Kenneth J. Christensen, NCTMBozeman, MT kjcinmt@aol.com
MTNA President Kenneth Christensen, NCTM, has appeared as a soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States, England, China and the Phillipines. As a collaborative artist, he has performed with renowned singers the late Jerome Hines and Pablo Elvira from New York's Metropolitan Opera Company and with composers and conductors John Rutter and Sir Richard Wilcox. Christensen's piano duo "2 Pianos 4 Hands" performed its New York recital debut in April 2006 at Carnegie Hall. Christensen holds a bachelor's degree from Montana State University and a master's degree from the University of Montana. While on the faculty at the Montana State University School of Music, he received the prestigious "Award in Excellence in Teaching." He resides in Bozeman, Montana, where he is active as an independent piano teacher and is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator and presenter. Christensen has been actively involved in MTNA for 16 years, serving in leadership positions at the local and state level as secretary and treasurer, president-elect and president for the Montana State MTA. Leadership at the national level includes MTNA Northwest Division President from 2004-2006 and he served on the MTNA Board of Directors from 2006-2008. Christensen has been a member of MTNA's Summit Planning Committee, Membership Committee, Collaborative Performance Task Force, Pedagogy Saturday Committee, State Affiliate Grant Committee and Partnership Review Committee. He was past chair of the Collaborative Performance Forum and was chair of the 2009 Conference Planning Committee.
Rebecca Grooms Johnson, NCTMColumbus, OH stejohnson@columbus.rr.com
MTNA President-elect Rebecca Grooms Johnson, NCTM, is a nationally respected leader in the field of piano pedagogy. She holds a PhD degree in music education, specializing in piano pedagogy from The Ohio State University, specializing in piano pedagogy. Johnson is an experienced independent piano teacher of all ages and levels of students and has taught piano, class piano and piano pedagogy for many years at the university level. A member of MTNA for almost 30 years, she holds the Permanent Professional Certification designation. Johnson has served in numerous local, state and national leadership positions, including the Central Eastern Ohio District chair and president of Ohio MTA. At the national level, she served as vice president of the Board of Directors (2011–2013), chair of the 2012 New York City National Conference and chair of the 2013 Anaheim National Conference. From 2008 to 2011 Johnson was chair of the MTNA National Certification Commission, where she worked with the commissioners to write and implement the new certification process. She served from 2000 to 2003 as national chair of the MTNA Pedagogy Committee. She was honored to be inducted as a Foundation Fellow in 2009. A widely published writer, Johnson contributes a tri-annual feature in American Music Teacher titled “What’s New in Pedagogy Research.” She is an associate editor for Clavier Companion magazine’s “Perspectives in Pedagogy” page. Johnson is an active clinician, and has presented numerous workshops at MTNA National and State conferences, as well as association meetings in Idaho, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky and Hawaii.
Debra Florian, NCTMPoulsbo, WA flostudio@comcast.net
MTNA Vice President Debra Florian, NCTM, is a past president of Washington State MTA. A 30-year member of MTNA, she has served in many local and state offices and has chaired Washington’s Leadership Seminar and MTNA Competitions. Under her leadership as state president, followed by a three-year term as the state Education Board chair, Washington State MTA established two highly successful programs: the Outstanding Artist Competition and the WSMTA Musicianship Examinations program. Since graduating summa cum laude with a piano performance degree from Pacific Lutheran University in 1977, Florian has maintained a large independent studio. She has also been an active member of the Bremerton Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, appearing as featured artist on numerous occasions. Florian also serves as a church musician and enjoys collaborating with other musicians. Florian served on the MTNA Board of Directors as Northwest Division Director from 2008–2010 and was honored to join the ranks of MTNA Foundation Fellows in 2011. While on the Board, she chaired the MTNA Collegiate Chapters Forum and was instrumental in establishing several new collegiate chapters. Since completing her term on the MTNA Board, she has re-energized her involvement in her local Kitsap MTA, chairing the investments committee and, most recently, the KMTA Music Carnival, which incorporates musicianship examinations in a fun-filled event for more than 200 students. Florian enjoys opportunities to mentor younger teachers, and credits MTNA for her own fulfillment and success as an independent music teacher.
Karen Thickstun, NCTM Nashville, IN KThickstun@aol.com
MTNA Secretary-Treasurer Karen Thickstun, NCTM, is coordinator of piano pedagogy at Butler University, where she also directs the Butler Pedagogy Symposium, Butler Piano Camps and Butler Community Arts School, and advises the Butler MTNA Collegiate Chapter. She maintains an independent studio in Nashville, Indiana. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance/economics from Duke University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in piano pedagogy from Butler University. Thickstun served as director of the East Central Division and member of the MTNA Board of Directors from 2008–2010 and chaired the Local Association Forum. Thickstun has served on the MTNA nominating committee, Standing Rules committee, Local Association of the Year committee and is currently chair of the Affiliate Grants committee. Thickstun authors a tri-annual column, “It’s All Your Business,” for American Music Teacher. She has presented multiple sessions at MTNA National Conferences and at other conferences. Thickstun has been active in the Indiana MTA as president, trustee, trustees’ chair, newsletter editor, syllabus chair, conference chair, commissioning chair and arts advocacy chair. She received the Distinguished Service Award in 2002 and the Teacher of the Year award in 2008. As founding director of the Butler Community Arts School, Thickstun provides leadership and vision. Serving 1,700 children through private lessons, group classes and camps, instruction is provided by 90 Butler University students that Thickstun mentors in professional teaching practices. Working with after-school programs, community centers and United Way agencies, Thickstun has developed a network of community partners to provide access to the arts for inner-city youth. To fund outreach classes, Thickstun has written and received numerous grants.
Benjamin D. Caton, NCTMJohnson City, TN caton@mail.etsu.edu
MTNA Immediate Past President Benjamin D. Caton, NCTM, holds a PhD degree from the Ohio State University and a pedagogy/musicianship certificate from the Kodály Musical Training Institute. He studied at the Sixteenth International Music Workshop (piano pedagogy) in Exeter, England, and at the International Kodály Symposium in Kecskemet, Hungary. He is professor of music at East Tennessee State University, where he teaches aural skills, piano and piano pedagogy. His teaching experiences range from first-grade public school music classes to graduate music courses. Caton is a former chair of the ETSU Music Department. He maintains a studio of pre-college piano students.Caton's belief in the importance of MTNA's local associations has led him to serve as president of his local Music Teachers Association for three biennia over a period of 20 years. Positions in the Tennessee MTA include recording secretary and president. He served as editor and co-author of the Tennessee MTA Musicianship Manual. In MTNA's Southern Division, he served as president, president-elect, secretary and collegiate competitions chair. At the national level, Caton has served as a member of the MTNA Board of Directors and Foundation Board of Trustees (2000-2002) and MTNA Secretary/Treasurer (2003-2005).In 2004, Caton was named the first recipient of the Distinguished Service Award given by Tennessee MTA. Other honors include the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Foundation for the Advancement of Music Award for Excellence, the John Phillip Sousa Award (while playing trombone in high school band), and being named an MTNA Foundation Fellow. He served two terms as member of the Music Advisory Panel for the Tennessee Arts Commission.His articles have appeared in Clavier, Music Educators Journal, AMT and The Tennessee Musician. He has presented numerous sessions at local and state associations. His most memorable performance was accompanying the ETSU Men's Ensemble in the Chicago Symphony's Orchestra Hall at the American Choral Directors Association national convention.
Gary L. Ingle Cincinnati, OH gingle@mtna.org
Gary L. Ingle is Executive Director and CEO of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the oldest music teacher association in the United States. Founded in 1876, MTNA is a professional association of 24,000 studio music teachers who teach in independent and collegiate settings nationwide. MTNA's mission is to advance the value of music teaching and music making to society and to support the professionalism of music teachers. Dr. Ingle is a career professional in association management and academia. Prior to his December 1996 appointment to MTNA, he was executive director of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity in Evansville, Indiana. At Phi Mu Alpha, he oversaw the fraternity's work with more than 200 collegiate chapters across the country, as well as the activities of the Sinfonia Foundation. Dr. Ingle's academic career spanned 10 years with Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. During his tenure, he attained the rank of full professor of music and served as Chair of the department of music, as Dean of the Casebolt School of Fine Arts, and ultimately as Vice President for Enrollment Management. As a conductor, he directed his choirs on four international tours: to continental Europe, to Great Britain, and two to the Far East. While in Asia, his choirs sang for the Far East Broadcasting Company and in Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Ingle holds the doctor of musical arts degree with emphases in conducting, voice, and higher education administration from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music at Samford University in Birmingham. Additional studies include the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham. Dr. Ingle currently serves as the president of the National Music Council of the United States, which represents the U.S. to the International Music Council (established by the United Nations and a part of UNESCO). Since April 2008 he has served on the Board of Directors of the International Music Council. In October 2007 he was elected to the Finance Commission of the International Music Council at its biennial General Assembly in Beijing, China. He also served on the Steering Committee for the IMC's first World Forum on Music held in Los Angeles, California in 2005. Dr. Ingle is a member of the advisory board of From the Top, the public radio program dedicated to encouraging, supporting and celebrating the commitment of young people to music and the arts. He is also is a member of the editorial advisory board for the magazine, Making Music: Better Living Through Recreational Music Making, a magazine devoted to the health and wellness benefits of music making. Since 1998, he has served on the Board of Trustees of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, serving as secretary of the board from 2000-2003 and currently as the chair of the Professional Organizations Advisory Council.A frequent speaker and panelist, he has given addresses in 44 states as well as to music associations in Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Eastern and Western Europe, and South America, including the International Society for Music Education, the European Music Teachers Association, the International Music Council, the National Association of Schools of Music, NAMM: The International Music Products Association, the College Music Society, Piano Technicians Guild, Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Associations, the Global Summit of the Music Products Industry, the Music Publishers Association, and the Music Council for the Three Americas. Dr. Ingle is listed in the International Who's Who in Music, Who's Who in America, Outstanding Young Men of America, Community Leaders and Noteworthy Americans, the Dictionary of International Biography and other prominent biographical resources.
Gerardo C. Ascheri, NCTM East Central Division, Lansing, Michigan ascheri@msu.edu
Gerardo Ascheri, NCTM, is an active teacher, lecturer and performer. He teaches at Michigan State University Community Music School. Ascheri was state president from 2004–2006, MTNA Collegiate coordinator from 2002–2007 and State Affiliate of the Year Award chair from 2007–2009. He received the 2008–2009 Distinguished Service Award from Michigan MTA. Ascheri has been chair of the state piano testing program. He earned a DMA degree from Michigan State University.
Robert Scott Beard, NCTM Eastern Division, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia sbeard@shepherd.edu
Scott Beard, NCTM, is a pianist, teacher, clinician, author and recording artist. He was named 2006 West Virginia “Music Teacher of the Year,” and his students have won top prizes in numerous competitions, including MTNA national finals. Beard is professor of music at Shepherd University and has served as WVMTA president and Eastern Division Competitions chair.
David French, NCTM Northwest Division, Rexburg, Idaho id_maestro@yahoo.com
David French has been the Idaho MTA president, co-Performance Competitions chair for Idaho MTA and the Northwest Division Senior Performance Competitions coordinator. He has served on the national Nominating Committee and the VCCI Committee. He is a graduate of Idaho State University and is currently an independent piano and voice teacher. He is an active performer, adjudicator and presenter.
Mary Katherine Sallee, NCTM South Central Division, Norman, Oklahoma mksallee@cox.net
Mary Sallee, NCTM, is an independent teacher in Norman, Oklahoma, and holds degrees in piano, voice and piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. As a composer and arranger, she has more than 45 piano and choral works published. Sallee has served her state and local MTA as president, Foundation and commission chair, in addition to chairing several auditions, competitions and festivals for performance and composition at the state and local level. Sallee stays busy as a choral singer, church/classical pianist and jazz/dinner pianist.
Martha L. Thomas, NCTM Southern Division, Athens, Georgia mlthomas@uga.edu
Martha Thomas is the Georgia MTA immediate past president, has served as GMTA vice president of competitions and program and worked two years as Senior Competitions Coordinator in Southern Division. Having joined MTNA while first teaching in Wisconsin, she helped found the Stevens Point Area MTA. She holds degrees through the doctorate from the Universities of Texas and Wisconsin and is piano professor at the University of Georgia.
Cheryl Norman, NCTM Southwest Division, American Fork, Utah cherylnorman.nctm@gmail.com
Cheryl Norman, NCTM, holds an MM degree from Brigham Young University and has been an adjunct instructor of piano at BYU and UVU. Norman is past president of Utah MTA, chaired MTNA’s State Presidents Advisory Council and has been the Southwest Division Certification Commissioner.
Timothy Shook West Central Division, Wichita, Kansas timothy.shook@sckans.edu
Timothy Shook, Ph.D., is chair of the Division of Performing Arts at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and operates a large independent piano studio. Shook has served MTNA at all levels, including state president and chair of national committees. He co-chaired the designing of Music Progressions, a non-competitive syllabus of independent music study, for KMTA.
