Denison University Summer Performing Arts Program

Denison University is launching a summer performing arts festival for high school students in music, dance, and theater.  CEOMTA member Dr. Sun Min Kim (Denison University piano faculty) is teaching piano in the program.

Along with many wonderful Denison music faculty members, we have amazing guest artists as well: Ethel String Quartet and Third Coast Percussion Ensemble. It is also unique and one-of-a-kind that the festival takes place with Dance and Theater as well. You will be exposed to different aspects of performing arts, creating synergy in the liberal arts ideals.

It will be held in the new beautiful facility of Michael D Eisner Center for Performing Arts.
It is between June 24 and July 1, 2023. The cost is $1500 for tuition, room and board. There are ample opportunities for financial aid, both need based and merit. For more information: https://summertutti.denison.edu/

Any questions? Please contact Sun Min Kim at kims@denison.edu

Laura Hughes Wynia named 2023 Certified Teacher of the Year

Laura Hughes Wynia, 2023 NCTM Teacher of the Year

Each spring, the Ohio Music Teachers Association (OMTA) highlights a leader in the organization – a Nationally Certified member who excels as a teacher, serves as a role model, and who volunteers time to our organization.  This year, Laura Hughes Wynia has been awarded the 2023 Music Teacher of the Year.

Wynia began her career serving as an Ohio State Park Naturalist, leading 21 educational sessions each week, and taught 7th and 8th grade math, life science, and earth science at what is now Sells Middle School in Dublin, Ohio.  Once she became a mother, she left the classroom. She was a skilled musician who became a church pianist at the age of fourteen, so when a friend asked Wynia to teach her daughter piano, she did, and then added other students.  Wynia had five children, which she home-schooled from kindergarten through high school.

Once she had attained the NCTM status in 2016, (Nationally Certified Teacher of Music,) Wynia volunteered for positions within CEOMTA and became known for her diligent work chairing the Scale Olympics piano event during and after COVID. Her attention to detail, her strong organization skills, and her incredibly calm, gracious, and thoughtful demeanor inspired us all. This is Wynia’s seventh year serving on the CEOMTA board of directors.  She said “I’m very thankful for the vibrant, supportive music community we have in Columbus.  I’ve learned so much through membership in MTNA, which has given me a connection to the music-teaching community and many opportunities for my students.”

Wynia’s students and her colleagues are richer for the experiences she has had (which also include singing in the Cleveland Orchestra’s Children’s Choir, playing bassoon in the Ohio All-State Orchestra, and running in the 2021 and 2022 Boston Marathons), the insights she has gleaned, and the wisdom she brings to her teaching. When not teaching music, she loves cooking, hiking, and running.  She lives and teaches in Dublin, OH.

Laura Hughes Wynia, a native of Parma, Ohio, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Wright State University in 1984.

Stay Connected in April and May

Here are the upcoming events for April and May.

APRIL 2023
14 – Annual Membership Meeting
14 – District Spring Conference & Luncheon
15 – Deadline for Applications for Grants for Professional Development
15 – Buckeye Auditions, District Preliminaries
22 – Summer Music Study Scholarships
23 – Student Solo & Ensemble RecitalRegistration Deadline is 4/13/23
30 – NEW DATE & TIME Honors Recital ONLY; Registration Deadline is 4/26/23
30 – Out & AboutRegistration Deadline is 4/26/23

MAY 2023
01 – Spring Board Meeting
21 –  Out & About; Registration Deadline is 5/17/2023

Please visit www.ceomta.org for more information!