The Musicking Community

Episode 19: The “In Good Hands” Project

Find the Transcript to Episode 19 here.

For this episode, I interviewed Jan Mittelsteadt who is the director of the composition project In Good Hands, which is sponsored by the Cascadia Composers group out of Portland, Oregon, part of the National Association of Composers, USA. Unfortunately, there was a problem with Jan’s original sound which I did not notice until I was working on the production of this episode. The sound quality did not meet my standards, so I decided to go a different route with this episode. I made a transcript of my interview with Jan, which you can find below. In the rest of this episode, I share why I personally find the In Good Hands project to be so important, which will involve some storytelling about my own musical history.

Topics in my interview with Jan include:

• The history and details of the “In Good Hands” composition project
• Giving pre-college students an opportunity to perform in exciting venues
• Giving students the opportunity to collaborate with living composers on new pieces
• How the “In Good Hands” project inspires students and increase performance levels
• Giving students a lifelong gift of personal connection and meaning in a brand-new piece of music written for them

Jan Mittelstaedt holds a BS in education from Bucknell University, a BA in music from Marylhurst University, and a MM in composition from the University of Portland. She has studied composition with Sister Anne Cecile Daigle at Marylhurst University and with Dr. Walter B. Saul II at the University of Portland and independently.

An independent teacher of piano and Nationally Certified in piano by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Jan Mittelstaedt is on the syllabus adjudicating staff of the Oregon Music Teachers Association (OMTA). She also gives programs for teachers in various OMTA districts on contemporary music for syllabus, ensemble music, teaching and practice ideas, the hemiola in piano music, and composition pedagogy. Besides adjudicating piano syllabus exams, she adjudicates student compositions.

Ms. Mittelstaedt is the composer of numerous educational pieces for piano. Among these, The Boston Music Co. has published four collections: Solo Snips; Splashes Of Color (featured in Piano and Keyboard magazine: May/June 1993); Sonatina For Youth; and Fabric And Frills. Schaum Music also published two titles: “Beehive” and “Animal Antics.” She also composes chamber music and sacred compositions. In 1993, she participated in the Ernest Bloch Composers Symposium with her Saxophone Quartet and in 1994, she was chosen Composer of the Year by the Oregon Music Teachers Association (OMTA). Her composition for flute and piano, Journey Through A Shadow, was performed at the OMTA state convention in June of that year.

Nationally certified in piano and composition by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), she has received many ASCAP Special Awards. She is a member of the Oregon Federation of Music Clubs, Mu Phi Epsilon, and the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC). Her biography is included in the Marquis Who’s Who of American Women and Marquis Who’s Who in America.

Jan’s website: http://www.sintsink.com/about.html

Jan’s email: janrmitt@gmail.com

Find Cascadia Composers through the National Association of Composers USA: https://www.nacusamusic.org/

---

Be sure to subscribe to The Musicking Community Podcast so you never miss an episode!

If you are a musician, ensemble, or organization that would like to share your project with us, or if you are a fan who would like to suggest one, click on the button below!