Ribbon Festival and
WSMTA Musicianship Exams 2009

The 7th Annual Eastside Music Teachers’ Ribbon Festival will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell. The cost has been increased slightly to $25 for students of Eastside members. The fee for students who are not studying with an Eastside chapter member is $145. An adult must accompany each student at the festival.

The Ribbon Festival is a musical event sponsored by the Eastside Music Teachers Association. Its purpose is to provide an enjoyable way to motivate students and aid them in developing essential musicianship skills. The Festival is a non-competitive event. Participants receive a ribbon for every event they complete. Non-performance events are divided into levels so that beginners, as well as more advanced performers, may participate.

Participants may enter a variety of events and workshops including solos, duets, original compositions, scales, chords, arpeggios, 60-second challenge, ear training, and music theory, as well as a variety of workshops led by local artists and teachers. This is an opportunity for solo/duet performance and classroom instruction beyond the private studio setting, where a variety of musical topics will be offered in a hands-on learning environment. See the registration packet for more details.

Classes this year will include: Introduction to Guitar, Pre-Baroque and Baroque-era instruments, a workshop involving ballerinas, Introductions to Improvisation and Brass instruments, and more to be announced later.

Registration is due by the November general meeting. Schedules will be mailed to participating teachers by the end of December.

Teachers will be required to provide five (5) hours of staff time at the event per every five students entered. Teachers entering fewer than five students will still be expected to do a five-hour shift. The first five hours must be covered by the teacher; subsequent hours may be staffed by the teacher of adults (over age 16) provided from that teacher’s studio. (Parents of students, former students, spouses, etc.) Names and contact information for all festival staff must be included with registration forms. If using online registration, volunteer information will have to be provided at the time of registration in order to complete the registration process. Non-teacher staffers will be able to sign up for volunteer time in one-hour blocks.

If a teacher enters 10 students, they will be expected to provide staffing for two shifts. A teacher entering 11 or 12 would be expected to provide staff for three shifts. Think of it like tax brackets: once you get above the magic number, you are in the next higher category – no prorating.

WSMTA Musicianship Exams
Beginning this year, the Ribbon Festival will also host the new WSMTA Musicianship exams. These exams are standardized assessments created by music teachers specifically for private music students and provide teachers, students, and parents with a valuable benchmark of progress. The program is noncompetitive and consists of ten progressive levels in such areas as technique (scales, chords, and arpeggios), written theory, ear training, rhythm and pulse proficiency, applied theory, sight-reading, and more! The program is flexible, allowing students to enter events at different levels. For this initial year, our chapter will offer exams in the areas of technique, written theory, ear training, and rhythm proficiency with the intent of adding additional exams in future years. All students at the Festival participating in these events will be given the same worksheets to complete and will receive a ribbon for participation. Those students who have enrolled in the WSMTA Musicianship exams will also be awarded a certificate of participation from WSMTA listing the skills and levels which they have completed. High achievement will be recognized with a special gold seal and recognition in the WSMTA Clarion newsletter. Sample tests may be purchased for $20 at www.wendyspianostudio.com.

Teachers will use the Ribbon Festival registration form to register for both the Festival and the Musicianship exams to simplify the registration process and to meet the State requirement to receive enrollment information 6 weeks in advance of the exams.

Additional information for both the Ribbon Festival and WSMTA Musicianship exams will be available at the September and October business meetings, or can be obtained directly from the Festival Chair, Carmen Still. Carmen is best reached by Email. Otherwise, call her at (425) 821-9816. For questions about the WSMTA Musicianship Exams, please contact Jeanine Edmonds.

Ribbon Events & Class Information

The Festival's downlodable files -Year 2009

For Registration Information (.doc file, please download for reading and printing)

For Levels and Exam Information (.doc file, please download for reading and printing)

Staff Registration Form (excel file)

Registration Form legal paper (excel file)