Tuneful Talks is the fraternity's new virtual music workshop series! This program has been thoughtfully curated to inspire, educate, and connect our members through engaging sessions led by exceptional presenters. 

We’ll continue throughout the year with workshops exploring a variety of topics, including vocal styles, musical exploration, acting, and more.

These live workshops are open to all Mu Phi Epsilon members, and each session will include the opportunity for interactive discussions, as well as time to explore any questions you may have about the topic being explored at that time.

Below is our schedule for the 2025 calendar year. For previous Tuneful Talks, recordings are available to view (see end of list).

Upcoming Tuneful Talks

May 3, 4:00 pm EST
What is Your Musical DNA?
Presented by Anli Lin Tong
Access Information

Praised by critics for her “pointed grace” (Los Angeles Times), “exquisite pianism” (Chinese American News), and “energy and elation” (Daily Telegraph), pianist Anli Lin Tong made her concerto debut at age 15 with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. She has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States as a concerto soloist and chamber musician. She was a soloist with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in the Taiwan National Arts Festival, the Chicago Chinese Fine Arts Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Bratislava Chamber Orchestra, the Livic Chamber Orchestra, the Burbank Philharmonic, and in multiple engagements with the Beach Cites Symphony Orchestra in works ranging from Mozart, Chopin, Bartok to Gershwin, at such venues as the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Taipei Symphony Hall, the Getty Center, Orchestra Hall of Detroit, the Bordeaux Opera House, among others. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with musicians of major orchestras including principals of the Los Angeles Philarmonic and the Los Angeles Opera. A concert tour of Taiwan culminated in a reception by [former] President of Taiwan LEE Teng-Hui and her performances of the award-winning Kuo Chi-Yuan Concertino for Piano and String Orchestra was praised as “the best rendition of this work” by Taiwan Symphony Review. Anli Lin Tong’s life and career has been multi-faceted, offering her artistry to shape young aspiring pianists as well as piano teachers seeking professional guidance and enrichment. From an early age, Anli’s affinity for the music of Mozart and Chopin set her on a path to a particular pianism that gave her entrée to schools and teachers of the highest caliber – most notably with Munz at Pre-college, Martin Canin for Bachelor and Master of Music at Juilliard and Vitaly Margulis for DMA at UCLA.- whose legacies of great piano traditions she endeavors to pass on in her own teaching. Her students have consistently received top prizes at competitions at state and national levels and have been accepted to all the top music schools in the country including her own alma mater, The Juilliard School. Anli Lin Tong has appeared as guest artist on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and Radio Philharmonic Taipei. Her professional achievements have led to Guest Artist appearances at the World Piano Pedagogy Conference, the MTAC State Conventions, as well as published articles in the California Music Teacher Journal, and recognition by Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation as an “ACME” Artist, and a featured appearance along with pianists Emanuel Ax and Ann Schein in “Munz: A Pianist’ Story”, a documentary film of her early mentor and Steinway Immortal Artist Mieczyslaw Munz.

July 5, 4:00 pm EST
A Singer's Guide to Acting
Presented by Martina Goldring
Access Information

Martina Goldring is currently studying for her MM in Vocal Performance at Cal State Fullerton and is the President of the Beta Alpha chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon. Before studying music, Martina graduated from the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood where she studied the techniques of Uta Hagen, Sanford Meisner, and Konstantin Stanislavski. A Singer's Guide to Acting will discuss the importance of acting training for singers of all levels, provide an introduction to various approaches to acting, and guide singers in applying those techniques to vocal music.

September 6, 4:00 pm EST
Trailblazers: British Women in Music
Presented by Rebecca Nederhiser
Access Information

Dr. Rebecca Nederhiser is a passionate conductor, scholar, music educator, and oboist. She currently conducts the Wartburg Community Symphony; leads the Kammerstreicher string ensemble; and teaches music theory, oboe, and conducting at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. In her short time at Wartburg, Nederhiser has created community engaging traditions, including an inaugural string camp, the formation of the St. George String Quartet, and collaborations/clinics with national composers and artists including the Neave Trio, Reena Esmail, Jocelyn Hagen, and Gao Hong. Most recently, she embarked on a three week tour with Kammerstreicher to Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, England, and Germany, performing in prestigious halls across Europe, including the St. Stephen's Cathedral. Through Trace Chamber Society, Nederhiser has pursued research of Schoenberg's Society for Private Musical Performances and their chamber arrangement methodology. This has included highlighting the work of modern-day arrangers Iain Farrington and Peter Stangel. Most recently, Nederhiser traveled to Vienna to celebrate Arnold Schoenberg's 150th anniversary, continuing this research at the Arnold Schoenberg Center. Her passion for women composers has also taken her to the Royal College of Music in London, investigating the unpublished manuscripts of composer and conductor, Avril Coleridge-Taylor. Just recently, she presented "Trailblazers: Exploring Works by British Women Composers" at the International Conductor's Guild Conference in London. In 2024, Nederhiser earned 3rd place in the 2023 American Prize competition for the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming for her 2023 "Music Takes Flight" concert, featuring the ground-breaking debut of Jocelyn Hagen's Messages from Everywhere.

November 1, 4:00 pm EST
Opera!
Presented by Margie Deer
Access Information

Margie Deer is a retired opera singer, piano and voice teacher,starting with concert recitals in the New York area,New Jersey, Brooklyn Opera Company and Museum. She made her professional debut at  Junaluska,NC followed by concert recitals at Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg VA and Brenau College, Gainesville GA . She served as Soprano soloist at several churches and Temples  including Fort  Washington Collegiate Church, Manhattan and Temple Emanuel,Great Neck Long Island. She served as Music Teacher with the Catholic Diocese of New York  before moving to Atlanta where she has  taught piano and voice at her home studio for 43 years! She remains musically nourished as a continuing patron of the upcoming Atlanta Opera Company and a grateful subscriber to the Metropolitan Opera on Demand . Her husband Dana Deer is now retired after 42 years as baritone soloist and section leader at Trinity Presbyterian Church with Norman MacKenzie. She and her son Hart  Deer who composes and performs vocal, keyboard ,lead guitar and bass guitar-electric and folk, are collaborating on arias and art songs . She is still as elated with beautiful music as ever, maybe more than ever!

Completed Tuneful Talks

January 4, 4:00 pm EST
A World of Possibilities: The Project Recital Initiative
Presented by Kristin Jonina Taylor
View Recording | View PowerPoint Presentation

Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor is an Icelandic-American pianist who has performed widely in the US and throughout Europe. A Grand Prize Winner of the Naftzger Young Artist Competition, she was a finalist in both the MTNA Young Chang Collegiate Competition and The American Prize and a double-silver medalist in the Global Music Awards. Kristín is a two-time Fulbright grant recipient and has released several professional recordings.  She is Associate Professor of Piano and Keyboard Area Coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Kristín Jónína Taylor is a Steinway Artist and a member of the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame.

March 1, 4:00 pm EST
Screaming if Freeing: Vocal Combat and Contemporary Commercial Vocal Styles
Presented by Talea Bloch
View Recording | View PowerPoint Presentation

Dr. Talea Bloch is an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at Nebraska Wesleyan University where she teaches Musical Theatre Voice Lessons, Theory, History, and technique courses. She is a stage and music director as well a professional voice coach. Bloch is one of only 24 people in the world certified to teach Vocal Combat Techniques – the science and art of screaming, growling and other extreme voice use.  Bloch’s areas of research include Contemporary Commercial Styles, Vocal Extremes, Neurodiversity in the Arts, Curriculum Development and Assessment, and the history of small-town opera houses. She holds her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as a BA from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Bloch runs publicity for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of Nebraska, is President of the Lincoln Alumni chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon and Treasurer of NWU’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter. Bloch lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her husband, Jeremy and son, Josiah.