BC Registered Music Teachers Association

The Vancouver/Burnaby Branch is conducting a series of presentations on Canadian and International exam systems. To date we have heard one-hour presentations from Conservatory Canada, BC Conservatory of Music and the Canadian National Conservatory of Music; in February we will be featuring the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Trinity College and the London College of Music. We would like to extend an invitation to our colleagues to join us at the February sess...ions, please forward this information as you see fit to your members. To RSVP for any or all of these events, click here. Questions can be submitted in advance on the form, and the links will be sent a few days before each event. For more information please visit https://bcrmta.org/music-exams-exploration-workshops-janua/ (hands out will soon be posted on this page). Links to video presentations are available there for the sessions that have already passed. See more

Congratulations to the highest mark medalist students of the Richmond Branch. Well done!

Over the last eight years, the Lotus Centre for Special Music Education has aimed to provide access to adapted music education for the special needs community in Ontario. We are the only organization of our kind in Canada, and we have been a leader in increasing access to adapted music education worldwide. To further this work, we are very excited to announce that we will be starting our own Professional Development training programs over the next year! These will consist of ...webinars, mini-courses, and a certification program, all designed to train music teachers for working with students who have special needs. These events will all be online, so they will be available to teachers anywhere in the world. Please see the two attached posters. The first gives general details about our upcoming PD programs, and the second announces our first event: a free webinar scheduled for Friday, November 27th at 1PM. We look forward to seeing you all there! See more

Two graduate students from the University of Ottawa [Olivia Adams and Anneli Loepp Thiessen] would like to survey music studio teachers to see how the conversations around anti-racism and decolonization are affecting studio practices, and to determine whether private music teachers are engaging in this conversation. From the results of this survey they will curate a website with resources on anti-racist practices in the music studio. They will create pedagogical tools with co...ncepts, terms and resources that are age-appropriate for students at the levels of Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and University. The digital survey is a series of close answered questions and will take 10-15 minutes to complete. The survey results are completely anonymous and there are no wrong answers. Any survey responses will help them in this research, with a goal of helping to equip private music teachers to create studios that are more equitable and inclusive for all of their students. Go to https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/J7FC9XG The deadline for response is November 22. See more

This year, the Vancouver/Burnaby Branch is celebrating is centennial, 1920-2020! In honour of the occasion, we would like to invite you and your students to join us for our Canada Music Week celebration which this year will take the form of a composers’ forum with guests Christine Donkin, Alexina Louie and David McIntyre. Visit https://festivals-recitals.bcrmta.org/node/12 to register and feel free to forward the attached poster to your students and colleagues. Registration is open until November 19 or when all spaces are full, maximum capacity is 100.

Great opportunity this fall to celebrate Canadian music!

BCRMTA PIANO COMPETITION RESULTS ARE IN! CONGRATULATIONS ALL! Final Awards for the BCRMTA Piano Competition 2020 Dr. Jamie Syer Announces:... First of all, I’d like to thank BCRMTA for asking me to adjudicate this year’s competition. I was delighted to be part of such a celebration: featuring great music, outstanding performances by talented musicians, and the fruits of fine and dedicated teaching. I want to congratulate, first, all five of the performers. You were each worthy to be chosen by your local BCRMTA chapter, and all of you gave performances that impressed me with your technical skill and preparation, and moved me with your musical interpretations. I was impressed, too, by the quality of the videos you submitted. Knowing how to use technology to capture your performances has always been important, but now more than ever. I also congratulate your teachers, for the hours of expert guidance and never-ending encouragement they give to you; as well as your families, your friends all those who help you find the time to practise, and who support you when you need it most. I was glad to see, reading your biographies, that many of you have a wide range of activities beyond playing the piano. We pianists can be a solitary lot, if we’re not careful, and you are all doing well in making sure that, although piano is an important part of your lives, it’s not the only important thing. Several of you are finding creative ways to share your music with others, and to explore interests beyond music, too. Bravo for your imagination, your energy and your enthusiasm. The results of a competition are always just a snapshot of one moment in your musical careers. In any contest, if you don’t win the award you were trying for, know that there are always more opportunities, should you choose to take them. And of course, in the long run, it is the joy that music brings to ourselves and others which is most important, not whether we have won first place. Thanks again for including me in your music-making. Most of all, I hope that I am able to hear you in person sometime. Dr. Jamie Syer Bergen, Alberta Adjudicator’s Choice Award: Michael Robert, North Island Best Performance of a Canadian Work: Ivy Lin, Vancouver/Burnaby Third Prize: Braden Eguia, South Fraser Second Prize: Raphael Brisebois, Abbotsford First Prize: Johnathan Devey, Victoria To view the performances of the final round competitors, please go to: https://bcrmta.bc.ca/bc-piano-competition-video-links-fina/ To view the performances of all our competitors, please go to: https://bcrmta.bc.ca/bc-piano-competition-video-links-2/ To access the competitors' programs and read up on their bios, head over to https://bcrmta.bc.ca/piano-competition-2020/ A hearty congratulations to our winners and all our fine competitors!

RIP Linda Niamath <3

The BCRMTA Piano Competition is in full swing. We are pleased to announce that the First Round Finalists are: Rafael Brisebois -- Abbotsford Braden Eguia -- South Fraser Johnathan Devey -- Victoria ... All first round performances are available here: https://bcrmta.bc.ca/bc-piano-competition-video-links-2/ We encourage you to listen to the stellar programs of all the competitors - their performances are a real treat! The finalist programs will be available for viewing at 12:00 (noon) Sunday, September 20. Further information regarding the announcement of the winners will be forthcoming, so keep an eye on your inbox! Kudos to Piano Competition Chair Maureen Hollins and Webmaster Dina Pollock for their efforts and brilliance in making this virtual competition a reality.

Here is the latest information about the Winter RCM exam session. We encourage you to visit the Winter Remote Exams page on the RCM Music website regularly. This site will continue to be updated and will have the most up-to-date information regarding Remote Exams.

Pedagogy Discussion with Jon Kimura Parker - Monday, September 14, 2020 The Vancouver/Burnaby Branch is proud to announce the first in a series of events to honour our centennial year. https://www.facebook.com//a.41969425474/3556488927729234/

A Letter from the President of the Royal Conservatory of Music

Frontline Workers, Vancouver Symphony and Dan Mangan Cover The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love"

Keep up the good work! To all our BCRMTA music teachers in this time of COVID-19.

most current information from the RCM: "Over the past 13 weeks we have been working around the clock to develop solutions to ensure the continuation of music learning. With the launch of Remote exams, as with any new process, some questions have arisen. Due to the volume of exam requests received due to the COVID situation, our processing times can be delayed. We would encourage you to ask your students to check their MyRCM account daily as their exam schedule and sight-reading will be available in the account based on the processing timelines indicated above.

RCM Remote Exams have been launched, marking a new era in music education. As Dr. Peter Simon, President & CEO of The Royal Conservatory of Music explained to CTV's Your Morning show, "We believe it is really essential for music study and music making to continue, we want the children that are at home to have avenues for self-expression and to have some fun!". You can watch the whole interview below.

Dr. Peter Simon, president of the RCM. "I was asked to address the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons of Canada. This gave me a platform to ...inform the MP’s on the Committee about the importance of music education in communities across the nation, and about the significant impact the crisis is having on music teachers’ practice and income....You can watch my comments to the Committee on this topic here. " See more

Sharing a gift from Anita Perry for all of you and your students The duets are free of charge so play them and share with everyone. "I wrote these duets because I wanted to do something positive for all us piano teachers struggling to keep students enthused and practicing during the Covid-19 Pandemic. And as a composer, it was pretty much the only thing I could do. The duets range in difficulty from RCM level 4/5 for Social Distancing Blues, to level 7 or 8 for Reflectio...ns. The duets were written especially to be played using video conferencing, taking into consideration the fact that only one person can be heard at a time. Social Distancing Blues uses a dialogue form of composition while Reflections is a little more experimental, written without a time signature to encourage partners to listen to each other to carefully place their entries." Go to https://www.dropbox.com//h5gn6d/AACzhorZT1pakf-TrsUnVemQa to download them.

****important announcement****

BCRMTA COVID-19 BULLETIN #4 Message from the President During the past several weeks, as British Columbians and Canadians, we have all been working hard to do our part in ‘flattening the curve’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Minister Adrian Dix and Premier John Horgan announced the plan for the reopening of the BC economy and what that would mean for BC residents. The most salient point was, that although we have flattened the curve, we are not yet o...ut of the woods. However, there were glimmers of hope for the extending of our contacts in the coming days. Having said that, the requirement to maintain physical distancing is still in place. In March, BCRMTA recommended that all member teachers consider immediately ceasing face to face lessons. To our knowledge, teachers have made monumental efforts to move their teaching online and have worked really hard to maintain contact with students and their families. In light of the information provided by the BC Government last week, BCRMTA is suggesting that all member teachers continue to avoid face to face teaching. If circumstances allow in person lessons, it is strongly advised that Government guidelines are strictly enforced.

We are always proud to recognize the service of our students. Congratulations to all these Richmond branch award winners!

Here is a timely post to share with your teachers and their students.

Thank you for finding ways to continue the musical education for your students.

If you believe you need to postpone the examination into August or beyond, please complete this form.