Before competitions, the attending students were given the opportunity to warm up on the Disklavier pianos. According to Betty Martin, MTAC Convention chair, "The students love to play with the Disklavier features."

     The Young Artists Guild is the most prestigious program of Certificate of Merit, through which the most gifted and advanced students are recognized and assisted in semi professional performance opportunities statewide. Seven new members of the Young Artists Guild, Tiffany Hsieh, Carolyn Jaw, Jenny Kim, Garrick Chak, Jessica Rastegar, Christina Kim, and Julie An gave a concert and were installed at the convention.

     The Young Composers Guild presentation concert also took place, which featured five creative young students—Lauren Sigband, David Chiu, Kathrine Chiu, Johanna Melissa Orquiza, and Andrew Norman—who performed their outstanding compositions.

     Eight talented pianists, four from Southern California and four from the north, all winners of their regional competitions, came together for the concerto competition and awards ceremony. Awards were funded by chapters of the Piano Technicians Guild. Performers ranged in age from ten to 22 years old. Concerto competition performers included Emily Wang and Isaac Wang in Division I (through age 11), Howard Na and Jessica Ou in Division II (ages 12-14), Jia Jia Wang and Garrick Chak of Division III (ages 15-18), and Jia Wei Gu and Min Jun Zhao of Division IV (ages 19-24).

     For the past 12 years, the MTAC has commissioned an original piece that is debuted at the convention. West coast composer Martin Rokeach authored this year's piece.

     The Convention closed with a concert by pianist Angela Hewitt who presented a program of works by Bach, Mozart, Messiaen, and Liszt followed by two encores.

Music Society
Raises Funds for
Regional Library piano

he Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Fredericksburg, VA was home to a large auditorium with a stage and seats, but it was missing a piano for performances. That all changed this year when the Rappahannock Music Society, which is affiliated with the National Federation of Music, held a fundraiser to raise money to buy a quality piano for the Library's auditorium. "If we ever wanted to use the auditorium for concerts or performances, we would have to rent a piano for the occasion," says Nackie Steinbach, Owner/Director of the Fredericksburg Yamaha Music School. "The Music Society came up with the idea for this fundraising project years ago; we decided to sell piano keys for $250 each. Donors could have their own names or 'in the memory of' names of loved ones on a plaque near the piano."

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     A book of donors was also created for those who donated under $250. In addition, concerts featuring local musicians were held once a month. The performances were free, and attendees were asked to donate money towards the purchase of the piano.

     A total of 146 families and businesses, including 88 families and students of the Fredericksburg YMS, contributed towards the purchase of the Yamaha 6'1" conservatory grand piano.

     Although the Library owns the piano, the Rappahannock Music Society pays for maintenance and tuning by a professional piano technician. Members of the Rappahannock Music Society who worked on the fundraiser are Nackie Steinbach, Sandra B. Anderson, Ron Riley, and the Yamaha Music School staff, including Ann Cooper and Elin Havrilla.

Disklavier Technology
Enhances Vocal Training

hen Barry University in Miami Shores, FL equipped its music studios with Yamaha Disklavier® acoustic/digital pianos, it made Assistant Professor of Music William Jenkins Adams very happy. Adams runs the Musical Theater program and teaches voice at Barry University. Teaching in a growing music program where the majority of students are voice majors, Adams finds the Disklavier to be an integral part of the school's effort to assist students' vocal and musical development.

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