State Certification Program
(Latest Certification News Below)
Certification at the state level is offered to any member of MMTA. It gives advanced professional standing on the basis of continued outstanding achievement and high professional standards in the field of music pedagogy. Certification is maintained through continuing education, performance, and professional involvement, which are key features of the certification program.
Currently, the fee for certification application is $80.
(1) To request an information packet for certification ($5), contact the Chairperson of the Certification Committee, Nancy Welshman (information below in the news). The information packet will include instructions for compiling information needed to begin the certification process (i.e. teaching history, professional involvement in music teacher organizations, performance history, musical training, your student activities).
(2) When you have returned the necessary information to Nancy Welshman, you will be sent a written examination, which will cover topics of pedagogy, music history, technique, form & analysis, literature, and theory. This examination should be completed and returned to Nancy Welshman prior to the final step on the certification process which is student auditions.
(3) Three of your students will appear before MMTA judges (at a time and location to
be announced each year). Each of
your students will perform three pieces before the judges. If possible, these
students should represent a beginner, intermediate and
advanced level from your studio.
The 2009 Audition Date is being clarified.
CERTIFICATION NEWS:
The Certification Committee met on June 21, 2008 at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant
to evaluate the portfolios of new applicants and the documentation of renewing teachers.
Congratulations to the following teachers who received their Standard Certificate in Piano in 2008: Debra E. Culver - Ortonville, Ruth E. Fry - Port Huron, and Maria Holian - Plymouth.
The following teachers renewed their MMTA Standard Certificate in Piano: Elizabeth Baxter -
Farmington Hills, Sheila Bloch - Ann Arbor, Margaret Castner - Ovid, Marcia D. Collins - Port Huron,
Penny Draper - East Lansing, and Thea Hoekman - Fremont. Helen M. Marlais of Grand Rapids
renewed the College Faculty Certificate.
The MMTA Emeritus Certificate was granted to the following teachers: Gail Davis-Barnes - Ann
Arbor, Merilee Magnuson - Pinckney, and Mildred Muller - Grand Rapids.
Those teachers renewing their Emeritus Certificate were: Mary Aardema - Zeeland, Sarah K.
Albright - Ann Arbor, Louise A. Angermeier - Bloomfield Hills, Mary Anne Hornik - Muskegon, Rhenda
Pease - Kalamazoo, Catherine Rollin - Bloomfield Hills, Judith Wade - Orchard Lake, and Patricia
Willwerth - Saline. Plan to attend the banquet at the October state conference and greet
these certified teachers and offer your congratulations.
The Certification Committee will offer a session at the conference on the procedure for becoming certified
and will highlight Fugue Form and Pedagogy and provide sources for further study. Even if you are a
certified teacher, come for a great refresher course. Next year the Committee will emphasize Sonata Form and
Technic. Teachers who already hold certificates are encouraged to become mentors for new applicants.
Names of the teachers who successfully renewed their national certification will be published as
the information becomes available. If you would like more information on certification, please
contact Nancy Welshman, Chairperson, at (269)323-7693 or newelshman@charter.net.