AKTA 2024
In-person and/or Virtual
Piano Adjudications
These adjudications are available only to current
AMTA/AKTA Members
In-Person Adjudications
Dr. Dario Martin, Adjudicator
​
​
​
​
About our 2024 In-Person Adjudications:
IN-PERSON ADJUDICATIONS NOVEMBER 9-10: We have asked Dr. Dario Martin from Fairbanks to serve as our adjudicator. He adjudicated for the Fairbanks teachers last year. (See bio below). We hope this will encourage more teachers to take advantage of this valuable educational experience.
​
Dr. Martin will be available both Saturday and Sunday from 9:00-5:00. All adjudications will be held at St. John United Methodist Church – 1801 O’Malley Road. Sunday's adjudications will be held at another location TBA.
-
Dates and Registration Information for In-Person Adjudications
-
Registration forms are due by October 25, 2024
-
To help with the scheduling, list your preference of Saturday or Sunday and morning or afternoon. Let us know if you have no preference, too.
-
To register click on this link:
ABOUT IN-PERSON ADJUDICATIONS: Teachers purchase blocks of time:
​
1. Early Elementary through Elementary (15 minutes/$25)
2. Late Elementary through Intermediate (25 minutes/$35)
3. Late Intermediate through Advanced (35 minutes/$45)
During their adjudication time the students perform 2 pieces of contrasting style for an adjudicator to hear and write comments about. One piece should be “recital-ready” and memorized, while the other piece should have all the notes and rhythms learned, but can be "in progress" and needing additional refinement. The adjudicator works with the student at the piano during this mini-lesson and parents and interested parties are welcome to attend. Teachers may want to group their early beginners (E1 and E2) in more of a class-like arrangement and these students only play one piece. All students receive a ribbon for participation. Adjudicators are chosen for their teaching skills, their musical and pianistic knowledge, and their ability to work with students in a positive and constructive manner.
​
ABOUT Dr. Dario Martin: A native of Havana, Cuba, Dario Martin is a versatile pianist with an international career in solo performance, chamber music, and collaborative piano. He has won first prizes in international piano competitions in Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. Notably, he won the Concerto Competition at Indiana University in 2018, performing Ligeti’s Piano Concerto as a soloist and First Prize in the Jose Jacinto Cuevas Yamaha Piano International Competition 2014 in Mexico. He joined the music faculty at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks in 2023. At UAF he teaches Functional Piano and Music Fundamentals, in addition to his duties as Collaborative Pianist for the Music Department. He collaborates with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, the Choir of the North, students, faculty and guest artists at UAF.
Dr. Martin’s active performance career has brought him to concert halls in Austria, Costa Rica, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Spain, and the United States. He has played as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the Havana Chamber Orchestra and the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra among others. His recent presentations include recitals at UAF, a lecture on Latin American music at Florida State University during the National Association of Teachers of Singing's Intern Program, and the musical direction of several Mozart operas at the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Salzburg.
Dr. Martin finished his doctoral studies in Piano Literature and Performance at Indiana University-Bloomington in the studio of Arnaldo Cohen, with minors in Collaborative Piano and Music Education. Previous studies include a master’s degree and Performer’s Diploma at Southern Methodist University, with renowned artist Joaquin Achucarro, in addition to his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance earned at the Instituto Superior de Arte of Havana in 2011.
Dr. Martin is also a dedicated pedagogue. He began teaching piano back in Cuba at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory of Havana from 2011 to 2013. At Indiana University he taught group piano class and individual lessons for three years. Dr. Martin worked as a Collaborative Pianist at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg from 2020 to 2023. In recent years, he has increasingly performed and taught online, using technology as a tool to engage students and new audiences.
His first CD, El Album de la Ciudad Celeste, was released in Cuba in 2011 and received the Cubadisco Award to the Best Classical Solo Album. Other recordings include the CD Netzaj, alongside trumpet player Fadev Sanjudo, and Up into the silence with singer Diana Fuentes. His second solo album, Juegos de Agua, was recorded by FT Music in Mexico. He is supported by the Joaquin Achucarro Foundation, which has named him one of its legacy pianists.
**************
Virtual Adjudications
Adjudicator, To Be Announced
About our 2024 Virtual Adjudications:
​
VIRTUAL ADJUDICATIONS: As we did last year, students will create videos of their performances which will then be sent to our adjudicator, who will then provide written comments.
MORE ABOUT VIRTURAL ADJUDICATIONS:
​
-
Dates and Registration Information for Virtual Adjudications
-
Registration forms are due by October 25, 2024.
-
To register click on this link:
-
-
Videos, PDFs of scores, and printed programs due Saturday, November 9th.
-
Attach videos to an email to pianoakta@gmail.com
-
FEES: Calculate the number of students in each of the following levels and submit with registration.
-
Early Elementary through Elementary = $25
-
Late Elementary through Intermediate = $35
-
Late Intermediate through Advanced = $45
-
Optional 15-minute Teacher Conference = $15
​​
-
REQUIREMENTS:
-
Students prepare and video TWO pieces. One piece can be “in progress” with notes and rhythms learned but in need of additional refinement, while the other should be memorized and recital ready.
-
Measures should be numbered at the beginning of each system.
-
Further instructions regarding the videos, the programs, and the scores will be emailed once registration and fees have been submitted.
-
To avoid any copyright issues, participating students will need an original score or, if the music is a purchased download, the “authorized for use” should be visible on both the PDF that goes to our adjudicator and in the student’s video.
IMSLP scores that are in the Public Domain are allowed.
In case you are wondering about copyright law regarding the sharing of PDF’s of music, we received the following clarification from MTNA:
It is legally acceptable to send a PDF to a judge if:
-
The student owns a legitimate print or digital copy, and
-
The PDF scan is used only for the judge’s adjudication and is subsequently deleted.
-
At no point should the PDF be distributed to any other individuals.
​
*****************************
​
We are extremely excited to offer this opportunity to students across the State and hope you will make AKTA/AMTA Adjudications a part of your 2024-2025 teaching year. Contact us if you have further questions.
​