2024-2025 Programs

September 11, 2024

 Melinda Goodwin, of Goodwin Piano Studios in Charlottesville, VA

“Without the Instrument, Without the Music: The Fourth Way to Learn (Teaching Beginners Through Music Games”

 Melinda offers Music For Young Children group classes for children ages 2-9 as well as private lessons for ages 8 and above.  Prior to moving to Virginia she  had her own studio in Texas for many years. For 2 years, she was an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University where she taught master's level pianists how to be piano teachers, and piano proficiency group classes for undergraduate music majors and non-majors. Her degrees include MM Piano Performance and Pedagogy at Southern Methodist University and BM Piano Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Oklahoma.  She says, “I love teaching students of all ages and abilities, but my specialty is teaching beginners!”

  November 13, 2024

Thomas Marshall, University Organist, and Instructor of Organ and Harpsichord at The College of William and Mary

“Keyboard Kaleidoscope” 

This program will be held in the in the new music building at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.  Mr. Marshall will demonstrate and perform on several of the instruments in the college’s historic keyboard collection. He will also demonstrate the large new pipe organ in the recital hall if the group so desires. Information on directions and parking will be sent nearer to the time of the program.

Tom Marshall has been an instructor at the College of William and Mary since 1982 and was recently named University Organist. He also served for more than two decades as harpsichordist for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation where he  performed numerous works of the concerto grosso style in original orchestrations, on original instruments. He is featured on many of the historical recordings issued by the Foundation.

A longtime member of the American Guild of Organists, he has served as organist for the Williamsburg United Methodist Church since 2004. He performs frequently with the Virginia Symphony, numerous baroque chamber ensembles, and organ and harpsichord recitals throughout the United States and Europe. He has made seven study tours in Europe to examine and play many surviving keyboard instruments from the 15th to the 19th century.  He holds music degrees from James Madison University and The University of Michigan.

 January 8, 2025

Eric Lyttle, Instructor of Piano, Jazz Piano and Musicianship at The College of William and Mary

            “Teaching Jazz Piano to Beginners”

Eric Lyttle has been playing and teaching piano for over 35 years. He received his Bachelor's degree in Jazz Composition at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has a Master's Degree in Music Composition from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

He has been on the Music faculty at the College of William and Mary since 1999, teaching classical piano, jazz piano, and Musicianship (private instruction in ear-training, music theory, and composition). Eric is an active performer and an accompanist in jazz and latin-jazz in the Richmond, Charlottesville, and Williamsburg areas. His fine teachers include Doug Richards, Joanna Kong, Dika Newlin, Sonia Vlahevic, Johanna Spiers, and Alan Blank. As a student of the legendary Barry Harris, Eric passes along the jazz traditions exemplified by Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans.

March 12, 2025

 Jane Alcorn, pianist

            “A Tribute to Maurice Ravel on the Anniversary of his 150^th Birthday”

Jane Alcorn performs and discusses French pianist, composer, and conductor Maurice Ravel and some of his most-loved works for piano,

A native of Nova Scotia, pianist Jane Alcorn attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and later completed an Artist and Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. During the 24 years she and husband Michael lived in Connecticut, Jane taught piano privately and enjoyed performing as a soloist and collaborating with other artists. Since moving to Williamsburg in 2002, Jane has served as Staff Accompanist for the Williamsburg Choral Guild and has performed with numerous area musicians. She has served on the Boards of the Williamsburg Music Club and the Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg.

About The Presentation

GUIDING INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS THROUGH THE BRIDGE

 Research shows that a big percentage of students who quit piano lessons are between ages 11 and 14. That is when many extracurricular activities are added to their schedule which affect their performance in other areas, including piano. How can we prepare our intermediate students for that inevitable phase? How can we keep them engaged and motivated? More importantly, how can we GUIDE them through the bridge that will lead to their success? This lecture will discuss a few tips that might help your students make progress and succeed during a very busy phase in their lives.

About the presenter

Dr. Paulo Steinberg has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist across the U.S., Canada, South America, and Europe. In the spring of 2017, he undertook a European recital tour stretching from the U.K. to Latvia including Ireland, Scotland, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, and Sweden.  

 He holds Piano Performance degrees from Conservatório “Carlos Gomes” and Universidade de Sāo Paulo in Brazil, Arizona State University (M.M) and Indiana University (D.M.). His main piano teachers are: Carlos Yansen, Paulo Gori, Gilberto Tinetti, and Evelyne Brancart.

 Steinberg often serves as an adjudicator in competitions, and offers master classes, lectures, workshops and performances in the U.S. and abroad. His summer projects normally include teaching at the Saarburg Chamber Music Summer Festival in Germany and traveling around Europe, Brazil and/or Canada. His research interests focus on piano technique and Brazilian music.

 Besides his love for teaching and performing, Steinberg has served in several administrative positions, most recently as president of the Virginia Music Teachers Association.

Four CD albums have been released recently: The Recital Clarinetist in collaboration with clarinetist Dr. Janice Minor; Duos in collaboration with clarinetist Dr. Sarunas Jankauskas; Time, Place, Spirit in collaboration with flutist Dr. Beth Chandler; and his solo CD album Alma Brasileira. For more information, go to www.paulosteinberg.com or follow him on Instagram (@paulosteinberg).

About the Presentation

Are Your Students Addicted to Screens? Turn their love of technology into music theory success

 Use your students’ love of technology and competition to build their music theory skills. Learn how a free website teaches music theory by using addictive, interactive, and competition-based technology. Bonus: The website follows the VMTA music theory exam syllabus.

 As the 14 year old CEO of acalympics.com, Karstan Bock will share the experiences that motivated him to build the acalympics.com website. He and his piano teacher, Susan Atkins, will provide background on the music theory curriculum used in the free acalympics.com website and demonstrate how the music theory games capitalize on a student’s love of technology and competitive instincts to make boring paper and pencil music theory instruction a thing of the past.

This presentation will also show how acalympics.com can leverage a student’s skills singularly or as part of a team while participating in virtual competitions to improve music theory skills. Games include music theory terms, note reading, ear training and more. Music teachers will learn how they can use the tool to deliver tailored music theory instruction sessions to improve their students’ skills.

 In this session you will learn:

Acalympics background and research

How the website uses competition to enhance learning The curriculum behind the games and how to play

How a teacher can use the website in their studio

With over 100,000 games played since 2018, Acalympics has had great success motivating the gifted, students with autism, and every ability in between. No matter a student’s instrument or ability, this tool will turn students into music theory champions.

About the Presenters

Susan Atkins, NCTM

Susan has 32 years of private piano teaching experience including students of all ages and skill levels. She is the owner of the Piano Learning Center in Virginia Beach and is Past-President of the Virginia Music Teachers Association. Currently Susan is President of the Tidewater Music Teachers Forum.

Karstan Bock, Founder and CEO of acalympics.com

Karstan is a 12th grade student at the Math and Science Academy at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, VA. Karstan plays 5 different musical instruments and enjoys computer coding.

Dr. Ben Corbin

March 8th 2023 Master Class

Dr. Ben Corbin maintains an active schedule as a pianist, chamber musician, teacher, and lecturer. Competition prizes include top prize in the Phi Beta Music Competition, 1st place in the OMTA Piano Competition, and 2nd Place in the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artists’ Competition. He has been featured on classical radio KMFA in Austin, TX (2014) and has been described as an “incisive” pianist by the Colorado Springs Gazette (2013). Ben has had the privilege of performing at Taiwan’s National Concert Hall and on the Dame Myra Hess International Concert Series, as well as a featured soloist with the Hampton Roads Philharmonic, the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble, the Virginia Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra, and the Christopher Newport University Wind Ensemble

Dr. Corbin received the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Oregon where he studied with Dean Kramer and David Riley. He also received a second Master of Music and the Doctorate in Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano from The University of Texas at Austin, studying with Anne Epperson. Ben has served as a member of the Collaborative Piano staff at the Meadowmount School of Music in upstate New York, the Second International Clarinet Festival of Panamá, and the Torggler Summer Vocal Institute. Dr. Corbin is currently Assistant Professor of Piano and Collaborative Arts at Christopher Newport University, where he also serves as the Director of Keyboard Studies