I participated in the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA) regional festival again this spring. I had four students enrolled, the same as last year. Two of those were continuing students; two were new students. This event was held on Saturday, April 6th, in the music building at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. I didn’t sleep well and woke up before 6 a.m. since I was petrified by the possibility that I could oversleep. I was scheduled to do musicianship testing, which took the entire morning after my 8 a.m. arrival.
I was able to get pictures of 3 out of my 4 students. That’s because I insisted they stop by my testing room before they left. All of them received a Superior rating of 1, but one did better than that by securing a 1+ as the first alternate to the winner for her level. My studio did a lot better this year in supplemental testing as well, with several certificates awarded for scores of 90 or better in musicianship and written theory.
It is always interesting to compare notes with teachers in the break room during lunch. We discussed the surprises and disappointments of the day, and traded stories about what else is going on in our lives, musical or otherwise. As you can imagine, this event only happens due to the hard work of several volunteers over weeks and months before the event; my helping out on the day of the event doesn’t compare to that! My thanks to them!
