KMTA Kentucky Music Teachers Association
KMTA
Kentucky Music Teachers Association

State Conference

2026 Conference Information

The 2026 Kentucky Music Teachers Association conference will be held on October 16 and 17 at Bellarmine University, in Louisville, KY.

This year our conference artist will be Todd Hildreth. Our keynote speaker and masterclass clinician will be Dr. Kevin Chance.

The Call for Proposals for the 2026 Conference is now open. Please use the following form to submit your proposals!

2026 Conference Call for Proposals

Deadline for submission is June 1, 2026

Conference Artist: Todd Hildreth

Louisville jazz legend Todd Hildreth has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a performer and educator. For twenty-five years, he has served as instructor of jazz piano at Bellarmine University where he also teaches courses in jazz history, music in American pop culture, and advanced jazz harmony and arranging. Todd’s musical interest began with the accordion at 10, and moved to Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Zappa and Queen at 12. He enrolled at Bellarmine in 1985 with the intention of becoming an English teacher, but discovered Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett by the end of his first semester and has never looked back. He has founded or been in collaboration with groups such as The Java Men, King Kong, Liberation Prophecy, Squeeze-bot, V-groove, The Louisville Improvisors, and the Todd Hildreth trio. Other projects have included teaching for the annual Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, serving as music director at Ascension Lutheran Church, and leading as musical director for The WHAS Crusade for Children’s annual telethon. He has performed or recorded with Aretha Franklin, Don Braden, Stephanie Courtney (Flo from the Progressive commercials), Norah Jones, Dave Liebman, Rufus Reid, Joan Rivers, Bobby Shew, Dave Stryker, and many others.

For decades, Prof. Hildreth has been one of the most sought-after Louisville musicians: just this past summer, he completed a performing and teaching residency in Hong Kong. He has also performed at the Montreaux Jazz Fest, Lollapalooza, and the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. A multi-instrumentalist, Todd plays not only piano, but also Hammond organ, accordion, steel drum, and theremin. With these interests, he has provided educational “unusual instrument clinics” for the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association and other organizations. He also leads several local groups which feature eclectic instrumentation, including Squeeze-bot, The Groove Tubers, and Tiki Todd and the Limbomaniacs

Keynote Speaker/Masterclass Clinician: Dr. Kevin Chance

Named Teacher of the Year by the Alabama Music Teachers Association and Music Educator of the Year by the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa, pianist Kevin T. Chance has been hailed as “a superlative musician” playing “with musical conviction and muscularity.” He has performed throughout the United States and abroad as both soloist and collaborator. Recent engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall as well as concerto appearances with Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety and Rachamninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with the Huxford Symphony Orchestra, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Athens Chorale in Georgia, and Gerald Finzi’s Eclogue. In March 2016, he also appeared with the Tuscaloosa Symphony in a performance of Saint-Saens’s Carnival of the Animals. Recital engagements have taken him throughout the U.S. with recent appearances at the American Matthay Association Festivals, the University of Oklahoma, the Louisiana Piano Series International, and the Albion College International Piano Festival. He has also been presented in performances by the Mobile Opera, the Mississippi Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, the University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of South Carolina, Columbus State University, Auburn University, Millsaps College, the University of North Dakota, the Saratoga Arts Fest, and Bucknell University. Dr. Chance was a prizewinner of several regional and national competitions including the National Society of Arts and Letters Career Awards Competition, Music Teachers National Association Competitions (MTNA), and the Brevard Music Center Concerto Competition.

Dr. Chance is a member of the Semplice Duo with flutist Cristina Ballatori. In August 2004, they were named the winners of the Notes at 9,000 Emerging Artist Series Competition in Colorado. Past seasons have taken them to Texas, Colorado, New York, and Louisiana, and they were selected as artist fellows for the 2005 Hampden-Sydney Music Festival in Virginia, where they returned for a series of performances in 2008. They frequently perform in recital on the “Live from Hochstein” series, which are broadcast live on WXXI radio in Rochester, NY, and in 2014, they made their European debut in Paris.

A sought-after teacher, Dr. Chance maintains a prize-winning studio, and he was recently named a Leadership Board Faculty Fellow by the Universtiy of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences. His students are frequently named winners and finalists in local, state, regional, and national competitions, including the 2009 Music Teachers National Association’s National Competition Finals in Atlanta. He currently serves on the faculties of several summer festivals including the New Orleans Piano Institute. In demand as a clinician and adjudicator, he regularly presents workshops and lecture-performances on repertoire and pedagogy throughout the country, and he has served as a guest artist and clinician for the Michigan, Mississippi, and Alabama state music teacher conferences. Additionally, Dr. Chance has presented at the 2023, 2019, 2016, and 2008 Music Teachers National Association Conferences. He is a Past President of the Alabama Music Teachers Association and is a past board member of the Music Teachers National Association serving as Director of the Southern Division and later Vice President. Kevin currently serves as the President-Elect of Music Teachers National Association and is a past president of the American Matthay Association.

Serving as Associate Professor of Piano and Chair of the Gloria Narramore Moody Piano Area at the University of Alabama, Dr. Chance is a former faculty member at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music where he was awarded the Jerald C. Graue Fellowship for academic excellence. An alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival, he holds the Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University and graduated magna cum laude from Birmingham-Southern College. His teachers have included Barry Snyder, Constance Knox Carroll, Ann Schein, Anne Koscielny, Herbert Stessin, William DeVan and Betty Sue Shepherd.

Past State Conferences

Looking for info about a past conference?

This list has the current president, location, conference artist, and commissioned composer of each KMTA conference along with a link to more information, if available.

  • 2025 Yukiko Fujimura, Northern Kentucky University, Solungga Liu, Barbara Rogers
  • 2024 Natasha Pence, Western Kentucky University, Eva Polgar
  • 2023 Natasha Pence, University of Louisville, Alexandre Dossin, Richard Crosby
  • 2022 Nina Belle Durr, Campbellsville University, Daniel Weeks/Donna Loewy, Larry Barnes
  • 2021 Nina Belle Durr, Northern Kentucky University (joint with OhioMTA), Aaron Diehl, Thomas Couvillon
  • 2020 Zachary Lopes, Online, Ann Schein, Dr. Matthew Herman
  • 2019 Zachary Lopes, Central Lexington Public Library, Carr-Petrova Duo, Gyuli Kambarova
  • 2018 Bernardo Scarambone, Galt House/KMAC, Sylvia Thereza, Dr. Steve Rouse
  • 2017 Bernardo Scarambone, Transylvania U, Dr. Gregory Partain, Dr. Timothy Polashek
  • 2016 Diana Aubrey, Courtyard by Marriott Hotel/UofL/Bellarmine, Harry Pickens, Richard Crosby
  • 2015 Diana Aubrey, WKU, Latitude 49, Steven Weimer
  • 2014 William Budai, Campbellsville, Stephen Beus, Larry Barnes
  • 2013 William Budai, MuSU, Frederic Chui, Kurt Sander
  • 2012 David Oyen, MoSu, Eunbyol Ko, Joseph Baber
  • 2011 David Oyen, EKU, Bernardo Scarambone, Thomas Couvillon
  • 2010 Krista Wallace-Boaz, U of L, Haochen Zhang, Richard Crosby
  • 2009 Krista Wallace-Boaz, NKU, Cincinnati Opera, Greg Danner
  • 2008 Vicki McVay, Campbellsville, Charles Rosen, Richard Burchard
  • 2007 Vicki McVay, Centre College, Orion Weiss and Bavarian Philharmonic, Teresa Tedder
  • 2006 Richard Scott, Transylvania U., showcase Recital, Joseph Barber
  • 2005 Richard Scott, MoSU, Phillip Kevern, Gregory Partian
  • 2004 Carol Dennes, MuSU, P. Karp and Eli Kalman, K. Holm-Hudson
  • 2003 Carol Dennes, UK, Irina Voro, Richard Crosby
  • 2002 Donald Speer, UofL, Stanislav Loudenitch, Michael Kallstom
  • 2001 Donald Speer, EKU, Hayward Mickens, Sonny Burnette
  • 2000 Diana Aubrey, NKU, Sergei Polusmiak, Charles W. Smith
  • 1999 Diana Aubrey, Campbellsville, Cate Arroe, Larry Bitensky
  • 1998 Denine LeBlanc, MuSU, Enid Katahn, Marc Satterwhite
  • 1997 Denine LeBlanc, BG/Warren Co. Cntr., S. Kersenbaum, J. Curnow
  • 1996 Janet Bass Smith, MoSU, Weekley and Arganbright, A.C. Moore
  • 1995 Janet Bass Smith, UK, Alan Hersh, James Moore
  • 1994 Stephen Brown, Ashland Plaza, Lee Luvisi, Frederick Speck
  • 1993 Stephen Brown, U of L, McHugh-Oliphant Duo, Steve Rouse
  • 1992 David Doran, WKU, S. Kersenbaum and E. Kersenbaum, J. Steffa
  • 1991 David Doran, EKU, Richard Crosby, Christopher White
  • 1990 Patricia Montgomery, MuSU, R. Slenczynska, M.N. McClellan
  • 1989 Patricia Montgomery, U of L, Brenda Kee, Michael Kallstrom
  • 1988 Wesley Roberts, UK, Nelita True, Larry Barnes
  • 1987 Wesley Roberts, SBTS, Anthony Thurman, David Doran
  • 1986 Ronald Boud, MoSU, Ann Schein, Nelson Keyes
  • 1985 Ronald Boud, Campbellsville, G. Lucktenberg, Paul Brink
  • 1984 Ronald Boud, EKU, Roe Van Boskirk, Kenneth Timm
  • 1983 Larry Schenck, UK, UK Orchestra with P. Montegomery, J. Flippin
  • 1982 Jean Huffman, Centre College, L. Keenan, M. Hinson, J. Chrisman, J. Carden
  • 1981 Jean Huffman, U of L, David Kaiserman, Richard Bromley
  • 1980 Marie Hargett, MuSU, A. and J. Paratore, Christopher Gallaher
  • 1979 Marie Hargett, MoSU, Larry Keenan, Theodore Diakonoff
  • 1978 Dorothy Hartsell, WKU, S. Kersenbaum, Claude Baker
  • 1977 Dorothy Hartsell, U of L, Lee Luvisi, Jerome Seig
  • 1976 Edgar Minor, UK, No record, Bennie Beach
  • 1975 Edgar Minor, UK, Enid Katahn, Dan Welcher
  • 1974 Larry Keenan, Louisville BG Cntr., No record, R. Hensel
  • 1973 Larry Keenan, EKU, No record, Nelson Keyes
  • 1972 Dorothy Spalding, SBTS, L. and I. Freundlich, Joseph Barber
  • 1971 Dorothy Spalding, Berea, Dorothy and Carl Lewis, V. Severy
  • 1970 John Winter, MuSU, No record, Paul Shahan
  • 1969 John Winter. UK, Stockholm University Chorus, J. Woodward
  • 1968 Glenn Fulbright, MoSU, Lenox Quartet, Frederick Mueller
  • 1967 Glenn Fulbright, U of L, Lee Luvisi, Phillip Landgrave
  • 1966 Glenn Fulbright, EKU, Grant Johannesen, NA
  • 1965 Glenn Fulbright, WKU, Ruth Slenczynska, Phillip Landgrave
  • 1964 Maurice Hinson, SBTS, SBTS Oratorio Chorus, NA
  • 1963 Maurice Hinson, UK, Jung Ja Kim, NA
  • 1962 John Chrisman, MoSU, William Newman, NA
  • 1961 John Chrisman, Berea, Janos Starker and Leon Pommers, NA
  • 1960 John Chrisman, MuSU, Louisville String Quartet, NA
  • 1959 John Chrisman, KY Hotel, Louisville, LO and KOA, NA
  • 1958 Jane Campbell, EKU, The Medley’s, NA
  • 1957 Jane Campbell, UK, No record, NA
  • 1956 Jane Campbell, U of L, Frances and Howard Karp, NA
  • 1955 Jane Campbell, Berea, Berea College Music Faculty, NA
  • 1954 Helen Greim, U of L, No record, NA
  • 1953 Helen Greim, UK, No record, NA
  • 1952 Helen Greim, UK, No record, NA