FSMTA Brief History*
An assignment to write a one-page history of FSMTA only allows the briefest outline. Inaccessibility of the archives necessitated reliance on memory, which is certainly not infallible. Apologies are herewith made for inaccuracy of dates. Many important events took place in the early years that had much influences on the direction of this association. However, the writer did not become a member until 1949, and has no way of learning about events prior to that time. [*first compiled circa 1984 by Lucille W. Sellers; supplemented by Amy Turon starting in 1998]
Organization of The Florida State Music Teachers Association
Jacksonville, FL ~ March 23, 1934 (abridged)
- Marie Lesesne Ford, Publicity Chairman for the Music Teacher’s Association of Jacksonville.
There is, naturally deep pleasure felt by the Music Teachers Association of Jacksonville in the successful realization of the goal set out for in its work through the past two years, in the formation, during the recent convention of the Florida federation of Music Clubs, of the Florida Music Teachers Association, and it will be forgiven for feeling, also, some pride in the many expressions of congratulations uttered by those who come from throughout the State to take part in fine manner of something regarded; by all interested as an important step in the right direction for the progress and protection of music, musicians, and teachers.
Given a place on the State program for March 23, our local association arranged a sequence of events, beginning with a fine music program, which took place in the ballroom of the Carling Hotel following the completion of the session, which included the election of the new Federation State officers. After this program, the assembly adjourned to the main dining room of the hotel for the conference Luncheon. First planned for a gathering of sixty, almost at the last minute changes had to be made to accommodate eighty.
During the course of the luncheon, Mrs. M. B. Byrd, [president of the Music Teachers Association of Jacksonville] called on many of those present for short talks, giving opinions and suggestions on the matter before the conference, among those who responded were Mrs. Arthur L. Johnson, retiring State Federation president, Mrs. Leroy Smith, new State Federation president; Mrs. O.G. Heistand, National Board Member for Florida; Mrs. Frank W. Brown, President [of the] Friday Musicale, Jacksonville; Miss Margaret Haas, honorary State President, past National Corresponding Secretary, honorary Member, M.T.A. Jacksonville, Mrs., Chas. E. Davies, first president of the local M.T.A., and one of its most faithful and highly valued members throughout all the years of its existence. …..Every speaker, no matter how brief, had something helpful and encouraging to say, in every case approving the organization of a State music teachers’ association and believing it necessary. In addition to the spoken words, letters were also read … from prominent and well known musicians in the State, unable to be present, but with us in spirit and desire for the State association.
Mr. W.E. Ducwitz, Stetson University Music Dept.; Dean Ella Scoble Opperman, State College of Women, Tallahassee, Miss Bertha Forster, Conservatory of Music, Miami; Mana Zucca, Miami, Florida’s best known composer; Mr. Harve Clemens, Rollins College; Mr. J.W. deBruyn, University of Florida, Mr. E.B. Kurcheedt, Daytona Beach;….and last but not least, a letter from Mr. C.M. Tremaine, head of the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music, who, being unable to accept our invitation to be present as speaker, sent what amounted to a written address of fortifying, analytical, and constructive criticism, and, also, sent our local organization other matter which has proved most helpful and guiding. Every letter read contained the highest praise, approval of object and effort.
These features concluded, Mrs. M.B. Byrd was elected chairman pro-tem, and Mrs. Jesse Elliot, secretary pro-tem, of the organization details. Mrs. Byrd began routine by appointing….a committee on constitution and by-laws, Mrs. William Boyd, chairman. After a committee consultation, Mrs. Ford read to the assembly the constitution and by-laws as prepared, which were accepted, as read, unanimously. Following this, Mrs. Byrd… named the nominating committee…. Ballot slips were distributed while the nominating committee was preparing its list of names; this, read and accepted, voting proceeded rapidly. The reading of returns met with hearty applause, and many warm expressions of pleasure…to us, members of the local M.T.A.; comes additional happiness in having our president honored in being chosen as the first president of the State Association. For two years this has been her best-loved “brainchild.” Others have had the same idea but to Mrs. Byrd must go the credit for bringing it out into the open, presenting it to our local group as something we could and should do for all engaged in our profession in our beloved and Sovereign State of Florida, thus ultimately helping the cause of MUSIC.
Our first effort at consummation, made last year at Tampa, failed through a combination of circumstances unavoidable, and possibly because the idea had not had time to penetrate fully; but this only deepened out intentions – fixed our determination to “carry on’, and try again, and it was a proud moment when Mrs. Lloyd Jones, chairman of the special committee on state-wide organization, prepared her if-at-first-you-don’t-succeed-try-again letter, sent out to the two hundred teachers all over the State who last year had sent us practical evidence of their interest in and desire for the affiliation.
…We congratulate the new Florida Music Teachers’ Association, promising our help and full cooperation right on, if and when needed.
Given a place on the State program for March 23, our local association arranged a sequence of events, beginning with a fine music program, which took place in the ballroom of the Carling Hotel following the completion of the session, which included the election of the new Federation State officers. After this program, the assembly adjourned to the main dining room of the hotel for the conference Luncheon. First planned for a gathering of sixty, almost at the last minute changes had to be made to accommodate eighty.
During the course of the luncheon, Mrs. M. B. Byrd, [president of the Music Teachers Association of Jacksonville] called on many of those present for short talks, giving opinions and suggestions on the matter before the conference, among those who responded were Mrs. Arthur L. Johnson, retiring State Federation president, Mrs. Leroy Smith, new State Federation president; Mrs. O.G. Heistand, National Board Member for Florida; Mrs. Frank W. Brown, President [of the] Friday Musicale, Jacksonville; Miss Margaret Haas, honorary State President, past National Corresponding Secretary, honorary Member, M.T.A. Jacksonville, Mrs., Chas. E. Davies, first president of the local M.T.A., and one of its most faithful and highly valued members throughout all the years of its existence. …..Every speaker, no matter how brief, had something helpful and encouraging to say, in every case approving the organization of a State music teachers’ association and believing it necessary. In addition to the spoken words, letters were also read … from prominent and well known musicians in the State, unable to be present, but with us in spirit and desire for the State association.
Mr. W.E. Ducwitz, Stetson University Music Dept.; Dean Ella Scoble Opperman, State College of Women, Tallahassee, Miss Bertha Forster, Conservatory of Music, Miami; Mana Zucca, Miami, Florida’s best known composer; Mr. Harve Clemens, Rollins College; Mr. J.W. deBruyn, University of Florida, Mr. E.B. Kurcheedt, Daytona Beach;….and last but not least, a letter from Mr. C.M. Tremaine, head of the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music, who, being unable to accept our invitation to be present as speaker, sent what amounted to a written address of fortifying, analytical, and constructive criticism, and, also, sent our local organization other matter which has proved most helpful and guiding. Every letter read contained the highest praise, approval of object and effort.
These features concluded, Mrs. M.B. Byrd was elected chairman pro-tem, and Mrs. Jesse Elliot, secretary pro-tem, of the organization details. Mrs. Byrd began routine by appointing….a committee on constitution and by-laws, Mrs. William Boyd, chairman. After a committee consultation, Mrs. Ford read to the assembly the constitution and by-laws as prepared, which were accepted, as read, unanimously. Following this, Mrs. Byrd… named the nominating committee…. Ballot slips were distributed while the nominating committee was preparing its list of names; this, read and accepted, voting proceeded rapidly. The reading of returns met with hearty applause, and many warm expressions of pleasure…to us, members of the local M.T.A.; comes additional happiness in having our president honored in being chosen as the first president of the State Association. For two years this has been her best-loved “brainchild.” Others have had the same idea but to Mrs. Byrd must go the credit for bringing it out into the open, presenting it to our local group as something we could and should do for all engaged in our profession in our beloved and Sovereign State of Florida, thus ultimately helping the cause of MUSIC.
Our first effort at consummation, made last year at Tampa, failed through a combination of circumstances unavoidable, and possibly because the idea had not had time to penetrate fully; but this only deepened out intentions – fixed our determination to “carry on’, and try again, and it was a proud moment when Mrs. Lloyd Jones, chairman of the special committee on state-wide organization, prepared her if-at-first-you-don’t-succeed-try-again letter, sent out to the two hundred teachers all over the State who last year had sent us practical evidence of their interest in and desire for the affiliation.
…We congratulate the new Florida Music Teachers’ Association, promising our help and full cooperation right on, if and when needed.
State Associations - Florida
~ from A Centennial History of the Music Teachers National Association by Homer Ulrich, © 1976
Interest in establishing an association of Florida music teachers began in 1918, when Mrs. M.B. Byrd sought to enlist her fellow teachers in a state organization. The purpose of that organization was to seek official recognition, and high-school credit for applied-music study done under private teachers. For over a decade the idea was kept alive, although little progress was made in carrying it farther.
In 1932, the then-president of the Jacksonville MTA, Mrs. Lloyd Jones, revived the idea by appointing a committee to study the advisability of forming a state MTA; Mrs. Byrd was named chairman. After an abortive attempt in 1933, an organizational meeting was held in Jacksonville in March, 1934, the Florida State Music Teachers Association was founded with over a hundred members, and Mrs. Byrd was elected president. FSMTA became affiliated with MTNA in 1953.
The effort to gain recognition for applied-music study soon became successful, for the Florida School Bulletin of December, 1938, carried a statement that "credit may now be offered for adequate private instruction." But the continuation of that success hinged upon the development of a satisfactory plan to certify teachers as to their competence. Such a plan had been inaugurated in 1936 and was considerably modified on several later occasions. When MTNA issued its Model Plan in 1954, a committee on certification, under the chairmanship of Merle Holloway, brought the Florida plan into conformity with MTNA's suggestions.
Officers of FSMTA have been active in other areas as well. A scholarship committee, established in 1934, provides liaison between FSMTA and the institutions of higher education in the state. Similarly, a music-education committee has served a liaison function with the public schools since 1941. The activity of that committee culminates in an annual Student Day, which includes examinations in performance and theory and a student honors recital. And a theory committee, active since 1952, has prepared a theory manual for the use of private teachers. And on another level, FSMTA member Karl Kuersteiner served as MTNA's president in 1957.
The official history of FSMTA, prepared by Etta Martin and R. E. I. Chumbly, pays considerable attention to the Association's practice of bestowing honorary memberships upon individuals for outstanding contributions to music; Louis and Sidney Homer are specifically mentioned, although they were not Association members. And the contributions of Merle Holloway are noteworthy in this connection; for Miss Holloway, of Tampa, served on forty-seven committees, was chairman of nineteen, elevated to eight different offices, and served as FSMTA president for two years, 1943-45. A high point of her administration was to provide active liaison between Florida's six professional music associations.
Convention sites and presidents of FSMTA in the past twenty years have been the following:
In 1932, the then-president of the Jacksonville MTA, Mrs. Lloyd Jones, revived the idea by appointing a committee to study the advisability of forming a state MTA; Mrs. Byrd was named chairman. After an abortive attempt in 1933, an organizational meeting was held in Jacksonville in March, 1934, the Florida State Music Teachers Association was founded with over a hundred members, and Mrs. Byrd was elected president. FSMTA became affiliated with MTNA in 1953.
The effort to gain recognition for applied-music study soon became successful, for the Florida School Bulletin of December, 1938, carried a statement that "credit may now be offered for adequate private instruction." But the continuation of that success hinged upon the development of a satisfactory plan to certify teachers as to their competence. Such a plan had been inaugurated in 1936 and was considerably modified on several later occasions. When MTNA issued its Model Plan in 1954, a committee on certification, under the chairmanship of Merle Holloway, brought the Florida plan into conformity with MTNA's suggestions.
Officers of FSMTA have been active in other areas as well. A scholarship committee, established in 1934, provides liaison between FSMTA and the institutions of higher education in the state. Similarly, a music-education committee has served a liaison function with the public schools since 1941. The activity of that committee culminates in an annual Student Day, which includes examinations in performance and theory and a student honors recital. And a theory committee, active since 1952, has prepared a theory manual for the use of private teachers. And on another level, FSMTA member Karl Kuersteiner served as MTNA's president in 1957.
The official history of FSMTA, prepared by Etta Martin and R. E. I. Chumbly, pays considerable attention to the Association's practice of bestowing honorary memberships upon individuals for outstanding contributions to music; Louis and Sidney Homer are specifically mentioned, although they were not Association members. And the contributions of Merle Holloway are noteworthy in this connection; for Miss Holloway, of Tampa, served on forty-seven committees, was chairman of nineteen, elevated to eight different offices, and served as FSMTA president for two years, 1943-45. A high point of her administration was to provide active liaison between Florida's six professional music associations.
Convention sites and presidents of FSMTA in the past twenty years have been the following:
- 1956 Winter Park Owen F. Sellers
- 1957 Tallahassee Owen F. Sellers (Postponed to February, 1958, to meet with the Southern Division)
- 1958 Jacksonville Alvah A. Beecher
- 1959 Daytona Beach Alvah A. Beecher
- 1960 Miami Beach Lucille W. Sellers
- 1961 Sarasota Lucille W. Sellers
- 1962 Tallahassee Ruth Butler
- 1963 Gainesville Ruth Butler
- 1964 St. Petersburg Elmer P. Magnell
- 1965 Jacksonville Elmer P. Magnell
- 1966 Deland Jane R. Sterrett
- 1967 Miami Beach Jane R. Sterrett
- 1968 Sarasota Natalie Adcock
- 1969 Tampa Natalie Adcock
- 1970 Pensacola Gerson Yessin
- 1971 Tallahassee Gerson Yessin
- 1972 Gainesville Bernice M. Hack
- 1973 Jacksonville Bernice M. Hack
- 1974 Cocoa R. E. L. Chumbley
- 1975 Winter Park R. E. L. Chumbley