NEW YORK STATE         MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

Opportunities for professional relationship building, leadership and mentoring—The annual MTNA conference brings together 2,000 music education professionals from across the country and provides a forum to present sessions, hear first-class performances and stay abreast of developments in music performance, pedagogy, technology and the music industry. State and local associations likewise present many venues for networking and sharing ideas. Especially in these challenging times for the arts, MTNA is a committed partner in fostering arts advocacy.

Opportunities to meet independent music teachers—College faculty continually seek to recruit students for their applied studios. While high school band and choirs are excellent sources of recruitment for instrumental and voice studios, piano faculty benefit greatly by establishing relationships with independent teachers through MTNA.

Opportunities for your students—MTNA’s National Student Competitions provide vehicles for students on all instruments and voice to receive valuable critiques, and potential for recognition at the state, regional and national levels. MTNA is one of the few organizations to sponsor a composition competition as well. Collegiate student events at state and national conferences provide your students with invaluable pre-professional experiences.

Opportunities for publication and professional development—Through MTNA, you can publish articles or reviews in American Music Teacher, the organization’s official journal, published six times a year, and the MTNA e-Journal, an online peer-reviewed journal featuring in-depth, scholarly, research-oriented articles. MTNA also sponsors the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum. Can’t get to a conference in person? MTNA provides very informative and popular Webinars at various times during the year. MTNA also boasts an excellent certification program—college faculty can achieve this through the administrative verification process.

Opportunities to take advantage of practical resources—MTNA sponsors a host of personal and professional resources including legal consultation, tax guides, studio policy guidelines, insurance and discount programs. While full-time tenured faculty (a rarer and rarer commodity these days) generally acquire insurance coverage through their college or university, for those with part-time positions, MTNA can provide attractive rates and policies. Most college faculty also maintain private studios, and can therefore avail themselves of these wonderful programs.