Music is CENTRAL!
June 27-29, 2026
WSMTA Annual Member Meeting
Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 12:45 pm
McIntyre 175 / Recital Hall
Jerilyn S. McIntyre Music Building
Central Washington University
Ellensburg
• Documents for the Annual Member Meeting
The documents will be available before the annual member meeting – click on any of the following to access the document :
- Agenda (available on June 1)
- Minutes of the 2025 Annual Members Meeting (available in on June 1)
- Proposed 2026-2027 Budget (available on June 26)
• Slate of Officers for 2026-2028
Among the items for voting will be the Slate of Officers for Districts I, III, V, and VI and Treasurer. Here are the nominees:
District I Co-Directors: Meg Krieg, NCTM and Karen Scholten
Meg Krieg, NCTM, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis in Piano Pedagogy from Whitworth University, where she studied piano with Judith Schoepflin and organ with Michael Young. After completing her degree, she continued her organ studies with Werner Schumacher at the Konstanzer Kirche in Ditzingen, Germany. She
later received additional organ training with Monte Maxwell at the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, and with Frederick Frahm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bellingham. Meg currently serves Spring Creek Bible Church as a pianist and as director of the church choir and orchestra. She has been an active leader in the Lynden WSMTA chapter, serving as the Music Artistry Program Piano Chair and holding roles including President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer—all while maintaining a vibrant and dedicated teaching studio.
Karen Scholten served WSMTA as the Music Literacy Program Chair, a position she held for 8 years. She also has served on the Hall of Fame Committee for Washington State and held the MTNA Junior Competition Chair for Strings, Woodwinds and Piano for Washington State over 5 years. She studied music and theory at Seattle Pacific University and later was certified by the Center for Music and Young Children. Karen has taught piano privately for 40 years in her home studio. She is an active member of the Lynden Music Teachers Association and has served as President, Vice President, chaired the Program and Recital committees, and has also mentored several Student Teachers. She is currently the Historian for the chapter and oversees the member care for her chapter. Karen enjoys teaching students of all ages in her private studio and keeps busy with her students playing in different events through the school year. She plays music for her church, several Health care centers and volunteers playing for many community events. Karen lives in Everson with her husband of 44 years on their family farm. She has 3 wonderful adult sons and a special daughter-in-law.
District III Director: Ricardo De La Torre, NCTM
Active as a performer, teacher, adjudicator, curator, and scholar, Dr. Ricardo de la Torre has played in concert venues in North America and Europe and has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Mexico and the U.S. A finalist and prize winner in several competitions, he has held grants and scholarships from different cultural and government institutions. He is frequently heard as part of Duo Powers-de la Torre, which he forms with Dr. Lark Powers. The duo will release its first album, dedicated to the music of Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila, this year.
He currently serves as instructor at Pacific Lutheran University and the Community Music program at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Concordia Arts & Music Academy and was on faculty at East Central University in Oklahoma, teaching a variety of subjects. Also active in scholarly endeavors, Ricardo has been invited to present lectures and lecture-recitals at local, regional, national, and international conferences and has had articles published by peer-reviewed journals in Mexico, Colombia and the U.S. He regularly writes program notes for Mexico’s National Autonomous University’s professional orchestra OFUNAM.
Born in Mexico City, Ricardo attended the pre-college program at Escuela Superior de Música in his hometown. He later received a Bachelor’s degree with honors from this institution. He continued his studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he received a Master of Music degree and went on to graduating with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked as a teaching assistant and collaborative pianist. His main teachers include Ana María Tradatti, Fernando García Torres, Evelyne Brancart and David Korevaar.
Ricardo worked as Curator of Art and Music at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, coordinated Tacoma’s Listen Live at Lunch summer concert series, sits on the board of Early Music Seattle, and directs Orquesta Northwest’s Latino Chamber Music Festival in Seattle every Fall. In demand as an adjudicator throughout the state and the Pacific Northwest, he currently serves as a Visting Artist for Washington State Music Teachers Association’s Music Artistry Program.
District V Director: Lois Rhoads
Lois Rhoads has served WSMTA as State Conference Co-Chair at 2023 Sun Mountain Lodge and 2024 Gonzaga University and was a Keynote speaker at the 2022 Leadership Seminar in Yakima. Lois has been a member of the Okanogan County chapter since 1996, holding positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Music Literacy Program Chair, State Recital Competition chair and Music Artistry Program Chair. Lois studied Piano privately from Elementary School into College.
She has enjoyed teaching students of all ages, in her private studio, for over 30 years. Lois lives in Tonasket with her husband Jeff of 40 years. Additional interests include research, worship, traveling, skiing and biking. Especially when it means spending time with her husband, their children and spouses, along with eight grandchildren.
Lois states, ‘WSMTA and it’s educational offerings, have played a significant role in both the success and joy I have found in teaching piano. I am grateful for the growth it has afforded me.’
District VII Director: Fabio Menchetti, NCTM
A native of Lucca, Italy, Fabio Menchetti serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at Washington State University, while maintaining an active performance career. He has performed in many Italian cities as well as in Poland, France, and in Germany, where he gave a solo recital for the 2011 Liszt bicentenary celebrations in Bayreuth. He regularly concertizes throughout the United States, both as a soloist and a chamber musician. For Sheva Collection he recorded Libro di Canti Italiano, a set of solo piano pieces by English composer Peter Seabourne, and Novecento Italiano, featuring music for violin and piano by Italian composers written between the two world wars. He also recorded John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the CCM Wind Symphony for Klavier Records. His latest releases include Crossroads (works for tuba and piano by living composers), All Are Welcome (new works for bassoon, oboe, and piano), two albums with music for bassoon and piano by Native American and Maori composers, and a CD featuring six works for flute and piano by women composers. An active member of Music Teachers National Association and College of Music Society, he is frequently invited to present at conferences. A sought-after adjudicator and clinician, he is regularly requested for masterclasses at universities
and in private studios.
After completing his studies in Italy, he received graduate degrees from Houghton College and University of Cincinnati. His primary teachers include Pier Narciso Masi, Enrico Stellini, Pietro De Maria, Andrea Lucchesini, William John Newbrough, and Michael Chertock.
Treasurer: Mary Grant, NCTM
Mary Grant, NCTM, is the youngest of five musical sisters, raised in a household where Bach was king. She learned everything she ever needed to know from her early piano teachers, Vicky Hoffman and Michiko Miyamoto. In addition to her classical training she grew up with a love of traditional music and dance, developing a rich sense of rhythm, harmony and melody while dancing Greek syrtos and singing Balkan harmonies with her sisters. Since opening her piano studio in 1995 she has served more than a dozen years on the board of the Kitsap Chapter of the Washington State Music Teachers Association, and serves currently as the treasurer of WSMTA. She was a charter member of the Bainbridge Community Piano Association. When she’s not at the piano, she loves sailing, hiking/camping, gardening and cooking epic meals with friends and family.
2026 WSMTA CONFERENCE FACILITIES PROVIDED BY:
2026 WSMTA CONFERENCE SUPPORTED BY:
WSMTA Teacher Enrichment Fund
