Members of the Year
Each local association is invited to name a Member of the Year for their group. These individuals are recognized at the annual state conference for their outstanding contribution and service to their local association.
2023 Members of the Year:
Shishi Cai
Shishi Cai, a collaborative pianist and teacher, enjoys a full and diverse dual career as an active performer and teacher in Bloomington-Normal area. Originally from China, Shishi graduated from Northeast Normal University in music education. She studied piano performance with pianist Dan Wen Wei, the chair of piano department at the Central Conservatory of China in Beijing. Ms. Cai earned her Master’s degrees in both piano performance and music therapy from Illinois State University. As a member of MTNA and ISMTA, she enjoys teaching students of all ages and promoting community music events. She currently serves as a member of the music faculty of Eureka College. She likes visiting national parks with her family and is passionate about photography.
Alessandra Odazaki Rodriguez
Alessandra Odazaki Rodriguez is a Brazilian educator and performer who lives in Chicago. She teaches piano at Merit School of Music, DePaul Community Division, and her own studio in the Fine Arts Building. She is also the membership and AIM Theory chair of the CAMTA chapter of MTNA. Her research interest is the piano music of black Brazilian composers in the 19th century. CAMTA is pleased to have chosen Alessandra as its Member of the Year.
Sarah Schwartz
Sarah Schwartz is a piano teacher at The Conservatory of Central Illinois in Champaign. She holds a MM in Piano Performance from Michigan State University, where she studied with Ralph Votapek, and a BME from Northern Arizona University, where she studied with Frank Scott. She also studied with Roy Hamlin Johnson at the University of Maryland at College Park. She taught piano in Virginia and Tennessee before moving to Illinois in 2003. She is a long-time member of MTNA and the current AIM Chairman for the CUMTA chapter. She also works as an administrative assistant for ISMTA, handling the workbooks for the AIM program. (That’s where those workbooks come from!)
Dr. Pei-I Wang
Pei-I Want is the Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Millikin University in Illinois. She is an accomplished soloist who has performed with various orchestras, including the Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, the Sangamon Valley Civic Orchestra, and the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra. She has also recorded Carl Czerny’s four-handed piano fantasies with Dr. Sam Gingher for the Naxos label. Wang is an active adjudicator, performer, clinician, and presenter in the music field. She holds several leadership positions in the music associations of Illinois and Decatur, such as the Secretary-Treasurer of the ISMTA, the President of the DAMTA, and the Coordinator of ISMTA Competition SOUTH.
April Camden Mitter
April Camden Mitter is a seasoned musician and teacher with over 30 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Wheaton College and Conservatory and a Master of Music in piano performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University. She has taught private, group, and early childhood music at both institutions. She is the founder and Executive Director of Market Street Music Conservatory in Marion, Illinois. She also serves as the program chair for the Egyptian Chapter of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association. Her piano teachers include William Phemister, Marcia Bosits, Fran Larimer, and Elvina Pearce.
Lisa Strandberg
Lisa Strandberg is the Treasurer of the Fox Hills chapter of MTNA in Crystal Lake. She joined the chapter in 2009 and has served as President, Publicity/Historian officer, and newsletter editor in the past. She is also the chairperson of two events: the Fox Hills Grands, a multi-piano student concert, and the Sonata/Sonatina Festival. She values the networking opportunities and the learning experiences that MTNA provides. Lisa encourages her students to participate in the AIM program, where she also judges. She also works as a part-time church organist. FHMTA takes great pride in announcing Lisa Strandberg as its Member of the Year.
Dr. Joseph D. Welch
Joseph Welch’s musical versatility and supportive collaborative spirit have made him a highly valued pianist, coach, and teacher. He holds various leadership roles in the GAEMTA, including Vice President/Program Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, and Membership Chair. He has performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s IN UNISON Chorus and Opera Edwardsville, and coached vocal students in the Opera Theatre of St. Louis Artists-in-Training program. He is the Professor of Music and Chair of Music and Theatre at Blackburn College, where he designed a new B.A. in Music that is both practical and artist-centric. You can find out more about him at his website [drjosephwelch.com].
Rasa Valancius
Rasa Valancius is NMTA’s Joint Workshop Committee Representative. She has a flair for making a simple idea into something beautiful, and her style always adds a special flavor to an event. When the Sonata-Sonatina Festival came fully into the hands of NMTA, Rasa immediately created a setting that spoke to the students and their families about the joy of performing music. Overarching all these tasks is the true joy that Rasa exudes when talking about teaching piano. She profoundly understands young people and how to encourage and nurture their piano progress. She also has great empathy for those students who struggle and creatively adjusts teaching strategies to students’ learning styles and needs.
Jia-Yee Tang
Jia-Yee Tang is a pianist and educator with a dual degree in Music and Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts from UC San Diego, and a Master of Music from Northwestern University. She teaches piano at Northwestern Music Academy and Music Institute of Chicago and serves as the co-coordinator of the NSMTA Achievement in Music program. She is the voice behind the audio files for the aural skills exam, and the website chair of the NSMTA. She has developed a new NSMTA website and an advanced Member Portal with her husband, Jason Craft. She is a member of the ISMTA AIM Revisions committee and an editor of the annual AIM Theory exam.
Lindsey Baer
Lindsey Baer is a versatile musician who has been a member of NSMTA for over a decade. She is an accomplished singer, pianist, instructor, and director, working as an accompanist and vocal coach in the Chicagoland area. She has sung in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Chicago’s WFMT studios. This year will mark her fourteenth consecutive year as assistant music director and chorus master for the Savoyaires Gilbert and Sullivan Company in Evanston and the Director of Music in Park Plaza in West Rogers Park. She holds a master of music in voice from Northwestern University.
Patti Nyien
Patti Nyien has been a member of the SCMTA since 1987. She became Nationally Certified in 1992. Currently, she teaches a studio of 30+ students in Westmont, IL. Patti holds a Bachelors of Music in Education (Magnum cum laude) from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. She is an American Choral Directors Association member and directs Forever Praise Choir. She served as ISMTA Treasurer from 2001 to 2007 and was the Salt Creek Chapter President since 2003-2007 and is resuming that leadership role in 2022. She was the ISMTA Foundation Fellow in 2017 and has received Best of Westmont for Continuing Education Award for 12 consecutive years since 2012. Patti also adjudicates for the National Federation of Music Clubs, ISMTA Voice and IMA.
Kimberly Lang
SSMTA is proud to announce Kimberly Lang as the Member of the Year. She is a recent addition to our chapter, but she has already impressed us with her enthusiasm and passion for teaching piano. She has also shown a remarkable spirit of service, taking on the role of Secretary of SSMTA. She brings valuable experience from her previous work in gifted education and reading instruction, which she applies effectively in both the classroom and her studio.
Janet Kuester
Janet Kuester is the founder (2004) of The Music Connection. Mrs. Kuester has taught violin and piano for more than 40 years in both private and group settings, and is a member of the Chicago Federation of Musicians, Suzuki Association of the Americas, MTNA, ISMTA, SAMTA, El Sistema USA, National Guild of Piano Teachers, and is a past member of Orland Park and Frankfort Chambers of Commerce, and Toastmasters. She received her music degree from De Paul University and is a certified Suzuki piano and violin teacher. She has performed with the Lake Forest Symphony, Schubert Woods String Quartet, and the Waukegan, DePaul, Chicago Civic, Chicago Heights, Kankakee, Southwest, Richmond, and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestras.
Dr. Karin Redekopp Edwards
Karin Redekopp Edwards is a professor of piano emerita at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and the 2013 recipient of the Wheaton College Senior Scholar Achievement Award for her excellence in performance and teaching. She is an active soloist and collaborative artist and a member of the renowned duo piano team, Redekopp and Edwards. Karin has performed and taught in various countries, including China, Laos, Canada, England, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Israel, and Europe. She recently played the Beethoven Choral Fantasy with the Downers Grove Choral Society and Orchestra. Karin has served as the Joint West Suburban Workshop Chair and as the ISMTA First Vice President and Convention Chair.
