Recent Update: Alison S. Barr has been named Music Teachers National Association’s “2024 Teacher of the Year.” This award will be conferred on March 20, 2024, at the MTNA National Conference in Atlanta. Ms. Barr was nominated by Massachusetts Music Teachers Association and was selected from a group of twelve nominees. Selection is done by MTNA’s Board of Directors.
Early Training:
Alison Barr’s early training was under John Markarian, Music Director of the Westwood, MA, Public Schools and in the world-renowned Extension Program of New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In those two venues, she studied piano, flute, music theory, choral singing, accompanying and ensemble playing. A graduate of The University of Maine at Orono with Highest Honors and Highest Distinction (BS, Music Education with a concentration in Piano Performance, 1976) and Boston University (MM in Piano Performance, 1983,) her primary teachers were Anthony DiBonaventura, Kathryn Ann Foley, Richard Roberts and Alexandra Jaskolski. She especially acknowledges her first piano teacher, Elizabeth Swist Holderried, from Westwood, MA.
Studio Teaching:
Ms. Barr is a seasoned and inspired teacher with forty-five years of experience in myriad settings. She currently owns and operates an in-home independent studio in Hanover, MA, where she teaches thirty five students of all ages and levels. She is proud to have been named a Music Teachers Association (MTNA) “Foundation Fellow” in March 2022, “Teacher of the Year” by the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and a “Steinway Top Teacher” in 2021 and 2022.
Ms. Barr’s teaching specializations include middle school, high school and avocational adult students. For 24 years, she maintained a multi-teacher studio in Brookline, MA. She holds the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Certificate in Piano. Ms. Barr has participated in, led and created innumerable professional growth opportunities locally, nationally and internationally. Ms. Barr’s studio houses a 1930 Steinway “M,” a Roland digital piano, a midi-interactive keyboard, a Mac desktop and various supporting equipment. Ms. Barr is also an accomplished flutist.
Ms. Barr developed a series of humorous and engaging lectures in music appreciation entitled, “Joyful Listening!” which she has taught not only in the Boston area, but also at the Avocational Adult Piano Workshop held in Kromeriz, Czech Republic in August, 2002 and 2003. Ms. Barr originated the “Midsummer Adult Piano Retreat,” which began in July 2006, and she continues to serve as a faculty member for the retreat every summer at Endicott College in the Beverly, MA.
https://pianoretreat.wordpress.com
The “Midwinter Adult Piano Retreat,” was held for four years in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. The Virtual Midsummer Adult Piano Retreat, held in July 2020 and 2021 and was met with great reviews. http://www.alisonbarr.com/midwinter-retreat/
Ms. Barr’s teaching philosophy: http://www.alisonbarr.com/lessons/
Virtual Instruction:
In March of 2020, Ms. Barr’s entire teaching schedule went virtual, using Zoom, Skype and FaceTime as platforms. She has honed her technical skills and studio equipment and has worked tirelessly to learn best practices. She’s consulted with leading experts in the field, including George Litterst of TimeWarp Technologies. Ms. Barr is honored to have given counsel and assistance to countless colleagues near home and far afield, helping them navigate the daunting world of online instruction. Her most “remote” students are from New Zealand, Australia, California, Washington D.C., New York City and the Middle East. Please see testimonials for student accounts of online learning experience with Ms. Barr. http://www.alisonbarr.com/testimonials/
Ms. Barr’s practice is now a mixed one, with local students studying in her home studio and students from all over the world continuing their virtual piano study. She brings these two groups together as one community for special workshops and studio classes.
Stewardship, Advocacy and Social Action:
Ms. Barr recently created, with the support of Massachusetts Music Teachers Association, MMTA’s Music Connect Program, which provides full private lesson scholarships to deserving students of MMTA teachers. She also created a Special Circumstances Scholarship through South Shore Music Teachers, to aid students whose families have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Her “Music for Good” social action curriculum component encourages piano students to think of ways to use their music to make the world a better place. She donates her time and resources to Rosie’s Place, DOVE (DOmestic Violence Ended,) and American Voices YES Academy Lebanon, where she teaches students from all over the Middle East and now online.
Writing/Blog:
An inveterate writer and commentator, Ms. Barr’s article, “Lessons in Courage – Vignettes of Independent Teachers“ appeared in the April/May 2022 issue of American Music Teacher. http://www.alisonbarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-03-20-15-03.pdf Also, Wild Rider in a Strange Land – Sustaining Relevance in the Independent Studio,” appeared in the April/May 2016 issue of American Music Teacher. AM16_Barr “Reversing the Pyramid — Maintaining High School Students in the Independent Studio,” was named 2008 Article of the Year for the same publication. Other publications include a book, “Successful Studio Teaching,” and numerous articles in “Clavier,” “American Music Teacher,” “Keyboard Companion,” and “Massachusetts Music News.” Ms. Barr serves frequently as a collaborative pianist, lecturer, adjudicator and choral pianist in the Boston area. Her engaging blog, “Creative Practicing,” appeared regularly on this website: http://www.alisonbarr.com/creative-practicing/
Cultural Diplomacy:
Ms. Barr is thrilled to serve as a volunteer international music ambassador for American Voices YES Academy http://americanvoices.org, where she teaches piano students in Beirut, Lebanon, every summer and now, throughout the year. She was recently invited to serve on the American Voices Board. American Voices provides positive learning and performance opportunities in music, theater and dance to students in recently peaceful and difficult areas. Students in Ms. Barr’s program range in age from seven years old to young adult and come from Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan, among other places.
Professional Service:
Ms. Barr is proud to have recently been elected to the MTNA Board as Eastern Division Director-Elect. Her other professional appointments include State President for both the Maine and Massachusetts Music Teachers Associations and Independent Music Teachers Forum Chairperson for Music Teachers National Association. She was a founding member of Maine Music Teachers Association, an Eastern Division Certification Commissioner and has held various MMTA positions throughout the last 30 years. She has chaired successful Quad State Conferences and Anniversary Galas. She is active at the local level, in South Shore Music Teachers Association.
Mentoring:
Throughout the years of her career, Ms. Barr has served freely as mentor, advisor and consultant to countless students, former students and colleagues, both beginning and established. Her areas of expertise include the ethics of studio teaching, studio management, certification exams, studio start-up and growth and social action in the studio. Ms. Barr’s empathy, support, practicality, generosity, humor and dedication to the success of her colleagues have been especially evident throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Personal Info:
Ms. Barr’s passions include gardening, swimming, traveling, writing, and tennis. Her son, Ben, is Director of Marketing for a tech firm based in Boston and lives in Spokane, WA with his wife, Jamie. Ms. Barr’s husband, Brad, works for the U.S.’s National Marine Sanctuary Program. She lives and teaches in her 1774 home in Hanover, MA, with her husband and cats, Zoey and Rory, and many, many plants.