Meredith College faculty, Music Majors, School of Music (SOM) students, and alumni were significantly involved in every aspect of this Conference. (A more complete article will be published in December’s Campus Connections.)

FACULTY:
Professor emeritus James Clyburn, recently deceased, was honored in the keynote address given by UNC Senior Associate Dean of Fine Arts and Humanities, Dr. Terry Rhodes; Rhodes had studied with Clyburn and is herself an alumna of the Meredith College SOM. Dr. Margaret Evans, Margaret Garriss, Phyllis Garriss, Pin Pin Jong, Tom Lohr, and Dr. Kent Lyman attended; Dr. Margaret Evans judged the MTNA Competition, Junior Division; Dr. Margaret Evans, Tom Lohr, and Dr. Kent Lyman all had “State Superior”-winning students from SOM perform in the Honors Recital; Phyllis Garriss was recognized for her membership of over 50 years; Tom Lohr presented a lecture on composition: “Numbers and Music: How One Can Influence the Other”; and Tom Lohr’s student, Kyler Chen (SOM), won two prizes for his compositions and performed them on the Student Composer Winners Concert.

MEREDITH COLLEGE STUDENTS/ ALUMNI:
Katherine Barton, junior in Piano Performance, was a featured panelist in the discussion, “What I Wish I Had Known Before College”; this was deemed one of the Conference highlights. Katherine also performed in the MTNA Competition, Young Artist division. Other participants included Mary Beth Cameron, freshman in Voice; Pam Cameron, pianist in the SOM program; and Yee-Wing Chang, recent graduate from our Bachelor of Music program and now a Masters student at ECU. Amy Gardner, the most recent graduate from our Masters program in Piano, currently serves as NCMTA Board Member and N.C. Piano Contest Director; she administered all four statewide Honors Recitals.

Jane Magrath, internationally known author, clinician, editor, and pianist, was the featured Conference presenter. Magrath began her career as a member of the Meredith College Music Faculty.

Dr. Terry Rhodes, an alumna of the Meredith College School of Music, is now UNC-CH Senior Associate Dean of Fine Arts and Humanities. She presented the keynote address at the Friday banquet.

Meredith College alumni and faculty have been significantly involved throughout NCMTA’s 52 year history. Of the NCMTA Board of Directors, the current President, three past Presidents, and five other current Board members are Meredith College alumni or faculty. What an honor for Meredith College and its storied music program!

SPECIAL AWARDS:
Daniel Liauw (SOM), piano student of Dr. Margaret Evans, won first place in the state’s most prestigious competition, the MTNA Senior Piano division. Joshua Henderson, violinist trained by faculty member Margaret Garriss (S.O.M.) and now studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, won first place in the MTNA Junior Strings category. Daniel and Joshua now advance to the Regional Competition, where they will compete against first-place winners from the 9 states that form the Southern Division.