GROUP CLASS OPTIONS November 2025

Tuesday November 18 - 6:00-6:45 pm -

Location - North Sherman Ave

This is for participants in either The Sonatina Festival or the Suite Autumn Festival only

Wednesday November 19 - 6:15-7:00 pm

Location - West University Ave

This is for participants in either the Sonatina Festival or the Suite Autumn Festival only

District Audition Theory Guide

Grade 1-3: Pre-Elementary

Grade 4: Elementary A (piano - competitive) (Pre-Elementary, non-competitive)

Grade 5: Elementary B (piano) (Elementary A - non-competitive)

Grade 6: Elementary C (piano)(Elementary A or B - non-competitive)

Grade 7: Intermediate A (piano) (Elementary B or C - non-competitive)

Grade 8: Intermediate A (piano) (Elementary B or C - non-competitive)

Grade 9: Intermediate B (piano) (Elementary C or Intermediate A - non-competitive)

Grade 10: Intermediate C (piano) (Intermediate A or B - non-competitive)

Grade 11: Intermediate C, Advanced A or Advanced B (Intermediate B - non-competitive)

THEORY RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT THE WMTA AUDITION WEBSITE

Public and Private Performances / Recordings & Videos

SOLO PIANO (partial, work in progress)

Bach

Beethoven

Bowen

Brahms

Chopin

Field

Granados

Harris

Janacek

Joplin

Kabalevsky

Krenek

Martinez

Mendelssohn

Rameau

Ravel

Schumann (Clara)

Tcherepnin

Telemann

Vorisek

Beach

Bonis

Cooper

Debussy

Godowsky

Gershwin

Haydn

Liszt

Mozart

Pescetti

Sung

2026 District Audition Dates for Madison Students

Saturday March - UW Madison / Madison WI

Saturday May 9 - UW Parkside / Kenosha WI

Entry Fee: $45 =

$30 festival entry fee + additional studio group class & repertoire fee is $15

Some notes about district auditions…

This is an event sponsored by Wisconsin Music Teachers Associated, and hosted by our local chapter - Madison Area Music Educators.

A PARENT MUST ATTEND THE EVENT - STUDENTS WILL PERFORM FOR AN ADJUDICATOR, A PARENT / GUARDIAN MUST BE PRESENT.

Students must commit to this event before the Winter holiday break - it is essential that we plan ahead for this event. I lesson plan each student’s program very carefully so that we make progress and grow musically while preparing for this festival. It is an absolutely worthwhile event - I would love to see 100% youth participation from my studio for this event!

In 2025 - Congratulations to my four students who are invited to advance to the REGIONAL audition sponsored by WMTA on May 10, 2025 held at UW-Whitewater!

Exploring Music Resources

October 2025

Exploring Music Resources – Shad Ryan Wenzlaff

October 2025

Christmas Music

This month, I thought to spend some time looking closely at the mountain of Christmas music that we are presented with each year. Each of these books reviewed here lives in my library, and I’m happy to open my collection for perusal. By no means is this EMR meant to be comprehensive.

Early Beginner / Elementary Youth

Each of the resources reviewed in this section assumes you will be introducing students to reading on the staff, or that you have already done so. None of these resources is “black key” only.

The Faber Piano Adventures Series grades their Christmas music developmentally, using their traditional leveling system Primer through 5, linked tightly with their method books. I don’t believe this book requires introduction as it is readily available at Heid Music each year in its complete run.

The Bastien New Traditions (Kjos) (2020) series focuses on intervallic note reading with their in-book activities. Their Level 2 arrangement of We Wish You a Merry Christmas is particularly satisfying – requiring movement across C, G, and F “positions”, and feels like a good late Elementary or even early Intermediate option for an engaged student (978-0849-79880-1). It compares as a more complex/more rapidly advancing series than the Faber Piano Adventures Christmas Book Level 2A.

The Faber / Alfred comparison continues when you consider their “Adult” focused books. The Faber “Adult Piano Adventures” series offers more repertoire in their book 1; while the Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course All-in-One Course presents a duet option with each of their 14 pieces (Dennis Alexander, ISBN 978-0-7390-0980-2) Faber offers almost 3 times the repertoire, but ith fewer duets, and arranges the book with a theory-first index using I-IV-V7 chord progressions in C and G Major.

For a slightly more engaging Elementary Youth option, look up FJH “Christmas With Kevin Olson” Book 1 Elementary (2015); his edition does not include activities or theory exercises. (ISBN 13: 978-1-61928-140-0

If you have a student who loves all things “Nutcracker”, Alfred created an excellent resource in 2003 “The Nutcracker Activity Book”. The activity pages in this edition are outstanding – students think about time signatures, basic elementary level theory terminology, and basic hand position note reading. Alfred Item Number: 00-19709

Music for Little Mozarts has a Nutcracker activity book: Music for Little Mozarts Nutcracker Book Alfred Item Number:  00-28272

For students who prefer a more religious-centric Christmas book, the Music for Little Mozarts (Alfred) Christmas Fun Books offer an engaging option. These are available digitally:

Alfred Item Number (Book 1) 00-19720

Alfred Item Number (Book 2) 00-19721

Alfred Item Number (Book 3) 00-19722

The Alfred / Robert Vandall “Celebrated Christmas Solos” offers a more advancing/graduated array of repertoire that works for youth and adults alike. Book 1 corresponds with UK ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) Grade 1 – so perhaps closer to a Faber 3A, or even 2B in conventional methods. These editions present 7-8 arrangements for Late Elementary through Intermediate students, and are very engaging. Each piece feels more like a solo than a Christmas Carol. Book 1: 978-0-7390-4338-7

For the more mature student, John Robert Poe has arranged some off-the-beaten-path folk carols published by FJH (978-1-56939-117-4). They are very accessible to the 3rd through 5th year student, and very engaging. I love this book for a student who needs the not-so-well-worn Christmas piece, and for the student who might be in the Madison Youth Choirs who knows some of these carols through those concerts.

Alfred created a collection of arrangements by Mike Springer that are first rate – “Jazzin’ Up Christmas” includes jazz-style duets for each piece, Level 1 and 2, as well as an intermediate level option. These were introduced in 2011, followed by the beginner levels in 2019.

Ensembles and Duets

Robert Vandall published an excellent arrangement of Pat-a-Pan for Late Elementary with Alfred / Myklas. Primo requires three note chord building in book hands simultaneously, while Secondo is focused on creating the staccato/legato textures. I think this is an excellent option for siblings who are perhaps 1 or 2 years apart in age, similar 3rd or 4th year, Late Elementary or Early Intemediate skill set.

Alfred has made available 2 books of “Christmas Miniatures” by Margaret Goldston available as digital copies. Book 1 https://www.alfred.com/christmas-miniatures-book-1/p/00-6903/ is inventive – each piece feels more like a solo than a Christmas carol. Book 1 correlates well with a Faber 3B or Level 4 student; Book 2 is more engaging https://www.alfred.com/christmas-miniatures-book-2/p/00-14708/ and definitely fits squarely within a Faber Level 4 or 5 student.

If you have an intermediate student, Hal Leonard created an excellent edition in 2022 – “Christmas Pop Favorite for Piano Solo”. 978-1-70516-918-6 - $16.99 The Melanie Spanswick arrangement of “Blue Christmas” is particularly satisfying. In a previous EMR season, I noted how much I searched and searched for “Mele Kalikimaka”, the Randall Hartsell arrangement of it in this book is excellent.

I’ll end this EMR with an excellent, new-to-me holiday resource – the Piano Safari “Joy of Christmas” series. Purchase these through Piano Safari directly – they recently redesigned their website – and each book includes online recordings which one can download. Pianosafari.com

Levels 1 and 2 offers teacher-student duets exclusively. These are not necessarily true duets, each feels like solo pieces with teacher accompaniments. The student part is exclusively Primo throughout – and the teacher duets are relatively complex (not suitable for the average piano-playing parent). Now, what’s particularly nice about this series is the print is large enough for an adult student. I also like the quality of the books – these will not separate or fall apart on you. In Level 2, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is a jazz ballad duet – it’s very fun to play and learn, and will not overwhelm your average 2nd or 3rd year adult student who can shift hand positions and navigate accidentals.

At Book 3, the pieces are solos and are edited with practice and performance suggestions.  Juan Cabeza’s arrangement of “The First Noel” is a terrific study in dotted quarter rhythm, and is written in the key of D Major. I know the perfect student in my studio for Christopher Fisher’s arrangement of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” – he is that middle school student who doesn’t really like piano too much but mom is requiring it as an activity through middle school (I bet you have one of those in your studio too!). In piano pedagogy parlance, we call that a “pupil saver”.

Book 4 is unique – the Fisher’s son Isaiah arranged “Angels We Have Heard on High”, and I’m looking forward to showing this one to my composer students – as in “look what a young composer came up with”. Deck the Halls is arranged by Teodora Owen in 12-8 time, key of C. Christopher Fisher’s arrangements of Silent Night, Joy to the World, and the Wexford Carol are excellent studies in RH parallel 6ths, teaching students to use legato fingerings – to me, it felt like an intermediate level etude as much as it is an arrangement of a well-known carol. (Editorially – I’m not sure why there are no fingers marked in “Joy to the World” and “Wexford Carol” so perhaps the intention was to teach “Silent Night” first?)

As a note, the Fishers will be at WMTA in late October – I’m very much looking forward to their presentations https://www.wisconsinmusicteachers.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-Conference-Special-Edition-Newsletter-Final-Draft.pdf

scrolling down

The black boxes will take students to the WMTA Theory site.

It’s not necessary to look this up, but I’m placing it here as a reference.

Beach

Chaminade

Ravel

(Mother Goose Suite - Complete)

PERFORMANCE - ART and PIANO

Chopin: Right to Work Installation (January 2011)

Over the Rainbow - in lavender (October 2021)

COMPOSITION PROJECTS

for Kettle Moraine Players

Almost, Maine - Theatre Score (2009)

Vagina Monologues - Theatre Score (2011)

Vince - Theatre Score (2012)

Miniatures

Arctic Circle (2008)

Bells of Siena (2011)

Garden of Roses (2018)

On a Thursday (2019)

Sunset (2020)

Recent studio activity & events

Shad writes a monthly “column” called “Exploring Music Resources” for the Madison Area Music Educators. The October column is posted below.

Shad Ryan Wenzlaff will be hosting the annual COSTUME RECITALS at Studio Share West 5003 W University Ave on Sunday, October 26. Performing starts at NOON. Costume required for all who dare to join us!!!

Shad will be presenting at the 2025 Fall WMTA State Conference in Elkhart Lake on Friday, October 24, 2025. His presentation highlights the importance of “listening”, above and beyond “the right turn of phrase” in lesson and competitions. The title of his presentation is: “Beyond the Right Turn of Phrase: Listening More Objectively.”

To bring Shad to your local association, or invite him for a workshop, masterclass, or presentation, please email Shad at thestudio615@gmail.com - Shad typically charges $200 for a 90 minute session, plus mileage. Shad is willing to travel more than 100 miles from Madison, WI for events for an additional accommodation and travel fee.

VOICE (partial, work in progress)

Vaughan Williams

Pergolesi

COLLABORATIVE PIANO, CHAMBER MUSIC, ENSEMBLE REPERTOIRE (partial, work in progress)

Beethoven