2025 Award Recipients

MTNA Achievement Award
Weekley and Arganbright

Dallas Weekley and Nancy Arganbright are largely responsible for the revival of interest in one-piano, four-hand performance.

Weekley and Arganbright, honor graduates of the Indiana University School of Music, taught for 28 years at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. Since 2009, they have sponsored the MTNA-Weekley and Arganbright Senior Piano Duet Competition. They have also been active members of MTNA for nearly 50 years.

MTNA Teacher of the Year
Stewart Gordon, 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 2025 MTNA Teacher of the Year Award is Stewart Gordon NCTM.

Stewart Gordon is a Steinway Artist, Nationally Certified Teacher of Music, and Emeritus Professor of Keyboard Studies at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.

MTNA Distinguished Service Award
William Chapman Nyaho, NCTM

For decades, Nyaho, as he is known to most, has been leading the charge for diversity, equity and inclusion within MTNA and the greater music teaching community.

He is just completing his term as MTNA’s first Vice President for Representation and Advocacy, a role in which he has engaged and inspired thousands of music teachers to ensure MTNA fulfills its undisputed commitment to ensuring access to music study for all students and promoting a vital and enlightened music culture for all people.

He recruited a committee of dedicated individuals from around the world to assist and advise MTNA on this important work and successfully advocated for the establishment of the MTNA Advocacy Award for Impact on the Music Teaching Profession, which the Board approved in 2023.

Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award
MusicLink Foundation
Joanne Haroutounian, founder

Any child who has musical potential deserves the opportunity to nurture this talent to its full extent. Many children lack the chance to receive music lessons due to financial need. The MusicLink Foundation reaches out to low income families by linking these students with professional music teachers willing to reduce their fee to make the lessons more affordable for the child.

MTNA Advocacy Award for Impact on the Music Teaching Profession
Althea Waites
Wilfred Delphin

Internationally acclaimed pianist and Yamaha Artist Althea Waites has concertized extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South Africa as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborative artist. She has a distinguished history of championing new music by American composers and has received several tributes and commendations for her work, which includes premiere recordings of the music of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds.

Wilfred Delphin has had a long career in performance, teaching and service. As part of the internationally renowned piano duo Delphin & Romain he performed throughout the U.S., South America, Europe and Asia between 1977 and 1995. They were the first African American piano team on the professional circuit. After Romain passed in 1995, Delphin continued performing and teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Music before joining the music faculty at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, from where he recently retired. He remains active performing, adjudicating and mentoring young pianists.

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
Scott Donald, NCTM

Scott Donald is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and the founder and co-owner of Studio A, a collaborative private music studio and performance venue in Austin, Texas. He also cofounded the recital series “One World, One Music,” a performance series that features cultural music from around the world.

In addition to serving as President of the Texas Music Teachers Association, he is the Managing Editor for Texas Music Teacher magazine and is on the editorial committee for American Music Teacher.

Stecher & Horowitz Power of Innovation Award
Desireé González-Miller, NCTM

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.

Desireé González-Miller is an award-winning Mexican pianist, Nationally Certified Teacher, and champion of Latin American music and underrepresented composers.

Desireé earned degrees in Piano Performance from BYU and completed her DMA at the University of Utah. She serves on faculty at the University of Utah and Utah Valley University, and operates a thriving private studio with her husband.

State Affiliate of the Year
Wyoming Music Teachers Association
Beverly Reese, 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.

WMTA has demonstrated much growth and success at state and local levels in 2024. WMTA’s membership grew nearly 20% in 2024, the second highest increase in the nation! The state alternates biennial state conferences on even-numbered years with smaller student-centered events on odd-numbered years in smaller communities. WMTA is also working to establish a virtual chapter. With many members living in sparsely populated areas, a virtual chapter could bring isolated teachers together throughout the year.

Local Association of the Year
Seattle Music Teachers Association
Josie Zocco, president

The Seattle Music Teachers Association (SMTA) is a robust and active chapter of Washington State Music Teachers and received the WSMTA Chapter of the Year award at the June 2024 state conference. SMTA has nearly 150 members (an 8% increase from 2023) with a growing number of nationally certified members. They communicate through a burgeoning Facebook group, Instagram, and a YouTube channel that is a depository for recital recordings, meeting presentations and other activities. Their monthly newsletter, Staccato Notes, provides letters and news from leadership, announcements, program details and community updates. The meetings are a hybrid of in person and online general meetings to provide a greater reach for presenters and account for inclement winter weather.

MTNA Collegiate Chapter of the Year
Western Kentucky University Collegiate Chapter of MTNA
Katelin Drybrough, president
Jessie Welsh, Chapter advisor

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

The WKU Collegiate Chapter is currently the only active collegiate chapter in the state of Kentucky. We are in our third year of being reinstated after the COVID-19 pandemic and faculty changes. The chapter had four main projects over the last year:

• The chapter received a $6,500 grant for the Refuge Bowling Green Service Learning Project—a free community music class for children of refugees, associated with the local non-profit, Refuge Bowling Green.
• As part of encouraging students to pursue professional development opportunities, the WKU Collegiate Chapter has financially sponsored student attendance at state and national conferences, including the MTNA National Conference, The Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
• The collegiate chapter also assisted WKU faculty members in hosting the state conference at our institution.
• Another major project of the collegiate chapter has been an annual Piano Fundraiser Gala, which serves two main purposes: sharing music with the local community and raising funds for new practice room pianos.

These four projects—Refuge Bowling Green Service-Learning music class, conference sponsorship, KMTA conference hosting, and piano fundraiser—demonstrate the initiative, resourcefulness, innovation, and service of our collegiate chapter members.

American Music Teacher Article of the Year
“Music Performance Anxiety and Culturally Responsive Teaching,” by Vanessa Cornett, NCTM
February/March 2024 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.

Vanessa Cornett is the director of keyboard studies and professor of piano and piano pedagogy at the University of St. Thomas, in the Twin Cities. A certified meditation instructor, she is the author of The Mindful Musician.

MTNA e-Journal Article of the Year
“Private Studio and Classroom Instructional Strategies for Students with ADHD,” by Stephanie Krell
September 2024 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.

Stephanie Krell is a nationally certified private music instructor of piano, viola and violin in New Columbia, Pennsylvania. She holds a BA degree in applied violin from Indiana Wesleyan University, a piano pedagogy certificate from Valley City State University and an MAE in music education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

MarySue Harris Studio Teacher Fellowship Award
Melody Morrison
Catharine Proctor, NCTM
Chenbaixue Yang

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.

Melody Morrison earned a PhD from Florida State University last year and has degrees from the University of Idaho and Corban University. She’s been an active member of MTNA collegiate chapters and state affiliates. She resides in Tallahassee and runs a hybrid online and in-person piano studio.

Catharine Proctor is a Nashville-based pianist, cellist, collaborator and nationally certified teacher. She is a recent graduate from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and just opened her own private studio, where she teaches students of all ages and levels.

Chenbaixue Yang is a pianist and educator with a DMA in Piano Performance Pedagogy from Arizona State University. She has taught students of all levels in private and group settings, and is an active member of MTNA and ASMTA. Chenbaixue is a cofounder of Beso Elite Music Academy.