NCM Fathom and Sony Classical are bringing critically acclaimed pianist Lang Lang Live to movie theaters nationwide for a two night only celebration. Together with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Charles Dutoit, Lang Lang will celebrate the 200th birthday of legendary composer Franz Liszt by performing his first Piano Concerto on Saturday, October 22, and Monday, October 24. For ticket information, For more information, click here.

Win $50,000 in Clorox’s Power A Bright Future School Grant Program! The Power A Bright Future school grant program from the Clorox Company gives students the chance to nominate their school for the chance to win a $50,000 grand prize grant to help fund a new or ongoing program. There’s also a chance to win $25,000 grants in each of the Play, Create or Explore categories. One lucky school will also receive a special judges’ choice grant for $25,000. For more information, click here.

The Louisiana Music Teachers Association will hold its first ever Chamber Music Competition at the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Saturday, November 5, 2011. This statewide competition encourages pre-college musicians of all instrumentations to participate in small ensembles. The competition will be an annual event, held in late winter/early spring of each year, beginning in 2011. All Louisiana pre-college teachers are encouraged to participate—through workshops, demonstrations and/or recitals. Registration deadline is September 30, 2011. For more information, click here.

Alfred Music Publishing’s new program Premier Support allows professional piano teachers to designate one deserving student from their respective piano studios to receive free course materials from the Premier Piano Course Series. The program ends in September 2011. For more information, click here.

In memory of Bluegrass Music icons Hazel Dickens and Carlton Haney, the Foundation for Bluegrass Music will be funding grants and/or scholarships this year and has set August 15, 2011, as the deadline to apply for these resources. For more information, click here.

Musical America, a weekly e-newsletter for the performing arts, is offering MTNA members a 10 percent discount off the regular annual subscription cost of $135—a cost of only $121.50. To subscribe, use the Promotion Code MTNA11 and click here.

Internationally renowned composer/conductor Tim Janis is seeking high school and middle school choirs for his 2011–2012 Celebrate America PBS Specials to be filmed this fall at PBS stations in Arkansas, Montana and Southeast Michigan. Celebrate America will tape in in Arkansas on November 2, 2011; in Montana on November 11, 2011; and in Southeast Michigan November 16-17, 2011. For more information, click here.

The NAMM Foundation, in partnership with MTNA and other leading music organizations, has announced the results of its 12th annual Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) survey, which acknowledges schools and districts across the U.S. for their commitment to and support for music education in schools. In all, 179 communities were recognized, including 172 school districts and seven schools. For more information, click here.

Learning Matters, the media production company founded by John Merrow, the long-time PBS and NPR education reporter, is offering $50 signed and personalized copies of his latest book, The Influence of Teachers, in advance of Teacher Appreciation Week, May 2–6. It would be a really good way to say thanks to an influential teacher in your life. For more information, click here.

To help build excitement for this year's National Wanna Play Music Week, May 2-8, NAMM is encouraging music makers across the country to take a Pledge to Play. Through May 6, 2011, NAMM challenges all those who wish they could play a musical instrument to do just that. For more info, click here.

Auditions for Simon Cowell and Fox’s singing competition THE X FACTOR are set to begin around the country in March and April. The new competition series is looking for talent 12 years old and over, both solo artists and vocal groups. For more information and audition schedule and locations, Click here.

Melody Street and the International Child Art Foundation have launched an online music contest for young musicians, ages 6–16, to win an opportunity to perform on the “World Stage” at the 4th World Children’s Festival, which will take place on The National Mall across from the U.S. Capitol, June 17–19, 2011. The contest is open to video submissions and fan votes until April 15. Click here.

MTNA has become aware of a scam directed toward music teachers. Learn more.

The Williams Chorale Bacardi Fallon Scholarship Competition is open for high school juniors and seniors pursuing vocal or instrumental studies and will award more than $12,000. It will take place Saturday, April 30, 2011, in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Application deadline is March 14, 2011. Click here.

MTNA is once again joining forces with the NAMM Foundation and other leading organizations in the Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) Survey, a nationwide search for communities whose programs exemplify strong commitment to music education. As independent and collegiate music teachers, your opinion about the quality of music in the schools in your area is important and we encourage you to participate by completing the Best Communities for Music Education in America (BCME) survey through March 14, 2011. To review and complete an online survey form on behalf of your community, click here.




The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is seeking applications for the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, formerly the Coming Up Taller Awards, which recognize the accomplishments of exceptional arts and humanities after-school and out-of-school programs across the country. The deadline for application submissions is Monday, January 31, 2011.To apply.

From the Top and Carnegie Hall have just launched “The Big Break,” a new online contest for classical musicians ages 8–18, and MTNA members and their students are invited to participate. Interested musicians must submit a video of a solo classical performance before November 18. Learn more.

The American Prize, a series of new, national nonprofit competitions in the performing arts, is now accepting applications in many areas of classical music performance. The American Prize provides cash prizes, written professional adjudication and and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances of classical music each year in the United States at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels. There is no live competition and few age restrictions.

The first deadline is November 15 for vocalists. Band/wind ensemble performance, opera production and musical theater production have a deadline of November 30. The deadline for pianists, composition and orchestral programming is December 15. The GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program administers grants annually to organizations and individuals to support efforts that advance the archiving and preservation of the music and recorded sound heritage of the Americas for future generations, as well as scientific research projects related to the impact of music on the human condition. The deadline for submission is October 1, 2010. Learn more.

There are new Nationally Certified Teachers of Music. See who they are.

MTNA has joined the Americans for the Arts Action Fund in its 50 States 50 Days initiative. Learn more.

Kris Chesky and the University of North Texas have received an award from the National Institutes of Occupation Safety and Health for work on hearing loss prevention. This award is, in large part, due tot he support of MTNA for the Health Promotion in Schools music project. Learn more.

Songfile, the online licensing service in which MTNA, MENC, the Music Publisher’s Association and the Harry Fox Agency have partnered, has now registered more than 60,000 users. Learn more.

Do Something and VH1 Save the Music have launched a new campaign, encouraging students nationwide to advocate for music education in their schools. Learn more.

From the Top, a showcase for America’s best young musicians selects, through award-winning NPR and PBS programs; online media; a national tour of live events and education programs, approximately 25 classical music students to receive the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Learn more.

MTNA has become aware of a scam directed toward music teachers. Learn more.

The New York Virtuoso Singers is holding a choral composition competition. Learn more.