SAVE THE DATE!
for the 2026 WSMTA State Conference, “Music is CENTRAL”
with the Bardin-Niskala Duo
June 27-29, 2026 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg!
By the time you read this, registration will be open! Beginning on February 15, the “Early Bird” fee of $175 is good until May 15, at which time it will be $225. Note that the registration fee has not increased for a number of years, thanks to the sponsorship of Central Washington University, which generously waived the facility fee this year! Also note there are discounts for students and first-time attendees–we’d love to see lots of new faces as well as familiar ones!
We like the idea that F-U-N are the first 3 letters of FUNdraising, and this year there will be several ways to financially support WSMTA. Besides the traditional basket auction (plan now to put one together!), there will be a raffle of donated wine to be held at the banquet. In addition, we are soliciting YOUR students’ artwork for the cover of the Conference Booklet. The winning design will also be used on WSMTA swag for purchase at the Conference.
Here are highlights of some of the 23 presentations now scheduled for the Conference:
Over the past ten years, Jeff Snedeker has developed a curriculum for improvisation for his applied students in studio classes and lessons. In this presentation, “Improvisation Games: Expanding Comfort Zones for Students and Teachers”, he will share the details of his curriculum, including the materials used and their sequencing, as well as ways of adapting these ideas to all levels of private and group settings.
In “Evocation of Childhood in Piano Music, Painting and Poetry”, Chiao-Yu Wu will discuss how childhood has long served as a powerful motif across the arts, commonly associated with innocence, imagination, and nostalgia, but also with loss and melancholy. Her research examines how composers like Schumann, Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, and Glière evoked childhood not to compose for children, but to reflect on their past as adults. Similarly, painters including Renoir, Murillo, and Picasso, and poets such as Wordsworth, used childhood to explore memory, intimacy, and empathy.
Perennial favorite Jody Graves returns to challenge us to interact, toss around some ideas, and come away with some specific tools to advance our shared joy as teachers and performers of music. “Make the Art of Your Work. . as every day unfolds as A Work of Art”!
These sessions, and much more, can be found on the Conference Home Page: https://dev2.wsmta.org/teacher-programs/conferences/wsmta-conference/
Submitted by Carol Cross, 2026 WSMTA Conference Co-Chair