CMFAA User Profile

Amy enjoys workshopping with students at the instrument and tries to bring out the best in every performer, regardless of age or experience.

For every adjudication, Amy touches on the following:
1. Progress made so far. Every performer is encouraged to reflect on how far they've come. Did the student perform with musicality, rhythmic vitality, and an appropriate tempo but used the score instead of memorizing like the rest of the class? Amy is sure to congratulate them on their obvious efforts to bring the performance to its current state.
2. Big picture issues. Many festival classes that feature the same repertoire or style of repertoire will have similar technical or musical challenges. By leading the adjudication with a "big picture" summary, Amy makes all the performers feel at ease as they realize that often everyone struggles with the same things.
3. Background Information: What is a passepied anyway? How is a sonata structured? By explaining the historical circumstances of a composition, Amy helps students to understand the reasoning behind interpretation suggestions.
4. Specifics. Amy highlights areas for improvement plus age-appropriate practice suggestions. Students will leave the event with specific ideas for their practice time.

For online adjudicating, Amy offers video recordings in addition to written adjudications. An example can be found here: https://youtu.be/Vc9XESqpujc

----

Amy Boyes is a piano and theory teacher in Warman and Saskatoon, SK. Her students regularly participate in festivals, recitals and examinations.

She holds Associate Diplomas (ARCT) in Piano Performance and Teaching from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Licentiate Diploma from Trinity College (UK) in Piano Recital. She studied at Brandon University with Alexander Tselyakov (B Mus) and at the University of Alberta with Janet Scott Hoyt (M Mus).

She is an RCM Examiner (piano and music history) and is a Certified Teacher in Piano, History and Harmony. She also serves as a Presiding Examiner for RCM’s Adjudicator Certification Program, and mentors new examiners.

​An Executive Member-At-Large for the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators' Association, Amy has adjudicated music festivals from PEI to AB.

As a speaker, Amy has presented in Canada and the US on topics as such studio management, strong interpersonal relationships with students and diversifying students’ repertoire -- Music Teachers' National Association (MTNA) Conference, the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Associations (CFMTA) Conference and Connecting Canada Professional Development Events, and the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP).

​Amy's music-related articles have been published in the American Music Teacher Magazine, Canadian Music Teacher Magazine, Piano Magazine (formerly Clavier Companion, and Piano Professional, and as guest blog posts on Melanie Spanswick, No Dead Guys, Cross-Eyed Pianist and Piano Dao. Other writing has been featured by CBC, The Globe and Mail, and others.

Amy was awarded the Contribution to Teaching Award (ORMTA 2022) and the Teacher of Distinction Award (RCM 2023). Her writing was shortlisted by the Sask Book Awards (2024).​

Currently, Amy is the Public Relations Committee Chair for CFMTA and is Secretary for the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers' Association (SRMTA).