Greetings!

'Tis the Season!! I love this time of year, from the changing autumn leaves, to the smell of turkey in the oven and family gatherings, to the holiday music far and wide. It is a special time of year and I sincerely hope you will take full advantage of it, with a loving, giving, and cheerful heart. "'Til ringing, singing on its way!"

Please take a few minutes to read this entire Melody Lines issue. In it you will find an opportunity for our students to "give back" to students in need in the Western Region. You will also find information about the NEW ONLINE BULLETIN and how to access it. We're also notifying you of some Washington State "winners" and a "welcome back" to one of our Junior Associate Club Youth Orchestras! There is information about Junior Competitions and Awards, Junior Composers Contest, as well as National Music Week and the Essay Contest. Phew! We've packed a lot into this newsletter!

As we come around to a new year, my biggest hope is that you will find the energy and renew your commitment when it comes to serving in the WSFMC. There is so much good that comes from being a member of the NFMC and we need to spread the joy. We can encourage, enlist, enthusiastically share, and exclaim all the wonderful experiences and opportunities that come with membership in the NFMC / WSFMC! Take pictures and post to our WSFMC Facebook page and on your studio websites and X and Instagram accounts. Post videos to YouTube. Always make sure to include that your studio and the experiences provided are because you are members of the National Federation of Music Clubs. You can be Washington State's biggest promoter of Festivals, Competitions, Awards, and supporting of the Arts.

Have a very, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and a celebratory (and safe) New Year!!

Articles for Melody Lines Please send articles for Melody Lines to me at wsfmcpresident@gmail.com. Please send no later than a week before publication. Publication months are October, December, February, April, June, August.

I would LOVE to hear from all of our WSFMC Members who have news and information to share.

PLEASE click on the LINKS for valuable information. Thanks!

Sally L. Palmer

WSFMC President

e-mail: wsfmcpresident@gmail.com

Keeping in the loop with all things FESTIVAL!

2024-2028 NFMC ONLINE Festivals Bulletin is now available! New National Festival Chair is Debbie Wiser.


CLICK HERE for information from State Festivals Chair, Selina Chu, on accessing the Online Bulletin.

CLICK HERE to access the ONLINE Bulletin

NEW: Popular Music event – the Choice piece does NOT have to be listed in the Bulletin. Published arrangements of game/anime/movie music are acceptable for this event. Be sure to check pg. xiii of the Bulletin for specific requirements. 

NEW: Piano Duets: only one piece can come from the “required” list this year 

Festival entry fees due to the state will go up $1 this year: _____/entry. Gold and silver cup fees will also go up this year _____________/cup 

AN OPPORTUNITY TO "GIVE BACK"

Update: The due date has been bumped to FEBRUARY 15, 2026. You've got an extra month to get sponsors and practice!

CLICK HERE for the Practice for Hope Sponsor Sheet & information

The cover artwork of the most recent Junior Keynotes was created by a junior from Washington! Irene Wang is from Tumwater, WA! Irene is a 7th grader at Tumwater Middle School. Congratulations Irene!

Cover me, please!
Submit your original artwork for Junior Keynotes front covers!
Juniors only, 8.5 x 11, pen and ink w/color drawing, collages and photography will be considered. Please email high resolution jpg, eps or pdf files of your work.
Email JRK@nfmc-music.org if you want more information.

Wendall Irish Viola Award Western Region Winner from Washington State! Congratulations Hannah Girges!
Hannah is an 18-year old violist from Maple Valley, WA. As the Western Region winner of this award, Hannah received $500. Hannah currently studies with Joseph Gottesman in Bellevue, WA. She has been active with the Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra. To read more about the awards and distinctions she has received, turn to page 38 in the most recent issue of Junior Keynotes.

Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra
We've missed you!!

Update on Helen Crowe Snelling -

Our 2026 Junior Associate Clubs are Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (SYSO), Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO), Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO), Tacoma Youth Symphony Association (TYSA), Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia (SOGO), and Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra (MVYSO).

Last year our JA Clubs awarded many individual scholarships for summer camps, chamber groups, as well as using the HCS funds for music scores, venue rentals, and office space.

Six of our WSFMC Senior Clubs plan to hold piano competitions in 2026. Other clubs will allow individual teachers to honor outstanding students, or reward the students who received Superior ratings for their Festival performances.

Thanks to all for being such wonderful stewards of the funds from the Helen Crowe Snelling Trust. I'm sure Ms. Snelling would be so honored!

NATIONAL MUSIC WEEK

It’s time to start planning and get your students involved in

“NFMC – National Music Week!”

NATIONAL MUSIC WEEK ESSAY CONTEST

Theme for 2026 “Music…is our Constant Companion”

Get your students involved in Creative Writing!

National Music Week Essay Contest: May 3rd – 10th, 2026

A $75.00 monetary award is presented to one winner chosen in every winning state.

DEADLINE for ESSAY CONTEST is January 10th, 2026.

All applications must be filled out and submitted on-line (NFMC-Music.org)

Please follow the NMW Essay Contest rules to complete the application process.

National Music Week: May 3rd – 10th, 2026

National Music Week has as its objective “to create an understanding and appreciation of the value of music in the home, community, nation and the world.”

National Music Week is sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC).

Check out the website, to find out more ideas and ways to celebrate music during National Music Week. Questions? Contact: Chris VanBuskirk WSFMC – NFMC-NMW Chair

classickeys@comcast.net 253-820-4505

CLICK HERE for the ESSAY application and additional information. Happy writing!!

JUNIOR COMPOSERS CONTEST INFORMATION
submitted by Tom Gerou, NFMC Junior Composers Contest Chair / Mary Kaye Owen, WSFMC Chair

The portal for submissions for the Junior Composers Contest opened October 1st. To ensure a positive experience for all the young composers submitting their work, it is important to remind the students to:

1. Carefully label their score in the right hand corner (title, composer's name, age as of March 1, 2026, and Class).
   
2. Carefully label the uploaded score PDF and audio MP3 correctly (Class #, last name, first name, title of composition).
   
3. Make sure their age as of March 1, 2026 qualifies for the appropriate Class.
   
4. Register by the State's deadline (Washington State's deadline is Feb. 1, 2026).

Now, go compose!!

More Junior Composers Contest Information


State entry fee increases voted in favor of by the state board in April 2025

Class I - $30

Class II - $35

Class III - $40

Class IV - $40

When registering, the state and national fees are submitted to  nfmc-music.org/payment and the application, score, and mp3 are submitted in the same time-frame to https://forms.nfmc-music.org/forms/. 

Junior Composers Contest entry deadline is February 1, 2026. Compositions should be submitted to NFMC in January. 

Here is the link to the JCC rules https://www.nfmc-music.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/JR-7-1-3.pdf. 

I've just secured our 2026 judge: Ron Mallory, currently in Kansas, but with a UW MM degree and career work begun in the Eastside area in the '90s. He is an award-winning composer, with many works listed in J.W. Pepper catalog.

Let's get all of our students and youth orchestra members to submit a composition this year. Imagine the creativity!!

For those who missed the Competitions & Awards presentation at the WSFMC conference . . .

Here's a summary of what was covered:


• Membership requirements (or not). 
  
• The Competitions & Awards Chart, how to access it and how to find what you are looking for.
  
• How to access specific competitions.
  
• What to look for on the application (age limit, deadline date, how to submit the application, etc.).
  
• How to pay the application fee online.

The survey taken by those who participated said it was helpful and they actually learned something!

Contact Sally Palmer at wsfmcpresident@gmail.com and she will send the PowerPoint presentation to you via email.

NFMC JUNIOR MUSIC COMPETITIONS

submitted by John Van Lierop, Jr., WSFMC Awards/Competitions Chair

The applications and requirements can be found on the NFMC Home page. On the menu click Competitions & Awards, then click Junior Division and finally all the Junior Division Competitions appear. Everything is now done online, including the application and payments, as well as uploading any videos.

I will briefly describe the five piano competitions that are available for 2026. I have included the new award money that has increased over last year. These increases might not be reflected yet on the present online entry forms. Make sure all applications have “August 2025” written in the lower right-hand corner of the application (and the rules and procedures paperwork. All updated forms should be online by the first of September 2025.)

CLICK HERE for the full article and the FIVE Junior Piano Awards

I have a request- Could you teachers please inform me when you enter one of your students in any of these competitions? We want to recognize your students in one of our future Melody Lines, whether they are a National winner or not. Just being in the competition takes a lot of work! 

Festivals Specially Capable Musicians

Several of the WSFMC Conference attendees asked about the "Festivals Specially Capable Musicians" Form, JR 3-13. There were questions about what constituted "specially capable" and "disability." Physical disabilities and mental health issues are all considered "specially capable." So many issues our students may struggle with are not visible issues (anxiety, depression, autism, ADD, etc.), so those issues are indeed taken into consideration. When looking at the JR 3-13 "Festivals Specially Capable Musicians" form, here are things to remember:

• Teacher and parent (or adult student) must fill out and sign the form.
  
• Disability and the accommodation requested must be included in the application
  
• Form must be completed and approved by the State Chair at least one month before the Festival date
  
• Festival Chair must be informed, and the judges must be informed ahead of time
  
• Don't leave a paper trail: return applications to the parent, don't include SCM on ratings sheets or certificates, no public announcements of SCM status
  
• 
  
• A permanent application is now available as of 2026, but the teacher must submit the form every year. It's not necessary to have the permanent form "reapprove
  
• Click Here for the Festivals Specially Capable Musician Form JR 3-13

Your new 2025-2027 NFMC Festivals Team!

As always, if you have questions about Festivals, contact your Club Festivals Chair first. If that person does not have the answers, either you or they should then contact our WSFMC Festivals Chair, Selina Chu.

The following Junior Division recommendations were approved in June by the Board of Directors at the 2025 NFMC Convention held in Austin, TX:

1. Federation Cup pre-orders must be approved by the NFMC Federation Cup Chair and NFMC Executive Director.

2. The JR 3-13 Specially Capable Musician application must be approved by the local (area) and State Festivals Chairs. A one-time filing is now applicable for permanent conditions. The student’s teacher must retain the initial approval form and resubmit it each year to the Area Chair.

3. The Popular Piano Solo Event choice piece may/may not be from the required list.

4. Eliminate the class correlations/requirements for sight-singing/playing.

5. The solo correlations for the Violin Concerto event are now not mandatory; they are guidelines only.

WE LOVE OUR JUNIOR ASSOCIATE CLUBS!!

Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra - https://www.byso.org/

Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras - https://www.cyso.us/

Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra - https://www.mvyso.org/

Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra - https://syso.org/

Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia - https://studentorchestras.org/

Tacoma Youth Symphony Association - https://tysamusic.org/

Check out these websites for upcoming events and how you can show your support.

If you know of a group of junior age students who could benefit from being members of the Washington State Federation of Music Clubs, please contact Sally Palmer, Membership Chair.

Next Melody Lines Newsletter coming February 1st.

Please submit any announcements or articles by January 15th.

We would LOVE your contributions!!

Sally Palmer, Editor

News from Deborah Freeman, NFMC President

Click Here for News

LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE 2025 - 2026

Submitted by Dr. Yelena Balabanova, WSFMC Liability Insurance Chair



NFMC and its members are purchasing Liability Insurance only. This provides coverage to a third party for bodily injury or property damage the entity causes. You must be a member in good standing to obtain insurance!

National designated deadline to submit requests:

August 15 for events September 1 – December 31

December 1 for events January 1 – August 31



• Cost per event is $20. Add $5 extra per event if registered after the designated deadline
• Cost per event having consecutive days is $25.
• An event on a single day but at multiple sites costs $20 per site.
• No requests will be processed without an accurate address and date of event.
• If an event requires a rider of an additional insured, give the exact language required.
• Any changes requested after a certificate is issued will result in a $5 change fee.
• If you need to change an event date, and wait to inform NFMC until the original date has passed you will owe another full event fee. There is NO credit in that situation.
• A certificate verifying insurance coverage is issued only to an event that requests it. Certificates will be sent to the state liability chair and will be mailed to requested members.
• Coverage is not guaranteed until payment is received and processed by NFMC Headquarters. "No payment = No Insurance" 

WSFMC members:

Inform Insurance Chair by email in advance when you will make the payment online,

so Yelena can process the submission the same day you make the payment.

Make payment on www.nfmc-music.org/payment/

Select "Liability Insurance" under Plans

and Fill in your "Event Name, Date and Location" under Notes

Email payment receipt and forms below to YelenaBalabanova@gmail.com

2025-2026 Liability Insurance Request NFMC Liability Insurance Letter

NFMC Liability Insurance Request Form

Child Protection Policy Form