OMTA Portland District E-Notes

January 2010, Vol. 5 No. 8

Website address: www.omta-portland.org



Happy New Year, Teachers!

Now that the bustle and busyness of the holiday season is over, I'd like to ask all of you to take a moment to reflect on how you can contribute to encouraging and developing our young musicians by volunteering for a job with OMTA.



"OMTA: Fostering Excellence in Music Education." It's a slogan we often hear at our conferences or in our marketing brochures -- a slogan that gives me a sense of pride in my job as an educator and makes me feel proud to be a member of our group. But how does OMTA "foster excellence in music education?" We do this in many ways -- from sharpening our teaching skills at an OMTA workshop to inspiring our students to give their best performance at a music festival or competition. When I was a teenager in Gresham, Oregon, nothing motivated me to become a better pianist quite like participating in OMTA's competitions or striving to pass my annual Syllabus exam. I owe my lifelong love for music today to the encouragement that my own OMTA teacher gave me when she enrolled me in these terrific events. I didn't realize it back then, but participating in these programs changed me, helping me build my confidence and learn how to express myself. They were experiences that taught me the importance of hard work, accuracy, detail, and even presentation -- not just in music, but in every area of my life. These programs taught me how to achieve any goal ... even inspiring me to become a music teacher myself and "pay it forward" to the next generation. And I know I'm not the only one who has had this experience or feels this way.



That's why it saddens me when, time and again, I have to post yet another announcement saying that one of our programs is endangered because nobody in our group is willing to help. These are valuable, long-running, character-building programs that our students work long hours to prepare for, and depend on us to present.

Hillsboro and Portland West Hills are in need of Syllabus chairs for spring. If this program is important to you or your students, please consider lending a few hours of your time to help LaRayne Rowland and keep this terrific program going for our music students. For more information, see the announcement below, headlined "Syllabus Chairs needed for Hillsboro & West Hills."



Thanking you for the music,

Joy Novak
President

OMTA Portland