Music for Everyone—successful - In Unison - music study program

American Music Teacher, Oct-Nov, 2002 by R. Wayne Gibson

At this writing, I've recently returned from a very productive meeting of your Board of Directors, and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the more significant details and decisions.

We now are just over halfway through this biennium, and I am proud to announce that the "Music for Everyone" program is more successful than I imagined.

Just last July, the Board of Directors appointed a task force co-chaired by Joan Reist, NCTM, and Ruth Edwards, NCTM, to identify ways to serve, honor and recognize the mainstream students and teachers of MTNA.

Three stages of this initiative have been developed and implemented during the past year.

The MTNA Music Study Award is an excellent way to motivate your students by acknowledging their commitment to music lessons. As your students progress through music lessons, this program enables you to celebrate their accomplishments with award certificates. The certificates are convenient and effective motivational tools for your entire studio. These awards recognize completed years of music study in two-year increments up to twelve years of study. These distinctive certificates also will serve for years to come as mementos of cherished musical experiences.

The MTNA Studio Festival program will allow your students to soar musically in a nationally sponsored event, held in your own studio. The MTNA Studio Festival program provides an opportunity to showcase your students' musical talents through an exciting and meaningful performance venue. In addition to a stimulating performance experience, your students will receive a supportive critique from an experienced musician and an official certificate recognizing their participation. Open to students of all ages and levels, the Studio Festival offers a noncompetitive atmosphere to inspire your students' musical abilities.

The purpose of MTNA'S Music Achievement Award program is to help encourage ALL students, especially the "everyday" students, to continue their music study and to strive to achieve goals that will not only help them become better musicians, but also will enhance their love and appreciation of music. Students completing the program are rewarded for this achievement with a special MTNA pin. While the true reward is your students' musical achievements and enhanced love of music, a beautiful pin especially designed for this program will be a fitting symbol of their accomplishments.

For information about these programs, you can contact MTNA national headquarters at (888) 512-5278, go to the MTNA website at www.mtna.org or see pages 93, 101 and 103 of this issue of AMT.

Since its work is complete, the Board voted to dissolve the task force. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Joan and Ruth for their input into these programs.

In other action, the Board reviewed several options regarding the suspended Percussion Competitions, including:

* Reinstating the competitions with a facilitator

* Holding only a marimba competition

* Holding the competitions at a nearby university facility

* Holding all levels of percussion competitions on the same day

* Requiring entrants to provide their own equipment

* Discontinuing the competition

Considerable information was provided to BOD members so we could make the best possible decision. Many details were considered, including the number of MTNA members who list percussion as their primary teaching area to the number of entrants in the MTNA competitions, the number of other percussion competitions in the United States, the cost of the MTNA competitions and the number of entrants in the MTNA competitions.

After a lengthy discussion, the Board of Directors approved a motion to reinstate the percussion competitions for the 2003-2004 year, provided a percussion facilitator is appointed.

The BOD also voted to hold official division meetings twice a year at the National Conference and the Summit for MTNA Leadership. This moves one of the official meetings from the competition events in January to the Summit in September. This move will put division meetings on a six-month calendar and will free the division presidents and presidents-elect to become increasingly involved in more aspects of MTNA. Divisions may continue to hold conferences and meetings beyond these two meetings; however, the national organization will fund only the two official meetings.

In addition, the Board approved a proposal to have division presidents-elect serve as the certification commissioners beginning in March 2004. The Board felt this could help bring the Certification program into the mainstream of the national leadership.

After a rather full discussion of the teacher-composer in MTNA, the Board recommended that the 2004 Conference Committee develop a session geared toward the teacher-composer. The session would include such topics such as:

* How to prepare a manuscript

* How to find a publisher

* How to get published

* Composer's relationship with a publisher