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The Music Preparatory Division in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will be among the beneficiaries of a grant from The NAMM Foundation to the National String Project Consortium, of which SFA Music Prep is a partner.

Piloted last spring and continuing this fall, Music Prep’s String Project is an initiative that includes the nine public school districts within Nacogdoches County and some surrounding districts. String Project students have the opportunity to learn to play a stringed instrument at a low tuition cost as part of an after-school activity facilitated by SFA music majors earning degrees in music education, according to Alba Madrid, Music Prep director.

The National String Project Consortium was selected as one of 25 music-making organizations to receive a grant to fund vital programs that provide access to music-making opportunities across a variety of different communities and demographics.

“We are extremely excited to make string education widely available in our community,” said Alba Madrid, Music Prep director, “and we are looking forward to partnering with the school districts in our area to make this possible.”

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit organization funded in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,000-plus members. Programs supported by The NAMM Foundation, including the National String Project Consortium, advance music learning for people of all ages and abilities, according to Mary Luehrsen, executive director of The NAMM Foundation. “Together, we advance a more musical world based on a shared belief that music is a force for good and (forms) connections in our world,” she said.

The National String Project Consortium will utilize the grant to support the organization’s mission to train college students to be prepared teachers of tomorrow and provide accessible and affordable instruction to community youth.

The National String Project Consortium is a coalition of String Projects sites based at colleges and universities across the U.S. The NSPC is dedicated to increasing the number of children playing stringed instruments and addressing the critical shortage of string teachers across the nation. In addition to SFA, other beneficiaries of the grant are University of California at San Bernardino, University of Northern Colorado, San Jose State University and Tennessee Tech University.

“For many years, the Music Preparatory division of the SFA School of Music has been the primary source for teaching young people to play orchestral string instruments,” according to Dr. Gary Wurtz, interim dean of the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts at SFA. “The teachers in the program do a marvelous job, and the director, Alba Madrid, has a great vision and a unending energy to strengthen and promote the program. Her success in being awarded this grant is further proof of the fantastic job she is doing.”

Since its inception in 2015, the annual grant program of The NAMM Foundation has donated more than $18 million to domestic and international music education programs, scientific research, advocacy and public service programs related to music-making.

For more information about the String Project or other Music Prep programs, contact Madrid at madrida@sfasu.edu or musicprep@sfasu.edu, or call (936) 468-1291. Parents can also find program information on Facebook and Instagram. The Music Prep House is located at 3028 Raguet St. Office hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Antonio “Nio” Ajero of Nacogdoches will compete as a division finalist in the Music Teachers National Association South Central Division Senior Piano Performance Competition.

Ajero, the son of Mario and Gina Ajero, earned the opportunity after winning the Texas State round of the MTNA Senior Piano Performance Competition Nov. 13 at the University of Houston. A senior at Nacogdoches High School, Ajero has been studying piano for 14 years and is currently a student of Minhae Lee at the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music and Linda Parr in SFA’s Music Prep Division. He previously studied with Andrew Parr, professor emeritus of piano at SFA.

Ajero will advance to the South Central Division round, and if he wins the division, he will advance to the National Finals held at the 2022 MTNA National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in March.

The three-tiered MTNA competitions begin at the state level. Winners of each state competition advance to the division competition. Division winners then proceed to the national level.

To receive more information about MTNA National Competitions, call (888) 512-5278, email mtnanet@mtna.org or visit the website at www.mtna.org.

Music Teachers National Association is a nonprofit organization comprised of 17,000 independent and collegiate music teachers committed to advancing the value of music study and music making to society and to supporting the professionalism of music teachers. Founded in 1876, MTNA is the oldest professional music association in the U.S.