The Howard County Music Teachers Association, Inc. (HCMTA) had its beginning in the fall of 1978 and affiliated with the Maryland State Music Teachers Association (MSMTA) that same year. HCMTA has sponsored student recitals from its inception. Additional events, such as the Theme and Composition/Improvisation Festivals, were soon added. Begun in 1981, the annual Miriam Thomann Piano Solo Festival has grown to be one of the largest local level events of its kind in the state, with more than one hundred fifty students from the studios of twenty teachers participating in recent years. Four years ago, HCMTA initiated the Piano Ensemble Competition and the Three-Piece Piano Solo Competition, giving the students even more competitive opportunities. HCMTA is particularly proud of the fact that two judges, who are MTNA teacher members drawn from the many fine judges found throughout the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area, are engaged to adjudicate each of our competitive events; no competitive decision is ever made by a single judge working alone.

   HCMTA has a membership of nearly fifty piano, voice, and instrumental teachers, who meet bi-monthly on Friday mornings at the Howard County Center of the Arts. Refreshments are at 9:30, and the business meetings begin at 9:45. HCMTA has recently become an affiliate member of the Howard County Arts Council. All HCMTA competitions, student recitals and festivals, as well as the local MSMTA events, take place at the Howard County Center of the Arts, where the association's pianos are housed.

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