2025 SCMEA Conferece
February 6-8, 2025
All things SCMEA Piano!
Good morning! This email is to serve as a Congratulations to the teachers and students that partipcated in the SCMEA Fall Piano Festival, impart some information about our upcoming 77th Annual SCMEA Conference and upcoming Piano-specific sessions. I also wanted to remind everyone of the Fall Masterclass with Dr. Scott Price, and our Honors Piano Recital on Saturday, February 8, 2025 that you won't want to miss!
We will also be having elections for our SCMEA Piano Division Executive Board at our Annual Spring meeting after the Recital from 3-4 PM. Please plan on attending; Your voice and service are needed! The 2025-2027 Positions open:
🎹 President-Elect (6-year cycle beginning 6/2025)
🎶 Secretary (2-year term beginning 6/2025) 💲 Treasurer (2-year term beginning 6/2025)
Have a great week and be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions about the conference, sessions, Masterclass/Honors Recital, or more information about the SCMEA Piano Division Officers.
Yours,
Andrea K. Quinn
SCMEA Piano Division President
Director of Piano & Orchestras
James Island Charter High School
andrea.quinn@scmea.net l https://www.scmea.net/divisions/piano-division/
Looking ahead to our Masterclass & Fall Honors Piano Recital 2/8/2025
Thank you for a wonderful SCMEA Fall Piano Festival! We had two days of beautiful performances and close to 160 performers this year. We heard some incredible performances this year and had 160 performers compete for the Masterclass and Honors Recital slots. Thank you to all the teachers that prepared students for our festival. Quality piano instruction is evident in SC! We appreciate you trusting us to give your students a quality learning opportunity to further their music education.
SCMEA Fall Honors Piano Recital in Columbia on Saturday, February 8, 2025, in Ballroom C of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The Masterclass will begin at 12 and the Honors Recital is directly afterwards. We are happy to announce that each school that participated in the festival will have students performing! All students (but one) will play one piece based on the judge's notes/recommendations.
Masterclass Students:
Rylee Day, Gregg Middle School
Vien Doan, Ft. Dorchester High School
Darsh Manikandan, Rollins Middle School
Aaron Wang, Charleston School of the Arts
Gregg Middle School
Andrea Schulen, Director
Lily Jeffcoat
The Piano Studio of Ms. Lorraine White
Juliet Sussman
Akili Pringle
Rollins Middle School of the Arts
Mr. Wayne Helmly, Director
Roman Bland
Maela Ferguson
Maezy Reiff
Zoey Loehr
Elise Mahaffey
Allegro Charter School of Music
Mr. Bill Gesin, Director
Khylin Campbell
Elise Steed
Ft. Dorchester High School
Ms. Candace McLeod, Director
Laila Frazier
Zachary Dauphin
Luca Sweatman
Cade Merfeld
James Island Charter High School
Mrs. Andrea Quinn, Director
Ike Johnson
Quinn Wagner
Charleston County School of the Arts
Mr. Patrick Boyle, Director
Aaron Jones
Jenna Judy
Enoch Cao
Enoch Cao & Aaron Wang
Daniel Stroman
Emmett Townsend
Josie Barrineau
Ellie Tarplay
Grey Harlos
About our Masterclass Clinician, Dr. Scott Price from University of SC
Dr. Scott Price currently serves as Carolina Distinguished Professor of Music, and Coordinator of Piano Pedagogy at the University of South Carolina School of Music. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, The Cleveland Institute of Music, and Bowling Green State University (OH), his recent engagements have included repeated invitations and performances and clinics at the national conventions of the Music Teachers National Association, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, The Royal Conservatory of Music Professional Development Seminars, and solo recitals and presentations throughout AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WV, VA, and Washington DC. Other engagements include performances, masterclasses, and lectures for organizations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, and in South Korea.
Dr. Price is the creator and served for 23 years as editor-in-chief of the on-line piano pedagogy journal “Piano Pedagogy Forum.” “Piano Pedagogy Forum” published more than 30 issues with participation from more than 100 writers from 84 different colleges/universities, over 28 different states and three foreign countries. The Music Teachers National Association named “Piano Pedagogy Forum” as the recipient of the 2008 Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award.
Dr. Price has recorded 39 full length recordings of educational piano music for Alfred Publishing Company and has published educational compositions with Alfred Publishing Company and the FJH Music Company. In addition, he created "The Inclusive Teaching Course” for The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, the first comprehensive online course for piano teachers who wish to include students with autism and other special needs in their piano studios. Dr. Price is a member of the Committee on Special Needs Students for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, served three terms as President of the Board of Trustees of The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, and currently serves as chair of Collegiate Chapters for the South Carolina Music Teachers Association. Special teaching interests of Scott Price include teaching students with disabilities, very young children, and teaching keyboard improvisation to piano students ranging from beginning to advanced levels. His work with students with special needs has been featured on WISTV (SC) and WLTX (SC), and in Clavier Companion Magazine. One of Dr. Price’s students with autism was featured on Dateline NBC, and CNN.
His collegiate students have performed with the University of South Carolina Symphony, have presented at conferences throughout the world, and have been winners of the Article of the year awards from The American Music Teacher journal, and the Music Teachers National Association eJournal. In addition, he has directed 41 doctoral dissertations and seven master’s degree theses. Dr. Price is the founder of the Carolina LifeSong Initiative that is dedicated to providing piano lesson and music experiences for students with special needs, and in fostering best practices in teaching and teacher training. His book “Autism and Piano Study: A Basic Teaching Vocabulary” and two sets of “Evocations” for piano students were published in 2023 by Tom Gerou Music. He has been awarded the "Best of BGSU Outstanding Graduate" alumnus award from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 2002 and was named a Foundation Fellow by the Music Teachers National Association in 2009. He is the 2012 recipient of the Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award for the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Price is a 2019 recipient of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy Outstanding Service Recognition Award, the 2023 Distinguished Alumnus Award from The Cleveland Institute of Music, and in 2020 he was recognized as a Carolina Distinguished Professor – the highest recognition given to a faculty member by The University of South Carolina.
REVISED 2024-25 Calendar of Events
Start looking ahead to the SCMEA Spring Piano Festival!
- Registration is due March 7
- Lowcountry Piano Festival: April 25, 2025
- Upperstate Piano Festival: May 1, 2025
- Spring Masterclass and Honors Piano Recital: Sat. May 17, 2025 Charleston!