APRIL 15*DEADLINE FOR APPLYING FOR CONVENTION RECITAL ON-LINE. You must submit a final application on line. (Double check my work. Grace and I filled out the rating and evaluation results.)
Those who did not make panel can still apply for the convention recitals--they have to apply like any other convention applicant.

APRIL 16 SOUTH REGION BRANCH HONORS RECITAL AT CAL STATE HAYWARD.

APRIL 17 NORTH AND SOUTH REGION BRANCH HONORS RECITAL AND SENIOR/PANEL RECITALS AT CAL STATE HAYWARD.

JULY 1-5 MTAC CONVENTION AT THE HYATT REGENCY, SACRAMENTO

Whew!! We made it!!! Thank you all for helping run a pretty successful CM examination. Well, as I predicted there were some mistakes made, but like a wedding, CM didn't grind to a halt, went through its paces, and finished without too many problems. As usual, the mistakes were human error, but with 1200+ students and 82 teachers who are VOLUNTEERS, you must expect that. And as usual, the mistakes could have been avoided if the teachers participating in CM were really well informed about ALL the rules and procedures and double checked their own work and the lists, dates, and schedules that were sent to them to make sure everyone is doing their job correctly. Remember, ultimately it is your responsibility to catch any discrepancies. These are your students we are working with.

There have been some complaints about theory grading and evaluator comments. I am working on those as I get the calls. Let me remind the teachers that REMEMBER, the comments are only the opinion of ONE teacher who is evaluating your student. Those comments and opinions are SUBJECTIVE. Also, you do not know how your student played during their evaluation.
Sometimes the comments seem to conflict with the final decision. That*s because the evaluators were criticized for being too critical in the past. So they wrote encouraging and positive remarks, so it appeared their decision did not reflect their comments. Also, if they did not circle everything, it was mostly their intention not to. To reduce this problem, however, it was up to the MONITORS OF THE STUDIO SITES to check the work of the evaluator, and that*s something that needs to improve next year.

Also special thanks to Dale Wolford for running a smooth Woodwind CM.

I urge all CM teachers to go on-line and read the CM Newsletter. It is chock full of information with questions teachers have asked and answers they received that might be similar to your own questions. It has updates on the syllabus that you will need to know in order for you to better prepare your student for CM. Sometimes I will forget to relay information that may be pertinent. CM will run more efficiently if we are all better informed. Don't depend solely on me. I am still learning the job. Please take the responsibility of looking through the newsletters to be more informed yourself.

NOTES FROM THE BRANCH HONORS COORDINATORS, JED GALANT AND LING LEE
You should be getting initial programs or phone calls any day now regarding where and when your students play for branch honors.

Well, my job is still not done. I spend the summer learning filemaker pro 7. Hopefully, scheduling evalutations will be easier next year. My deepest appreciation to Sandy Fong who is willing to become north region assistant.

How to apply Online for Convention 2004
Go to www.mtac.org.
Click on Certificate of Merit on the left column
On the top of this page, click on CM Policies, Panel Information, etc.
At the bottom of this page, click on 2005 Convention Applications 2005
Follow those instructions.

For those who have done the preliminary convention application, remember, YOU HAVE A SECOND PART TO DO---THE FINAL CONVENTION APPLICATION. You must go to this page and submit.