The Northeast Area Music Teachers Association (NAMTA) will hold it’s annual scholarship auditions on Friday, May 13th. Talented pianists from the Cedar Valley will audition by performing memorized selections by various composers of their choosing which will include Mozart, Debussy, Bartok, Tsitsaros and Rocherolle. The performance will be held at 10:15 a.m. in Mae Latta Hall of the Hearst Center for the Arts on Seerley Boulevard in Cedar Falls. The public is invited and welcome to attend.

NAMTA’s mission is to promote excellence in music instruction. The performing, selection and awarding of scholarships to deserving graduating seniors has always been a part of that mission. Scholarships have been awarded throughout most of the 40 plus years since NAMTA began in 1975. For more information contact Scholarship chair, Ann Barry at barryassoc@cfu.net or 319-266-5612.

Scholarship sponsors include programs such as STAC, Student-Teacher Achievement Clinic (chaired by Sharon Britzman) and Pedagogy Workshop (chaired by Laurie Braaten-Reuter, late Solveig Gregory) which fund this worthy cause. For many years, individual sponsors as well as businesses also added to the scholarship monies under the guidance of Wanda Reece. Scholarships from memorials have been very appreciated from families of members such as the Geraldine Miller scholarship, and in 2007 the Eunice Cordes scholarship and the Frank Lundak Trust.

Each year graduating seniors who are students of NAMTA members can apply by resume of accomplishments and recommendation of their teacher. At the NAMTA May meeting the students perform their selections for a judge, NAMTA membership and interested public.

We are pleased to welcome back, Dr. John Holstad, Professor Emeritus UNI to be our judge. He enthusiastically embraces the scholarship program.

NAMTA encourages continued study of piano in college without requiring that the student be a music major to compete or utilize this scholarship.

NAMTA is a local association, and is part of the Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA), and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). For more information on NAMTA, please visit www.namtaiowa.org or contact Jean Hilbert, publicity chair at jhilbert93@mchsi.com or President, Dr. Theresa Camilli, theresa.camilli@uni.edu.