MTNA and the GP3 Forum: the start of a promising future.

MTNA and the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (GP3 Forum) have joined forces.

The partnership provides the GP3 Forum greater ease and opportunities in its financial planning, advertising, website hosting, online registration and collection services. The collaboration allows GP3 leadership to devote more focused energy towards realizing its core mission: to serve college and university teachers of group piano and piano pedagogy through its biennial conference. The joint venture's terms specify that the GP3 Forum remains autonomous in matters of current and continuing leadership, mission, programming and focus, while MTNA provides programmatic, marketing and administrative support for the GP3 Forum's meetings.

"This is a win-win situation for both groups," says MTNA Executive Director Gary Ingle. "This union enables MTNA to expand our offerings to college faculty while giving the GP3 Forum assistance with its program."

The GP3 Forum was co-founded by Laura Beauchamp, Michelle Conda, Barbara Fast and Andrew Hisey. Current leadership includes Michelle Conda, Barbara Fast, Susanna Garcia, Andrew Hisey, Tom Pearsall and Lisa Zdechlik.

The GP3 Forum's next biennial conference, the first collaborative manifestation of MTNA and the GP3 Forum, will be August 4-5, 2006, at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. The two-day event will concentrate on specific needs of college and university teachers of group piano and piano pedagogy with the main theme: "The Millennial Student (The Next Generation.)"

The first day of the 2006 conference will open with guest speaker Tami Bush Peck, on the topic: "Working with Special Needs Students." Peck, a learning specialist, counselor and school psychologist, has 22 years experience teaching public school students with learning disabilities. Additionally, a panel consisting of piano teachers and parents of special needs students will share their expertise.

Craig Vickio, director of the counseling center at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, will open the afternoon session with: "Understanding the New Millennial College Student." A leading authority on the topic, Vickio will share practical observations about modern-day students and discuss potential implications involved in working with them. A panel will discuss what issues need to be addressed in pedagogy classes to help future teachers successfully adapt to the millennial student. Breakout discussion groups will conclude both the morning and afternoon sessions.

"Group Piano and the Millennial College Student," will be Saturday's focus along with a panel discussion about the group piano curriculums relevancy in music performance, music education and music technology. Rotation groups will concentrate on ways to address the millennial students' needs in the group piano learning environment, including cooperative learning techniques, technologies to stimulate learning both within and outside the classroom, litigious issues and training teachers for the millennial group-piano classroom.

In keeping with the practical hands-on experience characteristic of previous GP3 Forum conferences, participants are asked to bring and share assignments and projects, both from piano pedagogy and group piano, which students found helpful and relevant. These will be available for perusal during the conference.

Conference information can be found at www.gp3forum.org. Registration is $100 (students $75) until June 15; after June 15, $125 (students $90). E-mail your questions about the GP3 Forum to [e-mail]. We look forward to seeing you in August 2006!

Barbara Fast is keyboard chair and associate professor of piano pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma. She co-founded the National Group Piano/Piano Pedagogy Forum for university teachers.