Music students attend valuable conference
Dr. Jim Margetts recently led the group of piano students to a national conference with two days devoted to collegiate-level piano students
Talia Enevoldsen said the conference was incredibly profitable and inspirational for her and the others who went.
This is the first time that CSC has attended this specialized conference, which is only in its third year of existence. The 2013 event was hosted by Margetts’ alma mater, Brigham Young University.
Other CSC music students have attended a more general Music Teachers National Association conference three times since 2008. That conference has one day of five devoted to collegiate-level students; compared to the conference in Provo which had two full days dedicated to this audience, according to Margetts.
Margetts, who instructed a conference session, said, “Our students are already looking forward to the next conference at SMU in January 2015, and would like to be among the presenters at that one.”
Enevoldsen said, “What I learned was so much more than what we usually learn in classes, there were teachers, young and old, who told us about their experience in all different types of situations. For example, there were two young women who explained very well how to teach in rural areas and how to bring the experiences of art and classical performances to small town students who rarely get that chance.”
As a student coming from a rural background, she found this advice practical and applicable.
Other speakers explained how to make music lessons fun for kids, how to incorporate technology into lessons making it easier for the teacher and the student, how to do improvisation and how to mold certain songs into something a student can play.
An author from New York City promoted his book which addresses bringing the arts back to the modern day world.
“Honestly, while I was there I had so many ideas for my piano studio and teaching that I had never had before,” Enevoldsen said.
Category: Campus News, Music