Happy New Year!
I hope everyone is having a safe and healthy start to 2021! The fall virtual auditions were a great success. I was really touched by the teachers’ resilience and dedication to their students. It was wonderful to witness the students’ passion for music making in the midst of the pandemic. I hope the MMTA auditions provided a musical bond and inspiration to everyone during this difficult time.
Many thanks to those who helped the auditions run smoothly. I am especially grateful to our auditions co-vice presidents, Jason Hausback and Kyu Butler, who spent many hours planning the virtual auditions and communicating with the MMTA executive board and auditions chairs. I also want to thank all the state and local auditions officials for their splendid work. There were around 500 audition entries in all this year, making the event a continually vibrant one for our organization.
The 2021 MTNA National Conference will be held virtually on March 13-17. It is a valuable opportunity to interact and connect with musicians and colleagues from around the country. Take advantage of the early-bird registration pricing which is available until February 16. Registered members will also be able to participate in the Pedagogy Saturday sessions free of charge. I hope to see many of you at the conference. You can find more detailed information at:
I would like to welcome new MMTA webmaster Jung Choi and VP for Local Associations and Student Chapters Christopher Madden. The position of VP Publications and Public Relations is currently vacant. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this position, please email me or any of our executive board members.
Wishing you all a wonderful and prosperous 2021!
Warm regards,
Hye-Jung Hong, D.M.A.
Missouri Music Teachers Association, President
Associate Professor of Music – Piano
Department of Music
Missouri State University
