2024 Award Recipients

MTNA Achievement Award
Dr. Gary L. Ingle

Dr. Gary L. Ingle is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Music Teachers National Association. As a part of his role at MTNA, Dr. Ingle serves as President and CEO of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, which is also headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Ingle has held multiple volunteer leadership positions in organizations throughout the world. He is immediate past president and chair of the board of the National Music Council of the United States (NMC), which was founded in 1940 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1956. In this role, he represented the NMC to the International Music Council (IMC), established by UNESCO and headquartered in Paris. He served on its Executive Board from 2008–2021 and was elected IMC Executive Vice President from 2015–2017.

Dr. Ingle is also immediate past president of the Music Council of the Three Americas (COMTA), one of five regional councils of the International Music Council. He served three consecutive terms as chair of the Forum for Instrumental and Vocal Pedagogy of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) and currently serves as a Special Advisor to what is now the Commission for Instrumental and Vocal Pedagogy.

Dr. Ingle served as a member of the Advisory Board of the public radio program From the Top and was on the Editorial Advisory Board for the magazine Making Music: Better Living Through Recreational Music Making, a publication devoted to the health and wellness benefits of music making. He is on the Advisory Board of the Chopin Foundation of the United States and currently serves as treasurer of the Canadian Chopin Society.

A frequent speaker and panelist, Dr. Ingle has given addresses in all 50 states as well as to music groups in Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Eastern and Western Europe, South America and Africa. Widely regarded for his advocacy efforts for music study in all its settings, he has been interviewed on numerous TV and talk radio programs across the United States. Dr. Ingle was featured on the award-winning television program Profile Series for a segment on music education in the United States and on Sky Radio, the in-flight information and entertainment channel, which was broadcast on all Northwest and American Airlines flights for a three-month period. His segment encouraged adults to take music lessons for musical, social and health reasons.

Prior to his December 1996 appointment to MTNA, Dr. Ingle was executive director of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity and the Sinfonia Foundation of America in Evansville, Indiana. At Phi Mu Alpha, he was responsible for providing strategic, financial and operational leadership for the work of the fraternity and foundation to more than 200 collegiate chapters across the country as well as to its alumni throughout the world.

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, later 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 tours to the Far East. While in Asia, his choirs sang for the Far East Broadcasting Company and in Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.

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.

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Ingle holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting and voice from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Additional studies include the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.

Dr. Ingle has two daughters, Allison and Amanda, and four grandchildren. He is married to Dr. Janet Lopinski, Senior Director of the College of Examiners and Academic Programs for The Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada.

MTNA Teacher of the Year
Alison S. Barr, NCTM

The MTNA Teacher of the Year Award recognizes a teacher who has made a significant difference in the lives of students, has contributed to the advancement of music in their community and is an outstanding example of a professional music educator. The recipient of the 2024 MTNA Teacher of the Year Award is Alison S. Barr, NCTM.

Pianist and piano teacher Alison S. Barr operates an independent studio in Hanover, Massachusetts. She currently serves as Director-elect for MTNA’s Eastern Division and becomes a member of the MTNA board of Directors at the conclusion of this conference. She is also an MTNA Foundation Fellow. Her past positions include Certification Commissioner and State President for both Massachusetts and Maine Music Teachers Associations.

Allison holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from University of Maine at Orono.

MTNA Distinguished Service Award
Ingrid J. Clarfield, NCTM

Ingrid Clarfield, has been an educator for more than five decades. Ingrid is a nationally recognized teacher, clinician, pianist and author who has presented in more than 150 cities in 40 states across North America. She served as president of NJMTA from 1988–1992 and was the 2008 MTNA Conference Chair. In 2006, she was a Foundation Fellow and, in 2012, was named MTNA Teacher of the Year. She was inducted into the Steinway Teachers Hall of Fame in 2019.

Ingrid holds a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College and a master of music degree from the Eastman School of Music. She is professor of piano emerita at Westminster Choir College.

MTNA Citation for Leadership
Leon Bates

The MTNA Citation for Leadership is given in recognition of significant and lasting contributions to MTNA, music teachers and the music teaching profession.

Leon Bates, one of America’s leading pianists, has played a significant leadership role, especially as chair of MTNA’s first Diversity Task Force in 2002. This task force was instrumental in creating an environment and long-term commitment to diversity within MTNA, ultimately leading to the development and implementation of MTNA’s current diversity policy and inclusive governance structure.

Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award
Florence Price

Florence Price (1887–1953), a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, was a pioneer in the field of American classical music. She became the first black woman composer to earn an international reputation for her music. She earned a BM degree at the New England Conservatory; in Chicago, she won the Wanamaker Award for her first symphony, which was performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933 as part of the World’s Fair. The performance was attended by First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, who wrote about it in her column, “My Day.” Price composed more than 300 works, including four symphonies, four concertos, choral works, art songs, chamber music and music for solo instruments. (Portrait of Florence Price taken by G. Niledoff. Florence Price Addendum Papers (MC 988a) Box 2, Folder 1, Item 4. Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville)

MTNA Advocacy Award for Impact on the Music Teaching Profession
Mark Boozer

Mark Boozer, of Atlanta, Georgia, retired in 2021 after serving for more than 38 years as associate professor of music at Clark Atlanta University. As an educator and musician, he was an advocate for Black composers, including William Grant Still and Florence Price, and he inspired his students to dive deeper into their music and history.

Established in 2023 by the MTNA Board of Directors, the Advocacy Award honors individuals who have significantly impacted the music teaching profession while, at the same time, advancing the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and access.

Gary L. Ingle State Leadership Service Award
Junko Takahashi

Junko Takahashi, of Bethesda, Maryland, has received the inaugural Music Teachers National Association Gary L. Ingle State Leadership Service Award.

Junko Takahashi attended the Eastman School of Music where she received a BM degree in piano performance. She received an MM degree in piano performance and a DMA degree in piano pedagogy from the Catholic University of America. During her studies, she won several awards, resultingin her appearance as a soloist in concerto performances.

Junko has been on the board of the Montgomery County MTA, Maryland State MTA and Washington D.C. MTA, and has chaired multiple competitions and recitals. From 2007–2009, she served as a president of Montgomery County MTA, and she has twice served as president of Maryland State MTA. She continues to chair/co-chair 6 events and serves on multiple committees between 3 MTNA affiliate organizations.

Stecher & Horowitz Power of Innovation Award
Ráyo Furuta

MTNA-Stecher & Horowitz Power of Innovation Award is provided through the generosity of its benefactors and namesakes, Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz, whose own life and work epitomized the power of innovation.

At age 25, Mexican-Japanese American flutist Ráyo Furuta was designated as a cultural ambassador to the United States of America. Since then, he has showcased his virtuosity as both a performer and educator on the international stage.

Ráyo serves as a professor of flute and chamber music at San José State University and as a lecturer of performance practice and community engagement at Santa Clara University.

Ráyo is executive-artistic director for Chamber Music Silicon Valley in California. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and a DMA degrees from Stony Brook University and is an alumnus of the Multicultural Artist Leadership Institute.

State Affiliate of the Year
Colorado State Teachers Association
Andrew Cooperstock, president

The State Affiliate of the Year award recognizes the state MTA that makes the most significant contributions to the music teaching profession through participation in MTNA national programs and additional programs established with its state.

Colorado State Music Teachers Association has more than 500 members, 15 local associations, and 3 active collegiate chapters. They hold a Rising Stars (statewide solo) and Concerto Competitions. Its local associations have organized piano festivals, community performances, fund-raising events, Achievement Day and Student Theory activities and more.

Members have continued diligent work to reinvigorate the association post-COVID and to better connect with all members, especially including collegiates, and our community at-large. To increase visibility, a new chair for social media was created. Two large-scale initiatives include: Creating a vice president for DEI position on the state board of directors and moving the state conference from June to October beginning in 2024. CSMTA also revised its bylaws and position descriptions and updated the mission statement.

Local Association of the Year
Middle Georgia Music Teachers Association
Chenny Gunn, president

The MTNA Local Association of the Year award is presented to the local MTA that makes the most significant contributions to the music teaching profession through participation in MTNA national programs and additional programs established within its state and local area.

The former Macon Music Teachers Association, changed its name to the Middle Georgia Music Teachers Association in May 2023 to be more inclusive and representative of current membership.

Last year MGMTA renewed funding for four previous awardees of the the Haidee Martin Endowed Scholarship and approved an additional three applications, totaling $4,320 to be given out in 2023. The association’s "A Grand Ensemble!" featured approximately 100 students and teachers with up to eight pianists at a time performing piano duets, trios and quartets.

Post-COVID, MGMTA is prioritizing diversity, community engagement and broad collaborations in all initiatives in order to highlight their passion for music-making and music-teaching.

MTNA Collegiate Chapters of the Year
Fresno City College Collegiate Chapter
Kevin Soto, president
Brandon Bascom, NCTM, Chapter advisor

The MTNA Collegiate Chapter of the Year Award is given to the MTNA collegiate chapter that demonstrates excellence in its chapter activities.

Fresno City College's Chapter of MTNA presented a community lecture-recital on Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn at the local Steinway dealer's concert hall. In 2023, 11 members were able to attend their first national conference in Reno, Nevada. Their pedagogy class recently began offering Recreational Music Making piano lessons to classified staff employees on campus in the piano lab, giving the employees free lessons, and giving our students group teaching experience. The chapter also partnered with the Mexican Consulate and pianist Argentina Duran to co-present a concert last November. Chapter members also presented at the state conference, and there are plans to continue their tradition of performing at senior citizen communities before their semester recital on campus.

MTNA Collegiate Chapter at Indiana University
Pei-Tsun Chiang, president
Elizabeth Yao, advisor

The MTNA Collegiate Chapter at Indiana University received the 2022–2023 Indiana University Student Organization of the Year award. The chapter hosts a series of professional development events each year, including a half-day Teaching Workshop. Members’ volunteer work was crucial to making the first Bloomington Achievement in Music Festival a success. Within the past year, the chapter also developed partnerships with two other campus entities: the Gayle Karch Cook Center for Public Arts and Humanities and the Eskenazi Museum of Art, to produce several concerts to bring performances to the community. The MTNA collegiate chapter at IU has also been active on social media to promote and document their events, and to produce an Instagram mini web series called “Teaching Tip Thursday.”

American Music Teacher Article of the Year
“The Language of Awareness: How Cueing and Breath Work Impact the Music Lesson,” by Lesley McAllister, NCTM
June/July 2023 Issue

The American Music Teacher Article of the Year Award award is presented by Music Teachers National Association to the author(s) of an outstanding feature article written expressly for American Music Teacher.

Lesley McAllister is professor of piano, director of piano pedagogy, and director of keyboard studies at Baylor University. She holds degrees in performance from the University of Houston and Florida State University, as well as a DMA in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma.

She has presented at various national and international conferences, and has been published in American Music Teacher, Piano Magazine, Piano Pedagogy Forum and the MTNA e-Journal. A certified yoga instructor, she is the author of two books on musician wellness.

MTNA e-Journal Article of the Year
“Analysis of Practice by Novice Musicians in a Piano Class,” by by Margaret L. Brown and Robert A. Duke
September 2023 Issue

The MTNA e-Journal of the Year Award is presented by Music Teachers National Association to the author of an outstanding feature article written exclusively for the MTNA e-Journal.

Margaret Brown is a PhD student in Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is a student of Dr. Robert Duke. Margaret holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UT-Austin, Margaret is a member of the Gaze Behavior and Teaching and Learning labs and teaches group piano courses for undergraduate students at UT and maintains a private piano studio in the Austin area.

An educator of 40 years, Robert Duke is the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Centennial Professor and Head of Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas at Austin.

MarySue Harris Studio Teacher Fellowship Award
Liam Brown
Alissa Freeman
Timothy Ledger

MarySue Harris Studio Teacher Fellowship Award, a grant funded by the MarySue Harris Endowment Fund, is presented annually to three recently graduated independent studio music teachers who demonstrate commitment to the music teaching profession and outstanding studio development.

Liam Brown is a performer, educator and collaborator residing in Indianapolis, Indiana. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Louis University and a Master of Music from Butler University. In 2023, Liam started Brown Piano Studio, where he offers piano lessons to students of all ages.

Alissa M. Freeman has been an active member of MTNA for the past 11 years. Alissa received her master’s degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at Brigham Young University. She is currently a DMA candidate in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Michigan.

Timothy Ledger is a pianist, devoted music educator and organizer. He serves on the executive board of the Columbus Music Teachers Association and maintains an active presence in the Ohio Music Teachers Association. Tim holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Master of Music and Performer Diploma from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and Doctor of Music from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. Tim currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, where he runs Ledger Lines Piano Studio.