On Sunday the 2nd of March we held the Victorian Music Teachers Association (V.M.T.A) Piano Day, this is a bi-yearly event and we were fortunate enough to have our Chapel Street Store chosen as the location for the event. The piano day comprised of three main speakers each of which explored topics as diverse as bio-mechanics to composition, below I have provided a brief outline of each speaker’s background.
Timothy Young.
Timothy Young is one of Australia’s most versatile pianists. He received his Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne as a student of Ronald Farren-Price and Mack Jost. He then continued his studies in Italy with Lidia Baldecchi-Accuri, receiving his Diploma at the Paganini Conservatorium in Genova, Italy. Throughout Europe Timothy won first prizes in Piano Solo, and Chamber Music competitions, and performed with various distinguished chamber musicians in many prominent festivals. Since his return to Australia, Timothy has appeared with success in most of the nation’s music festivals as a solo performer, accompanist and chamber musician. He is also a busy recording artist, continually adding to his internationally acclaimed discography. Currently, Timothy is the Co-ordinator of Piano at the Australian Academy of Music and a founding member of Ensemble Liason. He performs regularly in recital as a soloist, accompanist, and in partnership with leading Australian and international ensembles.
Mira Jakopanetz.
Originally from Belgrade, Mira received her BA, BMus (Masters) from that city’s Faculty of Music and was the recipient of the first prize for the best student. She was subsequently awarded a scholarship to study piano at the Tchaikovsky Conservatorium in Moscow. She has studied with Professors E. Timakin, V. Vitale and K. Taylor. Mira has performed extensively since the age of 15 as a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician throughout Europe and Australia. She has recorded and performed for ABC FM and 3MBS FM. For the last 10 years she has taught piano and piano pedagogy at Monash University, as well as performing and giving master classes. She is an experienced teacher at all levels, an examiner and adjudicator, and takes a keen interest in working with talented students. Mira is currently Head of Piano at Melbourne Grammar School where she also accompanies VCE students.
Margarita Krupina.
Margarita Krupina was born in Lvov, Ukraine. In 1982 she graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Piano and Music Education from Lvov’s Conservatoire of Music. Soon after she settled in Melbourne where she immediately established her own piano teaching studio, Margarita immersed herself in studying new methods of teaching young children, whilst continuing her piano performance studies with Prof. Boris Guslitzer. She successfully completed her Yamaha Associate Diploma and LMusA under his guidance. Margarita works at Yamaha Music School, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar and Camberwell Grammar School teaching students of all levels from beginners to advanced, both privately and in groups. She is a dedicated teacher and her students have won many prizes in local and international competitions.
