Student Activities

Student Activities

Music is a performing art, and is a wonderful gift to share. Our association sponsors or facilitates a number of performance opportunities and enriching experiences throughout the year.

How Events Function

A number of events are sponsored on a county level, while others are conducted state-wide or nationally. Some are competitive, some are a mix of competitive and individual ratings, and some are performance only.

Because of the wide range of activities, each event has its own rules and procedures. Please see the event-specific page on this website.

Judges

Many events require outside judges. Judges are experienced teachers and adjudicators. All judges’ decisions are final and cannot be challenged. They often comment on the difficulty they face when required to decide between several or many excellent performances. Please also keep in mind that students may not perform as well under stress as they do at home. GCMTA recommends that all students perform their pieces before audiences to help them play at their best in competitions.

Parents and Students

If you have additional questions, please contact your teacher. Most teachers have participated in the events for years, and many have also been involved in event organization and administration. They will be more than able to answer your questions. Please do not contact individual event chair persons. They are not authorized to provide information to the students of other teachers.

Events

Below is a list of some of those activities with a brief description. Click on the event title for additional information.

Music Day

This is typically held on the second Saturday in November. It is open to all students of active GCMTA members. Non-member teachers may also enter students, but will be required to pay an annual teacher fee. Students will perform before a judge and receive a rating and comments. Grades 4-12 are competitive. Winners (OPR) of local auditions may perform for a rating and comments, but are not eligible to win. Students must perform at this event to be considered for our March Master Class.

Federated Festival

Member clubs of The National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) hold three of these events in Gwinnett County. Participation is open to NFMC participants. Preliminary registration is due in September.

Performance Day 

Performance day is an opportunity for piano students of GCMTA teachers to play “background music” in an authentic setting at the Gwinnett Extended Care Center in Lawrenceville.

Auditions

Local auditions are held in February and are open to the students of GCMTA teachers. Winners move on to compete at the regional level later in March, with regional winners moving on to the state auditions in April.

Jr. Sr. Scholarship

GCMTA has established a scholarship program for our high school juniors and seniors.
Entrants may perform on any instrument according to the rules.

Theory Exams

State-sponsored theory exams are offered in conjunction with our Music Day and Local Auditions. Entrants are not required to participate in the associated events, but may do so.