August 1, 2020 Newsletter

Posted by Abby Hehenberger on 08/03/2020

President's Note

Here we are running full steam ahead toward the start of school. I’m sure most of you are working hard to figure out how to run your studios this fall on top of what to do about any school-age children you might have. I just want you to know that TMTA is here for you and continuously working to make our programs fit into this new temporary normal, with your and your students’ safety and health our utmost concern. We realize that we are a large organization with many different situations – so flexibility is one of our priorities. You have seen the announcement from the Theory Committee (posted again below) and they did a tremendous job coming up with guidelines to allow every student affiliate to take their theory test this year. But if your student has certain unaddressed needs, just let us know. I’m sure we can work together and find a solution.

This is a time of great stress and sadness for those we have lost to this disease or other life issues. We must work together to keep ourselves safe, be wise, and consider how what we do might affect those around us. The simplest actions seem to have great effect in this battle. TMTA is constantly monitoring the ever-changing landscape and will adjust our programs to solve problems as they come up. Please let us know your concerns and ideas of how to address them. We can move forward though this with everyone working together to support TMTA, as we work to support you and your students.

Take care and be well-

Dr. Roy Wylie, NCTM

TMTA President

Deadlines

TMTA, Local Association, and MTNA membership fees are due NOW.

MTNA/TMTA Performance Competition – September 16, 2:00 PM CDT

TMTA SA Ensemble Repertoire Approval – November 1

Article submission deadline for TMT magazine – August 15

TMTA SA Theory Test Date Form – September 15

August 29 Executive Board meeting will be online

Because of the continuing difficulty getting this virus under control, the Officers feel it prudent to conduct our summer board meeting virtually. Please bear with us as we figure out how to keep our organization’s business going, while keeping the health and safety of our members foremost. Thank you for your understanding.

Certification Corner

Hsinyi Wang, NCTM, Certification Director

We would like to announce that three of our members have recently received MTNA Certification.

They are:

Teresa Conkel, NCTM, Arlington MTA

Jose Cubela, NCTM, Fort Worth MTA

Allie Miller, NCTM, Fort Worth MTA

Congratulations on your hard work gaining this distinction.

2020-2021 TMTA SA Theory Test Covid-19 Procedure Changes

TMTA is granting local associations flexibility in regards to the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 test administrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We realize that both the demographics of our associations and the severity of the outbreak in different areas vary widely and we want each and every student to be able to test in a safe and comfortable environment. Local associations will order and receive paper tests and will have a two-week window of time in which to facilitate testing as seen fit by the local organization, including but not limited to in teacher studios, at student homes, or outdoors before collecting the tests and sending them in for grading. We strongly encourage associations to work with teachers and students to facilitate testing in a flexible and sensitive manner.

NOTE: For Levels 8-12, the bonus question will not consist of sight-singing or rhythmic sight-reading. Instead, it will be 4 measures of a rhythm for students to write counts under. The rhythms will follow the same syllabus guidelines that would have been used for rhythmic reading.

Thoughts from the VPSA

Vice- President for Student Activities Beverly Ryan

Thanks to TMTA teachers for electing me as your new VPSA for 2020-2022. I am not sure that coming into office during the middle of a pandemic would have been my choice, but I am here and working to help you have a successful teaching year in 2020-2021.

With the help of the wonderful coordinators, I hope to come up with the tools you will need to have a successful year. We have worked quickly to come up with some options for theory testing this year. Associations will need to adapt these suggestions according to the area you live in. I know it is especially difficult in the metroplex areas of Texas, but I think we can all work together to make it happen. FLEXIBILITY is the word of 2020. We want the students to be able to continue entering all events offered in Student Affiliate. Any suggestions or comments from you are welcome.

I know I have big shoes to fill and I will work hard to try to fill them. I am here to help you. Let us continue adapting our studios to the current situation. I know we can find a way for our students to still participate in events and progress in their music studies.

Videos of Student performances

Do you have a recording of your students collaborating during this time of physical separation? If so, please send it to me. I would love to put these in our newsletter and they would inspire others to think of different ways to keep music alive during these unusual times. Here is one of a group of students in the Houston area who formed “Music of Harmony” to provide an outlet for their musical performances. Hope you enjoy –

« Back to Latest News