Thoughts From Your President: March 2024

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Colleen Hunter, WSMTA President

Every new year – and every new month – presents such a unique perspective on time. It’s a pivotal place: to look back – to remember and reflect; to see the present – to renew and refresh; to view the future – to purpose and plan. Taking time for thoughtful contemplation and deliberation of our possibilities and potential is rewarding, but requires our intention and attention. It will uncover joys and blessings as well as challenges, losses, perhaps sorrows and longings, in any of the directions. It will also remind us of our value and worth, of friendships that sustain and colleagues with whom we collaborate and learn, and of connections with students and families and communities whose lives we touch and who touch our lives blending our journeys of life if for even a short time.

In December, I mentioned how thankful I was for you, the over 800 members of WSMTA. I look forward to working with you and meeting more of you this coming year. In November we had a successful MTNA-WSMTA State Competition and now have 12 participants representing Washington State at the national competition in March in Atlanta, GA. I look forward, as our state president, to representing WSMTA at the 2024 National Conference, supporting our performers and meeting colleagues from across the nation.

This spring we have students, teachers, and visiting artists preparing for our largest event, MAP, Musical Artistry Program. Many kudos to the many members who kindly give and serve to see that each event is a smooth educational highlight.

Our State Conference is June 27-29, 2024 at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Connor Chee, pianist and composer from Arizona, is our guest artist. Plans are in process for a stellar three days of presentations, performances, and collegial visiting and dining. Registration will begin in February.

In January, we held our annual Winter Board Meetings where we reviewed the reports of our board members and chairs.

I look forward to additional chapter visits and email conversations. To you – as you read this right now – thank you for all you do – whether for WSMTA, your local chapter, your studio, your community, your family! You really do matter! Thank you for working together from the grass roots level (from home to chapter) to a broader field of boards and community. We matter together! This is how music works best!

Wishing you a wonderful MAP season!

Colleen Hunter
WSMTA President

2024 Hall of Fame Recipient

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Chris VanBuskirk, WSMTA Hall of Fame Chair

It is my pleasure to announce and honor this year’s recipient for the 2024 WSMTA Hall of Fame, by adding her to the prestigious list of Hall of Fame Inductees.

Our recipient was nominated and has been selected to be inducted into the WSMTA Hall of Fame for 2024.  This being a great honor, we send many congratulations to you along with a confirmation that you, Carol Hibbard, NCTM, and member of the Eastside Chapter, will be inducted into the WSMTA Hall of Fame in June 2024.

Carol Hibbard, 2024 Hall of Fame Recipient

She is well-loved and appreciated by her local chapter, colleagues, friends and family. One of her colleagues stated “I believe Carol experiences as much joy in sharing her gifts, as the people who receive them from her.  She has impacted the lives of countless students and families over the years, and the Eastside Chapter would not be thesame without her unstoppable energy, wisdom and humor!”  Another friend and colleague said, “Being a student in her studio is to know that one is valued and special!”

Carol will be inducted and honored during the Hall of Fame Award Presentation at the WSMTA Conference in June, held at Gonzaga University, in Spokane, WA.

Again, congratulations and thank you for everything you bring to the table and give so generously to those around you.

Certification Corner: Winter 2024

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Rose Freeman, WSMTA Certification Chair

Entering the season of winter feels like an appropriate time to pause, reflect, and consider new possibilities for the new year.  As 2024 begins,  I’m remembering the connections I’ve made at WSMTA since I joined as a student teacher of Judy Baker in 2007.  As Colleen Hunter wrote in her December newsletter, you all are the “living force,” the heart of this organization.  You each bring your own insight, expression, and spark of inspiration both to your own music as well as your students’ lives through music education.

It’s my delight to connect with teachers completing their MTNA National Certification Teacher Profile Projects to hear more about who, what, and why they teach.  I find the prompts and questions involved in Certification supportive in my own reflection and growth as a music educator.  Are you and a colleague in your chapter considering Certification?  I’d love to hear from you!  Reach out to me at rosefreemanmusic@gmail.com and let’s schedule a 30-minute zoom meeting to share more about my experience with the Certification projects and what tips I’ve learned as Certification chair the last 10 years.

Right now, Washington State Music Teachers Association offers a $100 grant that covers half of the application cost.  If you’re a collegiate member, the grant covers the entire application cost for Certification.  Whether you teach piano, voice, violin, flute or organ, MTNA offers the Certification program for you to complete 5 teacher profile projects and receive National Certification. You can access the projects overview at https://certification.mtna.org/.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Rose Freeman, NCTM
WSMTA Certification Chair
425-248-9288
rosefreemanmusic@gmail.com



Collaborating on Collaboration: Part Two

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Jane Melin, Vocal & Instrumental Chair

Thanks to those who personally responded to last issue’s appeal for cross-discipline student collaboration ideas! Dr. Karen Savage shared a wealth of resources and connections from her own explorations of this topic. She started with some personal observations: 

“Success relies on an identified and committed small group of teachers working together who are willing to coach regularly and commit 1 or 2 of their own students. I know there are many of these throughout WSMTA. 

[It’s] unbelievably helpful (and perhaps essential) to have the support of a local chapter, a  prominent local/regional music presenter, and/or a music academy/university. The more the better, if the people enjoy working together. This helps with facilities, financial support, paying the coaches and reducing the cost for the students, performance opportunities, publicity/visiblity/community impact, prominent guest coaches and generally sharing the workload.”

Karen provided the names of some collaborative coaches and events that she has worked with. I’m planning to reach out to them for more insights.

Also helpful were some repertoire lists culled from presentations. Karen provided these links:

  • Dr. Jenna Braaksma, University of Michigan – Her Collaborative Piano teaching dissertation included a graded list of collaborative pieces and a rubric for evaluating piano parts. Karen provided a handout from a presentation by Dr. Braaksma on “Exploring a Developmental Curriculum for Beginner Collaborative Pianists.” You can also read her dissertation abstract, which contains a link into the full PDF document with the graded list.
  • Dr. Anatolia Ionnaides of the University of North Texas compiled a list of sample pre-college collaborative/chamber repertoire, with a variety of ensemble sizes and instrument mixes, from a program for which she coaches. The list is organized by order of technical difficulty. 

Another teacher made a fine suggestion that often vocal solo pieces have intermediate piano parts. So a good first attempt at a cross-discipline collaboration might be between piano and voice students. I know there are many piano+voice teachers in WSMTA, so maybe some of you have tried this within your own studios. If so, let me know how it went and what you learned!

In my own chapter, two flute teachers are starting up a Flute Choir, to be made up of their own and “outside” students. Rehearsals will be held every other week for an hour at a local church. Since many instrumental students in the schools do not have or take the opportunity to seek out private instruction, this effort could be a bridge-builder that will forge stronger relationships between our diverse teaching and student communities. Kudos to Diane Layton and Sorcha Barr-Deneen!

Jane Melin, NCTM
WSMTA Vocal/Instrumental Chair
jane@melinmusicstudio.com

Music Literacy Program: March 2024

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Melanie Stroud, WSMTA Music Literacy Program Chair

‘Tis the season for the Music Literacy Program!

Testing is happening all over the state, in these next few months. Students are learning, and the MLP is here to help you assess that learning! I can hardly believe how user-friendly the website is, for finding everything you need as a teacher or as a chapter chair. The tests remain password protected, in order to maintain the integrity of our program, and things are running smoothly. One thing that may not have come to your chapter’s attention is the fact that the Ed Board decided to once again provide certificates. We had attempted to have chapters print their own off the website last year, but you spoke and we listened! Many chapters picked up packets of certificates at the State Leadership Conference in Yakima in September, but if your chapter still needs certificates, just shoot me an email! I have certificates and seals ready to go in the mail as needed, and am happy to send them your way. Happy testing!

MusicLink Foundation: March 2024

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Amanda Snell, Washington MusicLink Coordinator

The MusicLink Foundation (www.musiclinkfoundation.org) is a national non-profit organization linking music teachers with low-income students who are not able to afford music lessons.  MusicLink teachers volunteer to teach these students at up to half of their normal fee, while MusicLink handles the process of determining a student’s financial eligibility and provides support and discounts for participating teachers.

Please consider signing up to be a MusicLink teacher! This strengthens the WSMTA presence in our community by promoting access and widespread availability of music instruction to students in need.

It’s free and easy to register whether you are already teaching a student at a discounted rate, or whether you are looking to begin teaching a new student waiting to be linked.  To become a MusicLink Teacher, contact State Coordinator Amanda Snell (amandacs87@gmail.com) or visit www.musiclinkfoundation.org.  

We currently have an urgent need for:

  • Clarinet Teacher in Issaquah
  • Flute Teacher in Lynnwood
  • Piano Teacher in Vancouver
  • Early Childhood Piano Teacher in North Seattle

Living the Hybrid Studio Life

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Laura Dean, WSMTA IMTF Chair

I’ve been reflecting on just how different our teaching lives have become since the pandemic. For example, most of us have taught some of our lessons online since 2020. Perhaps you are continuing with online lessons in some form or another.

Personally speaking, I teach a few lessons online every week in addition to in person lessons. The reasons for teaching online vary widely. For example, one of my former “in person students” moved away from the Seattle area, where I have my private studio, but now continues with weekly online lessons. Another example, I may deliver an online lesson to a considerate student who is feeling under the weather and chooses to have an online lesson rather than risk getting me sick. (Thank you, considerate student!).  Snow day? You guessed it… online lessons. Yet another example is where I don’t see a student because of a scheduling conflict, and in that case, I may prepare an asynchronous (on demand) lesson for them to complete at their convenience. This all adds up to a hybrid studio – a combination of in person and online teaching.

Perhaps you’ve already worked out a system for organizing your teaching if you also find yourself in the hybrid teaching boat. I thought I would share some strategies that make my job easier when conducting online lessons via Facetime or Zoom. For one, I keep careful records of my students’ practice assignments. I create their weekly assignments on my computer, send home a printed copy for the student, and store the assignment on my hard drive. I also keep duplicate copies of my students’ books and sheet music in my studio library.  That way, if I find myself suddenly in the position of teaching an online lesson, I can easily pivot to the virtual realm.

For synchronous online lessons (in real time), the lessons work similarly to in person lessons. I open the computer file with the student’s assignment, gather the duplicates of their books, sign onto the computer, greet my student on the other end of the line, and away we go.

In addition to working on their normal lesson, we enjoy playing online musical “games” such as improvising, working out popular melodies by ear, call and response playing between the teacher and the student, and/or watching music education videos together via screen sharing. The videos range from the piano comedy of Victor Borge to musical performances, meet the orchestra tutorials, music history, and music theory videos.

Asynchronous (on demand) lessons, on the other hand, require a different approach. If a student knows well in advance that they will be missing a lesson, or if I know that I have a scheduling conflict coming up, I’ll ask them to send me a video recording of what they are working on prior to their lesson time so that I can make comments and suggestions during the video recorded lesson. I also ask the student to send me any questions or concerns about anything they are working on so that I may address those during the video lesson

For creating an asynchronous lesson, I use Zoom where I record a meeting (the meeting only has one person, and that is me, conducting a lesson for my absent student). During the lesson, I explain the assignment, demonstrate (with the aid of an overhead camera that provides a birds-eye view of the keyboard), and give practicing recommendations to the student. The recording is stored on the cloud, and I send the parent the link to the recorded lesson along with an assignment sheet for the week.

One thing that we all learned during the pandemic, is that WE CAN work online with our students. For some of us, that may not be the first choice, but in my opinion, it can be quite a rewarding educational and creative experience for both the student and the teacher. The ideas described above have helped my students stay on track with their musical development and preparation for upcoming events without missing a beat (pun intended). This seems to be the happy medium that works for me and my studio; perhaps some of these ideas will work for you and your studio as well in your hybrid studios.

WSMTA Member Spotlights: March 2024

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Lois Rhoads

Okanogan County Chapter

Lois Rhoads has been a member of the Okanogan County Music Teachers Association since 1996. She has held all offices except for treasurer and has done exceptionally well for several years as MAP Chair, introducing new, highly beneficial Visiting Artists for us and our students. Lois has also strengthened our ties with the state association, serving as 2022 Conference Recital Chair, presenting at Leadership Seminars, and co-chairing both the 2023 and 2024 WSMTA Conferences.  Lois’s ever-present spirit of love, acceptance, and calming faith has helped keep our chapter going forward.

Jessica Evotia Andrews-Hall

Sophia Pereyra-Johnston

Seattle Chapter

The Seattle Chapter has elected to celebrate two of our cherished members, Jessica Evotia Andrews-Hall and Sophia Pereyra-Johnston, for the amazing work they’ve put in as the twin pillars of our social committee.

Both excellent teachers and musicians in their own right, Jessica and Sophia have established and entrenched a vibrant, multifaceted event calendar that we’re extremely grateful to have. From attending shows around town with our students to happy hours and holiday parties with our fellow teachers, there’s delight to be had for all involved. Likewise their efforts to connect with and engage our new members ensures the health of our chapter for years to come. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!



Young Composers Project: Deadline February 27, 2024

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Calling all young composers to get ready to submit your compositions for the Young Composers Project. Registration will open on February 1st.  Remember the deadline is February 27, 2024.  Be sure to read about the changes on the website.   There was an increase to the registration fee but there was also an increase to the award amount this year.

We are pleased that all 4 judges from last year will be returning to help us out again for this coming year:  Rick Asher, Dr. Charles Halka, Dr. Terry McQuilken and Dr. Jiyoun Chung. Pictures and bios are listed on the website.

If you have any questions, please contact me via email at amazingracestudio@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing the wonderful compositions your students will be submitting.

Frances Goei, NCTM, Chair YCP