ISME COMMISSION FOR EDUCATION OF THE PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN (CEPROM), SPILAMBERTO, ITALY, JULY, 2008 (ISME: Int'l Society for Music Education, www.ISME.org, world's oldest & most esteemed organization in the field, under auspices of UNESCO)
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Ms. Gutman was invited to participate in the proceedings of CEPROM, that hosted peer-reviewed presentations by variety of 19 invited scholars from all over the world, including several deans of music schools and a former ISME president, as well as aspiring young scholars. The subjects of presentations included great variety. The gathering provided a great opportunity for getting to know the participants and for informal exchange, fostering collaborative atmosphere.
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The proceedings of the Commission culminated with the collaborative publicationn that is made available to the public at no extra cost. (The article/summary of Ms. Gutman's presentation can be found on the page 47; use + & - for adjusting the fonts) Ms. Gutman's presentation covered variety of aspects of teaching piano, including the importance of encouraging creative authentic the expression for students of all ages (incl. very beginning), student's self-motivation, achieved by engaging in composition, some success-determining issues in piano technique, student-teacher emotional connection, reflecting her Adjudicator's experiences etc.
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| We've begun our 1st actions of Int'l Campaign for Advocacy for Music Education through Brain/Music Research during the events of the 28th World Conference of ISME (www.ISME.ORG), held in Bologna, Italy, in Summer of 2008. Prior to the Conference, Ms. Rozalina Gutman was invited to participate in CEPROM of ISME (Commission for Education of Professional Musician), held in the City of Spilamberto. Her esteemed colleagues from all over the World wholeheartedly supported these efforts. But the most touching was the way the "non"-musicians-locals resonated to the music-related issues, including the City's Mayor (on the photo!), who simply did not appear to be just an administrator-bystander, but rather was helping carrying out various tasks during the events. Something special must be said about the love for music that runs through Italian blood...
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Ms. Gutman's presentation highlighted various aspects of her innovative approach to teaching piano, incl. constructive critique of current teaching methods, derived from her experience in adjudicating student examinations for Certificate of Merit in various branches of Northern CA Music Teachers' Association, psychological aspects of child-centered & holistic structure of her teaching, effective approaches to piano technique in light of famed Russian piano tradition, while focusing on her unique approach of engaging of even young-age students in pro-actively creative activity of original composition, that is self-motivating and rewarding for both child and teacher, using as illustrations the works of her little students, based on her original Composition Projectbook "Let's Compose Variations" based on the theme by Kabalevsky.
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| One of the great highlights of the Commission was the performance of children choir from Prague (under leadership of Prof. Jarmila Kotulkova), that various included choral works as well as quite meaningful children opera "Brundibar" (with sets and costumes), performed with the great vocal skill and theatrical expression, uncommon for such young-age performers, resulting from great teaching approaches.
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The local hosts, the founders of the local "J. du Pre Music School" cellist Antonio Mostacci & pianist Miriam Garagnani worked hard to coordinate variety of issues, in order to make the proceedings of the Commission possible. They demonstrated quite remarkable results for teaching music to children with mentaldis orders. Also, they greeted the attendants of CEPROM with their live music performance (also open to the public) that included the original piece by the long-time Commission member Diane Blom.
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| Very supportive and hospitable team of the municipal administrators provided interesting excursions to the local attractions, incl. unique Museum of Balsamic Vinegar, combined with generous food and wine tastings, sampling locally hand-made traditional delicacies. The local library offered the event, celebrating the works of world-renown child writer/educator Gianni Rodari, who lived in the area, whose approach served as the source of inspiration for musical story-telling for Ms. Gutman. It was inspiring to see the signs of re-construction for the ancient buildings that preserve the historical experiences for the next generations and could serve as great venues for the cultural life and tourism.
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