2026 State Conference SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2026
NOTE: The events listed below take place in the Mackay Campus Center.
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Registration
9:00 am - 9:15 am
Welcome - Christine Kang, NJMTA President
9:15 am - 11:00 am
Intermediate Master Class with Chee-Hwa Tan
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Bite-Sized Presentations
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
LUNCH (New Members Meet & Greet)
1:15 pm - 3:15 pm
Lecture - Recital - Robert Weirich
“The Golden Thread: The Life and Times of an Itinerant Piano Student”
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm
Meet the Composer - Matthew Liu; Commissioned Composer Competition
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Winners’ Recital - YMC (Winds/Strings/Voice) & HSS
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Banquet (location TBA)
VIOLIN and VOICE WORKSHOPS
NOTE: All events for the violin and voice workshops (aside from lunch) will take place in the Gambrell Room in Scheide Hall.
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Registration and warm-ups (violin)
9:00 am - 1:30 pm
Master Class - Eric Wyrick
Princeton Violin Showcase
1:45 pm - 2:45 pm
Lunch for violinists - Mackay Campus Center
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1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Registration and warm-ups (voice)
2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Master Class - Adria Firestone
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2026
NOTE: All events take place in the Mackay Campus Center.
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Registration
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Advanced Master Class with Robert Weirich
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Lecture - Brian Shepard, CEO of MTNA
“The Keys to the Treasure: Why Music Study Matters”
- Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of MTNA
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
LUNCH / General Meeting
1:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Lecture - Chee-Hwa Tan
“Targeting the WHY: How to Motivate Students to Play Artistically by Harnessing Creativity and Emotional Connection”
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Winners’ Recital - YMC (Piano, odd ages)
5:15 pm - 6:45 pm
Winners’ Recital - YMC (Piano, even ages)
C O N F E R E N C E C O M M I T T E E
Richard Woo (Chair), Allison Franzetti, Ikumi Hiraiwa, Christine Kang, Mi-Young Kim, Chiu-Ling Lin, Chiung-yin Cheng Liu, Hwei-Lan Luo, Esma Pasic-Filipovic, Naomi Sestak, Amy I-Yun Tu,
Hendry Wijaya, and Wei-Yuh Christina Xie