KETS Seminar Returns for a Seventh Smash Year
 Peter Baartmans |
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Increasing in popularity each year, the 7th annual Keyboard Ensemble and Technology Seminar (KETS) will convene at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, June 19 to 26, 2008. More than 60 hours of classes, labs, projects, performances and concerts will be offered, along with invaluable opportunities to network with new colleagues and old friends. Graduate and undergraduate credits are available.
Five clinicians – Susan Ogilvy, Susan Cooper, Larry Keenan, Vicki McVay and guest clinician Doug Sole – will share their enthusiasm for and expertise on the Yamaha Clavinova digital piano. Special guest Yamaha artist and Clavinova specialist Peter Baartmans will also be on hand to offer a special workshop.
This year will again feature a three-track level format, enabling participants to freely choose among courses for entry, intermediate and advanced level learning. Sessions will cover such topics as selecting voices, saving, registration, recording, editing, and creating custom styles, and will be augmented by lessons on song orchestration, composing and arranging ensembles, multi-pad implementation, improvisation, and creating intros, endings and modulations. New sessions will also give greater focus to improvisation.
Last summer, 31 public school and university music educators, private teachers, church musicians, performers and music enthusiasts attended from 19 states. "Each year, at the conclusion of KETS, participants evaluate the seminar. They let us know what benefits them most, what they'd like to see us do the following year, and what they want to learn," says Ogilvy. "Most of our new offerings this year – and every year – relate directly to what we learn from this feedback. The active involvement of the educators who attend KETS is a big part of the excitement and inspiration of it."
In response to participant feedback, KETS-7 will offer additional lab time for attendees to work on individual projects; they will also enjoy more flexibility to choose and move among the three tracks of instruction. A course on computer sequencing and notation is once again on the schedule due to popular demand. And, says Ogilvy, "there's a huge movement today that's focused on how to teach music to adults. This interest stems directly from growing recognition and awareness about the multiple benefits of making music, and it's evident in fields such as health, wellness and recreation. So, this summer, for the first time, we'll offer a concentration on adult teaching strategies."
Daily KETS-7 sessions on Yamaha instruments will include the following:
Five clinicians – Susan Ogilvy, Susan Cooper, Larry Keenan, Vicki McVay and guest clinician Doug Sole – will share their enthusiasm for and expertise on the Yamaha Clavinova digital piano. Special guest Yamaha artist and Clavinova specialist Peter Baartmans will also be on hand to offer a special workshop.
This year will again feature a three-track level format, enabling participants to freely choose among courses for entry, intermediate and advanced level learning. Sessions will cover such topics as selecting voices, saving, registration, recording, editing, and creating custom styles, and will be augmented by lessons on song orchestration, composing and arranging ensembles, multi-pad implementation, improvisation, and creating intros, endings and modulations. New sessions will also give greater focus to improvisation.
Last summer, 31 public school and university music educators, private teachers, church musicians, performers and music enthusiasts attended from 19 states. "Each year, at the conclusion of KETS, participants evaluate the seminar. They let us know what benefits them most, what they'd like to see us do the following year, and what they want to learn," says Ogilvy. "Most of our new offerings this year – and every year – relate directly to what we learn from this feedback. The active involvement of the educators who attend KETS is a big part of the excitement and inspiration of it."
In response to participant feedback, KETS-7 will offer additional lab time for attendees to work on individual projects; they will also enjoy more flexibility to choose and move among the three tracks of instruction. A course on computer sequencing and notation is once again on the schedule due to popular demand. And, says Ogilvy, "there's a huge movement today that's focused on how to teach music to adults. This interest stems directly from growing recognition and awareness about the multiple benefits of making music, and it's evident in fields such as health, wellness and recreation. So, this summer, for the first time, we'll offer a concentration on adult teaching strategies."
Daily KETS-7 sessions on Yamaha instruments will include the following:
- Group Piano & Teaching Strategies
- Ensemble rehearsals and read through
- Clavinova techKNOW
- Portable keyboard techKNOW
- Consumer projects & performances
- Open lab time on Clavinovas and PSRs
- Lunchtime teacher sharing
- Educational displays & materials, social events, concerts
As always, project presentations are held on the final day of classes, and Ogilvy says they are the hallmark of the week. "Projects range from the very simple to the complex, and most focus on something people want to do when they return home," she says. "For me, it's striking that people are still learning on the last day. Everyone is still taking notes, still networking. This is their passion." A gala dinner and awards ceremony for attendees and clinicians concludes the week of professional development and networking.
Participants regularly cite the hands-on learning, camaraderie and invaluable technology training as key reasons why they attend KETS. "The clinicians truly speak the language of the teacher and I'm not a technologically advanced person, so I feel grateful for that," says Shari Henney, who has attended all previous KETS seminars. Last summer, first-timer Gloria Wright says she was thrilled at the amount of individual instruction, and adds, "KETS kept me thinking for a long time. It felt like a turning point for me. This was my first exposure to group piano teaching and it's going to make a difference in the way I teach."
The 7th Annual Keyboard Ensemble and Technology Seminar is sponsored by Ogilvy Music, The University of Kentucky and Yamaha Corporation of America. For further information on KETS, please visit www.sospace.com. For further information on Clavinova Digital Pianos, visit www.clavinova.com.
Participants regularly cite the hands-on learning, camaraderie and invaluable technology training as key reasons why they attend KETS. "The clinicians truly speak the language of the teacher and I'm not a technologically advanced person, so I feel grateful for that," says Shari Henney, who has attended all previous KETS seminars. Last summer, first-timer Gloria Wright says she was thrilled at the amount of individual instruction, and adds, "KETS kept me thinking for a long time. It felt like a turning point for me. This was my first exposure to group piano teaching and it's going to make a difference in the way I teach."
The 7th Annual Keyboard Ensemble and Technology Seminar is sponsored by Ogilvy Music, The University of Kentucky and Yamaha Corporation of America. For further information on KETS, please visit www.sospace.com. For further information on Clavinova Digital Pianos, visit www.clavinova.com.