020

Information and application forms are available on our website:

https://mtachollywood.org/members-corner/program-application-forms/

mtac.org; Members Corner (password “Hollywood”)

Video recording submissions deadline: November 22, 2020

The Winterfest format will be the same as our Fall Festival. Students will record their performance videos ahead of time and submit these by the deadline via an upload link. The event will be divided up into 45-minute programs and students will be required to attend their appointed live Zoom program. At these programs, the facilitator will ask each student to introduce themselves and tell the audience what they will be playing. The facilitator will at that time present their video.

The judges will provide us with the results by the end of the performance day and these will become available within days after the competition.

In addition to offering trophies to the winners in the various categories, we are introducing an additional Awards Program – one outstanding winner will be selected per age category, as incentive to students in these complicated times. The awards will be in the form of monetary awards.

New in 2020 – One Award for the winner in each age category:

Age 5 and under: $20

Age 8 and under: $20

Age 10 and under: $30

Age 12 and under: $30

Age 14 and under: $40

Age 16 and under: $40

Age 17 and above: $50

**************************************************

BACH MASTER CLASS (virtual)

Presented by

JungHae Kim

Committee: Dr. Cynthia Harlan and Dr. Sanaz Rezai

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Video Submissions Deadline: December 15, 2021

Optional second video submission to be used for the Master Class: deadline January 7, 2021

Three students will be selected to participate, based on their performance quality.
There will be no application or attendance fee but there will be a participation fee of $50 per selected student
Repertoire: J.S. Bach compositions – lower Intermediate levels and above
Time span: 2 hours, allowing for teaching as well as Questions and Answers
A second optional video submission will be accepted to serve as the Master Class presentation of each student
The Master Class will be conducted via Zoom with live instruction of each participant after each video presentation.

******************************************************

CONVENTION HONORS EMSEMBLE

From our State Office…..New for 2020-2021 Year

The Convention Honors Ensemble is the newest program for MTAC Programs. Established in 2018-2019 with the first Convention Orchestra, the Convention Honors Ensemble program will continue to provide a unique performance opportunity for higher level students.

The goals of the MTAC Convention Honors Ensemble are to provide a celebratory experience for the MTAC community and merit-based recognition to MTAC students.

As an ensemble program, students will be able to participate in a variety of ensembles each year.

For this year, the program will feature a Honors Ensemble Virtual Project, led by noted conductor Alexander Treger.

Also new for the 2020-2021 year, the nomination and audition process will be through the MTAC Online System.

The nomination period will open from November 15 – December 15, 2020.

Dates to Remember:

Nominations open – November 15, 2020
Nominations close – December 15, 2020
Applications open – January 5, 2021
Applications close – January 31, 2021
Audition Deadline – February 28, 2021
Ensemble selection – March 22, 2021

· Participation Fee – April 10, 2021

Ensemble performance – July 2, 2021

Audition Tips for Students:

Students are able to record their audition at any time. We recommend that a student treats their video as if they were performing in person. This means dressing as if it was a stage performance, keeping background noise at a minimum and making sure the background is not too distracting. Students are able to upload the best version of their performance.

***********************************************************************************

SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch members,

Summer is coming to a close as we lead up to Labor Day. May these Fall days start bringing us relief from COVID!

I have had frequent questions as to when our recitals and competitions can return to a normal format. As an MTAC branch, it is our duty to ensure everyone’s safety and we will thus not be able to have live recitals for the near future. It would be a terrible burden to live with if one of our recitals were to become a “super spreader” event.

Our teachers are encouraged to recommend audio equipment to their students to enable them to record their performances for participation in recitals and competitions. A separate microphone with a USB computer connection will produce better sound quality. There are endless choices on the market today.

I hope to see many of you at our online meetings and at our online Fall Festival.

Warm regards to all,
Lieschen
President, MTAC Hollywood

***************************************************

SEPTEMBER UPDATES ……

FALL RECITAL (virtual)

Date: Sunday, October 18, 2020
Information and application forms are available on our website: Members Corner (password “Hollywood”)
Applications deadline: September 25, 2020
Video recording submission deadline: October 4, 2020
This will be a virtual recital. Students will be asked to record and submit their performance videos. The day will be divided up in our usual program format and each 45 minute program will be featured via Zoom with each student in attendance to introduce their recorded performances. Students will be accepted on a first come basis. More details are available on our branch website application page.

Fees have been reduced to reflect lower branch costs.

Fees:

⦁ No teacher’s fee

⦁Solo Student’s fee:

⦁ Up to 2 minutes $14 reduced to $7

⦁ Up to 5 minutes $18 reduced to $9

⦁ Up to 7 minutes $22 reduced to $11

Duet fees: Same fee as a single solo performance plus additional $1 per student.

****************************************************

WINTERFEST (virtual)
December 6, 2020

Application deadline: November 6, 2020
Information and application forms are available on our website; Members Corner; Application Forms (password “Hollywood”)
Video recording submissions deadline: November 22, 2020

We anticipate that this will be a virtual competition. Video presentations will be submitted to the judges to select the winners. More details about the format of this competition will follow and will be available on the branch website applications page.
In addition to offering trophies to the winners in the various categories, we are introducing an additional Awards Program – one outstanding winner will be selected per category, as incentive to students in these trying times. The awards will be in the form of monetary awards.

New in 2020
One Award for the top winner in each category
Age 5 and under $20.00
Age 8 and under $20.00
Age 10 and under $30.00
Age 12 and under $30.00
Age 14 and under $40.00
Age 16 and under $40.00
Age 17 and above $50.00

****************************************************

NEW BOARD APPOINTMENTS

We were sad to receive the resignation of two of our board members, Tina Chapkinyan and Dr. Cynthia Harlan. Both have been essential and respected members of our board of directors. The current pandemic has created different obligations and commitments for many of us and we recognize the pressures it engenders. We wish Cynthia and Tina warm good wishes for the rest of this year.

The following board positions have been voted on and approved:
Vice President – Dr. Sanaz Rezai
Treasurer: Chizuru Sanada
Corresponding Secretary: Riko Weimer

We were fortunate to have these three members agree to fill these positions. Welcome aboard!

********************************************

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
Chair: Dr. Sunyoung Lee

Our traditional September CM Information Meetings have been cancelled by recommendation of the State Board. Instead of hosting these CM training meetings, the CM Council has created an online training video and quiz that will be available starting September 15. We have also been advised teachers should direct all technical questions to the MTAC State Office.

*************************************************

LAUNCHING A GOOGLE PLATFORM FOR SHARING
pedagogical comments, questions, answers and advice.

Thank you to Dr. Dr. Sanaz Rezai who is the creator and brainchild of this platform. We invite you all to take part. We have so many wonderfully capable and accomplished teachers in our branch. We can learn much from one another!

Follow this link and post your first comment!
https://forms.gle/cZhN3KDu8BENAy816

***************************************************

UPCOMING MEETING PROGRAMS
Program Chair: Dr. Sanaz Rezai

As our new Vice President, Sanaz is also in charge of programs for our general branch meetings. She is in the process of procuring presenters. I hope you will all join us in these exciting programs. More info will follow.
Our first meeting will feature:
Lori Bastien Workshop presenting new material
Online October 22, 2020 at 10:30amOctober 22, 2020 at 10:30am

Our last meeting of the academic year will feature:
Yuko Maruyama for a jazz presentation
Friday, June 11, 2021

************************************************************

AUGUST 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Branch Members,

I hope you are enjoying these summer months and are staying safe. Now that CM has been completed, I think we can all relax a bit.

We usually do not send out a newsletter in August, but this year is an anomaly and I feel our branch members have a need for information and communication.

To update you: our Finance Committee met online to audit our finances. The purpose of the audit meeting is to verify that our branch uses acceptable protocol and guidelines to keep our finances secure and running smoothly according to State requirements relating to budget planning, correct collecting/disbursing of monies, record keeping and accurate fund reporting.

So if you find that we are sticklers for detail, please know that it is to comply with financial guidelines!

Our Board had the first of two Planning Meetings to discuss events for the new academic year. We anticipate that the recitals and competitions will be done via recorded video performance submissions for the foreseeable future. As a board we are dedicated to explore the best platform possible for our students to present their music.

Our Board Planning Meeting #2, scheduled for August 17^th will focus on our branch finances and budget planning.

A tentative Schedule of Events has been posted on this website under Calendar of Events. The website will continue to undergo further updating to coordinate all documents and announcements.

As always, we are open to suggestions. Please stay in touch! I appreciate hearing from you!

My warm regards to all,

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President MTAC Hollywood Branch

**************************************************************************

NEW BRANCH MEMBERS – WELCOME!

Our branch membership roster has been updated and I was happy to see almost all our branch members sign up and pay their dues before the July 31^st deadline.

As we enter the new fiscal and academic year, we are delighted to have

7 new members joining our branch:

Eric Cha (cello)

Jongeui Kim (clarinet)

Bom An (oboe)

Yun-Hee Lee (piano)

Pauline Gehai Yi (violin)

Sang Keun Chang (voice)

Katerina Kolesnik (violin)

We look forward to meeting you all and hearing your students at our recitals and competitions. We are excited to have a range of instruments to enrich our events.

May it be a happy experience for you all!

*********************************************************************************

BRANCH INFORMATION AND SHARING MEETING

Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 11am

Via Zoom

Focus: Recording Equipment for Student Video Presentations

A few of our members will be sharing their studio equipment set-up. Please feel free participate and share your own set-up with our members.

Invitations with a Zoom link will be sent out closer to the time.

Come and join us!

**************************************************************************

VIRTUAL RECITAL #3

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Application deadline: Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Co-Chairs: Remi Lee and Lieschen Bierstedt

The focus of this recital is on Jazz and African American composers though not excluding other eras or composers

Via Zoom Webinar

A Zoom webinar invitation & link, as well as an attached recital program will be sent to each participant and teacher. You are welcome to share this link with family and friends who wish to view the recital. Audience members will be off-screen but teachers and performers will be visible.

Applications are accessible on our website under Members Corner; Application Forms.

Pre-recorded video presentations are acceptable but must be presented live by each participant

We encourage teachers to advise their students on how to achieve the best audio and video quality. As before, the recital will be recorded, edited and posted on our branch Facebook page and on our branch website.

**********************************************************************

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT UPDATE

Chair: Dr. Sunyoung Lee

Please refer to our website CM menu for copies of all the latest communications from the State Office and from our CM Chair.

By now most students have received their CM results online.

There will be a detailed announcement soon, from the State Office regarding your Evaluation Report Forms (comment sheets). These Report Forms, as well as the Theory Test results will be made available electronically.

CM Certificates are available at Lieschen’s home for pick up.

4745 Cromwell Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90027

Cell Phone: 323-365-2103

Follow the directions in the garden path to lead you to the studio door. The certificate envelopes are in alphabetical order by teacher, in a plastic container outside the studio door. There is no need to notify anyone – just come by and pick it up between 9 am and 7pm. It will remain available until the middle of August.

Some of the unclaimed trophies from our Winterfest and Sonata Sonatina Competitions are also available in a container in alphabetical order.

**********************************************************************

CHAIRS MEETING

Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 11 am via Zoom

This is an important meeting for all those that are chairing events for our branch. We should all feel comfortable with the performance format and we will explore the options together. We will also be discussing budgets, event guidelines and procuring judges.

Please mark your calendars!

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

JULY 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

By now our students have all completed the performance part of the CM Evaluations and are in the process of concluding the theory part. The deadline for submitting the theory exams has been moved to July 15^th as a result of technical problems that have arisen. See more info below.

I want to express my deep appreciation to Sunyoung for all she has done as our branch CM Chair. She started months back – before March – preparing all the details for a normal CM day. Then we suddenly faced the uncertainty of COVID-19. We changed course and procured private homes and studios to ensure the safety of all, but again, had to change course with the official lock-down and the announcement by the State Office that CM was postponed to a later date. All these adjustments can be compared to a big ocean liner changing course – very cumbersome and time consuming.

The evaluation process went online with the April announcement by the State Office and Sunyoung did hours of research to be able to guide our branch members very efficiently via Zoom meetings through the details of the new format. She did all this in addition to her job on the CM Council. Thank you so much Sunyoung!

We are fortunate to have many exceptional people in our branch who all work together to create opportunities to develop and educate our students. I am always grateful to these colleagues.

Let us hope that it will soon be safe enough for us to meet in person over a potluck lunch at my home to celebrate the end of the academic year and an improvement in the pandemic!

My warm regards to all,

Lieschen. Hollywood Branch President

P.S. – here is a link to a great article promoted by the Music Teachers’ National Association, regarding the reopening of music studios. https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/Explore_MTNA/Reopen_FAQs.aspx

******************************************************

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

Chair: Dr. Sunyoung Lee

The latest update from the State Office regarding the theory exam is as follows:

Due to technical difficulties this week with the Theory exams, the Theory Exam deadline has been extended to July 15, 2020 for all students.

Please confirm that your students have received the appropriate links for their instrument and level.

If your students are missing their links, please have the student and parent email the State Office – Jackie Torres with their name, instrument, level and their request.

The State Office is best prepared to answer your questions!

Results of the CM Performance Evaluations will be posted to the MTAC Online System by June 29, 2020.

************************************************************

VIRTUAL RECITAL SERIES

Chair: Remi Lee

DATES:

Sunday June 28, 2020

Sunday July 12, 2020

August 9, 2020 – you are invited to focus on Jazz and African American composers (optional)

We hope that this recital series will be useful to keep your students motivated through these summer months. Be sure to befriend our Hollywood Branch Facebook page to view an edited synopsis of each recital.

The July and August recitals will be in the format of a Zoom webinar which will allow you to invite parents and family from all over the country (and the world) to attend. The attendees will not be visible on your computer screen, thus allowing a better focus on the performer. It allows us to accommodate more performers per program. A webinar link will be sent to all participants and teachers and will be available on our website for your convenience to invite attendees.

The August recital will focus on Jazz and African American composers.

**********************************************************************

MEMBERSHIP DUES

Deadline: July 31^st

Please check the MTAC State website (mtac.org) to renew your membership. If you miss the July 31^st deadline, you will forfeit your opportunity to participate in CM this coming year.

******************************************************************

MTAC CONVENTION 2020

I hope you will be able to attend some of these online convention offerings –

July 10 – 13, 2020

Registration for the MTAC Online Convention 2020 is now open!

From July 10-13, MTAC members and non-members, music teachers, and students are invited to watch pre-recorded sessions and student recitals, attend live webinars and the annual Business Meeting!

This year, the CM Panel Master Classes will be held virtually with the student and Master Teacher! Panel students who received high marks on their auditions have been invited to participate.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

JUNE 2020 NEWSLETTER

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

Our Certificate of Merit teachers are in the process of preparing for our fist ever virtual evaluations. This will go down in history!

Please stay in touch by joining our online meetings. A great deal of useful information is shared at the meetings. You are welcome to just tune in and listen!

And do check our branch website for upcoming meetings and announcements.

Please stay safe and healthy!

Lieschen Bierstedt, President

Online General Meeting,

Friday, May 29^th, 2020

At 11am

Dr. Sunyoung Lee, our CM Chair will be available to update you and answer any further questions regarding the virtual CM evaluations.

Please join us a discussion regarding our first ever Virtual Recital at the end of June and the format of future recitals. Our newly formed committee on Virtual Communications, has some ideas that will be shared. We will also discuss teaching experiences and studio equipment for online teaching.

You will receive a meeting invitation via Zoom. Click on the link: Join Zoom Meeting (or copy and paste the link into your browser). Join by video or by phone.

Certificate of Merit

All student evaluations videos must be uploaded between

Thursday, June 4 and Sunday, June 14, 2020 at 11:59pm.

CM Evaluators will evaluate the performances through June 21 and the results will be posted to the MTAC Online System by June 29, 2020.

Students have to upload a PDF of their original music for the Evaluator’s use during the evaluation process. The application will not be considered complete until the PDF score is uploaded. (This scan should be deleted for copyright purposes after June 14th when the process has been completed)

Here are a few other reminders from our CM Chair, Dr. Sunyoung Lee

Notify the parents to check their Emails on 6/4 to create accounts to upload the videos before the deadline of 6/14
Use student’s Application Number which begins with 7xxxxxx, NOT the ID Number.
Check your students’ recordings before they upload. Be sure the camera angle is correct: the evaluator needs to see the whole keyboard, the pedal and side face of the student.

Online Board Meeting

Monday, June 15^th at 11am

Please mark your calendars!

We have much to discuss.

Virtual Communications Committee

committee members –

Remi Lee, Cesar Corona, Riko Weimer, Dr. Sanaz Rezai

Our committee met online with the goal of planning how to restart recitals, what health and safety precautions need to be taken and what the estimated timeline would be.

A full proposal is in the works to define:

The Progressive Stages for returning to the Presentation of Recitals and Competitions during the Pandemic

Our first step will be our Virtual Recital at the end of June!

Hollywood Branch First Virtual Recital

Sunday June 29th

start planning!

Procedures –

Sign up using the Baroque Festival application form.
A completed and signed Consent form will also be required for each participant.
Students get accepted on a first come, first serve basis and the excess number of students will be held over for ensuing recitals.
The recital will take place on a Zoom platform. We will limit each program to 5 students only. The Zoom screen will contain the 5 participants and their families, the teachers of each student, the chair of the program, and one moderator to handle the procedures; making sure we mute and organize the screen properly. There will thus be 12 participants on the Zoom screen.
The first Recital will be limited to 3 programs only. This will allow us to see what works and what needs improvement.
Program I: 11 am Program II: 12 pm Program III: 3 pm
A printed recital program will be included with the Zoom invitation.
We will record each Zoom program and it will be posted on our Hollywood Branch Facebook page if we have all the Consent Forms on file. This will allow our branch Facebook users to view the recital and provide feedback.
A link will be posted on our branch website.

May 2020

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

This has been another difficult month for everyone. I hope you are all healthy and coping with the COVID-19 lockdown. Most of our teachers have had to do some speed learning to make the transition to online teaching and in addition, are dealing with the downsizing of their studios.

The month of April has seen the cancellation of our Branch Bach Festival, our Regional Bach Festival, our Bach Master Class, a get together for a Board meeting and a General Meeting….

But online communications have been strong!

Never before have we needed one another’s input, advice and support more than now. We have had some wonderful online sessions where we have learnt much from one another. I invite you all to join us online! More info below.

And do check this website for upcoming meetings and announcements.

Please stay safe and healthy!

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, Hollywood Branch

Online Board Meeting

Thursday, May 7th at 11am

We have much to discuss.

I hope to see all our board members on Zoom!

—————————————————————————————

Next Online General Meeting focusing on CM

Friday, May 8^th at 11am

The meeting will mainly deal with CM and the process of creating the video presentation for an online evaluation

Please refer to the Certificate of Merit menu on this website for detailed information about CM

——————————————————————————–

“A Morning of Sharing”

Online General Information Meeting

Friday, May 29, 2020

At 11am

Please join us for further updates on CM evaluations, weighing possible future recitals etc. We will also discuss teaching experiences, studio maintenance and financial aid for small businesses.

————————————————————————-

Information about joining a Zoom Meeting.

I will send out a meeting invitations via Zoom to each one. Click on the link: Join Zoom Meeting (or copy and paste the link into your browser). Join by video or by phone.

If you have questions or problems connecting via Zoom, please let me know and I can do a one on one session to get you logged on and familiarize you with the process.

Nothing should prevent you from attending – not an old computer or a computer without a camera or an old cell phone. There are ways around these complications.

Let me help you!

Lieschen: 323-365-2103

Certificate of Merit

More information is posted under the Certificate of Merit menu on this website

CM Evaluations will be conducted online and will resumed at the end of May

We will be assigned a date for downloading and completing the video evaluations

The performance evaluation will be in video format
Sight Reading is waived this year
students are permitted to change repertoire,
except for the piece designated as the “Syllabus Piece.”
students will not be penalized if changes no longer comply with the required repertoire categories.
updates are not necessary in the repertoire portion of the student’s application in the
MTAC Online System.
Students will complete their theory exam on an online testing platform. The test will be in a multiple choice and short answer format.
The listening examples of the ear training portion of the exam will be included in the theory exam.
CM Convention recitals have been cancelled

Hollywood Branch Scholarship and Student Awards

Congratulations to two outstanding students:

Vivian Kim, student of Dr. Sunyoung Lee

Oliver Harlan, student of Dr. Cynthia Harlan

Both students were chosen as recipients of the Olga Balogh Award

A special, engraved plaque will be presented to each of these students

————————————————————————

Hollywood Branch MTAC Facebook Account

We now have a Facebook account.

https://www.facebook.com/Hollywood-Branch-MTAC-111200060568080/

The goal is to provide us all with a pathway to share our thoughts, events and student performances. We would love to for you to partake in this conversation.

Our students need to have a platform for performances and a goal to work towards. I would love to see us feature our students on our Facebook page. We welcome your input and suggestions to make this productive for all.

Cancelled/postponed events…

Spring Festival May 3, 2020

Achievement Awards Recital June 7, 2020

The venues for both these are unavailable – neither the Fenton Charter School or LA Valley College are open for public performances.

Time will tell if we can reschedule events and in what format.

…………………………………………………..

As yet undecided…..

Our branch Annual Meeting (General Meeting) and Potluck Lunch

at Lieschen’s home

On June 3, 2020

The hope is that we might still be able to get together for this meeting at my home in an outdoor setting, around the pool, depending on health advisories.

——————————————————————————————-

Convention update

From our State Office……

MTAC 2020 Convention will be online!

Mark your calendars for July 10-14, 2020!

We will be posting virtual teacher and student sessions as well as student competitions and artist recitals. We are working with our presenters, exhibitors and featured artists to bring you a unique Convention experience into your home.

Please note the CM student recitals have been canceled for this year.

As MTAC Teacher members, you will be able to register for free. Your Member ID found on your Teacher Portal will be your discount code.

We will have both Teacher Track and Student Track sessions and the Convention will be open to the public. Registration will be $20 per student and non-member registration.

Stay tuned for more programming updates!

April 2020

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

I hope you are all well and staying healthy. Please let me know if you are aware of any of our members in distress. We would like to offer support and help where needed!

Life has changed so dramatically since my last newsletter to you. Our February General Meeting was the last opportunity we had to get together. (See our website for the minutes to this meeting)

The month of March has seen the cancellation of several of our programs. CM was the most disruptive cancellation, but the Baroque Festival and the Bach festival soon followed and so did the Bach Masterclass. Each of these programs have a trail of consequences that had to be dealt with by each chair.

As if this time, the Spring Festival has also been cancelled.

I think we are all in limbo at present, waiting to see how the Coronavirus hazard progresses.

In the meantime, we are all trying to cope with how to maintain our studios. I feel it is important to be able to turn to our colleagues to share ideas, and to learn from one another.

We will thus institute a Hollywood BranchMorning of Sharing on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 11am via Zoom video conferencing. See the details boxed below.

We are also working on a MTAC Hollywood FaceBook page for communication among our members. More details will follow soon.

Stay safe and healthy!

Lieschen Bierstedt,

President, Hollywood Branch

Video conference with all our members

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

At 11am

Please join us in a discussion of what our members are doing to maintain their studios through these pressing times. We will hear from a few members about their online lesson experiences.

I will send out a meeting invitation via Zoom to each one. All you need to do is click on the link that says: Join Zoom Meeting (or copy and paste the link into your browser).

You do not need to join Zoom to participate – you can just log on and join the conversation. If you do not have a viable computer, you can access the conversation via telephone.

If this video conference proves to be useful, we will make this a regular event for our branch during these difficult times.

Hollywood Branch Scholarship and student Awards

Application Deadline: April 1, 2020

Our branch offers one scholarship and two achievement awards to selected students every year based on their years of participation and achievement in our branch events. The presentations take place at the

Achievement Awards Recital on June 7, 2020

· The Eugenia Clemmons Award is presented to a student under the age of 13

· The Olga Balogh Award is presented to a student between 13 and 18 years of age

· The Andrew Clemmons Scholarship is offered to a selected graduating senior who is planning to pursue a degree in music.

Information is available on this website under Awards and Scholarship and application forms are available, as with all other programs, under members Corner; Application Forms.

The online applications will be considered by the board to make the selections.

CM Update –

Statement from our State Office and the CM Council.

“State and local government health agencies have been adjusting their precautionary measures with additional social distancing mandates. With this in mind, the CM Council and State Organization have been working diligently to create a postponement plan so the remaining students may take their Certificate of Merit Evaluations.

Important updates for Certificate of Merit Evaluations:

Evalutions will resume in late-May/early June, depending on advice from local governments in regards to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and teachers will receive a notification once their evaluations have been rescheduled.
The CM Council and State Organization are reviewing different options for this to take place. More details on the Evaluation procedures will be discussed with each branch or region in late April.
The required syllabus piece on the student’s application must remain the same, but the remaining repertoire can be changed without penalty.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and with the health and safety of students and their families in mind, all CM Convention 2020 Recitals will be cancelled. Student who have already enrolled for 2020 Convention will be refunded.”

March 2020 Newsletter

A recap ……

February has been a busy month for many of our chairs and board members.
Certificate of Merit takes hours upon hours of preparation to ensure a smooth-running event. Sunyoung, Zewhong and Alan have been organizing the student schedules, the theory papers, the judges’ packets, the teachers’ work schedules, the set-up of the rooms at UCLA, the food, the tables and chairs and a thousand other small details. We are grateful for all their work! Thank you also to Marina Lomtatidze for taking charge of our food preparation! I look forward to seeing all our participating members.

We had an inspiring General Meeting in February with YAG member, Noah Simon, performing and answering questions. I have had excellent feedback from our members about the benefits of this presentation.

Photos are posted on our website under Members Corner, Q&A and Photos.

Thank you all for coming!
Lieschen Bierstedt, President

Details regarding upcoming events…..

Bach Festival

Sunday, April 5th in the afternoon
At Pierre’s Fine Pianos
11039 W. Pico Blvd., LA 90064

Applications deadline: Thursday, March 5th

Regionals: May 17, 2020 also at Pierre’s Fine Pianos

Chairs:
Zewhong Lee (zewhong@gmail.com) and Remi Lee (remilee1988@gmail.com)

Register for the Bach Festival the usual way – through the SCJBF website. Guidelines and details are available on SCJBF website (contact your chairs for forgotten usernames or other assistance): scjbf.org

also refer to this website:
under Members Corner, Application Forms, Bach Festival .

Branch application fee per student: $35

Complete your applications online but mail cheques (made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch) to:
Remi Lee, 525 S Serrano Ave #202, LA 90020

As before, at our branch Bach Festival students may play any original music of J. S. Bach, transcriptions of Bach’s music, or music of other Baroque composers.
However, to be eligible to be considered among the 50% chosen at the Branch level to play in the Regional Festival, the following exceptions must be kept in mind:
No music from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, ANH 113-132,
No transcriptions other than those made by J. S. Bach himself from his own works,
No works by other Baroque composers

Baroque Festival

Sunday, April 5th in the morning

At Pierre’s Fine Pianos
11039 W. Pico Blvd., LA 90064

Applications deadline: Thursday, March 5th

Chairs:
Remi Lee (remilee1988@gmail.com) and Cesar Corona (teacher@openlidpiano.studio)

This is new program that we are introducing this year. Register for this event through our branch website: mtachollywood.org (password “Hollywood”)

The program is a non-competitive recital similar to our Fall and Spring Festivals but with the requirement that repertoire should be chosen from the Baroque era.

Applications, guidelines and fees are available on this website
under Members Corner, Application Forms, Baroque Festival.

Complete your applications online but mail cheques (made out to MTAC Hollywood Branch) to:
Remi Lee, 525 S Serrano Ave #202, LA 90020

Certificate of Merit
Saturday, March 21, 2020

Schoenberg Music Bldg., 445 Charles E Young Dr. E, LA 90095
Chair: Dr. Sunyoung Lee
Wind and Strings Coordinator: Zewhong Lee – zewhong@gmail.com
Theory Coordinator: Dr. Alan Oettinger – alanoettinger@yahoo.com

We are in good hands with Sunyoung planning our CM day! Thank you to her and her co-chairs for all the hard work.

You will receive further directions and information from Sunyoung directly.

We look forward to seeing all our participating members at the evaluations!

Hollywood Branch Scholarship and Student Awards

Application Deadline: April 1, 2020

⦁ The Eugenia Clemmons Award is presented to a student under the age of 13
⦁ The Olga Balogh Award is presented to a student between 13 and 18 years of age
⦁ The Andrew Clemmons Scholarship is offered to a selected graduating senior who is planning to pursue a degree in music.

Information is available on this website under Awards and Scholarship and application forms are available, as with all other programs, under members Corner; Application Forms.

Teachers will have an opportunity to present a short introduction of their student applicants at the April Meeting.

Bach Masterclass

Sunday, April 26, 2020
At 2pm
At Riko Method School of Piano, 3363 Glendale Blvd. LA 90039

Carl Matthes will be leading the Masterclass. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into the intricacies of teaching Baroque music.
Participating students will be selected from the Bach Festival winners/ Regional Bach qualifying students.
Please mark your calendars!
More details will follow later.

…………………………………………………………………..

February 2020

President’s Message

A Recap…..

On Friday January 17th we had a General Meeting followed by a very informative talk by Dr. Alan Oettinger on how to prepare your students for the CM theory exam. Thank you, Alan, for covering all those little details that we need to know as teachers!

On Sunday, January 19th, our Sonata Sonatina Competition was beautifully run by our two Chairs, Dr. Sanaz Rezai and Chizuru Sanada. We are very fortunate to have these capable members handle our program for us!

Our two judges, Dr. Gloria Cheng and Yuko Maruyama, are well respected musicians and I think you will find their comments informative. Our chairs requested that all participants provide their music to the judges for reference in writing their comments. I trust our students and teachers will notice a difference in the quality of comments as a result.

Our thoughts are with our long-time member,

Virginia Whitehead with the passing of her sister, Dorina.

Wishing you strength and peace during this difficult time Virginia.

Upcoming events to plan on:

General Meeting

Thursday, February 20, 2020
at 10am
at Riko Method School of Piano, 3363 Glendale Blvd., LA 90039.

Performance and Discussion by YAG member,

Noah Simon

Our Certificate of Merit program leads to many opportunities for our students – the ultimate is to become a YAG member.
I hope you will all join us to listen to a performance by Noah Simon, a YAG member, followed by a discussion on his years of study, through the CM program, that ultimately lead him to this achievement.

10am – Performance by YAG Member, Noah Simon
10:40am – Questions and Answers on all YAG requirements
11am – refreshment break
11:20am – Reminders and discussion of upcoming events
11:45am – Adjourn
********************

Noah Simon, 21, is from Los Angeles, California. He is currently in his first year of studies with Professor Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist at the Ingesund School of Music in Arvika, Sweden. He has also studied with Professor Stanislav Ioudenitch at Oberlin Conservatory, where he also studied politics and literature.
This March, Noah will participate in the 2019 Sion International Piano Competition in Istanbul. In 2019, Noah was accepted into the Khachaturian International Piano Competition and the Tucumán International Piano Competition. Noah is a two-time prize-winner of the National YoungArts Foundation and was a finalist at the 2017 Yamaha USASU Young Artists International Senior Piano Competition.
He has been a regular recitalist for the Music Teachers’ Association of California’s Young Artists Guild. He has performed solo recitals at venues such as Steinway Hall of Beverly Hills, Chapman University, and the Westside Committee of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As a concerto soloist, Noah has performed at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California with the Vicente Chamber Orchestra, as well as with numerous other orchestras. In his home of California, he won the Christine Piper Plumb Grand Prize for best concerto in the state.
He has been fortunate enough to perform for and learn from such legendary artists and pedagogues as William Grant Nabore, Peter Frankl, Dang Thai Son, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Eliane Reyes, Hamish Milne, and Andreas Staier. Noah has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Tel-Hai International Piano Masterclasses, the Cooper Festival, and the Dino Ciani Academy.

*************************************

Two Events on the same day …. am and pm!

Baroque Festival
Sunday morning April 5, 2020
Application deadline: March 5, 2020

Pierre’s Fine Pianos
at Pierre’s Fine Pianos, 11039 W. Pico Blvd., LA 90064

Co-Chair: Remi Lee – remilee1988@gmail.com
Co-Chair: Cesar Corona – teacher@openlidpiano.studio

This is new program that we are introducing this year. Register for this event through our branch website: mtachollywood.org (password “Hollywood”)

The program is a non-competitive recital similar to our Fall and Spring Festivals but with the requirement that repertoire should be chosen from the Baroque era.

Guidelines are posted on our website under Members Corner; Applications.

Bach Festival
Sunday afternoon April 5, 2020
Application deadline: March 5, 2020
Pierre’s Fine Pianos
at Pierre’s Fine Pianos, 11039 W. Pico Blvd., LA 90064

Chair: Zewhong Lee – zewhong@gmail.com
Assistant Chair: Remi Lee – remilee1988@gmail.com

Register for the Bach Festival the usual way – through the SCJBF website. Guidelines and details are available on this website (contact your chairs for forgotten usernames or other assistance): scjbf.org
Also refer to this website under Members Corner; Applications Forms; Bach Festival for further information.

**********************************************************

January 2020

President’s message

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year! I hope it will be a year and decade filled with promise and contentment.

We had a very successful Winterfest Competition on December 15th. Thank you to Zewhong and Sunyoung for all their hard work! The new venue, the Cammilleri Hall was wonderful and our hope is to continue using it in the future. There were few glitches in transitioning to the new venue.

I hope however, that more of our members will make use of the free street parking on Vermont in the future! The (pay per hour) parking structure is an alternative option, but it is best to avoid parking in the various small lots on the USC campus – these are expensive or reserved.

We would love to hear all your feedback at our January General Meeting!

Here is an update about upcoming events:

General Meeting on Friday, January 17, 2020
at Hasmik’s Burbank Studio,

916 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank, CA 91506
at 10am

Presentation by

Dr. Alan Oettinger:
“Preparing students for the CM Theory Exam”

Alan has many years of experience with the CM program. We are fortunate to draw on his expertise!

“Dr. Alan Oettinger received his Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in piano and composition from the Eastman School of Music in New York. After moving to California, he was an Assistant Professor of Music at Chapman University, where he taught piano, theory, composition, orchestration and music history. Since moving to Los Angeles, he has maintained his own teaching studio. Students of his have won contests at the local, regional and state levels, and have gone on to become music majors.
Dr. Oettinger served three terms on the MTAC Board of Directors and six years as Assistant Coordinator of Certificate of Merit. He wrote the CM Sight Reading pieces for four years, and the 1997 and 2003 Technique Guides used in that program. He is very active each year as an evaluator for CM, and as a judge for Bach Festivals and various other competitions. For many years, he has been on the Board of Directors of the Southwestern Youth Music Festival. As a composer, his own music has been published and performed nationwide. He was commissioned by M’lou Dietzer to write pieces for three volumes of her First Impressions series.”

*******************************************************

Sonata Sonatina Competition: January 19, 2020
At Los Angeles Valley College, Music Building,

5800 Fulton Ave. Van Nuys, 91401
Free parking is available in Lot B on the corner of Oxnard Street and Fulton Ave
near the Music Building
open this PDF attachment for map
https://www.lavc.edu/about/library/map/LAVCmap_Web-and-Print-01-17-19.pdf

Our two Chairs, Sanaz Rezai and Chizuru Sanada, have been working hard to prepare a well designed program with two excellent judges.

Teachers will be receive the list of winners by email the evening after the competition. Trophies will be available for pick-up two weeks later at Lieschen’s house and also at the February General Meeting.

Students should remember to bring their music, with numbered measures to hand to the judges.

***********************************************************************************

December 2019

President’s message

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

I hope you all had a wonderful, joyful and relaxing Thanksgiving! My warm good wishes to you all as we enter the holiday season.
Here is an update about upcoming events:

Winterfest: December 15, 2019
Plan to arrive early to familiarize yourself with the new venue and parking arrangements!
At Cammilleri Hall on the USC (University of California) campus
In the Brain and Creativity Institute Building (Dornsife Neuroscience)
Cnr Downey Way and McClintock Ave
Enter from Vermont Avenue at Downey Way (entrance #6).
Parking:
Sunday street parking is available on Vermont Ave… a short walk to Cammilleri Hall.
Parking Structure A (Downey Way Structure) has plenty of parking available for $2 per hour
Judges and chairs will have access to Parking Lot #2 in front of the recital hall.

********************************************

Sonata Sonatina Competition: January 19, 2020
At Los Angeles Valley College, Music Building, 5800 Fulton Ave. Van Nuys, 91401
Please note!
Application deadline is: December 19
Submit your application online and mail your check by the deadline.

*********************************************

General Meeting and Presentation on Monday, January 17, 2020 at 10 am
at Hasmik’s Burbank Studio, 916 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank, CA 91506
Presentation by Dr. Alan Oettinger:
“Preparing students for the CM Theory Exam”
Alan has many years of experience with the CM program. We are fortunate to draw on his expertise

*****************************************

General Meeting and Performance on February 20, 2020 at 10am
at Riko Method School of Piano, 3363 Glendale Blvd., LA 90039.

Performance and Discussion by YAG member, Noah Simon
Our Certificate of Merit program leads to may opportunities for our students – the ultimate being to become a YAG member.
I hope you will all join us to listen to a performance by Noah Simon, a YAG member, followed by a discussion on his years of study, through the CM program, that ultimately lead him to this achievement.

November 2019

President’s message

Dear Hollywood Branch Members,

FALL FESTIVAL RECAP:
I want to thank Grigor Akopyan for a beautifully run Fall Festival. We all enjoyed listening to the students perform, from beginners to advanced, and then seeing them step forward to receive their certificate and flower as recognition. It is as always, a wonderfully, supportive environment to start the new academic year of performances. Grigor’s daughter and son-in-law spent the day helping run the program. Thank you to both, Anna and Stefan Ulubabyan.

WINTERFEST:

Our next event, the Winterfest competition, takes place on December 15, 2019 and the application deadline is November 15, 2019. You will now be able to complete your student application and the teacher application summary form online. The deadline for submitting your check remains the same – November 15. Your students will not be allowed to perform without payment of the application fees.

Our Winterfest will take place at a very special recital hall – the Cammilleri Hall on the USC campus. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to use this venue. It is a world-class auditorium designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, the acoustician also responsible for the concert hall portion at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the New World Center. This is where musical performances, theatre, poetry readings and lectures take place. The hall is part of the “Brain and Creativity Institute” and is located near Vermont Ave at the Downey Entrance (and on the corner of McClintock Ave and Downey Way). Ample street parking will be available, but there are parking lots available close by if you wish to pay for parking.

OCTOBER GENERAL MEETING RECAP:
Thank you to all those who attended the October General Meeting. It was a productive and fun meeting. The minutes of this meeting is posted under the members Corner.

NEW EVENT ! – BAROQUE FESTIVAL:
At our October board meeting it was decided to add a non-competitive Baroque Festival to our schedule of events. This Festival will take place on the same day as the Bach Festival, April 5, 2020 at Pierre’s Fine Pianos on Pico Blvd. The Bach Festival will remain unchanged as a competitive event with registration through the SCJBF website. Student applications for the Baroque Festival will however be done on our own branch website and will be based on the same fee schedule as the non-competitive Fall and Spring Festivals. This will provide our students with another opportunity to fulfill the requirements for participation in the Achievement Awards Recital at the end of the year.

October 2019

President’s Message

I look forward to seeing you all at our first General Meeting of the new academic year! The meeting will be focused on updating you on what is new and ongoing in our organization. You can access the minutes of our previous General Meetings on our website at: www.mtachollywood.org , Members Corner, General Meeting Minutes with the branch password.

Please reserve the date and time:

General Meeting
Thursday, October 10, 2019 from 10am to 12noon
Lieschen Bierstedt Studio – 4745 Cromwell Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90027

The month of September was busy. Many of you attended one of the well-run CM Information Meetings to enable you to participate in CM in March 2020. Thanks to Dr. Sunyoung Lee for conducting these meetings!

Our Finance Committee met and worked on creating a budget for our branch based on the financial and participation records of our various programs. After an analysis of these figures, the committee decided to recommend an increase in some of the program registration fees. The proposal was voted on by the board and approved. The new fees are reflected on the Application Forms on our website:
www.mtachollywood.org , Members Corner, Application Forms.

Our website has been updated, so please refer to this site for any information that you need. Our web designer, Ed Klein is still working on creating an online student registration format for all our programs and our first run with this will be for our Winterfest Competition on December 15th (application deadline of November 15, 2019). We had hoped to have it ready for the Fall Recital in October, but slower and careful is always a good philosophy in starting something new!

We had a well-attended Program Chairs and Co-Chairs Meeting in September. You will find a listing of the branch members who agreed to these positions on our website under this Home menu. They will be working hard to make it possible for your students to perform in our recitals and competitions. We always appreciate the help of all the participating teachers in running the program. If you are available to help, please let the Chair know.

Just a reminder that our CM registration is open from October 1 through October 31, 2019.

An event that you might want to attend this month, is:

SCJBF Complete Works Awards Concert on Saturday October 19, 2019 at 2pm,

Covenant Presbyterian Church, 607 E. 3rd Street, Long Beach 90802

This Awards Concert features performances by the most outstanding students of the Southern California Junior Bach Festival.

And of course, our own Fall Recital follows on:

Sunday October 20 at Santa Monica Blvd Fenton Charter School

1022 N. Van Ness Ave. LA 90038

I look forward to seeing you at our General meeting and at many of these other events!

Lieschen Bierstedt, President

September 2019

President’s Message

I hope our members have had a wonderful summer and that each of your studios is brimming with enthusiastic and talented students????.

I want to our thank our former president, Hasmik Kotelyan for two great years of productive work. I hope to follow in her footsteps, but as always, it is a joint effort and I value everyone’s help and input. I will be communicating with our members by email at the beginning of every month. But the website remains your most detailed source of reference.

The board had its annual summer meeting in August and our calendar of events was tentatively established. Please check this site for any updates or changes as we finalize our venues.

The board decided to redesign our “Members’ Corner” to create an online application process for our programs. Our web designer, Ed Klein is in the process of establishing these application forms and it will hopefully be ready for our first event, the Fall Recital with an application deadline of September 20, 2019.

Also under the “Members’ Corner” you will very soon find a downloadable Consent Form (along with the usual Program Instruction page and the Application Forms). We encourage all teachers to make use of this Consent Form which is recommended by the MTAC State Office. It serves as a parent consent for their child to participate in MTAC programs, a waiver of liability as well as a media consent. Teachers should keep one on file in their studio for each student.

The board also decided to schedule a meeting for all Program Chairs this year. I hope we can all learn from one another at this meeting. The meeting will cover subjects such as online application retrieval, program design, judges selection etc.

I always value your feedback. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Lieschen Bierstedt
Hollywood Branch President 2019 – 2021

August 2019

President’s Message

Welcome to the start of the new academic year! Our new Board of Directors is in the process of planning recitals and competitions, setting up budgets, planning speakers or performers to enhance our meetings and generally making sure this will be a productive year for us all.

We always appreciate input from of all our teachers and I hope that we will see many of our members at the scheduled meetings and events.

Lieschen Bierstedt

Hollywood Branch President, 2019 -20121

June 2019

General Meeting

(the scheduled board meeting that was to follow, has been cancelled)

Thursday, June 6, 2019
10 am at the home of Lieschen Bierstedt
4745 Cromwell Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca 90027
Los Feliz area

Please come and join us. Our new Board of Directors will be introduced and installed, followed by a lecture/demonstration by Carl Matthes on the music of Bach (see details below).
The morning will conclude with a potluck lunch around the pool.
Please RSVP by Monday June 3, 2019
323-309-1603 (Hasmik Kotelyan)

LECTURE/DEMONSTRATION on

21 CENTURY BACH

Presented by

Carl Matthes: Teacher, Pianist

Carl Matthes, a native of Los Angeles, began studying Bach in 1950 learning Inventions, Sinfonias and Suites. He remembers saving money to purchase harpsichordist Wanda Landowska’s LP vinyl recordings of the complete Well-Tempered Clavier and, in 1955, Glenn Gould’s recording of the “Goldberg Variations.” Eager to learn this music, he used these recordings to help form his understanding of Bach performance possibilities.

He also learned transcriptions of Bach organ works by Alexander Siloti (with whom his teacher, Earle Voorhies, studied) and Ferruccio Busoni while performing in a Master Class given by Bach expert, Rosalyn Tureck. In 1960, at USC with Lillian Steuber, she encouraged him to perform in a Master Class conducted by Juilliard’s Rosina Lhevinne, attend classes of harpsichordist Alice Ehlers (who founded SCJBF in 1961), lectures by Bach authority Karl Geiringer and to study in England with Ilona Kabos.

He has appeared as soloist with orchestra in Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, the Seattle Center Coliseum, with Josef Krips and the San Francisco Symphony while touring for 15 years on the Community Concerts Circuit. In England, he performed in Wigmore Hall, Lord Clive House and St. Martins-in-the-Fields as well as in Holland, Italy, Spain and Germany. He was a candidate for a Rockefeller Foundation grant to record the piano music of Aaron Copland and has appeared at three MTAC State Conventions as performer of and lecturer on contemporary American music. He has given many Master Classes, including for SCJBF. He was Executive Director of Southwestern Youth Music Festival for 29 years and SCJBF General Chair for 9 years.

Carl says, “Through my many years as a teacher, I have encouraged even my youngest students to learn Bach’s music, sharing my own understanding of practice techniques, tone, ornamentation, tempo, dynamics and pedaling.

……………………………………………………..

April 2019

event

J.S. Bach Master Class

Sunday, April 7, 2019

at 1pm

Steinway Hall, 8801 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hill, CA 90211

Bach Master Class presented by Jeffrey Lavner.

Jeffrey Lavner is Chair of the Piano Department at the Colburn School

of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, and Workshop Coordinator of

Keyboard Skills for Non-majors at the Colburn Conservatory.

Previously, he was an assistant lecturer at the University of Southern

California, as well as a faculty member at Santa Monica and Golden

West Colleges.

He holds a B.M. with performance honors from Syracuse University, and

M.M. from the University of Southern California, and has won numerous

professional awards. His earliest professional experiences were as a jazz

pianist. He now performs as both pianist and harpsichordist. He was the harpsichord player for

Harmonia Baroque 2001-2003 and for the Los Angeles Baroque Players 2003- present.

His piano studies were with Daniel Pollack, Milton Stern, George Pappastavrou, Bela Nagy, and

Gabriel Chodos and his harpsichord studies were with William Neil Roberts and Malcolm

Hamilton. He has performed at LACMA, the Norton Simon Museum, the Getty, and the Huntington Library.

………………………………………………..

December 2018

President’s Message

The Winterfest 2018 was a beautiful event. We had some very nice performers. Our students grow musically and technically more and more at every event.

Thank you Zew Hong Lee, Dr. Sunyoung Lee, and Aroutioun Mikaelian for organizing the Winterfest. It was a delightful day. Congratulations to all the teachers whose students were chosen to receive a trophy or an Honorable Mention certificate.

I would like to let you know that our branch Bach Festival date has been changed to Sunday, February 10th at Steinway Hall, Beverly Hills. Please make a note of it.
The 2019 Sonata/Sonatina Competition, chaired by Armine Margaryan, will be held at the Los Angeles Valley College. Keep in mind the application deadline is December 20th. Visit our branch website for more information or send your questions to the chair, Armine Margaryan, via e-mail, arminemargaryan@rocketmail.com .

Happy Holidays to all.

Sincerely,
Hasmik Kotelyan

(allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

November 2018

President’s Message

We had a very nice meeting on October 14th. Thank you to our members for coming and sharing your ideas and discussing our branch current and future events. Certificate of Merit registration is now over and entering repertoire is currently available on-line. The Winterfest Competition takes place on December 16th. Please, keep in mind that the application deadline is on November 16. Mail your check and forms to the competition chair, Zew Hong Lee.

At the beginning of the new 2019, we have scheduled our Sonata/Sonatina competition. The new chair, Armine Margaryan, expects your application forms to be mailed to her by December 20 of this year. Thank you, Armine, for chairing the Sonata/Sonatina competition.

I hope you all have a nice Holiday season.

Regards,
Hasmik Kotelyan

(allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

October 2018

President’s Message

I hope you all are having a nice back to school season at your studios. I am sure you find it helpful to visit our branch website for the recital dates and CM deadlines in planning your studio’s participation. All recital dates and venues are now finalized and updated on the site thanks to our web master, Lieschen Bierstedt.

Our next event is the Winterfest. We have reserved the recital hall of the Los Angeles Valley College for December 16, 2018.

CM students’ enrollment is open also. Make sure you keep an eye on e-mails coming from our branch CM chair, Dr. Sunyoung Lee.

The first general meeting of this academic year is on Monday, October 15 at 10:00 am at my Hollywood studio. I am looking forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Regards,
Hasmik Kotelyan

(allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

September 2018

President’s Message

Welcome to the new 2018-19 academic year. I am excited to start the new year with our newly launched branch website. This is a big accomplishment. Thank you Lieschen Bierstedt for your loyal dedication in creating it. I would like to thank our board members too for their input in building an accurate and informative website. Now we will be able to access and download all recital and award forms directly from the website under the Members Corner Menu Item.

You will also be able to search and find answers regarding your obligations and advantages as a member under the Members Corner if you refer to the Hollywood Branch Standing Rules and Guidelines or the Branch Bylaws. I am sure you have already visited some of these pages and found it useful. Please send me your thoughts and ideas.

The Newsletters will continue to be forwarded via email. The first student event is the Fall Recital. Please note the deadline for applications: Wednesday, September 26, 2018. A note from our recital chair, Grigor Akopyan is included.

Please mark your calendars with the General Meeting dates. I hope many of you will attend these. Some of the recital dates will not be finalized until the venue contracts have been secured. The two CM meetings are at my Burbank studio. Please keep in mind that one of the meetings is required if you wish to submit any students to participate in CM 2019. There are no exceptions to this rule.

I am looking forward to seeing you at the CM and General meetings.

Regards,

Hasmik Kotelyan

(allegrettoms@yahoo.com)

Summer 2018

President’s Message

Welcome to the launching of our MTAC Hollywood Branch website! We are very proud to introduce to you, our branch, its members and the various activities that we offer. We continue to build on our history of 62 years of excellence in music education.

The Hollywood Branch currently consists of 38 members who teach a variety of instruments and who have nurtured hundreds of students through their musical journeys. Our standards are high, and we provide numerous performance opportunities to encourage growth and musical development for our students. We also take pride in providing a platform to display our students’ talents.

The Hollywood Branch offers a series of professionally run recitals and competitions throughout the academic year as well as a highly regarded annual evaluation program, the Certificate of Merit program, that is based on a set educational curriculum.

All these activities are made possible through the volunteer efforts of our teachers. All programs and competitions are planned and conducted by our teachers – a major undertaking, but always done with student benefits in mind.

All the Calendar of Events dates on our website will be updated in August, when our new academic year swings into action.

I am proud to represent our branch as President, and I hope you will find what you need on our website.

Hasmik Kotelyan,

President

APRIL 2024 Newsletter

MARCH 2024 Newsletter

MTAC February 2024 Newsletter

MTAC January 2024 Newsletter

MTAC December 2023 Newsletter (1)

MTAC November 2023 Newsletter

MTAC October 2023 Newsletter

NEWSLETTERS

——————————————————————

UPCOMING BACH FESTIVAL:

BACH FESTIVAL:

BACH FESTIVAL:

NOREEN WENJEN, NCTM

(NATIONALLY CERTIFIED TEACHER OF MUSIC)

CM DATELINE:

January 15
Deadline for all Teachers, Panel and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.

January 15
Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.

VOCE is a prestigious competition for vocalists, strings, winds/brass, and chamber music at the Branch and State levels.

Dates to Remember:

Audition Tips for Students:

President’s Message

Our thoughts are with our long-time member,

Virginia Whitehead with the passing of her sister, Dorina.

Wishing you strength and peace during this difficult time Virginia.

Summer 2018

APRIL 2024 Newsletter

MARCH 2024 Newsletter

MTAC February 2024 Newsletter

MTAC January 2024 Newsletter

MTAC December 2023 Newsletter (1)

MTAC November 2023 Newsletter

MTAC October 2023 Newsletter

NEWSLETTERS

——————————————————————

UPCOMING BACH FESTIVAL:

BACH FESTIVAL:

BACH FESTIVAL:

NOREEN WENJEN, NCTM

(NATIONALLY CERTIFIED TEACHER OF MUSIC)

CM DATELINE:

January 15 Deadline for all Teachers, Panel and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.

January 15 Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.

VOCE is a prestigious competition for vocalists, strings, winds/brass, and chamber music at the Branch and State levels.

Dates to Remember:

Audition Tips for Students:

President’s Message

Our thoughts are with our long-time member,

Virginia Whitehead with the passing of her sister, Dorina.

Wishing you strength and peace during this difficult time Virginia.

Summer 2018

January 15
Deadline for all Teachers, Panel and non-Panel, to enter Repertoire in the Online System.

January 15
Deadline to submit YAG Letter of Intent and Repertoire in the Online System.