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PMTA Early-Career Fellowship

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PMTA Early-Career Fellowship

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Description

The PMTA Early-Career Fellowship is a unique opportunity for private music teachers in their first 5 years of post-graduate teaching. While providing financial startup support, this one-year program includes mentorship placement with an experienced teacher and provides valuable networking and professional development experiences. Those selected for this program will be awarded:

  • $1,000 (two $500 payments, each occurring at the beginning and end of the fellowship term)
  • National and State dues reimbursement for one year
  • Free attendance for up to two full PMTA State Conferences*
    *Selectees are required to give a report at the state conference at the end of their fellowship term. Conference attendance at the beginning of the term is encouraged but not required.

Eligibility and Application Process

  • Private music teacher in the state of PA, currently within the first five (5) years of post-graduate teaching
  • Current member of PMTA
  • A resume and a recommendation letter will be required.
  • Application open January 1 through April 15
  • Applicants will be notified of the decision results by April 30th
  • All first-time, eligible applicants will receive State Dues reimbursement and free Conference attendance!

Fellowship Mentees

  • One-year fellowship term: Obligations must be completed within one year.
  • Observe 4 or more music lessons taught by the Mentor Teacher
  • Attend 2 local chapter meetings
  • Assist in 1 local or state event
  • Consultation with Mentor on pedagogy, lesson planning & studio management encouraged
  • Attend PMTA State Conference at the end of the term to give a report. Conference
    attendance at the start of the term is encouraged but not required.
  • Post-term: Submit form to give account of award money usage and provide feedback via this form

Fellowship Mentors

  • Must have 10 or more years of private music teaching experience
  • Provide Mentee with opportunities to observe 4 or more lessons
  • Be available to discuss pedagogy, lesson planning and studio management with Mentee
  • Optional: Mentee can assist with a studio event, such as a recital, group lesson or other
  • Post-term: Submit form to confirm Mentee obligation fulfillment
  • If you would like to be a Fellowship Mentor, please contact the Mentorship Program Chair. Mentors will receive free full PMTA Conference attendance for each year of service!

Questions? Contact Mentorship Program Chair Miriam Shingle: pmta.mentorship@gmail.com

Call for Commissioned Composer 2027

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PMTA Call for Commissioned Composer 2027

  • Nominations are now open for PMTA’s 2027 Commissioned Composer. When considering your nomination, please take note: The composer must currently live and work in Pennsylvania.
  • Work to be commissioned must be a vocal and/or instrumental work for 2 to 7 performers.
  • Composers working in a broad range of aesthetics are welcome, as long as the final score and/or parts are written in notated, concert-music format suitable for chamber performance.
  • Preference will be given to emerging over established composers.
  • Nominations must be submitted without notifying the composer.

Please submit the composer’s name, biography, website and/or work samples (both scores and recordings) to Henry Wong Doe hwongdoe@iup.edu by March 15, 2026.

DSPF State Showcase Recitals and Keystone Concerto Festival – Due Dates Soon

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The annual Keystone Concerto Festival and DSPF State Showcase Recitals are scheduled for Saturday, November 8 at Messiah University. The deadlines to register are as follows (no late registrations will be accepted):

Keystone Concerto Festival – deadline is Friday, October 17 at midnight – to register your students please follow this link registration page – click on the Red Register Now button

State DSPF Showcase Recitals – deadline is Friday, October 24 at midnight – you must register/transfer your students who qualified at the local level to perform at the State Showcase Recitals. They are not transferred automatically.  To register your students for the State Showcase Recital follow this link registration page – click on the Red Register Now button.

As an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, the hope is all teachers will be present to support their students and this event. If you are unable to fulfill this obligation (we understand things happen that are unavoidable), there will be a $50 non-attendance fee added to your registration.

We have engaged Amanda Cardinal, music therapist, to lead a discussion during the lunch hour on teaching the neurodivergent student. We hope you will join us for a lively discussion and delicious lunch (provided by PMTA).

Additional information regarding the site, parking, schedules and venues will be available soon.

We look forward to seeing you at Messiah University in November!

Best regards,
Kristine Fosbenner
PMTA DSPF Chairperson

PMTA CALL FOR CLINICIANS

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Call for Clinicians – Due December 10, 2025 

The Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association’s state conference planning committee invites you to submit a proposal for the 2026 State Conference. This year’s conference will be held in person on June 12-14, 2026, on the campus of Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, PA. 

The conference theme is “Musicians’ Search for Meaning: Artistry, Connections, and Resilience During Challenging Times.” This theme explores the transformative insights of Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, and their relevance to our calling as musicians. How can music teachers continue making a meaningful impact during a time of significant change, adversity, and uncertainty for all educators?

 In his influential book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl reflects on his experiences as a concentration camp survivor and leading psychiatrist in Vienna before and after World War II. From his experiences, he concludes:

 “We can discover…meaning in life in three different ways:

  1. By creating a work or doing a deed,
  2. By experiencing something (goodness, truth, and beauty) or encountering someone [love], and
  3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.” (p. 111)

Our conference theme will explore the transformative power of Frankl’s insights on our work as musicians. Preference will be given to presentations that connect to at least one of the following three channels that correspond to Frankl’s three pathways to meaning. The topics below provide examples. 

     Artistry: sustaining creative output, maintaining high standards, or adapting pedagogical approaches despite limitations or disruptions.

  •     Connection: preserving community, identity, and collaboration amid isolation, uncertainty, or systemic change.
  •     Resilience: strategies to navigate adversity, burnout, or instability in the arts.

College students are invited to apply!

The deadline for submissions is December 10, 2025.

For consideration, please e-mail the following to both co-conference chairs:

Seulki Yoo seulkisusieyoo@gmail.com AND 

Jonathan Flowers jonathan@mindfulmusicllc.com

General Sessions 

  • A 250-word proposal outlining the proposed session for a 50-minute session.
  • A 50-word or less description of the proposed 50-minute session.
  • A full biography and a 50-word biography of each of the proposed presenter(s). 
  • A color photo of each proposed presenter.

College students (open to students currently enrolled in a music program anywhere in the country)

  • A 250-word proposal outlining the proposed session for a 25-minute session.
  • A 50-word or less description of the proposed 25-minute session.
  • A 50-word biography of each of the proposed presenter(s).
  • A color photo of each proposed presenter.

All components listed above must be sent to Seulki Yoo and Jonathan Flowers by December 10, 2025. 

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by January 25, 2025.

As you prepare your proposal, please visit the PMTA website for information about our concert and masterclass artist, Brian Ganz, and keynote speaker, Kính T. Vũ. 

We look forward to receiving your application!