Warmest greetings!

As I write this, spring has officially sprung, and once again, Mother Nature has provided a luscious landscape that evokes our passions and inspires the soul. This school year will soon draw to a close, summer will be upon us, and we music teachers will look ahead to another new beginning.  Where does the time go?  Only a few short months ago, we were together in Greensboro, celebrating a half-century of NCMTA, reflecting on our many achievements, and looking ahead with great enthusiasm toward the next 50 years. 

As we continue to celebrate our 50^th Anniversary of NCMTA, I hope your enthusiasm for teaching is at an all time high, despite the gloomy economic conditions. It is said that music is the language of the soul, and if ever there was a time for lifting the soul, it is now!  We teachers know so well the transforming power of music that is so necessary in every human life.  What a great opportunity we possess to share our knowledge and experience with young and old alike.  Let us maintain our passion for teaching and love of music, and inspire others to communicate with a new language, straight from the heart.

Since we last met in October, your NCMTA Board has been hard at work.  Many thanks go to Dr. Paul Stewart, NCTM, and Tom Lohr, NCTM, Piano Section Chair and Vice-Chair, for spearheading the work in developing the 2011 Piano Competition-Festival Repertoire.  Thanks also to Piano Contest Co-Directors, Kathleen Vockeroth, NCTM, and Anne Scoggin, NCTM, for organizing our festivals across the state.  Debby Titlow, Composition/Theory Chair, has been very busy planning for our upcoming composition events, and Vicky Fischer Faw, NCTM, is busy promoting our Certification Program to interested teachers. 

I'm very happy to report that planning is well underway for our upcoming 2010 NCMTA Conference, to be held October 7 - 10, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  Diane Blanchard, NCTM, President-elect/Conference Chair, and our onsite host Dr. Cathy Albergo, NCTM, are planning an outstanding weekend, highlighted by our 2010 Conference Artist/clinician, James Giles, from Northwestern University.  Our Saturday evening concert will be presented by the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, which will surely be a highlight of the conference.  Diane and Cathy are preparing an exciting array of clinicians, session presenters, exhibit hall vendors, demonstrations, and activities, in addition to the MTNA Performance Competitions, Winners Recital, and annual State Piano Contest Recitals.  I hope you will make plans now to spend a beautiful October weekend with us "at the beach".  In fact, why not plan to invite your family and friends to join us; special hotel rates are being arranged, and the North Carolina coastline is beautiful in October.

As we wind down this studio year and look ahead to the next, I hope you will consider how you might serve your fellow colleagues, students and parents, by becoming more involved in NCMTA.  There is truly a need for everyone to serve at the local or state level, and your service will not only benefit those whom you serve, but enrich your own professional life in ways far beyond your expectations.  I encourage you to step up, and lift up yourself and others toward a more certain future filled with the transforming power of music!

Please stay in touch with your questions, comments and suggestions, so I may better serve you and your students.

I send my best wishes for your boundless joy and success in this most wonderful profession!

All the best,

Liz

Liz LaBelle, NCTM
President, North Carolina Music Teachers Association