Fulfilling our mission.

The guiding principle of everything we do as an association is our mission statement: "The mission of Music Teachers National Association is to advance the value of music study and music making to society and to support the professionalism of music teachers." Certainly, this statement presents a formidable agenda as we must simultaneously look outward to society and inward to the profession. In my last "Dear Reader" column in the December/January 2006 issue of the AMT, I reflected on a few of the more important MTNA accomplishments of the past 10 years. This column provides an opportunity to reflect on a couple of significant strides we currently are making on both fronts as an association.

As a national organization, MTNA works diligently to develop outside relationships that will enable us to achieve the first phrase of our mission. In fact, by advancing the value of music study and music making to society, we will better ensure that our profession will remain vital and necessary for years to come. On November 16, 2006, there was a taping at our national headquarters of a segment on music education for the Profile Series, a television issues program to be broadcast in 2007 on such cable channels as Bravo, Lifetime, Voice of America, CNN, and Fox News. This program, hosted by Lou Gossett, Jr., has the potential of reaching millions of adults, young people and children. The Voice of America, for example, has 96,000,000 households in its viewership. Our message to the viewers was that music study is for everyone and that a qualified music teacher (MTNA member and certified if possible) should be selected for lessons. This television segment, coupled with the hundreds of thousands of parents who see an MTNA brochure in a Fisher-Price toy, which explains to parents what to look for to determine when their child is ready for music lessons as well as how to find and select a qualified music teacher, has given MTNA unprecedented access to the hearts and minds of the public. Our determined efforts for a decade to make music teaching and music lessons even more visible to society are coming to fruition.

The second phrase in our mission related to professional development is also vital. For several months, I have considered a variety of options for assimilating Julianne Miranda's new position as Chief Information Officer (CIO) into MTNA's strategic mission. Along the way, I have utilized several sources of input, including the expertise of our technology consultants and their understanding of how associations like ours can maximize technology throughout the organization.

A vital component of MTNA's growth in this area is the necessity of integrating traditional publications and the Internet. The web is evolving to the point where it is providing a serious challenge--how to use both the Internet and print publications to enhance both media rather than maintaining two separate and independent entities.

For that reason, a decision was made in October to integrate publications and information technology into one administrative unit called Information Services, which Julianne will direct. Now, the Publications Department comes under the administrative direction of the CIO. This new approach will create a unity of effort within these departments that will enable the more efficient and effective use of the substantial staffing skills in both areas and will provide a firm foundation for the strategic planning essential to MTNA's success. I am confident that the results will be extremely positive for both publications and information technology.

Over the past year, I attended my 39th, 40th and 41st state MTA conferences ... to Oregon, West Virginia, and New Mexico respectively. This vast conference experience has given me the opportunity as CEO of MTNA to get to know our association from top to bottom and from inside out. I've had the honor and privilege of listening to and conversing with literally thousands of members from all across the country. As a result, my respect for MTNA, its members and the music teaching profession has been greatly enhanced. I've discovered what each of you already knows--that there are many significant things being accomplished for music and music teaching every day by MTNA members. Truly the influence of MTNA can be found everywhere in music in America. And I'm delighted to be a part of this important institution in the musical life of our country and am honored to serve with and for you as we "... advance the value of music study and music making to society and ... support the professionalism of music teachers."

--Gary L. Ingle 

MTNA Executive Director