Music Teachers’ Association
As this decade of financial hardship came to an end, the Second World War broke. In the Association’s minutes around this time, we note the appearance of emergency, ambulance and patriotic funds and later funds for Food for which the Association raised over 1,000 pounds.
Throughout the 1940’s the Council were politically active, almost succeeding to get a proposed bill for the Registration of Music Teachers to the Parliament floor.
Prior to 1995, the NSW Conservatorium of Music was the official Accrediting body for private music teachers in New South Wales. Since mid-1995, the Music Teachers’ Association of NSW has proudly taken over this role.
HISTORY
The first meeting of the “Musical Association” (which was to later become the MTA) was held on July 24, 1912. First mooted on June 6 of that year in a preliminary meeting at the Palings Concert Room, a committee was established to investigate the possibility of ‘forming an association of the musicians of NSW’. This report was received on July 17, 1912 and the Association was ‘born’ just one week later.
During the next few years the number of members grew and the Association organised regular social events, which were extremely well attended and would attract excellent newspaper coverage.
Some of the artists who were performers, or guests of honour at these functions were Harold Bauer, Frank Hutchens, Henri Verbruggen (then director of the NSW Conservatorium), Alfred Hill and Madame Melba to name a few.
The first annual conference of music teachers of NSW was held in 1929 and the first register of qualified teachers was published (the forerunner to the current accreditation system).
By 1930 the Musical Association had 697 members and this necessitated a move to larger premises for the meetings and social functions. New initiatives around this time were the introduction of radio broadcasts prepared by the Association and the formation of a Federal Council.
The radio broadcasts, in conjunction with the then Australian Broadcasting Commission, grew from a proposed once a month to a weekly series. By 1933 there were over 200 engagements made by the Association for 49 broadcasts made in a year. These concerts lasted until 1935.
The Federal Council, under the title of The Music Council of Australia was established with representatives from the Musical Associations of Queensland, New South Wales,
1934 saw an extraordinary AGM to vote on the right of women to stand for election to the Council. This proposal was resoundingly defeated 5 years earlier but was now passed with a vote of 75 for and 20 against! (It was to be another 49 years before a woman became President of the Association). In 1936 after much work and another extraordinary AGM, the Association’s constitution was changed and it became incorporated.
Throughout this time, the Association worked tirelessly for educational reform. In 1933 the President of the Association wrote to the Vice Chancellor of Sydney University asking for support for the suggestion that a Chair in music be established at the University or, at the very least, a lectureship within the Faculty of Arts. In 1936 the Association was involved in the introduction of music to the secondary school curriculum. For the first time, music was included in the first year of high school.
