From the President’s Desk: James Douthit, President

As temperatures hover around zero, it’s difficult to remember that Spring will come in the not too distant future, bringing with it an exciting freshness in all things. As the flowers begin to blossom, so do the efforts of our teaching and the efforts of our students. In the preparation for recitals and auditions, our students take the musical notation as their seeds and our teaching tools as the nourishment to yield results which no one can truly predict. Their musical gardens burst with new ideas, new expressions of beauty, and new heights of musicality and growth.

PMTA is in the business of fostering renewal and providing inspiration. Evidence of this can be found in Betty Zornosa’s article in the January, 2004 edition of Clavier. I urge you to read this marvelous tribute to the importance of professional organizations (local, state, and national) which assist in fostering growth in new teachers as well as veteran teachers. Congratulations to Betty Zornosa and the members of the Westmoreland Chapter on the publication of this inspiring article highlighting the importance of our association.

PMTA is undergoing some of its own internal changes. At the meeting of the Board in November, a committee was formed to revise our bylaws. This revision will bring our governing rules in line with the MTNA bylaws, as well as the items that are necessary to comply with the requirements of our 501 C-3 nonprofit status. Millie Eben, Ellen Flint, and I have worked to draft a new set of bylaws. Millie and Ellen worked tirelessly around the holiday season to complete a draft that would be reviewed and presented in this newsletter. Later in the newsletter, you will find a draft of the new bylaws as well as a chart which will help you compare the old bylaws with the new bylaws. We are eager to hear your suggestions. You may email, phone, or send your written suggestions to either of the three of us. We plan to present this for ratification at the Board meeting to be held the first Saturday in June.

A midwinter blossoming of Pennsylvania’s talents was recently experienced at the Eastern Division Conference held January 16-18 at West Virginia University. Two of our own members are the leaders of the Eastern Division. Deb Ronning is currently the president. Millie Eben serves as the president-elect. Congratulations to our winners and participants. We are so proud of the efforts of our students and teachers. An announcement of prize winners and their teachers can be found later in the newsletter.

There are several opportunities in the near future for your furthering your own growth and development. On March 27, 2004, the MTNA National Conference will convene in Kansas City, Missouri. These conferences provide marvelous new ideas to bring to your teaching as well as the opportunity to meet other teachers from across the country. Prices of flights to Kansas City appear to be quite reasonable at the moment. Sharing a room with fellow teachers from your local association can also make the expenses more manageable. Don’t forget, in many cases you may also list these expenditures as business deductions in the filing of your state and federal taxes.

In June, we will hold our own state level Leadership Summit. We have many challenges facing us as we continue to grow and thrive as an organization. At the November Board meeting, we decided to devote this time to some lengthy discussions on issues that merit our attention. On the Saturday afternoon of the summit, we will hold the spring Board meeting. Details of this summit will be communicated shortly. We are still in the planning stages with our potential locations and dates.

As we move through the calendar and approach the autumn season, you can begin thinking about harvesting new ideas at our annual state conference, held this year, November 4-7 at Duquesne University. Nanette Kaplan Solomon, our vice president for conferences, and Ken Burky the site coordinator are already making the logistical arrangements for our weekend. We have some exciting activities in the works and look forward to sharing the details with you shortly. Put this weekend on your calendar now, so that you can plan to attend. This is your opportunity for professional development. I’m not sure we would want to have surgery under the knife of a physician who doesn’t regularly attend professional development seminars; public schools teachers must undergo consistent professional development; and so must we as private teachers attend to our professional development opportunities and obligations.

As you can see, we have many exciting things being sown in our PMTA garden even in the cold of winter. As our activities unfold throughout the coming spring and summer we can look to this time as the start of new things, new activities, and new opportunities for professional growth. Fortunately, unlike the fleeting flowers of spring, the seeds we sow will bloom forever in the lives of our students making their lives and the world around them a more beautiful place.