The Academy values the importance of our teacher’s professional development. The Faculty Enrichment Fund annually provides partial and full reimbursement for teachers to attend conferences, workshops, and teacher training sessions. Piano Teaching Artist, Dr. Radina Dosseva write about her experience at the Virginia Music Teacher’s Associate Conference:

I am very grateful to Mason Community Arts Academy for their support and encouragement of their teachers to pursue professional development opportunities. The Faculty Enrichment Fund Award allowed me to fulfill my dream of attending the 2025 Virginia Music Teachers Association (VMTA) Annual State Conference this November on the campus of George Mason University. This is the second time I have been honored with this award.

This three-day immersion in music was the perfect way to network with other like-minded teachers and dedicated professionals from the state of Virginia, and other parts of the U.S. VMTA was first organized in 1964 as an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), which was itself founded in 1874. This conference is held annually at different locations across the state of Virginia.

I was able to reconnect with colleagues and met many wonderful new people, who are involved with several local music organizations, such as Christy Tallamy (our VMTA President-Elect and Chair of the NVMTA Composition Competition), Kevin Chance (president of MTNA), Madalina Petric (NVMTA Vice President and Chair of the Piano Ensemble Festival), our own Misha Tumanov (NVMTA President), and others.

I also got to know the amazing presenters, such as Leila Viss, Marina Croce de Andueza, Nancy O’Neill Breth, Francesca Hurst, Rita Gigliotti, Alina Kirshon-Goldman, Andrea Humphrey (conference vendor – Kindred Piano Method), and Rok Palcic, among others. Everyone at the conference was incredibly kind and willing to share all kinds of pedagogical information with the attendees.

I learned about new sight-reading and piano teaching methods, creative and musical activities to use in lessons, ways of increasing expression and artistry, strategies for reducing stress, and expanding repertoire with Latin American and Spanish composers, among other valuable topics, all of which I can use to improve not only my students’ skills, but my own as well. I also learned about MTNA Certification for teachers and setting business policies that help both students and teachers thrive.

This conference taught me many new concepts, helped me rethink my teaching philosophy once again, and gave me new pedagogical ideas to incorporate into my private and group teaching. It also gave me a renewed sense of the importance of good teachers in a student’s life and helped me establish connections with many new colleagues, who inspired me. Most importantly, it reminded me that I am not alone – there is a whole community of highly qualified teachers out there, all of whom face the same joys and challenges that I have experienced in my career. It was a very refreshing and invaluable experience, and I am very grateful to Mason Community Arts Academy for making it possible.

Written by Dr. Radina Dosseva
Edited by Regina Schneider