We are "glocal".(Dear Reader)(Music Teachers National Association)

The year was 1887. In an address at the 11th annual meeting of MTNA, then-President Calixa Lavallee made the following statement: "The safeguard of our musical welfare lies in the central organization of our power. As long as each state exists, musically speaking, independent of all others and unconnected with the National Association, we cannot come into full possession of the strength we really have." With these words, Lavallee laid the cornerstone that has sustained our organization for some 131 years. He recognized that the future of music teaching was utterly dependent upon the strength of the state and local organizations that were inextricably bound together by the glue of a national association.

Lavallee's vision came to a historic fulfillment as we celebrated in March 2007 the Collaborative Conference with the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Associations and The Royal Conservatory in Toronto. For, to take the words of Lavallee further in the same direction, if we cannot come into full possession of the strength we really have without our states and provinces connecting to the National Associations, then by extension, we cannot come into full possession of the strength we really have without our National Associations connecting to associations of other nations. So, that Collaborative Conference, eight years in the making, will ensure that Music Teachers National Association, the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Associations, and The Royal Conservatory will individually remain essential to the professional well-being of all of our members, but collectively and collaboratively will be indispensable partners in the growth and development of music teachers throughout all of North America.

And here's a little "icing on the cake." Lavallee was Canadian by ...