During the two-day event, Shimron performed a solo piano recital, co-adjudicated a contest for young piano students, and taught a master-class with four of the competition winners.

His Nov. 7, 2014, recital included works by J. S. Bach, C. P. E. Bach, Bartók and Chopin. The competition and master class, which took place on Nov. 8, attracted students from across North Carolina. 

Professor Victoria Fischer Faw, the organization’s Certification Chair, presented a session titled “MTNA National Certification Demystified.” Eden Esters Brown, instructor of piano and NCMTA Technology Chair, moderated a session titled “iPad Ideas for Motivation and Engagement”, which was delivered by Linda Christensen, a nationally recognized pedagogue.

Associate Professor Omri Shimron, who is the organization’s College Faculty Chair, moderated a panel discussion titled “Recruitment and Facilities in NC Collegiate Music Programs.” All three Elon faculty are members of the NCMTA Board of Directors. 

The course took place at the University of South Florida School of Music, an all-Steinway facility. Student participants received intensive training in the form of daily private lessons, workshops, lectures, master-classes, and public performances. 

The students Shimron taught came from over 15 countries (including Korea, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Colombia, Mexico, U.S., Canada, Chile) and ranged in age from 13-26. Most students are currently pursuing 消消犯 or graduate studies at top-tier music schools nationally and abroad.

The festival also hosted a group of visiting faculty from such institutions as the University of Michigan, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Eastman School of Music, Lynn University and others. 

Shimron performed on two occasions during the course of the festival. On July 28, he played a solo recital, which consisted of works by J. S. Bach, C. P. E. Bach, and Bartók. Earlier on July 25, he performed with three colleagues on a two-piano, eight-hand program. Several of the works from the July 28 recital will be featured on Shimron’s upcoming Elon recital, scheduled for Sept. 30 at 7:30, in Whitley Auditorium. 

Also during the course of the festival, Shimron interviewed for WUSF, one of Tampa’s public-radio and classical music stations, where he also performed several short selections. To hear his interview’s podcast, click . 

This year’s topic was “Brothers Bach,” the music and legacy of J. S. Bach’s most prolific sons. The symposium featured three keynote speakers and performers: Christoph Wolff, a Harvard musicologist and eminent Bach scholar, David Schulenberg, musicologist and keyboardist who has written extensively on C. P. E. Bach and W. F. Bach, and Jacques Ogg, harpsichordist, fortepianist, and professor at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. 

Shimron’s lecture, which preceded his performance, was entitled “Preparing to Perform C. P. E. Bach’s Sonata in F# minor, Wq.52/4: Notes from the (Modern) Piano Bench”, which addressed issues relating to adaptation of 18th-century keyboard music to the modern grand piano. 

A review of the entire event, including Shimron’s presentation, was published by

Other reviewers included faculty from McGill, Indiana University, Ball State and the University of Kentucky. 

Their program included works by J.S. Bach (Sonata in G minor for viola da gamba and harpsichord), C.P.E. Bach (solo Sonata in F-sharp minor, Wq. 52/4), Brahms (2 Ballades, Op. 10), Prokofiev (selections from the ballet Romeo and Juliet), and Arvo Pärt (“Spiegel im Spiegel”). The duo performed at Elon on Wednesday, Oct 23. Later that week they were invited to perform at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Oct. 24), Catawba College (Oct. 26), and the University of N. Carolina Greensboro (Oct. 27). In September, they also performed at The Music House, a private venue in Greenville, NC.