Eastern Division - Division News - Music Teachers National Association - Brief Article

American Music Teacher, April-May, 2003 by Debra Ronning

The Eastern Division Conference and Competitions were held January 10-12, 2003, at Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Seventy student contestants representing the thirteen Eastern Division states competed for top honors. The winners' recital was taped by our local National Public Radio station, WITF. Featured clinicians were Jacqueline Herbein, NCTM, Pennsylvania; Robin Armstrong, Maryland; and Bridget de Moura Castro, Connecticut.

This month's featured state is Maryland. Gary Dinn, president, has prepared the following.

The Maryland State MTA (MSMTA) is in the process of developing some wonderful goals including the creation of our new MSMTA Linked Foundation with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service, meaning that MSMTA will be able to apply legally for grants from major corporations and arts councils.

Our new 391-page Theory Syllabus, "Maryland State Music Teachers Association Guide To Comprehensive Musicianship," covers material from elementary through three advanced-placement collegiate theory levels. Curriculum guides are organized by both "Category" and "Level," including Figured Bass, Part Writing, Aural Skills, Notation, Modulation, Transposition, Music Analysis, Music History, Ornamentation, Terminology, Voice-leading and numerous other areas of music theory. Students are awarded trophies in three different categories for outstanding achievement in theory.

Students may be awarded service points toward the Junior and Distinguished Music Achievement Awards. This invaluable program helps students understand that sharing their special gifts and talents with others is what makes life truly rewarding and fulfilling.

--Debra Ronning, NCTM, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania