MINNESOTA MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION:

The Minnesota Music Teachers Association was organized on June 27, 1901 under the auspices of the Professional League of St. Paul, and is affiliated with the Music Teachers National Association. Clarence A. Marshall was the first president of the MMTA. According to the Association's constitution, it was organized to "promote the true culture of music by the interchange of ideas, to advance the interest of musical art, and to foster professional fraternity." Active members were professional teachers of voice, musical instruments, or "any subject pertaining to the theory of music."

The MMTA held annual conventions which included concerts, business meetings, papers, round table discussions, and workshops. Conventions were held in cities throughout Minnesota. In 1913 the MMTA began testing teachers for the Certificate of Licentiate in an effort to standardize music education in the state. Candidates were expected to pass examinations in their musical specialty, music theory, and the history of music. In 1970 the MMTA created a syllabus for student examinations, which further standardized the teaching of music in Minnesota.

In the season of 1928-1929 the MMTA began sponsoring a concert by student winners chosen in statewide competition. In 1936 the MMTA developed a program of ten-piano concerts, given by winners of regional piano tryouts. The Ten-Piano Concert evolved into twelve, then twenty pianos, and later became the State Honor Student Concert or Honors Concert.

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The collection documents the administrative and programmatic activities of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association, 1913-2003. The records include incorporation papers, the constitution and bylaws, minutes, annual convention proceedings, correspondence, membership lists and directories, calendars, examination syllabi, programs, newsletters, photographs, and anniversary scrapbooks.

There is information on conventions, elections, and other routine activities; relations with the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Associations; proposed legislation, particularly to create a national bureau of fine arts (1939) and national excise tax exemptions for symphony orchestras (1951); examinations given to applicants for membership; materials for local associations; and musical education in the public schools.

Correspondents include several members of Congress and a number of professional musicians, especially Paul M. Oberg and Frances Clark.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota Music Teachers Association Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession number: 7779; 8751; 16,028; 16,091; 16,246; 16,292; 16,393; 17,124; 17,321; 17,697

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990017318930104294

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Constitution, bylaws, convention programs, correspondence files, meeting minutes, and transcripts of convention proceedings. A folder of convention reports consists mainly of speeches delivered at conventions and also a few financial reports. Minutes include meetings of the executive board, minutes of annual meetings, some correspondence, and minutes of the examining board, which reviewed applications to membership in the organization. There is a list of the presidents of the association from 1901-1948.

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Information on teaching methods, examination questions for students, rules for contests, history and programs of state honors concerts, and programs and publicity for ensemble festivals held throughout the state. One folder contains information compiled by Harry W. Ranks (1933?) on the granting of music credits to high school students for music lessons taken outside of school. There is a state-by-state compilation of data. There is also a folder containing questionnaires sent by the organization (1928) to public schools in Minnesota to determine the number of students in each school who were taking music instruction outside school hours.

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Contains biographical data, obituaries, presentations, and documents concerning each presidential term, compiled mainly by Robert T. Laudon.

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Negatives and/or prints for each president, individual, or event, compiled mainly by Robert T. Laudon. Many of the photographs were published in Laudon's history of the MMTA.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Education -- Minnesota.

Music -- Canada.

Music and state -- United States.

Music -- Instruction and study.

Musicians -- United States.

Persons:

Andersen, H. Carl (Herman Carl), 1897-1978, author.

Auer, Leopold, 1845-1930, author.

Buckler, Richard Thompson, 1865-1950, author.

Burleigh, Cecil, 1885-1980, author.

Christiansen, F. Melius (Fredrik Melius), 1871-1955, author.

Clark, Frances Elliott, author.

Ferguson, Donald Nivison, 1882-1985, author.

Ganz, Rudolph, 1877-1972, author.

Glazer, Frank, author.

Grainger, Percy, 1882-1961, author.

Griggs, Hazel, author.

Hanson, Howard, 1896-1981, author.

Hinderer, J. G. (John George), 1885-1963, author.

Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978, author.

Kneisel, Franz, 1865-1926, author.

Knutson, Harold, 1880-1953, author.

Lachmund, Ernest, author.

Lemay, Paul, 1897-194- , author.

Lundeen, Ernest, 1878-1940, author.

Mackinnon, Lilia, author.

MacPhail, William, 1881-1962, author.

Marshall, Clarence Alden, 1859-1941, author.

Mitropoulos, Dimitri, 1896-1960, author.

Morton, Robert Buchanan, 1877-1946, author.

Oberg, Paul, 1904- , author.

Oberhoffer, Emil, 1867-1933, author.

Pittenger, William Alvin, 1885-1951, author.

Ranks, Harry W., author.

Rockwell, John G. (John Gunderson), 1892- , author.

Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960, author.

Thye, Edward John, 1896-1969, author.

Organizations:

Canadian Association of Music Teachers' Associations, author.

Places:

Duluth (Minn.).

Document Types:

Photographs.

Occupations:

Musicians.

Music teachers.

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