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UNL'S BARNES WINS NMTA TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD


Barnes
Lincoln, Neb.-University of Nebraska-Lincoln Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Piano Paul Barnes received the Nebraska Music Teachers Association (NMTA) Teacher of the Year Award at the NMTA State Conference, held in Hastings Oct. 25-28. The award was given to Barnes to recognize his great success with his students in piano competitions, as well as his own active performing career.

"The award was a total surprise," Barnes said. "But it is a great honor to have your teaching success honored." The award has been in existence since 1990. The recipient of the award is nominated by the executive board of the NMTA. Barnes is only the second person from UNL to win the award. Professor Emeritus Audun Ravnan won the award in 2002.

"I've been teaching in Nebraska for 12 years now, and it has been a source of great professional joy and energy for me," Barnes said. "Certainly for me, my teaching absolutely energizes my performing, and my performing energizes my teaching. I'm absolutely built for college teaching!"

Hailed by the American Record Guide as "a magnificent pianist," Barnes has performed throughout the world. He gave the world premier performance of Philip Glass's "Piano Concerto No. 2 (After Lewis and Clark)" with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. He performed and recorded the concerto in September 2005 with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. The recording was recently released by Orange Mountain Music. He has also recorded transcriptions from the operas of Philip Glass, including both the "Trilogy Sonata" and the "Orph'e Suite for Piano."


image
NMTA Past President Wando Mandigo presents the
Teacher of the Year Award to Paul Barnes (second from
right) as NMTA President Ken Bales (left) and Rachel
Kramer, the national representative rom Music Teachers
National Association, look on.
Barnes was recently elected to the national board of the American Liszt Society and hosted the 2005 ALS Festival at UNL. He teaches during the summer at the B'sendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna. Barnes will perform and teach in China and at Seoul National University during his upcoming sabbatical leave in the spring of 2007.

Barnes's students are equally acclaimed. His students have received more than 40 awards and recognitions since 2000. Some of their recent awards include:
- Nicholas Reynolds (B.M. sophomore), honorable mention, MTNA Collegiate Artists Piano Competition, October 2006.
- Richard Fountain (D.M.A.), winner, UNL Graduate Soloists Competition, October 2005, and alternate MTNA Steinway Collegiate Artists State Competition, October 2005.
- Elizabeth Grimpo (D.M.A.), winner, UNL Graduate Soloists Competition, October 2005.
- Nicholas Reynolds, winner, Nebraska Music Teachers Collegiate Artists, October 2005, and honorable mention, MTNA Steinway Collegiate Artists State Competition, October 2005.
- Cecilia Lee, honorable mention, MTNA Steinway Collegiate Artists State Competition, October 2005.

The Nebraska Music Teachers Association is an organization of more than 300 musicians providing cultural leadership through a wide variety of activities for teachers, students and professional musicians.