Workshop
2024 SCMEA Conference Registration
Hello and Happy New Year, SC Piano colleagues!
It's hard to believe but 2024 is in full swing. We hope you have already made plans to join us February 8-10 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center for the 2024 SCMEA Professional Development Conference! The Piano Division has planned a weekend with a variety of sessions, including some information from Dr. Jenna Braaksma from the University of Michigan, a first-ever conference group piano performance by James Island Charter High School, Steinway, and our annual Master Class led by Lander's very own Dr. Robert Kelley, followed by our Honors Recital. Come and connect with colleagues in the Piano Division and don't forget to visit Fox Music, Rice Music House, J.W. Pepper, and all of the other great vendors in the Exhibit Hall either!
See the attached image for the Piano Division sessions you may be interested in attending. If you haven't yet registered, please be sure to do that at www.scmea.net/conference/
Level- After January 16, 2024
Fully Active Member- $160
Retired Member- $0
Collegiate Member- $30
Non-Member- $200
First-Year (Introductory) Member- $100
Symposium Attendee- $25
This newsletter has the information about the Mike Springer Masterclass and Workshop on January 27th below. If you're in the Lowcountry or have the time to travel, you're not going to want to miss his session on adding Improvisation to your curriculum or come watch him work with our talented students. Contact scmeapianodivision@gmail.com if you have any questions.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Sincerely,
Andrea Quinn
SCMEA Piano Division President
JICHS Piano & Strings Director
Click on the poster below to sign students up for the Masterclass with Mr. Springer.
Mike Springer is a professional pianist and composer. He received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from the University of North Texas, and maintains an active schedule as a pianist, teacher, composer/arranger, and adjudicator.
As a pianist, Mr. Springer has performed in concerts and recitals in various locations throughout the world. He has served as a church pianist for over 35 years, and enjoys playing both classical recitals and jazz with his jazz quartet at various local establishments. In addition to performing, Mr. Springer is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) and maintains an award-winning studio of approximately 30 students of all ages and abilities from across the Dallas/Ft.Worth area. Mike is also an adjunct professor of Jazz Piano at Texas A&M Commerce.
As a composer, Mr. Springer has written numerous piano solos, duets, pieces for small and large ensembles, and has written and produced music for radio, film, and both regional and nationally televised commercials. Since the late 1990's, he has worked for various publishing companies including Myklas Music Press, the Hal Leonard Corporation, Alfred Publishing, and the Frederick Harris Music company in Toronto, Canada as a composer and arranger of piano literature. In 2015, he was asked to be a part of Alfred's Premier Piano method as a creator of duets for the duet books of the series. Mr. Springer has had numerous solos on the Federation of Music Clubs list, and in 2015 was honored with an inclusion of three of his works in the Royal Conservatory of Music “Celebration Series”. The Royal Conservatory of Music has recently released the 2022 edition of the “Celebration Series” which include four new pieces by Mike, along with one piece previously used in the 2015 edition.
In 2015, Mike was commissioned by MTNA to write “Nola”, a piano trio commemorating the 10th anniversary of hurricane Katrina. The trio was premiered at the 2015 convention in Las Vegas. In 2017, Mr. Springer was nominated as the Texas MTA Commissioned Composer for 2018. His work, “Atmospheric Forces”, was premiered at the convention in Waco, TX in June, 2018. Currently, Mike is composing a trio for piano, violin and cello entitled “The Four Seasonings” which is scheduled to premier in Carnegie Hall in late 2024.