Meet the 2004 foundation fellows

American Music Teacher, August-Sept, 2004

Paul Bordeleau

An MTNA-certified teacher and president of the New Hampshire MTA, Paul Bordeleau, of Bedford, New Hampshire, recently celebrated his eightieth birthday. Born in Massachusetts, he earned degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University. Bordeleau has composed many works, including "Sesquicentennial Suite" for symphony orchestra for the city of Manchester, New Hampshire, "The Luzon March" for 11th Airborne Division Band during the Korean War and, more recently, "Christmas in New Hampshire," dubbed an official song of the state of New Hampshire in 1974. In 1995 for Rotary International, Bordeleau composed "Be a Friend," which was translated and recorded in several languages. He has accompanied such stars as Dusty Owens and Roy Acuff and has performed for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford.

Joseph Brye

Born in North Dakota, Joseph Brye, of Lititz, Pennsylvania, has been a piano teacher for more than fifty years. He holds bachelor and master of music degrees in piano performance from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He was MTNA national president, Oregon MTA president, Northwest Division president, national vice president for local associations and student chapters and MTNA archivist. Brye also served as MTNA acting-executive director in 1986 and was one of the first trustees of the Scholarship Foundation Trust, now the Allen I. McHose Scholarship Foundation Trust. Currently retired, he has held teaching positions at Stephens College, Missouri; the University of Idaho; and Oregon State University in Corvallis. Brye is an accomplished pianist, marimbist and composer and has performed as a concert pianist and professional accompanist throughout the Midwest. He was presented with the MTNA Achievement Award in 1994.

Ella Louise Burba

Ella Louise Burba received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Texas and maintains an independent piano studio in Austin, Texas. Awarded Teacher of the Year by the Texas MTA, she has given years of dedicated service to the TMTA student affiliate program, serving as performance contest chair and a member of the World of Music syllabus committee and the theory committee. She also has served TMTA as president, director, Foundation trustee and MTNA high school performance competitions chair. Currently, she is a consulting editor for the Texas Music Teacher magazine and continues to be active as a church pianist and organist.

Marie Burnette

A native of North Carolina, Marie Burnette earned bachelor and master of music degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has been an independent teacher of piano and organ for more than forty years and serves as adjudicator for piano festivals throughout North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina. Her articles have appeared in American Music Teacher, Music Educators Journal and Keyboard Companion. Burnette, of High Point, North Carolina, was the first independent music teacher to serve as president of the North Carolina MTA. She also has served as secretary, historian and district certification chair. She has served as the chair of the MTNA Independent Music Teachers Forum, secretary-treasurer of the Southern Division and national secretary of MTNA. She is the assistant organist and member of the choir of Emerywood Baptist Church in High Point and is a member of the High Point Community Chorus. She is one of the founding members of the High Point Piano Teachers Association.

Aurelia Campbell

A native of Hartwell, Georgia, Aurelia Campbell received a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from the University of Georgia and pursued graduate studies in piano pedagogy. Always actively engaged in the pursuit of excellence in her teaching, she was the first nationally certified music teacher in Georgia and has attended all but one MTNA national conference since 1984. Said one of her colleagues, "As an independent teacher in Hartwell, Georgia, Aurelia Campbell has had a significant impact on the lives of her many students. She is loved and respected by her students and her colleagues. She has unselfishly served the association in a variety of positions on the local, state and division levels and has provided distinguished leadership as president of the Georgia MTA and mentor to all subsequent state presidents." Campbell has served as Southern Division junior performance competitions coordinator, and she provided assistance to MTNA Immediate Past President R. Wayne Gibson, NCTM, with structuring the successful "Music for Everyone" program.

Brian Chung

Brian Chung, chair of MTNA's development committee, was a member of the MTNA FOUNDATION Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2003, serving as chair of the Board from 1991 to 1993. Chung is a pianist and former piano teacher who now serves as senior vice president of Kawai America Corporation. He is a past president of the Piano Manufacturers Association International and a current member of the board of directors of the National Association of Music Merchants, better known as NAMM. Chung has a degree in business administration from the University of Michigan, where he combined his music and business interests. In addition to performing in the top jazz band at U of M, Chung spent summers as a pianist and musical director at Walt Disney World. After graduating from college, he studied piano and conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, in London, as a Rotary Foundation Scholar. Upon his return to the United States, he pursued jazz studies as the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. After several years as a professional musician and independent piano teacher, Chung completed a master of management degree at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He has been with Kawai America Corporation for fifteen years. Chung was the inspiration behind the establishment of the MTNA FOUNDATION Fellow program that has honored fifty-six individuals since its inception in 2000.