The March NSMTA meeting will be held one week earlier on March 21st at the Winnetka Covenant Church. The business meeting will be from 10-11am and the program "Articulating Bartok: Creating a Pedagogical Edition of 'For Children'" will be from 11am-12pm. The bylaws committee continues working on reforms and the nominating committee will present new officer nominations. AIM Performance Exam registration is open through March 28th and the Piano Competition will be held on May 8th. Long-time member Donna Fortney was honored at a recital by a former student prior to her retirement.

1. NSMTA The SCORE March 2022
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Our March meeting will be held one week earlier to
avoid overlapping the 2022 MTNA conference. The
meeting is scheduled for Monday March 21st
.
Our regular NSMTA business meeting will start at
10:00am and our main program will begin at 11:00am.
We will be at the Winnetka Covenant Church 1200
Hibbard Road in Wilmette. Please do remember that
wearing a mask is still a part of the process of meeting
in person. We will, of course, still be offering the remote
option on Zoom for those that can’t make it in person.
The bylaw committee is still hard at work reforming the
existing bylaws and looking to start an officer’s
handbook. We had hoped to finish this project earlier,
but it will take a while longer. I have nearly finished
organizing our boxes of treasurer records and have
most shredded records older than 2014.
The nominating committee will present a slate of the
new officers at the March meeting.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting!
Eric Sutz
NSMTA President
Eric Sutz, President
In this Issue
President’s Message----------1
Meeting Information---------2
Program ------------------------3
AIM ---------------------------- 4
Competition -------------------5
Sonata-Sonatina Festival----7
Honoring Donna Fortney----8

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• Please enter through the office entrance -
to the left of the big sanctuary doors.
• Restrooms are down the first hallway to
the left.
• Do not enter or leave through the doors by
the playground.
• Masks Required and social distance.
• Refreshments - will be served rather than
“buffet style”
v March 5-27
Piano Competition registration
v March 7-28
AIM Performance Exam (Level 3-12) registration
v March 21
March Monthly Meeting
v April 24
AIM Performance (Video Submission Deadline)
v April 24 and May 1
AIM Performance Exam (In Person)
v April 25
April Monthly Meeting
v May 8
Piano Competition
Monthly Meeting
Monday, March 21st, 2022
* Our meeting will be presented
in-person
Winnetka Covenant Church
1200 Hibbard Road, Wilmette
Virtual Meeting also available through
Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/8472046954
Meeting ID: 847 204 6954
Pre-Meeting
There will be no pre-meeting
discussion this month
10:00-11:00
Business Meeting
11:00-12:00 Program
Articulating Bartók:
Creating a Pedagogical
Edition of “For Children”

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Program
Articulating Bartók:
Creating a Pedagogical Edition of “For Children”
For Children represents the synthesis of the many aspects of Béla Bartók---pianist, teacher, editor, composer,
student of folk music, scholar and author. For Children was Bartók’s first large-scale original composition in
which folk music provides the source material; the technical difficulties and conceptual elements are presented
progressively, using a didactic notational style developed to instruct about idiomatic piano technique as well as
authentic folk style. Bartók’s overarching intention across all his work was to capture and precisely convey his
ideas and message through finely detailed notation. In preparing a pedagogical edition of For Children, the goal
is to clarify the composer’s message, and to provide a systematic approach to building the technical skills and
concepts required for an authentic, beautiful and artistic performance. This presentation will clarify the meaning
of the articulation and other notation in For Children, suggest a pedagogical approach for teachers, and include
a performance of selected movements.
* Please bring the Bartok "Music For Children" to the meeting, if you have them.
The newer editions are two volumes, but very old editions are in four volumes.
Bio
VICTORIA FISCHER FAW, Professor Emerita at Elon
University, is a pianist, teacher, and scholar whose musical
passions include playing, researching and teaching the full range
of piano solo and collaborative repertoire, teaching young
teachers to teach piano, and mentoring undergraduate musical
research. She was recognized as the 2021 North Carolina Music
Teachers Association Teacher of the Year, the 2022 National
Teacher of the Year by the Music Teachers National Association
and named an MTNA Foundation Fellow for 2022. She is an
acknowledged expert in the music of Béla Bartók. First prize
winner of the 1990 Bartók-Kabalevsky International Piano
Competition, her publications include Bartók Perspectives: Man,
Composer, & Ethnomusicologist (Oxford University Press), a
chapter contributed to A Bartók Companion (Cambridge University Press) and articles in Studia Musicologica
and The International Journal of Musicology. Dr. Fischer received her musical education at Centenary College
of Louisiana, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Vienna
Conservatory (Austria), with teachers including Constance Knox Carroll, Donald Rupert, Danielle Martin, David
Renner, Amanda Vick Lethco, Martha Hilley and Elliott Antokoletz. Her career as performer, scholar, teacher,
and adjudicator has taken her across the U.S. and to Puerto Rico, Italy, Hungary, England, Greece, Germany,
Austria, Turkey and Belize. Her students have won competitions, scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships
to prestigious graduate schools, and excelled in careers in music and beyond. Dr. Fischer lives on a Christmas
tree farm in Sparta, NC with her husband, Steve.

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AIM News
AIM Level 3-12 Performance Exam Registration is now available on the NSMTA website:
https://nsmta.org/members-only/
• Login with you NSMTA Teacher account.
• Teachers will need their Teacher Code that was assigned at Level 3-12 Theory Exams. Be sure to enter
exactly as assigned, including L or N prefix.
• Fill out and submit the Volunteer Form, then register your students.
• Teachers may edit volunteer and student registrations once submitted until the registration deadline.
• Once all registrations are complete, be sure to check View/Edit AIM Volunteer and Student
Registrations link to make sure all of your student registrations appear.
Registration deadline is March 28, 2022
Both in person and remote (video submissions) exam options are available for the AIM Level 3-12
Performance exams. Students will need to commit to one option at registration and will not be able to switch
after the registration deadline.
Recording from March 14 Judges Meeting will be available in the Members Only section. If you were
unable to attend the Judges meeting, the following topics were addressed:
v Registration information
v Judging standards, comments and discussion
v Sample Judging of actual level 9 student AIM submission
Quick links for AIM Performance Exam details:
Exam Overview: https://nsmta.org/aim/
AIM Packet: https://nsmta.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2021-22-AIM-Packet.pdf (pp. 17-21)
Short video tutorials for remote exam option: https://nsmta.org/video-tutorials-page/
o Creating your YouTube Channel from your Google Account
o Creating an Unlisted YouTube Playlist*
o Adding Video Files to your YouTube Playlist
o Creating a Google Drive Music Folder from your Google Drive*
o Adding Music Files to your google Drive Music Folder
*For the remote option, teachers will need to submit the links to students’ YouTube Playlist and Music Folder
at registration, even if there are no contents added yet.
Level 12 Information
All level 12 repertoire must be approved by ISMTA State Repertoire Chair, Stephanie Myers, even if the
repertoire is listed in the AIM Syllabus. Fill out the easy-to-follow Level 12 Program Approval Submission
Form at least 5 months prior to the Level 12 exam or recital: https://nsmta.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/10/Level-12-Program-Approval-Submission-FillableFINAL.pdf
Regardless of when repertoire performance will take place, all level 12 students must complete the Level 12
Technique in one of the exam options/dates offered.

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Thank you again for your participation in AIM! If you are new to AIM and need additional help, please
do not hesitate to reach out the mentors for your student’s level, or to one of the two coordinators.
Levels 1-3 Marlene Chatain chatainco@att.net
Levels 4-7 Heidi Mayer germangirlheidi@gmail.com
Levels 8-12 Debbie Gillette debbiegillette1@gmail.com
Jennifer Cohen, LFaimtheory@gmail.com, AIM chair and Lake Forest AIM coordinator
Jia-Yee Tang, NUaimtheory@gmail.com, Northwestern AIM coordinator.
NSMTA Piano Competition
Open Registration:
March 5 – 27, 2022
Register online at
https://nsmta.org/competition/
Application Fee: $35
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Music Conservatory of Illinois
2809 Central St
Evanston, IL 60201
Co-coordinators:
Lindsey Baer:
lindseypoling@gmail.com
Larry Baer:
lawrencebaer@gmail.com
Competition Repertoire List
Primary (Grades 1-3)
- Tchaikovsky: “Old French Song” from Album for the Young, Op. 39, No. 16
- Haydn: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: No. 7: 3rd
mvmt (Allegro)
Elementary (Grades 4-6)
- Schumann: “From Foreign Lands and People” Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Please play both repeats.
- Kabalevsky: Variations, Op. 40, No. 1 (can be found in Bastien Piano Literature, Vol. 4)
Junior (Grades 7-9)
- Bach: Sinfonia #11 in g minor BWV 797
- Grieg: From Lyric Pieces: “Butterfly” Op. 43, No. 1 and “Kobold” (also called “Little Troll” or “Puck”)
Op. 71, No. 3
Senior (Grades 10-12)
- Scarlatti: Sonata in b minor, K. 87/L. 33
- Liszt: Valse Oubliee No. 1, S.215/1

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Piano Competition Rules and Guidelines
1) Registration and applicant fees will be accepted online only. Paper applications and checks will no longer be
accepted.
2) NSMTA members whose current year’s membership dues were paid by October 31, 2021 are eligible to
enter students. Non-members or members who missed the dues deadline must pay an additional $25 fee
which is automatically added to the shopping cart upon checkout.
3) The applicant’s contest division is determined by his/her grade in school. Teachers will be asked to verify
this information at the time of registration. Failure to abide by the competition rules may result in
disqualification. If your student was entered at a lower level last year, you may enroll your student in two
different levels with appropriate pieces. Two fees will need to be paid.
4) Each entrant will be assigned a participant number prior to the contest. The names of the students and
teachers will be unknown to the judges.
5) A maximum of three students per teacher may be entered in each division. There are four divisions:
Primary, Elementary, Junior and Senior.
6) No late entries will be accepted.
7) All required pieces must be played from memory. Memorized pieces must be performed in the order listed
on the Competition Repertoire list. Incorrect repertoire will disqualify the entrant.
8) Students are not required to provide copies of music. Judges will have authorized scores.
9) Four judges (two for each division) will be selected by the Piano Competition Committee. They will be a) a
piano faculty member of a college or conservatory, and/or b) an independent piano teacher who holds at
least a Master’s Degree in Music and is experienced in judging.
10) Judges may declare "no winner" in any or all divisions if performances are substandard. Their decisions are
final.
11) First place winners may compete again in the same division.

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SONATA-SONATINA Festival Winners Recital
Feb. 20th, 2022
St. James Lutheran Church in Lake Forest
Congratulations to all the Sonata-Sonatina Gold Medal winners and their teachers!
Special thanks to Adam Chlastawa, Gold Medal Recital Chair and Donna Fortney for facilitating the recitals.

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Honoring Donna Fortney
Long-time North Shore MTA member, Donna Fortney is retiring and was honored by one of her former students
in a recital on November 28th
, 2021 at St. James Lutheran Church in Northbrook. Nathan Laube studied piano
with Donna for many years, participating in AIM through Level 10 and the Sonata-Sonatina Festival. Donna says
that he distinguished himself with top scores and amazing harmonizations.
Nathan continued his studies at Curtis and on a three-year Fulbright scholarship in Toulouse. Nathan served on
the organ faculty at Eastman before joining the faculty of the university in Stuttgart, Germany. He is a Grammy-
award winner and considered “A star among young classical musicians.”
Donna joined NSMTA around 1976 in the first years of the chapter. She has served as President, SCORE editor,
and chaired the Competition and the Sonata-Sonatina Festival committees. She remembers when playing times
were assigned by hand and took two eight hour days. “I learned so much by being a member of NSMTA. I will
long remember the many very accomplished piano/music teachers who have become my friends.”
We wish Donna all the best in her retirement, and hope she will still find time to come to our meetings.