MMTA General Meeting
Friday, November 18, 2016
UW Sheboygan
Attending:
Drea Wagner, Ann Hoppert Keller, Louise Mann, Elaine Phillips, Jenni Hogan, Marlene Wondergem, ShelbaDeMaster, Tricia Martin, Jane Voigt, Sarah Vincent
9:00 Business Meeting
Drea called the meeting to order and asked for a motion to pass the May 2016 and September 2016 meeting minutes. Elaine moves to accept May minutes, Jane seconds, motion passes.Ann moves to accept the September minutes, Elaine seconds, motion passes.
President’s Report- Drea Wagner
Teacher Referral List
The Executive Board decided to discontinue the teacher referral list because it was not being kept up to date and therefore not useful. It would be better to email other members when you are accepting students and just keep a general membership list online up to date, so parents can see all the teachers and find out about availability on their own by calling who they wish. Discussion- we don’t always know when teachers are or aren’t accepting students but it would be helpful to know through word-of-mouth.
Drea handed-out a Membership Profile Information Template to help members update their profile on the MMTA website. Louise showed how our names appear on the membership list, with a photo, description, and link to the teacher’s website if applicable.
Not everyone from our group is on the state WMTA teacher list so we should help our members get onto that list as well.
September Getaway
We really enjoyed our getaway and Drea is looking into doing it again for next September. We need to book something now because these things need to be planned very much in advance since it is difficult to find something for September in May.
We could find a place for 10-12 people and have members sign-up on a first-come basis. An issue is that a lot of places require two nights of booking. There are many places available for 2 nights at the $100 range per person. Drea has been looking at vacation home rentals, cottages, etc. It would be beneficial to have been able to stay longer on Saturday morning and relax in the home instead of having to pack-up and move to the conference center. Everyone agrees that it was great to just relax and “chill” together on Friday night.
Time of year- more expensive in fall, cheaper in winter. A lot of people like the getaway in the beginning of our year in fall.
Drea will look at options for a 2-night stay close to us, and email us all with ideas.
As for the cost, Drea could have a sign-up sheet with a firm commitment and initial deposit, and have people follow-through with paying the balance or finding a replacement for them if they couldn’t go later on. The cost would be an estimate, and a “not-to-exceed” amount.
Vice President’s Report- Ann Hoppert Keller
Master classes
January 27 Dr. Nick Phillips Master Class- Nick will be giving a presentation at our MMTA in the morning (9:00AM), and then give two master classes at 2:30 and 4:00 in the afternoon.
For teachers to sign-up their students to participate, the application deadline for students to perform at a master class (either 2:00 or 4:00) will be first-come, first-served with a deadline of January 20. Students between 3rd year and high school are welcome to apply, one piece per student.
Coffee Cadence
Topics discussed were adult students, and sharing students- Elaine teaches a student who attends Jenni’s church and they are both trying to influence the student to participate in certain things at church.
Audition Committee Report- Marlene
For reaching the new server for audition applications, teachers now need to type the ovation web address in the address bar so it reaches the new website, and your computer doesn’t “remember” the old web site. If the site is not working, try re-typing the address in the search bar.
Entry fees are the same as last year. Teachers must go to the composition list.
Idea for saving time- if your student’s piece isn’t on the list, enter a dummy piece to enter the student and then go back and edit the piece later.
Scores do not need to be clean. No arrangements for solo piano except folk songs. Parents and teachers should know that some rooms may be mixed between grade levels at the Badger Competition.
Note that Southern Badgers is on a Sunday this year at the Wisconsin Conservatory, May 21. Northeast is on May 20th and sometimes students are able to go to that one if they aren’t able to participate on a Sunday. We can email our feedback and concerns about them scheduling this on a Sunday- they did this because they can only secure the facility for a Sunday but it is very inconvenient for teachers who are church musicians and can’t attend or work on that day.
Festival for 2017- Baroque
Amending of Constitution and Bylaws
The changes are not extensive- only to match the WMTA membership rules to include people younger than 18. We have also crossed-out annual audit in place of an every-other-year audit.
Jane moves to accept the changes as written, and Tricia seconds. Motion passes.
November 3 Tri-County News Carried an Article About our September 23 Meeting
Jane Voigt submitted the story and it was printed in the newspaper. She brought a copy for our scrapbook. She said how special that meeting was for a lot of people.
Volunteer Positions for YMS
An extensive list of open positions was sent out for YMS volunteering. Tricia says volunteer!
Elaine moves to adjourn, Louise seconds. Meeting adjourned.
Speaker:Christy Talbott addressed the topic of changing and emerging careers in music.
Submitted by Sarah Vincent