Anchorage and Fairbanks teachers, the Alaska Music Teachers Association eventually
affiliated with the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in order to operate
more efficiently and to involve more teachers across the state.
AMTA is a non-profit professional organization.
Although the majority of members are piano teachers, many teach in other areas of music,
such as strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, organ, voice, and kindermusik. The main purpose
of AMTA is to provide a link between the individual teachers and the national organization, and
to reach out across the vast state of Alaska to provide opportunities for continuing education,
peer contact, and performance and competition venues for teachers and their students.
Members are independent teachers with private studios, university faculty members, public and
private school teachers, community choral, band and orchestra leaders, and church musicians,
as well as some music merchants within the state.
Many AMTA members also belong to other music associations such as
MENC, NATS, ASTA and the Suzuki Institute.
We are teachers like many other music teachers across the United States. However, there
are other challenges we face that are a little more unusual, the most obvious of which concerns winter weather,
that, at times, can affect simply the ability of students to get to a lesson. There is the challenge of travel
across the state to meet face to face with our peers. (We have teachers from the Aleutian Islands, to the
southeast panhandle, to the Kenai Peninsula and the interior Fairbanks area. Road access is only available between
the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage and Fairbanks.) Traveling outside of Alaska to benefit from other professional
activities is sometimes costly and long flights are time-consuming. And, our financial resources are limited due our relatively small state
membership.
Yet, still we teach skills and musicianship.
We set goals and develop good relationships with students, their parents and the community. We work around
the many other activities that are involving today's young people. We love music and the opportunity to
share it with others.
Activities
- President, President Elect, Treasurer and Secretary - and an Executive Board made up of the elected officers, the immediate past-president, local association presidents and state committee chairs. The Officers meet annually for business (open to all members) and every other year AMTA presents workshops with clinicians from both inside and outside the state. State meetings are usually held in Anchorage, but the organization has also met in Fairbanks and Sitka.
Non-competitive adjudications of piano students are provided by AMTA twice a year (November and May). High quality adjudicators are brought to Alaska for the adjudications.
Through affiliation with MTNA, AMTA teachers are able to enter students in national performance and composition competitions, pursue professional teacher certification, attend the MTNA annual National Conference, and benefit from many other MTNA programs.
AMTA annual dues are remitted with National dues to MTNA.
There are AMTA members-in-good-standing throughout Alaska
Anchorage
Craig
Eagle River
Eielson Air Force Base
Fairbanks
Girdwood
Homer
Kenai
North Pole
Palmer
Sitka
Soldotna
Unalaska
and Wasilla
as well as former resident members
now living in Idaho and Nevada.
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