Music Educators Association of New Jersey

Serving teachers and students since 1927

Welcome to the new Music Educators Association of New Jersey Website!

Celebrating 90 Years of Music Excellence

The Music Educators Association of NJ is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of private piano teachers founded in 1927. Our mission is to raise the standards of private music teaching throughout New Jersey, while encouraging musical excellence and instilling a love of music in our students. To achieve these goals, we provide continuing education opportunities for our member teachers through monthly lectures, workshops, recitals and master classes. For our students, we offer auditions, competitions, recitals, scholarships and master classes given by artist teachers. Our current President is Nancy Modell, 2016-2019. Messages from the President can be found under Membership on the main menu.

We invite you to browse our website and discover the exciting world of music MEA offers.

Please note that hyperlinks are noted in Bold Red and when clicked will bring you directly to related pages or forms.

The meeting with Adam Kent has been reschduled from January to May 16, 2019. 

 

Join us at the Madison Library  on May 16 to hear Adam Kent present Portraits of Barcelona — works by Catalan composers Federico Mompou and Manuel Blancafort.  Please arrive by 9:45. Learn more about our wonderful guest speaker and perfromer Here.

January 17, 2019
Jed Distler
The Golden Age of Pianism on Record

The Golden Age of Pianism on Record: Jed Distler examines traditions of Romantic performance practice through the artistry of legendary piano icons such as Josef Hofmann, Ignaz Friedman, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Moriz Rosenthal and more.
 
Composer/Pianist Jed Distler is the Artist-in-Residence for The Classical Network WWFM.org, where he is the creator, producer and host of the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award winning weekly program Between the Keys. His recitals encompass mainly new music, including works composed especially for him by Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Andrew Thomas and others. Distler's compositions include a Guinness record-breaking piece for 175 keyboards, works for speaking pianist, chamber and vocal music, and a new chamber opera Tools, to be premiered in New York in October of 2019. His solo piano CD devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk will be released by TNC Music in January 2019. Distler contributes reviews to Gramophone and Classicstoday.com, and has written numerous booklet notes for box set reissues of pianists such as Horowitz, Graffman, Fleisher, Browning, Cliburn, Richter, Argerich and countless others. A Steinway artist, Distler has recorded more than 125 selections for Steinway's Spirio reproducing piano. For the full scope of Distler's activities, visit www.jeddistler.com.

HOMAGE TO BACH 
Registration for the Annual Piano Compeition is now in progress.

The deadline to enter your students in this competition is January 15. 

Register online from your Member Homepage or download a form from Forms and Downloads.

 

Message From The President
MEA's 91st Year

Read the latest message from our president, Nancy Modell Here.

EXCITING NEW CHANGES TO THE AUDITION SYLLABUS for 2019!

The Audition Committee is happy to share some exciting changes that were made to the syllabus. Be sure to go to your Member Homepage to view or download the revised syllabus. We have been listening to your concerns!

• Student arrangements are now an acceptable option for required repertoire.
An original composition or a student arrangement may be performed as one of the required pieces providing it is comparable to the level of difficulty for that particular grade and category and is notated. Note: As of 2017 this applied only to Original Compositions.

  • The requirement limiting repertoire to only one piece from a given method book has been removed. This applies to the Introductory through Junior B categories.

  • A NEW LEVEL HAS BEEN ADDED! A Pre-Senior D has been added to the previous 3 Pre-Senior levels. This level will help smooth the transition to the Senior level. It has only three categories and requires only one piece by memory. The pieces required are more difficult than on the Intermediate level but students will be able to progress to the next level without having to prepare a 4th piece and additional memorization.

  • Please remember that pop and jazz pieces have always been an option for the choice selection. It seems that many teacher are unaware of this, so we wrote it out more clearly where applicable. The choice selection can be a comparable piece from any period including pop, jazz, and notated originals and arrangements. Applies to Junior A through YA.

    If you have not renewed your membership, you will not be able to access your Member Homepage and download the Syllabus, so it may be a good time to do so now. If you have renewed and cannot access your  Member Homepage, contact Joan Bujacich: auditions@mea- nj.org.
     
THREE HONORS RECITALS HELD
NOVEMBER 11, 2018
 Three exceptional recitals were presented on Sunday, November 11, 2018 at the intimate Randolph Performing Arts Center of the Music Den.  A warm thank you is extended to all the judges, teachers and parents for their inputs and support. Thank you to the Honors Recital Committee members who worked tirelessly to ensure that the audition and recital days went smoothly. And congratulations to the 55 students who gave outstanding performances!
    Please visit the Honors Recital Highlights for a look at this MEA event.
 
Charlene Step
Honors Recital Chair

Eric Steiner Original Composition Competition
The 2018 Booklet is ready for members to enjoy!

Chair, Kathy Knittel with the help of member, Christina Hansen, created a beautiful 92 page booklet of student original compositions who were entered into the 2018 Eric Steiner Original Composition Competition. Twenty-four students entered in the 2018 competition representing 10 teachers.  

The  Booklet is now available for current members to view/download.  Simply login to your  Member Homepage and look in the right-hand column under downloadable documents.    Congratulations to all of the students who participated for their outstanding work!  Looking forward to next year’s continued interest and growth in the art of original composition.  For more information about the Eric Steiner Original Composition Competition visit the webpage by clicking Here.

 

November 15, 2018
Juliana Osinchuk

The Higlights from this most exciting meeting are now posted. Click Here to read all about Ms. Osinchuk's wonderful presentation celebrating Leonard Bernstein's 100th Birthday!   To learn more about our guest speaker visit Here.

The COMPOSER'S  CORNER

The October 25th "kickoff' meeting of MEA's Composer's Corner was significant, congenial, and enlightening. There was an extensive variety of musical styles and sensibilities that each composer brought to the group. An atmosphere of openness and a willingness to share abounded in this good-vibe, first meeting, followed by a light bite to eat The next meeting will be Thursday, March 28 at 10:15 AM (tbd).

Highlights are now available from our wonderful October Meeting!

Ingrid Clarfield, Keeping the Spark Alive and Still Learning after 50 Years
Outreach and Hospitality

Guests from many New Jersey music organizations joined MEA members to hear Ingrid Clarfield’s presentation and enjoy the festive Potluck  Buffet Luncheon at the October 18, 2018 general meeting.  The change of venue  to accommodate the larger audience and extensive buffet was ideal. It was truly a memorable event. To read more about the general features of the gathering and Ingrid's presentation go Here.  




Friendly Forum
The Place for Discussions Written For
and By MEA Members

New Topic Question: 

How do you share musical experiences among your students: class lessons, duets or trios, recitals, etc.? Look for the responses in the January 2019 Glissando!

Suggestions for topic questions and comments on former topics are always welcome. 

RSVP: friendlyforum@mea-nj.org

MEA-MJN 2018 Scholarship Awards

The Scholarship Committee awarded Camp Scholarships to three outstanding students:

Gordon Li.   A student of Julia Lam, Gordon is an 8th grader at William Annin Middle School and attended the one-week Westminster Choir College Piano Camp in July. 

Kelsey Lee.  Kelsey, who studies with Beatrice Long, is a student at Summit High School and attended the two-week Interharmony International Music Festival in Germany in August.

Eliza Tagle.  Another student of Beatrice Long, Eliza also attended the two-week Interharmony International Music Festival in Germany in August. She is a student at Millburn High School.

All three students have impressive music credentials and experience, including awards, recitals, second instrument proficiency, and  ensemble performance.  The Board awarded a total of $1,100. Click here to see the write-ups of their life-changing summer experiences.

 Congratulations to these outstanding, deserving young musicians!

The MEA-MJN (Mary Jean Nelson) Scholarship Fund relies solely on the generosity of our donors, matching contributions from employers, and music sales at the monthly MEA general meetings. MEA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax-deductible. Making a contribution to the scholarship fund is a wonderful way to support aspiring musicians and perpetuate the beauty inherent in the arts. With your donation, you can also honor a person with congratulations (birthday, anniversary, graduation, etc.), get-well wishes, or in memoriam. Please help us continue our scholarship efforts!

 The MEA Scholarship Committee:  Sondra Tammam and Charlene Step, Co-chairs and Sal Mallimo

 For more information on the scholarship program click Here.

 

2017-18 in Review

Remember that all of our lectures and special events are archived under the “Highlight” link on our website. Last year was our 90th Anniversary year and it was a year filled with exciting events. If you missed any of these celebrations you can still read all about them along with our regular monthly lectures Here.

October 19, 2017: Celebrate Ensembles The program  was a two piano and duet recital performed by MEA members at the Steinway Gallery in Paramus.

November 19, 2017: In celebration of our 90th Anniversary the MEA-NJ presented ~ Our event for Students of MEA members. The Good Times with Ragtime celebration included special guided tours of the museum’s Guinness Collection of Automata (music machines). The Ragtime Festival student showcase followed at 3 PM at the museum’s Bickford Theatre.

Nov.  30, 2017: Francoise Choveaux
Sound Visions, Music for Museums

January 18, 2018: The Bulletproof Musician -a GREAT Presentation by Noa Kageyama (Juilliard)

February 15, 2018
TEACHERS' MASTER CLASS with Jerome Lowenthal

March 15, 2018
Paul Roberts, Scenes from a French Nursery

April 8, 2018
Gala Concert & Cocktails
To view a video of the concert click Here.  

April 19, 2018 
Celebrate Composers: MEA-NJ  was pleased to present a morning of original music composed by our own MEA-NJ members!  

MAY 17, 2018
Magdalena Stern-Baczewska: Baroque Keyboard Music of Italy, France, Germany, and Spain: Stylistic Elements and Aspects of Interpretation.

June 14, 2018: Young Artists Master Class, Dmitry Rachmanov