Milwaukee Music Teachers Association

Board retreat was today! We discussed MMTA's past, present and future.

It is always sad to hear of former MMTA members passing. Pat Anders touched many lives in the Milwaukee community and was a blessing to many students.

Summer newsletter is out!

Newsletter - July 2024 Member Updates-Happy July 4th!   Milwaukee Music Teachers Association, Inc. Visit our Website Over 50 Piano, Strings, Voice And Music Therapy Teachers Living In The Greater Milwaukee Area Letter From

Hopefully you can join us for our summer book club!! We will meet in the late summer to discuss William Westney's latest book "Eros at the Piano".

Publications – William Westney A new book by William Westney, author of the bestselling The Perfect Wrong Note, takes a fresh and creative look at the human dimension of classical music-making and why it matters more than ever in the contemporary world.

How is your summer going!!! Hopefully you are doing fun things with your students. Our sister club, Lake Country Music Club is sponsoring a composition contest in the fall and NOW is a fantastic time to be working on compositions with your students. Check it out - it's a great way to encourage composition for students who have not tried any contests yet and a way for students who do the Junior Composition Contest to get feedback before January when JCC entries are due.

Composition Contest | Lake Country Music C The LCMC Composition Contest is a composition contest open to all composition students in the state of Wisconsin!

It sounds like the new bulletins are arriving! Make sure you use the WFMC youtube channel to help familiarize yourself with the pieces and the composers. It is an incredible resource.

The Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs - YouTube The official YouTube Channel of the Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs (WFMC), part of the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC)

And here is another piece of artwork a student made to celebrate National Music Week.

My name is Arthur. I’m eight years old. My favorite color is light orange. I made a painting of me at Federation. I have been playing the piano for 2 years. My favorite part about piano is Ms. Simpkin helping me compose songs.

Here is more artwork shared by our students to celebrate National Music Week.
Artwork #2 “MUSIC”
Kylie B.
8th grader at Park View Middle School in Mukwonago, WI
Kylie has been playing piano since 1st grade and also violin since 4th grade. She participates in her school’s orchestra and string choir group, and is also a part of Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.

We had some students share artwork with us for National Music Week!
Artwork #1 “Live Laugh Play Music”
Megan B.
8th grader at Park View Middle School in Mukwonago, WI
Megan has been playing piano since 1st grade and also violin since 4th grade. She participates in her school’s orchestra and string choir group, and is also a part of Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.

It's National Music Week! Paige F. wrote an essay on this year's theme of Music for All. Her thoughts are an excellent reminder to start our week. Have a musical week!!

Paige Faulkner is a 9th grade student at Blue Valley High School. She has played piano since kindergarten and is taught by Kay Simpkin of Mukwonago, WI. She also plays viola in her school orchestra. Some of her other hobbies besides making music are running, playing basketball, reading, and cooking.

Music belongs to all of us. Each one of us has a different view of the world, and each person brings their own thoughts to the table. Music is a way for us to express our unique selves and pour out our emotions in a way that words could never emulate.

One of the most influential composers of all time is Ludwig Van Beethoven. He challenged traditional methods and composed music that expressed his feelings and invoked powerful emotions in his audience. His dramatic and emotional style paved the way to a whole new era of music: Romanticism. Romanticism is the idea of composing music that is individualistic and emotional. Unlike classical music, music in the Romantic era didn’t have a strict form. Beethoven was able to pour so much feeling into his music despite the fact that many of his greatest works were composed while he was deaf. People around the world were awed and inspired by Beethoven’s work, demonstrating that the art of music can allow the thoughts of just one individual to ignite a spark in the hearts of millions.

Music is much more than pretty noises. It is a meaningful sentiment that has not only been used for entertainment, but also to inspire social change. “We Shall Overcome” is one example of a song that influenced Civil Rights activists to fight for equality. Music is a tool that anyone can use to express their beliefs and inspire change.

Although music has had an impact on many people throughout history, music wasn’t always available to everyone in the world. A long time ago, someone could create a song and play or sing it, but they weren’t able to write it out and share it with others until the invention of notation. Before modern notation was developed in the 11th century, music was often heard in church, but not in everyday life. After modern notation was invented, individuals could write their music down for other people to read and perform themselves. People reading music no longer had to guess the pitch; they were able to tell exactly what the composer wanted it to sound like.

After the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, music could be widely shared. Publishers could print hundreds of copies of music to share with as many people as they liked. This advancement allowed music to reach the hands of middle-class people, not just aristocrats and the upper class. The works of many famous composers couldn’t have been shared if it weren’t for the ability to print music.

Sharing music brings people together. No matter if you listen to it or create it, music impacts your life in some way. Next time you listen to your favorite song, think about how that artist felt when they were writing it. What are they trying to tell you? The power of music is for everyone to wield. It is yours, mine, and ours. What will you do with it?

Thanks to everyone who turned out for our annual meeting this morning. It was great to see colleagues and have some time to chat and enjoy lunch together.

You can pre-order your new bulletin today!!!

Order 2020 – 2024 Federation Festivals Bulletin

Today is the last day to enter students in the State Festival!! Make sure you get your entries in.

wfmcmusic.formstack.com

This is a great way to keep students learning new repertoire over the summer.

We invite all music teachers to participate in this year's Summer Music Festival for FREE. Give your students a goal for their summer music study.

Registration for the Playathon on May 5th is now open! This event is for everyone in the organization. Performers can be ALL ages, so please feel free to share with adult students, college students and your youngest beginners. Teachers, this is for you as well! We would love to have a variety - parents can play as well, it's time to play and have fun with our music making!

May 5 Playathon registration Sign up performers here

It's election day!! And MMTA does mail in ballots. By now you all should have received the revised ballots which were mailed to you. Please return those to the address listed on the ballot!

Happy March!!! Here is a list of awards with deadlines today.

For more details, check out www.nfmc-music.org/competitionscategory/junior-division/

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Our workshop with Tricia was fantastic! Here are some of the points she highlighted -

Starting with KNOWN concepts and moving to the unknown
Making sure students experience the SOUND of theory concepts
Make sure to do theory consistently throughout the year instead of cramming before a test

Anyone else ready to head over to the craft store to go get wooden cubes to make our letter cubes?

Another one of our Youth Concert Artists!

Hanh Bui is currently a sophomore in high school. She started taking piano lessons at six years old with Mrs. Tami Samorajski. She has a passion for music and also plays the clarinet and saxophone. She is a member of her school’s marching band, wind ensemble and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.