Kotahitanga – programme

3.30pm

Registrations in Foyer

6.00pm

Opening of Conference

Welcome and mihi whakatau

6.30pm

Meet outside NCMA for bus to dinner venue

6.45pm

Conference dinner

The Boathouse: enjoy a delicious meal at Nelson’s award-winning heritage waterfront venue, with music by DJ Martin Emo.

8.30am 

Notices

8.45am

Keynote Address – Tim Topham

Dare to Dream – your students need your vision

Why do parents commit their children to six years of schooling but only “try out” music lessons for a few months? Why do so many students quit before they truly see themselves as musicians? Why do some teachers struggle to build a thriving, sustainable studio? One major reason is vision—or a lack of it.

If music teaching is your career, you need a vision—not just for yourself, but for your students. A clear vision fosters student success and longevity.
If you don’t see yourself as a visionary, this talk will change that.

Tim will share real-world examples and a simple four-step framework to help you define and achieve your vision—whether for your studio, business, or life. Using his journey to ‘No Book Beginner’ piano lessons as a case study, he’ll illustrate how vision transforms teaching.

Expect inspiring stories, actionable steps, and the confidence to craft and share your own vision with the world.

9.35am

Pete Rainey

A Career of Creative Collaboration

With a long and varied career in music as a teacher, conductor, and producer, Pete will draw some conclusions about crossing the boundaries of music genre.

10.20am

MORNING TEA

10.45am

Brenda Oakley (MENZA)
Connecting the Dots: instrumental/vocal lessons and the secondary curriculum

This session explores the vital and often under-recognised relationship between private/itinerant music teachers and classroom curriculum delivery. It highlights how the individualised work done in instrumental and vocal lessons directly supports student success in curriculum music, particularly in relation to NCEA achievement.

The session will also touch on NCEA and NZ Curriculum resources for easily understanding the alignment between private/ITM teachers and secondary school achievement levels to ensure a more cohesive and supportive learning experience for students.

11.30am

(Parallel Session)

Gillian Ansell                                   

Stage Etiquette:  some ‘dos and don’ts’ for looking relaxed and confident on stage whether you feel it or not

Gillian presents some ideas on aspects of presenting students (or oneself) in the environment of a stage – walking on and off, bowing, talking to the audience, what to wear and more…

11.30am

(Parallel Session)

Alvaro Saura Moreno   

Story of Two Hats: Music Therapy skills applied in the studio 

Can you wear two hats at the same time? Story of Two Hats explores how ideas from music therapy can support music learning. Drawing on his experience as a music therapist and educator, Alvaro will share practical strategies for integrating therapeutic principles into one-to-one lessons, supporting diverse learners, and creating inclusive, engaging musical experiences. Participants will gain theoretical insights and hands-on approaches that they can adapt to their own studio practice, helping them connect more effectively with students of all abilities.

12.30pm

LUNCH BREAK

1.30pm

Tim Topham                 

Mash It Up! – four simple frameworks for integrated creative teaching

This presentation will show you how to bring more joy, connection and musical freedom into every piano lesson. In this energising session you will discover four practical approaches to incorporating creativity into every lesson: unpacking and exploring chords and lead sheets, four chord composing, repertoire remixing and a pedagogically informed approach to teaching pop songs. 

Each framework gives students the tools to create, explore and make music their own whilst deepening their understanding of music fundamentals. Instead of teaching in silos, you will learn how to weave creativity seamlessly into lessons so that theory, technique and repertoire all work together in fresh and engaging ways.

Whether it is helping students compose their first song, reimagining a classical piece with a modern twist or confidently teaching the latest chart hit, these frameworks will spark excitement in your studio and transform how your students experience the piano. It’ll be fun too! Come ready to mash it up and leave with strategies you can use the very next day in your studio.

2.30pm

Graham McPhail

More on Practice: what we found out about teenage students practice and practice diaries!

This is a follow-up to Graham’s presentation on practice at our last Conference. Graham will share the key findings from a recent doctoral study with teenage students which investigated their ‘self-regulation’ in practice including using a practice diary. The findings provide some insights into the possibilities and limits of how young learners can become more responsible and aware of their practice behaviour.

3.20pm

AFTERNOON TEA

3.45pm

Martin Emo         

Presentation & Workshop

What is DJing? Don’t you just bring the volume up and down on a Spotify playlist? Can’t you just use AI to match songs?

In this presentation Dr Martin Emo will show you what a DJ actually does, including song setup and basic mixing of two songs through to complex DJing with STEMS – separate vocals, instruments, bass and drums. There is an opportunity for attendees to get hands on and touch a DJ controller and experience DJing. He will also include a brief overview of what equipment can be used, and where you can go for support for you and your students (at primary, through to secondary and NCEA levels). This presentation/workshop is aimed at demystifying DJing for music teachers starting with familiar language and terminology. 

4.30pm

Rebecca Ryan              

Kōrero Mai – Talk to Me

Council member Rebecca Ryan will take us through a practical and fun session to develop our te reo pronunciation.

 4.45pm

 Pete Rainey Choral session

Waiata in our lives.

5.30pm

DINNER – own responsibility

Arnold Bax – Elegiac Trio

Helen Fisher – Te Tangi a Te Matui (for solo flute)

Ethel Smyth – Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin

Jenny McLeod – Tone Clock Piece no. 11 (for solo piano)

Salina Fisher – Reflect (for solo viola)

Maurice Durufle –  Prélude, Récitatif et Variations

8.30am

NOTICES

8.45am

Rebecca Ryan       

Kōrero Mai – Talk to Me 

Part 2 of our te reo sessions with Rebecca.

9.05am

Tim Topham             

No Book Beginners: a step-by-step framework for creative piano teaching, right from lesson one 

What would piano lessons be like if we didn’t teach reading in lesson one? What could we do? What could we achieve? How much fun, connection and excitement might students enjoy?

Right now we find ourselves at a crucial crossroads where traditional piano teaching methods are no longer sufficient to engage and inspire many young learners. How do we innovate our lessons for beginner students, while still providing the fundamental training we know is essential?

Imagine a world where your students explore music through creative activities, discover the fundamentals of rhythm and harmony, and develop a passion for musical expression all in their first few lessons.

That’s precisely what this workshop is all about. Whether you’re an independent teacher seeking a better approach, a classically trained instructor seeking creative ideas, or a seasoned educator in need of a refresh, Tim’s No Book Beginners framework will enrich your teaching and open new avenues of creativity.

 9.50am

MORNING TEA

10.20am

Masterclasses

Dr Sarah Watkins – piano

Dr Hannah Darroch – flute                    

Gillian Ansell MNZM – violin/viola

12.20pm

LUNCH BREAK  

1.20pm

Hannah Darroch

Engaging Collaboratively with Aotearoa New Zealand Composition

Weaving NZ works into recital programming and instrumental teaching can offer a connected learning experience, and an extra layer of relevancy. Playing NZ works allows students the opportunity to engage with music written by their peers, or music from and about places they are familiar with. In some cases it also invites performers to delve into more contemporary instrumental techniques, where they may have access to the composer or other local resources to assist in the interpretative process. 

In this session Hannah will outline examples from her own doctoral research and commissioning, sharing her experience of working with living composers in a collaborative way. She will also dive into some other methods for engaging collaboratively with works, which can lead to a richer and more meaningful experience of learning and presenting a new work – and this doesn’t have to mean direct communication with the composer. SOUNZ Centre for NZ Music and many other arts organisations have a range of resources that are a gold mine for performers of all ages and stages.

2.15pm

Gillian Ansell & Sarah Watkins     Collaborative Dialogues

Listen in on a conversation between Gillian Ansell and Sarah Watkins, two of Aotearoa’s leading chamber musicians, as they discuss concepts of musical collaboration from programme planning through to rehearsals and performance. Learn how to embrace the art of co-operative ‘give and take’, which needs to occur in dialogues and collaborations amongst musicians of all ages and experience levels.

3.15pm

AFTERNOON TEA

3.45pm  

Sponsor Updates

A brief update from our platinum Kotahitanga sponsors.

4.00pm

Tim Topham, Gillian Ansell, Pete Rainey

Q & A – a panel discussion on questions submitted by Kotahitanga attendees.

4.45pm

Pete Rainey Choral session’

Choral warmups that stretch us as singers and instrumentalists.

5.30pm

‘Kotahitanga’ wrap up.