Congratulations to our 2022 Teacher of the Year, Kathy Dawal! Kathy is currently serving as the Central Federated Festival Chair and the Digital Resources Chair; in the past she served as Music Day Chair, and she also was the previous GCMTA webmaster. She designed our current logo. Kathy has a tremendous work ethic, and she is always willing to help her colleagues, especially those within GCMTA. She has contributed greatly to our ability to handle online registrations, which is beneficial to all members.

Kathy has multiple winners and Honorable Mentions in piano and guitar every year in the GCMTA Music Day event, and she has had several students recommended for the annual Master Class. She also has multiple winners and Honorable Mentions in GCMTA Local Auditions and GMTA Auditions. Her dedication to excellent teaching is evidenced by her students’ accomplishments and by her attendance at workshops and conferences.

Along with her colleague and friend, Lois Finlay, Kathy has developed and presented programs about Dvorak’s piano duet music and The Forgotten French: Cecile Chaminade and Emmanuel Chabrier, both at our local association meetings as well as at GMTA state conferences (2012, 2020). Lois gave high praise to her friend when recommending her for our Teacher of the Year:

“Most certainly I will recommend Kathy Dawal as Teacher of the Year for Gwinnett County MTA.  I have known her for about 15 years. I know that she is a hard worker for your Chapter.  She has also grown her private piano studio during this time, and she is always looking for ways to encourage her students.  She has had several competitions among them and awarded prizes for the students who have done the most consistent practicing.  I have been working with her directly on playing piano duets for all these years.  We have attended a workshop in Vermont several times during summers, and we have grown greatly as performers and friends through this experience.”

We congratulate our 2022 Teacher of the Year, Kathy Dawal!