The Nebraska Music Teachers Association (NMTA) held their annual state conference on the campus of UNO last week. UNO students Hannah Fisher (“LGBT Who?: Affirming LGBTQ Students in the Music Classroom”), Simon Olivares (“Historical Keyboard Music, Dying?”), and Lillian Kraft (“Show Biz, Baby: Why Musical Theatre is an Essential Part of Children’s Education”) presented poster sessions.

In the MTNA Young Artists – Nebraska state competition, Seulji Kim, student of Dr. Taylor, was declared the winner and will advance to Divisionals to be considered for the finals at national convention. Tianyu Luo, student of Dr. Washington Garcia, was awarded Alternate.

In the NMTA Collegiate Piano Competition — Level 1, Lillian Kraft was declared the First Place Winner. Bryn Groenjes was awarded Second Place. Pranita Devaraju received Honorable Mention in the NMTA Collegiate Piano Competition—Level 2. All are students of Dr. Taylor.

The UNO chapter of the Collegiate Music Teachers Association was selected to give their chapter’s poster session, “Blanket Forts and Hot Cocoa: Mental Illness and Teaching the Next Generation of Musicians,” at the MTNA Collegiate Piano Pedagogy Symposium in Muncie, Indiana in January 2020. Hannah Fisher was selected to present her solo poster session, as well.