Leadership

Sharon Jensen holds music degrees from Calvin College, University of Texas and University of Michigan. As the recipient of a Rotary Fellowship, she studied at the Hochschule for Musik in Vienna, Austria where she earned the Artist's Diploma. She has performed recitals in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Canada and the U.S. In 2016 Sharon performed with members of the Czech Philharmonic at Smetana Hall in Prague during the Prague Proms Festival. Jensen has been the featured soloist with orchestras throughout the Midwest, including the University of Michigan Symphony, Augustana Symphony and the Quad Cities Mozart Festival orchestra. In 2007 she made her solo debut with the Dubuque Symphony. In March 2010 Dr. Jensen made her debut at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall and performed there for four consecutive years with flautist Peg Cornils Luke. She has also been heard on NPR's Live from Landmark Center, Live from the Chazen and Chicago's Dame Myra Hess Series.

Dr. Jensen was chair of keyboard studies at Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) from 1986-1993 where she was also a member of the Augustana Trio. She taught at UW-Platteville for one year and from 1996-2013 she was a faculty member at Emmaus Bible College (Dubuque, IA). She is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Clarke University where she teaches piano, music history and keyboard skills. She has also served on the faculties of Calvin College, Bay View Music Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Lutheran Summer Music Camp. Sharon is active as a teacher and adjudicator in Iowa Music Teachers Association where her students have earned honors at district and state auditions. In 2015 she was honored as the Nationally Certified Teacher of the Year from the state of Iowa.

Allison Chenoweth is a graduate of Cornell College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Anthropology, and of the University of Chicago, where she earned a Master of Arts Ethnomusicology.

She has been teaching piano in Cedar Rapids since 2005. Allison has served in many positions in her local association, including secretary, vice-president, and president, along with chairing both local festivals and auditions. She has served on the board since 2009, as MTNA Foundation Chair, Second Vice-President for Membership, Outreach and Development Committee Chair, and co-Vice-President for State Auditions.

Allison is active in the local music community, playing clarinet in the Cedar Rapids Community Orchestra. She directs choir and bell choir at her church and plays for services. In her spare time, Allison enjoys reading, walking local nature trails, and attending local music events.

Dr. Melinda Westphalen received her DMA in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Iowa. She is an avid collaborative pianist, currently on the music faculties of Grinnell College, Mt. Mercy University, and Coe College. Dr. Westphalen also teaches music history and music theory.

Mary Beth Barteau Shaffer NCTM, is currently the West Central Division Director of MTNA, serving on the MTNA Board of Directors and as chair of the Collegiate Chapter Forum and the Young Professionals, Collegiate Chapters and Collegiate Members Task Force. She is also a member of IMTA as well as state and local affiliates in Colorado and Arizona. She has held several state and local offices in both MTNA and NFMC in Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa and Arizona, including serving as president of the Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA.)

As a collaborative pianist, she has performed with several former University of Iowa faculty as well as with faculty at the the University of Denver and Colorado College. She has served on several faculties in Iowa, Colorado and Minnesota, and recently retired as director of the Lamont Summer Academy at DU.

Her piano studio has produced many prize-winners in various competitions and her students have been soloists with several orchestras, including the Des Moines Fort Dodge Symphonies. She is also an experienced adjudicator and clinician, and her articles on piano technique have been published in Keyboard Companion. In 2019, she was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by CSMTA.

Cate Bryan, NCTM, a native of Sioux City, Iowa, began taking piano lessons at the age of 5. By age 12, she began to compete at both the Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA) and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) up through her high school graduation, under the tutelage of IMTA members Aris Montgomery, Sally Hodges, and Dr. James March. Most notably in her junior and senior years of high school, Cate was a Level F winner at both local and state auditions and placed honorable mention in the 2001 MTNA piano competition. 

Studying piano seriously in high school led Cate to a music scholarship at Hillsdale College, where she graduated summa cum laude with a piano performance major, under instruction by Drs. Robert and Susan Rathmell.  She also completed a classical studies major, under instruction from Dr. Joseph Garnjobst, Dr. Lorna Holmes, and Dr. David Jones. She combined both majors in her senior piano recital by composing and performing a song cycle from Virgil’s Aeneid called The Dido Series with soprano Hannah (Dixon) McConnell in 2005. Fifteen years later, she was most delighted to present the world premiere of the complete song cycle, known as The Aeneid Series, at the Eta Sigma Phi National Convention at St. Olaf College in March 2019, with soprano Hannah (Dixon) McConnell and tenor Christian Sanders.

Although Cate began piano lesson instruction during her college days, she spent the past decade working in financial services (insurance, investments, and government relations), state government (Iowa Senate), and federal government (U.S. Senate) while teaching piano lessons in the evening hours. 

Dr. Abbie Brewer is a pianist, teacher, and travel enthusiast based in Cedar Rapids, IA. She began studying the piano at the age of 8 in Nebraska. After moving to Iowa in junior high, she began exploring collaborative performance by accompanying her junior high choir. Active involvement in music throughout high school led her to pursue a degree in music education. As a student at Wartburg College, Abbie continued to accompany and began teaching piano to elementary students in the Tower School of Music. Her first teaching position took her to southern California where she also earned her masters degree from Azusa Pacific University. She returned to Iowa for her doctoral studies at the University of Iowa, and continued to teach piano and perform collaboratively, taking advantage of chamber music opportunities in Bulgaria and Italy. Currently, Abbie teaches courses in piano, music theory, and music history at Coe College. She performs with Durward contemporary music ensemble, the Coe College Concert Choir, and is in demand as a pianist in the Cedar Rapids area. Abbie has been praised for her thoughtful playing as well as for her confident, direct approach to teaching.

Dr. Janci Bronson, Full Teaching Professor of Music , is the Coordinator of Class Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Iowa State University. In 2021 and 2022, she won two ISU Miller Open Education Mini-Grants to create "Instructional Videos for Class Piano Courses." In 2018, she was a recipient of ISU's Outstanding Teaching by a Lecturer award.

Her education includes a Ph.D. in Music Education, emphasis in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where she studied with Drs. Jane Magrath and Barbara Fast. She holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. A Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, in Piano Performance was earned from Kansas State University.

Dr. Bronson is an active leader within the Music Teachers National Association. She is currently the Iowa Music Teachers Association Immediate past state President. Previously, she served as the IMTA state President, and state Technology chair, where she wrote biannual articles published in the Iowa Music Teacher magazine. She chaired the 2017 IMTA state conference planning committee, hosted at ISU.

Dr. Bronson was chosen as the 2016-2017 IMTA State Certified Teacher of the Year and received the 2017 IMTA State Distinguished Service award. Previously, Dr. Bronson served as the University of Oklahoma MTNA chapter President when they won the MTNA-Benjamin Whitten National Collegiate Chapter of the Year award. As an undergraduate, she served as the Kansas State University MTNA collegiate chapter President.

She frequently serves as an invited adjudicator, master class teacher, and guest clinician. Dr. Bronson has been invited to present for other universities, state MTNA conferences, state Pedagogy Workshops, and local music teacher groups

Additionally, Dr. Bronson maintains a successful private piano studio of beginners through advanced students. Her students win district and state performance competitions and have been accepted into prestigious undergraduate and graduate piano programs. In summer 2019, she solitarily designed and taught Children's Intro to Piano classes for the Ames, IA, and surrounding communities.

Dr. Tammie Walker, Director of the School of Music and Professor of Piano, is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she earned the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees as a student of Ian Hobson. She became Director and joined the UI School of Music faculty in July 2019.

A Wisconsin native, Dr. Walker's early training was with Frances Karp (Madison, WI) and Penelope Cecchini (UW-Eau Claire, Bachelor of Music). An active solo and collaborative pianist, Dr. Walker has performed in hundreds of concerts throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, western Europe, and South Korea. Highlights include a residency in Yangon, Myanmar, a recital and teaching tour in Seoul, an appearance as the Conference Artist for the Wisconsin State Music Teachers Association convention, solo recitals and lecture-recitals in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia and West Virginia, and concerto performances by Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Grieg and Beethoven.

Walker is an active clinician, lecture-recitalist and masterclass teacher, including presentations at regional and national conferences and several virtual international invitations. She is also in demand as an adjudicator, having served on many regional, national and international juries in the US and South Korea. She held various leadership roles with the Music Teachers National Association competitions at the state and regional level for 15 years.

An interview with Dr. Walker was published in the January 2006 issue of The Piano journal in Korea, and she was featured in a 2007 article in International Piano magazine. Her article entitled "The Status of the BM-Piano Performance Degree" was published in the April/May 2008 issue of the American Music Teacher journal. In 2005 she collaborated on an arrangement of the Largo from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, arranged for alto flute and piano (Progress Press, Chicago) which was premiered at the NFA Convention in the US and in London, England. Her collaborative CD with trumpeter Bruce Briney, Time Passages, was reviewed favorably internationally.

Dr. Walker was recently selected for the College Music Society’s Presidential Task Force on Leading Change (a two-year appointment of 20 international music executives) and is currently working on flute/piano arrangements of pieces by women composers which will be published and recorded/premiered by 2023. An article on the University of Iowa School of Music’s COVID-19 protocols was published in the Music Educators Journal in June 2021.

Dr. Walker was previously on the faculty at Western Illinois University for 21 years (1998-2019), serving as Director of the School of Music her final four years. A committed teacher and the recipient of the 2012 College of Fine Arts and Communication Outstanding Teacher Award, Walker's students have been finalists in several competitions (including MTNA) and have been accepted to summer programs throughout the United States and Germany. While teaching at WIU, her students were admitted to many of the top graduate programs around the country. Former students have won competitions at the University of Illinois, Texas Tech University, UMKC, The American Prize competition, and the Artist Presentation Society competition in St. Louis.

A native of Taiwan, Nai-Ying Liao holds a Master degree in piano and viola performance, a piano pedagogy certificate from Indiana State University, and a Bachelor degree in viola performance from Temple University. In addition to teaching private lessons in Ames, Liao has performed as a violist with the Central Iowa Symphony, and accompanied extensively at ISU. She has been the accompanist for the Ames Children’s Choirs since Spring 2019.

Sarah Reeves has a long-standing passion for teaching piano. Upon completing her Bachelor's degree from Faith Baptist Bible College, where she studied sacred music and piano, she started a private piano studio in Ankeny, Iowa. After five years of teaching, she began to feel the need for formal pedagogy training. Sarah moved with her husband Matt to attend The University of Oklahoma, where she earned her Master of Music in piano performance and pedagogy in 2020, studying with Dr. Jeongwon Ham. She has since returned to Ankeny to pursue her teaching goals.
In addition, Sarah is an active performer and collaborator. She maintains her own piano studies with Dr. Alan Huckleberry at the University of Iowa, believing that regular evaluation is essential to teachers as well as students. She also accompanies choirs, vocal and instrumental soloists and musical theatre productions. She frequently incorporates collaborative playing into lessons, since making music with others is vital for musicians of any age and skill level.
Additionally, Sarah teaches students to play in a variety of styles. She actively seeks out music from contemporary composers and encourages students to learn and adapt the music of their favorite artists.  By introducing students to a variety of genres, she hopes to give students many tools to express their own unique musicality.

Rachel McCoy is a graduate of Iowa State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. She studied piano with Dr. William David and percussion with Dr. Barry Larkin. In 2009 she received the MTNA STAR award and was named to the Phi Kappa Lambda national music honor society and Phi Kappa Phi national honor society.

First involved in IMTA as a student, Rachel has been involved professionally at the local and state levels. Positions she has held are Local Association President, District Auditions Chair, District Festival Chair, State Auditions Chair, State Festivals Chair, and 2019 Conference Chair. Rachel became a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano in 2013.

Rachel currently resides in Osceola, Iowa with her husband, Simon, a band director, and two young children, Declan and Symphony. She has an active private studio, accompanies for two local schools, and works part-time with Clarke County Extension and Outreach.

Dr. Ted Reuter is professor of piano at Wartburg College, teaching piano and related courses, including music history and aesthetics. He received his bachelors degree from Knox College, his masters degree from the University of Illinois and his doctorate from the University of Iowa. Reuter has extensive experience as a performer and has given solo and chamber music recitals at colleges, universities, institutes, and on artist series throughout the country. Reuter is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician, and has done workshops and masterclasses at universities, high schools, and for private teacher organizations across the country. Reuter served the Iowa MTA as president and is currently the IMTA Scholarship Auditions chair. He was recognized in 2012 as a MTNA Foundation Fellow.

Donita McCoy is a native of Mason City, Iowa and has been a member of MNTA/IMTA/MTCI since 1987. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Iowa State University at the age of 33 and has been living and teaching piano in Ames for 49 years. Mrs. McCoy maintains a private studio for piano and strings in her home. She continues to serve as the section bass player in the Des Moines Symphony as she has for 48 years, where she met her husband of 56 years, Richard McCoy. Mrs. McCoy is also currently the principal bass of her community orchestra in Ames.

Donita McCoy was a 2018 Foundation Fellow recipient.

https://music.uiowa.edu/people/alan-huckleberry

Diane M. Smith, NCTM, has taught piano as an independent music teacher in West Des Moines, Iowa, for more than 50 years. She has been an active member of MTNA since 1976, working on the local, state and division levels and serving in a variety of offices including president of the Iowa MTA. Smith was honored by the Iowa MTA as Certified Teacher of the Year in 1999 and with the Distinguished Service Award in 2008. Smith founded and directed the Music and Movement Center, Inc., of West Des Moines, which was one of the largest centers for early childhood music education in the country.

Diane was a 2016 Foundation Fellow recipient.

I am passionate about instilling a love for the piano in my students in a positive and joyful way! Beginning my 37th year of teaching this Fall, I still find great joy in the little victories—a beautifully contoured phrase—a new compositional idea demonstrated—a challenging passage conquered!

My greatest desire is to impact my students to become humble, lifelong musicians and servants—as my teachers did for me. I greatly value the gentle yet firm instruction received from Chiu Ling Lin, Flora Jean Garlock, and my dear college mentor, Charles Bergerson. And yet the greatest call upon my life is to serve my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is worthy of all our praise and worship!

Dr. Luke Tyler has over 20 years of teaching piano to students of all ages and levels, ranging from pre-school aged beginners to college music majors and older adults.

Luke was an Assistant Professor Loras College for 7 years, where he coordinated the keyboard area, taught music theory, and developed courses in African-American music, jazz, and world music.

Luke is active in Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). He has served as an adjudicator, performer, and presenter within the organization at all levels. He has notable performances in Tucson, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Fort Wayne, Germany, Beijing, Harbin, the Quad Cities, Chicago, and Hong Kong.

Luke is currently serving as Executive Director of Northeast Iowa School of Music (NISOM), where he teaches piano and manages development, programming, events, and day-to-day operations.

Dr. Melinda Westphalen received her DMA in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Iowa. She is an avid collaborative pianist, currently on the music faculties of Grinnell College, Mt. Mercy University, and Coe College. Dr. Westphalen also teaches music history and music theory.

Linda Allebach, NCTM, received a BMus and MA in Organ from the University of Iowa. She operates an independent piano and organ studio of 36 students in Davenport. In addition, Linda is on the music staff of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, where she serves as assistant organist.

Her professional associations include the American Guild of Organists (AGO), where she serves on the local board; the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC), where she serves as the local club president (FMTA); and the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), where she is the local Festival Chair. With the MTNA, Linda has her National Certification for Teaching Music in both organ and piano.

Linda lives in Davenport with Don, her husband of 47 years. Their family includes three married daughters and eight grandchildren. In her spare time, Linda enjoys competitive and recreational sailing, sewing, and gardening.

Cyndie Caruth of Ankeny, Iowa has been a certified independent piano instructor for over 40 years and was among the first in the U.S. to be nationally certified through the MTNA examination program. As a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in music education, she taught in the public school five years while maintaining her private studio.

She has served on the Iowa Music Teachers board in a variety of capacities as well as committee work with the West Central division and MTNA. Cyndie was the sole recipient of the 2004 Certified Teacher of the Year and the Distinguished Service Award at their annual state conference; the first to ever receive both awards concurrently. Cyndie is a past president of the Iowa Music Teachers Association, having served during the 2007-2009 term and in June 2017 was again elected to serve as IMTA President for the 2017-2019 term. In the spring of 2023 she will celebrate her 50th year of teaching as an IMTA/MTNA member.

Cyndie was honored at the Music Teacher's National Association Conference as a Foundation Fellow in 2017.

Cyndie serves on the Terrace Hill Endowment for the Musical Arts board.

[email protected]

Ellie Lashier is a Piano Performance student at Iowa State University. She currently teaches at Lott Music Studio and Tuneful Journey in Ames.

Dr. Jason Sifford, NCTM is a freelance pianist, teacher and composer with a wide range of abilities and interests. He maintains a private teaching studio in Iowa City and is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician, lecturing on such diverse topics as classical performance practice, jazz pedagogy, technical development in young pianists, composition, and music technology. He also appears regularly as a music director and theater musician for area theaters including Hancher Auditorium, the University of Iowa Theater Department, and the City Circle Acting Company of Coralville.

Dr. Sifford served as president of the Iowa Music Teachers Association from 20115-17 and serves on the Independent Music Teachers Committee for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. Jason was the 2019 IMTA recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.

As a composer, Jason is primarily interested in didactic literature for the piano, and his catalogue includes three solo collections, a baroque suite, and several arrangements of popular and traditional songs. His music is featured in the state syllabi for Iowa and Minnesota, the bulletin for the National Federation of Music Clubs, and the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada). Dr. Sifford holds degrees from Missouri State University, Louisiana State University, and The University of Michigan.

Dr. Suzanne Torkelson is Professor of Piano and Director of the Tower School (preparatory program) at Wartburg College. She is very active in the field of piano pedagogy, is Repertoire Chair and New Music Editor for the Iowa Music Teachers Association, and continues to work extensively with pre-college students. She has served MTNA as state president, Division Director for the eight-state West Central Division of MTNA, and on MTNA's national board, and has received their Master Teacher certification, the highest level of professional certification. She was honored as a MTNA Foundation Fellow in 2016.

Dr. Jason Sifford, NCTM is a freelance pianist, teacher and composer with a wide range of abilities and interests. He maintains a private teaching studio in Iowa City and is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician, lecturing on such diverse topics as classical performance practice, jazz pedagogy, technical development in young pianists, composition, and music technology. He also appears regularly as a music director and theater musician for area theaters including Hancher Auditorium, the University of Iowa Theater Department, and the City Circle Acting Company of Coralville.

Dr. Sifford served as president of the Iowa Music Teachers Association from 20115-17 and serves on the Independent Music Teachers Committee for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. Jason was the 2019 IMTA recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.

As a composer, Jason is primarily interested in didactic literature for the piano, and his catalogue includes three solo collections, a baroque suite, and several arrangements of popular and traditional songs. His music is featured in the state syllabi for Iowa and Minnesota, the bulletin for the National Federation of Music Clubs, and the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada). Dr. Sifford holds degrees from Missouri State University, Louisiana State University, and The University of Michigan.

TBD