6:15pm - 7:00pm NCMTA Board of Directors Dinner
7:00pm - 9:00pm NCMTA Board of Directors Meeting

8:00am - 10:00am Breakfast Hospitality Station
8:00am - 2:00pm NCMTA Conference Registration
8:30am - 5:00pm Exhibitor Displays
8:30pm - 5:00pm Poster Displays
8:00am - 4:00pm NC-MTNA Performance Competition Registration
8:30am - 4:00pm NC-MTNA Performance Competitions

8:45am Opening Session and Welcome

9:00am - 9:45am Reciprocity: An Interactive Performance of Piano/Vocal Music by American Female Composers
Dr. Catherine H. Garner and Dr. Serena Hill-Laroch

This interactive performance invites audiences to immerse themselves in the vocal music and stories of early 20th-century American women composers, celebrating their creativity and resilience. Participants will explore the rich tapestry of styles that helped launch a century of innovation in the soundscape of American art song.

9:55am - 10:45am Lightning Talks

10:55am - 11:40am Split Sessions

Press Play: A Hands-On Workshop of Free Piano Education Apps

  Dr. Samuel Gingher, NCTM

Join us for a hands-on workshop in ECU's keyboard lab, exploring free piano education apps for scales, sight-reading, theory, and more! Bring a laptop or tablet and a friend, and leave with tools you can use immediately.

   --OR--

  Alexander Technique: Learning with the Whole Self in the Music Studio
Dr. Catherine Gardner

Drawing on Alexander Technique concepts, this lecture will explore learning with the whole self in order to find ease in technique, improve performance anxiety and connect more deeply to the music we teach and play.

11:50am - 12:50pm Friday Lunch

12:00pm - 12:50pm MTNA Judges Lunch

1:00pm - 1:45pm Business Meeting and Pictures

1:55pm - 2:15pm Split Sessions

• The Matthay Scale Fingerings for Secondary Piano Study
  Dr. John O’Brien

The benefits of using the scale fingerings of Tobias Matthay in the teaching of scale and stepwise playing in secondary piano study and all piano study.

--OR--

• From Listening to Understanding: Teaching Harmony Through Video Game Soundtracks
  Liwei Li & Angelus Matthew C. Roxas

Video game soundtracks appear to support the development of harmonic comprehension. Interactive listening and keyboard activities help foster students’ understanding and engagement with harmonic identification, function, and form while enhancing aural and theoretical skills.

2:20pm - 2:40pm Split Sessions

• Articulating Bartók: The Secret World of Mikrokosmos
  Dr. Victoria Fischer Faw

Miniature in size but epic in scope, the 153 pieces of Bartók’s Mikrokosmos comprise a catalogue of his entire compositional language, a masterful pedagogical resource, and a wide gamut of attractive and fun-to-play repertoire from the early 20th century.

--OR--

• An Inquisitive Ear: Broadening Listening Skills through Students' Choice Pieces 
  Dr. Natalie Khatibzadeh, NCTM

Through a comparison of musical excerpts from the Suzuki Piano Method books with sample pieces chosen by students, this presentation will explore how varied listening influences pianists’ experiences of timbre.

2:45pm - 3:05pm Split Sessions

• Piano for All: Large Group Piano Classes for Public School Children
  Nathan Shirley

A look into Crescendo! Piano in the Classroom — a unique in-school outreach program bringing group piano classes to hundreds of public school students in schools where music classes had been eliminated.

--OR--

• Rhythm, Regulation and Relationship- Neurodiversity Affirming Framework for Piano Instruction

Jeanetta Powell

A neurodiversity‑affirming approach to piano instruction emphasizing rhythm, regulation, and relationship. Learn sensory‑responsive strategies, communication‑flexible teaching, and adaptable lesson frameworks that support autistic students and create inclusive, engaging piano learning environments.

3:10pm - 4:00pm Exhibitor Showcase and Social Hour

Gather your fellow members for a snack as you stroll through the conference exhibits and poster displays!

4:05pm - 4:50pm Split Sessions

• Dynamics, Wrist, and Rubato: An artistic roadmap for intermediate to advanced pianists

Dr. Lawrence Quinnett, NCTM

Musical expression is a crucial area of growth for any musician.  Breaking down the elements of rubato, wrist motion and dynamics into their various components of "how" and "why" opens expressive capabilities.

--OR--

• The Evolution of Keyboard Fingering: From Paired Fingers to Arm Weight
  Dr. Frank Pittman, NCTM

Trace the evolution of keyboard technique from 15th-century "paired fingering" to modern, anatomically-informed methods. Discover how instrument mechanics shaped pedagogy, moving from isolated finger strength to ergonomic, whole-body approaches that prioritize health and artistry.

5:00pm - 6:00pm NC-MTNA Competition Winners Recital

6:15pm - 7:45pm Banquet

• NCMTA Teacher of the Year Award

• 2026 Foundation Fellow Nominees

The Threads That Endure: Music Study and the Tapestry of a Life
Brian Shepherd, MTNA CEO, Keynote Speaker

Join Brian Shepard for an inspiring exploration of the many ways music study becomes woven into the fabric of our lives. Through personal stories and reflections, this talk will celebrate the lasting influence of music teachers and the power of music study to nurture creativity, resilience, connection, and joy. Together, we’ll consider the important threads each teacher adds to the lives of students and to the broader tapestry of our profession. We will also celebrate the value of our professional community and MTNA’s 150-year legacy of connecting, supporting, and empowering music teachers.

8:00pm Conference Artist Concert

Awadagin Pratt, Conference Artist

9:15pm Concert Reception

8:00 am – 10:00 am BREAKFAST HOSPITALITY STATION

8:00 am – 12:00 pm NCMTA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
8:30 am – 5:00 pm EXHIBITOR DISPLAYS
8:30 am – 5:00 pm POSTER DISPLAYS

9:00 am – 10:15 am Split Sessions

• PIANO MASTERCLASS
  Awadagin Pratt, Conference Artist

--OR--

• Preparing Your Singer for a University Voice Degree: An ECU Perspective
  Dr. Catherine Garner and Panel

10:25 am – 11:10 am Split Sessions

• Piano Section Meeting

• Voice Section Meeting

• Collegiate Open Mic: Coffee & Jams

11:20 am – 12:10 pm Split Sessions

11:20 am – 12:10 pm

• Musical Nuggets for Your Studio!
  Diane Higgins, NCTM, Host

  • Creativity Out of Necessity, Marie Humphrey, NCTM

  • Jars of Jewels – A Practice Incentive for Younger Students, Renee McKee

  • Our Treasure Trove & Diamonds in the Rough, Dr. Frank Pittman, NCTM

  • Patience, Denise Pugliese, NCTM

  • The Power of the Pig, Joanne Riesz

--OR--

11:20 am – 11:40 am

• Celebrating America at 250: Art Songs by American Female Composers
  Dr. Hexin Qiao and Dr. Liangjun Shi

Six art songs by Rebecca Clarke, Florence Price, Lori Laitman, and B. E. Boykin celebrate the contributions of American female composers, tracing more than a century of musical innovation, cultural diversity, and expressive storytelling.

--AND--

11:50 am – 12:10 pm

• Szymanowska in Theory and Practice: Using the Maria Szymanowska Database in Contemporary Piano Pedagogy
  Dr. Derek Myler

This presentation introduces the Maria Szymanowska Database, an open-access resource that catalogs Szymanowska’s entire musical output and extracts over 500 teaching examples through which music educators can isolate and introduce certain theoretical or technical concepts.

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Saturday Lunch

• A Year in Audiation-Based Jazz Instruction: how I learned as a student, and what I learned as a teacher
  Scarlette Kerr, 2025 IMTF Scholarship Winner

• Past Presidents Advisory Council

1:30 pm – 2:15 pm Split Sessions

• Student and Teachers: The Influence of J.S. Bach, George Ives, and Horatio Parker on the Music of Charles Ives
  Dr. Donna Coleman

The "Emerson" movement of Charles Ives's Concord Sonata is juxtaposed with works by Ives's Yale mentor Horatio Parker, with demonstrations of the influence of Ives's father George's schooling in Bach's counterpoint on music often considered formless and untrained.

--OR--

• Developing Technique & Exploring Teaching Possibilities Using New Contemporary Music
  Gail Lew

Expand your teaching repertoire with the newest educational and contemporary piano publications. In a lecture/recital format, Gail Lew will present ideas to improve technique, develop musicality, and promote artistic performances. Teachers will receive a packet of FREE MUSIC!

2:30 pm Performance Festival Honors Recital
Recital Hall

2:30 pm – 3:15 pm Split Sessions

• Multiple Meanings in Piano Scores: Ornaments, Hairpins and Accents
  Dr. Richard McKee

Many piano teachers and students find ornaments to be confusing. Recent research helps clarify standard ornaments and address their expressive purpose. New understandings of expressive markings, such as hairpins and accents, will also be presented.

--OR--

• Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky: Pioneering Teacher of Collaborative Pianists
  Dr. John O’Brien

The life and work of Gwendolyn Koldofsky: the first teacher of accompanying at the university level and the first to offer degrees in accompanying (University of Southern California).

3:25 pm – 4:10 pm Split Sessions

• Performance Anxiety Is My Superpower!
  Bridget O'Leary, NCTM

Performance anxiety derails even well-prepared musicians. Drawing on personal experience and two decades of teaching, this session offers concrete strategies - breath work, bodily awareness, mindset shifts, responses to backsliding - to build durable performing confidence.

--OR--

• Student, Student, What Do You Hear? Practical Strategies for Multi-Level Group Ear Training
  Shereen Lye Ivey

Discover practical strategies for ear training instruction in a group setting with students of differing skill levels. This interactive pedagogical demonstration showcases aural activities designed to make beginners feel successful while simultaneously challenging advanced students.

4:20 pm – 5:05 pm The Un-Recital: An Unusual Twist on the Piano Recital
Dr. Dylan Savage

Dr. Dylan Savage will demonstrate his Un-Recital where there is no set program because the audience picks the music genre and interpretation from a comprehensive list spanning jazz to classical and country to New Age.

4:20 pm Young Composers Concert

5:30 pm East Carolina University Faculty Recital
Recital Hall

7:00 pm Conference Coda, The Music House
Dr. John O’Brien, host

Explore an amazing private collection of historical musical instruments in a Victorian home just down the street from ECU. Light refreshments will be served.