Benjamin Caton began the keynote by welcoming everyone to New York City and sharing his desire that we all find the conference to be refreshing, inspiring, and energizing.
He said that he met with the New York State Music Teachers Association president, Denise Ivanoff, and that she said she was working on bringing us good weather for the conference. She was most successful! 🙂
She said that when she was asked to be President-Elect, they had no idea that they would be celebrating their own 50th anniversary as a state association and hosting the national conference during her term. She very graciously welcomed everyone, though, and offered her assistance with any needs. Next up was Rebecca Grooms Johnson, 2012 Conference Committee Chairwoman. She said that there were 435 submitted proposals for conference sessions. 30 of those were selected by the laborious efforts of the committee members. Each morning will feature a plenary session of renowned pianists and pedagogues.
Rebecca shared her vision that each of the thousands of attendees at this year’s conference will learn, be inspired, and connect with music teaching colleagues from across the country.
MTNA Executive Director, Gary Ingle, spent a few minutes also welcoming conference attendees and recognize the generous sponsors of the event. He reminded us that MTNA is a national organization with an international mission. He recognized representatives from organizations all around the world who are present at the conference this week.
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