MTNA Foundation: When Is It Time to Give?

Dear PMTNM Colleagues,

A few weeks ago, I attended a national convention for a different musical group — piano technicians. I have to admit, it was amazing. Classes started at 8:00 a.m., lasted 90 minutes, and five classes a day stretched the schedule until 7:00 p.m. There were multiple classes taught concurrently, offering 102 classes in 19 time slots.

One of the classes I attended was an overview of the offerings of the organization. The presenter was young, enthusiastic, and passionate; his 80-minute presentation was brimming with information, and as he moved from one slide to another, his constant enthusiasm began to have an effect on the audience, so soon they were cheering with each new announcement.

Near the end of his talk — when we were all beginning to show signs of becoming overwhelmed — he brought back a question that he had asked at the beginning: What is the value of this organization to you?

Now, be sure that the convention's registration was not cheap, nor were six hotel nights, nor was it easy to get to (Des Moines, Iowa) ... and the value of the comforts of home seem to increase daily. But in that moment, having seen a bird's-eye view of the organization, any focus on the inconvenience of cost had been shifted to a celebration of recognizing everything the collective had created in over 100 years — and that it was now available to us all, daily.

Landon Bilyeu was my teacher for eight years — all of high school and undergrad. He took me to the national convention twice, and it was at the national convention that I met my next teacher. In fact, all of my formal teachers belonged to MTNA, so the idea of not joining never even crossed my mind.

Giving? Giving is different.

Giving crosses my mind every day, and it probably crosses all of our minds in Albuquerque, where the even primal needs of many human beings are painfully evident at a hundred street intersections. We are presented tip percentage options through screens at restaurants and coffee shops, and asked to round up at grocery and clothing stores.

When the question of giving back to MTNA comes to my mind, I instantly think again of Mr. Bilyeu. I don't know if he ever wrote a check to the foundation, but it doesn't matter: Mr. Bilyeu gave to me — certainly dozens of hours "off the clock," in attending performances, accompanying, sometimes giving car rides, and celebrating student recitals.

He gave to me his life experience with each lesson, and his childlike, pure love for music remains at the top of my priority list to instill in my students.

I think Mr. Bilyeu was shaped positively because of MTNA, and this single desire provides reason enough for giving to the MTNA Foundation: I want the world to have more teachers like him.

Give to the MTNA Foundation

Who's your Landon Bilyeu? Help create more teachers like that.

Give to MTNA Foundation →

The next time that you choose to give, I hope that your reflections include the best parts of your musical memories — the gifts that you received from your music teacher — and that you will give to the MTNA Foundation with me.

Learn More About the MTNA Foundation

Discover how the Foundation supports music education through various programs and initiatives.