Thoughts From Your President: December 2023

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Colleen Hunter, WSMTA President

The season of Thanks and Thanksgiving is spilling into the Celebrations of December! I have over 800 reasons to be thankful! I am grateful for you – each member of WSMTA. I think of you so very often. You are the living force behind our association. You lead with confidence, you embrace goodness, you inspire hope, you encourage, youteach and mentor with excellence, you volunteer and share and give. You surround yourselves with creativity and ideas, resources that renew and reenergize, and with friends that motivate and with whom you collaborate. You negotiate the challenges and respond generously when colleagues need assistance. Thank you!

And 800 plus individuals means an influence thousands of times over – add in students, parents, family members, colleagues, playing partners, and more. You make a world of difference – every day!

I witnessed it live at the WSMTA Performance Competition and the Outstanding Artist Piano Competition in November. Thank you to Julie Swienty, Amanda Harris and Cherie Felts for coordinating a fabulous weekend of competition. The judges were impressed with the outstanding performances. Thank you to teachers for your excellence and commitment in teaching. Thank you to the volunteers from WSMTA and CWU who assisted throughout the weekend. Thank you also to Nathan Campbell for coordinating the MTNA Composition Competition. And thank you to Greg Presley, NCTM for a successful District VII Conference in Spokane in November.

Looking ahead, registration is still open for 2024 Atlanta – MTNA National Conference, March 16-20, 2024. The latest AMT provides a review and schedule for each day. Our WSMTA Foundation Fellow, Cherie Felts, will be honored at the Gala Banquet along with other Foundation Fellows from across the nation. If you are attending the Gala Banquet, purchase your banquet ticket when you register for the conference. Then contact me by email (colleenhunterpiano@gmail.com) if you wish to save a seat and sit at the reserved tables for the Washingtoncolleagues. WSMTA will be reserving some tables at the banquet for a separate fee.

By the way, when looking through the AMT December 2023/January 2024 issue, read our MTNA President, Peter Mack’s column in Dear Reader: The Value of Music Teachers.

As we finish out the year, may we all reflect on the beauty we share, not only in making and sharing music, but in the gift of friendship our music brings. You are each a gift in my life.

Colleen Hunter, NCTM, WSMTA President

State MTNA Performance Competition 2023 Recap

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Julie Swienty, WSMTA MTNA Performance Competitions Chair

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Washington State’s MTNA Performance Competition was successfully completed! Chairing this event confirmed what I have witnessed over the years—that Washington piano teachers are amazing! The level of skill and literature exceeds what I remember to be graduate level playing of very difficult literature—and in such young students. Be sure to check out the programs by Junior Divisions!

Congratulations to each performer, teacher and family represented. We are proud of each one of you!  We were thrilled to be able to use Central Washington University’s amazing facility in Ellensburg. The competition was held November 10-12, with winners announced upon completion of each category. All of our coordinators, volunteers, and judges were wonderful to spend time and work with over the three-day event. Special thanks to competition coordinators Dr. Amanda Harris, who helped me with the Junior Division, Mary Kaye Owen, NCTM, Senior Division, and Laura Curtis, Young Artist Division. Special thanks needs to be extended to Terri Hlubek, MTNA Competition Chair, as well as other national office staff, for their invaluable counsel as I learned how to do the job of chairing this huge event.

We are immensely grateful for the knowledge and guidance of the team at CWU for their assistance with facilities and all the details that happen behind the scenes. Thanks to Bonnie Hendrickson, Scheduling Coordinator, Anne Smethurst, Department of Music Office Assistant, and Allen Larsen, Media Producer Lead, and all of the building managers, who worked tirelessly to help us.

I cannot thank Kathy Mortensen, WSMTA Past President, Colleen Hunter, NCTM, WSMTA President, Mary Grant, WSMTA Treasurer, Samantha Yeung, WSMTA Communications Coordinator, Kirsten Carlson, Administrative Coordinator, Cherie Felts, OAPC Chair, and Preta Laughlin and her granddaughter, Beverage and Food Coordinator, enough for all of their work, wisdom and guidance.  Real friendships come from working together, and I value getting to know and work with each of them! This event could not have occurred without each of you.

So many others volunteered extraordinary amounts of their personal time to help: Carol Cross, Barbara Riley, Dr. Ross Salvosa, Naomi Johnson, and Kira Miller (and her son!), and I know that I’m forgetting many others who stepped up to help. Through the hard work of the students, parents, teachers, chairs, judges, and certainly many others, the event was a resounding success. The judges have commented on the level of playing and how thrilled they were to hear the performances.

Decisions were difficult in many divisions, and the balloting frequently took all three times as judges stood up for their favorites!  The program booklet with the list of repertoire is available on the state website. There were 103 entries in 11 divisions:

  • Piano: Junior, Senior, Senior Duet, Young Artist
  • String: Junior, Senior, Young Artist (violin, cello, and string bass)
  • Woodwind: Senior (flute), Young Artist (flute, saxophone)
  • Brass: Young Artist (french horn)
  • Voice: Senior (soprano, tenor)
I hope that if you haven’t attended an event like this before, that you will consider coming to listen next time. I promise it will be inspiring!
The state winners will now prepare videos for the Northwest Division Competition round, which will be held online. Division Winners will then move on to the National Competition at the MTNA National Conference in Atlanta in March 2024.
Judges for the 2023 Competition are listed below. Their bios can be found here. We appreciate their diligence, expertise, and willingness to assist us with this competition:
  • Piano Division: Roger McVey, Scott Rednour, Greg Presley
  • String Division: Korine Fujiwara, Kevin Hekmatpanah, Brendan Shea
  • Voice Division: Nancy Gregory
  • Woodwind Division: Leonard Garrison
  • Brass Division: Jason M. Johnston

Piano Division Judges Roger McVey, Scott Rednour, and Greg Presley

– Julie Swienty, NCTM, WSMTA MTNA Performance Competitions Coordinator