SHARON HERNING, NCTM

Sharon Herning graduated from Baylor University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Pedagogy. While at Baylor on both music and academic scholarships, she made the Dean's Honor List and was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Golden Key National Honor Society.  Her participation in the Music School included singing in the Baylor University Concert Choir, performing in several piano music hours, accompanying instrumentalists and vocalists, working at the Baylor/Waco Piano Competition, serving as historian and webmaster for Baylor University's chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon, an international professional music fraternity, and performing in a masterclass with pianist Barry Douglas, 1986 Gold Medal Winner at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. She was also a charter member of Baylor University's collegiate chapter of MTNA and received the MTNA Student Achievement Recognition Award in 2005.

   As a pedagogy major, she was heavily involved for five semesters in the Piano Laboratory Program, an after-school group piano class for children ages 6 to 9. She studied private piano under the instruction of Dr. James Williams for four years and studied pedagogy under Dr. Ann Gipson, student of renowned pedagogues Dr. Jane Magrath and Dr. E. L. Lancaster.

   Sharon grew up in San Antonio and was a student of MACSA teacher Lisa Kropp from 1988 to 2001. As a student of Ms. Kropp she performed in several competitions, maintained an A average on the TMTA Theory Test, participated in the yearly SAMTA Achievement Auditions for many years, participated in TMTA piano ensembles at the TMTA Annual Convention, performed in masterclasses with pianist Emilio del Rosario at the Mississippi Piano Showcase at MSU in 2000, won the 2000 TMTA Original Composition Contest at the city level and honorable mention at the state level, and received a scholarship from SAMTA in 2001. As a former student of MACSA, Sharon also made MACSA's Performance Honor Roll and performed in several Performance Club recitals.

   Sharon is currently an active member of the Music Teachers' National Association (MTNA), the Texas Music Teachers' Association (TMTA), the San Antonio Music Teachers' Association (SAMTA), and Alliance Music Teachers' Association (AMTA). She recently received her national certification in teaching music through MTNA. Her students who have participated in the SAMTA Achievement Auditions received ratings of Very Good through Superior Plus and have been chosen as alternates for the Achievement Auditions Judges' Choice recital. Sharon serves as the Local Convention Ensemble Chairperson and encourages her students to participate in the state piano ensemble program at convention. Her students also participate in the TMTA Theory Test through Alliance MTA; her growing studio currently maintains a studio average grade of 94 on the test.

   In addition to maintaining her teaching studio, Sharon has also delved into the world of musical theatre, beginning with the 2008 production of Schoolhouse Rock Live! at the Magik Theatre. She was also the musical director for the shows I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and Midlife: The Crisis performed at the Cameo Theatre. Currently she serves as musical director at the Harlequin Dinner Theatre at Fort Sam Houston, where she has performed Plaid Tidings, Scrooge's Rude Awakenings, Listen To The Music, and Smokey Joe's Cafe. And if that wasn't enough, this year she accepted the position of Worship Music Leader at Helotes Hills United Methodist Church where she is in the exciting beginning stages of starting a children's worship music program.

   In what little spare time she has left, Sharon enjoys cycling and trains on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training cycling team to raise money to cure blood cancers. Sharon currently resides on the northwest side of town with her cats, Kisses and Cadence, and her Yorkie Torito.