Alison S. Barr Innovation Award

Description

The Alison S. Barr (ASB) Innovation Award was established to honor the remarkable contributions of Alison S. Barr, longtime MMTA board member and recipient of MTNA’s 2024 Teacher of the Year Award.

This award may be granted annually, to one recipient per year, at the ASB Innovation Award Committee’s discretion. The award strives to perpetuate Ms. Barr’s legacy of innovation, mentorship, and dedication to music education by supporting projects that embody her passions and teaching philosophy, especially her passion for the importance of community and the power of music as a tool for social change.

The Alison S. Barr Innovation Award is designed to support MMTA members in good standing who aspire to launch innovative projects that demonstrate advocacy in at least one of the following areas:

1. Community Engagement and/or Cultural Diplomacy

Projects that use music as a bridge to connect communities, foster cultural exchange, support underrepresented groups, and/or seek to promote peaceful interaction locally and globally.

Example: Our studio will commission and premier a work by Navajo Nation composer, Connor Chee, while also presenting music by other indigenous composers in a free concert.

2. Social Action and Advocacy

Projects that leverage music education as a platform for social change, supporting causes such as food and housing security, literacy-building, preservation of natural resources, and/or efforts to re-establish communities affected by disaster.

Example: Our studio will organize a fundraising Playathon for a local housing resource center, accompanied by a talk from the Director of that center.

3. Virtual Learning and Technology Integration

Projects that display innovative uses of technology to expand access to music education and improve the quality of virtual instruction, to connect students from diverse geographical locations. Programs that address rural or underserved populations would be encouraged under this category.

Example: Our studio will create an exchange program with a studio from another part of the country, including sharing of online lessons, classes and performances.

4. Professional Growth and Mentorship

Projects that demonstrate a significant, new vision and direction for the teacher’s studio/school, or that creates mentorship opportunities for emerging studio professionals.

Example: Our studio will host a three-month long “Open Studio” project, inviting guest teachers from a local college’s Piano Pedagogy Department to participate in teaching mini lessons, helping to host a recital, and conducting a parent information meeting on a selected topic.

Proposals and candidates will be selected by a committee within MMTA, and evaluated based on the project’s potential impact, creativity, alignment with the award’s values, and feasibility. The recipient of the Alison S. Barr Innovation Award will receive up to $1000.00 to support the development and implementation of their project.

Grant Application

Grant Guidelines:

The applicant must be a member in good standing of MTNA/MMTA.

Applications will be accepted from March 15 – April 30, 2026.

The awardee and other applicants will be notified of the Committee’s decision by May 31, 2026.

The selected project will be implemented during September 2026 and May 2027.

Disbursement of full grant funds amount will be made to awardee on or before July 10, 2026.

On or before December 1, 2026, the awardee will report to Alison S. Barr Innovation Award Committee Chair Caroline Ly at innovationaward@mmta.net to submit a brief progress report.

If, for any reason, the awardee is unable to complete the project, please report this to the award chair by December 1, 2026. All funds must be returned if project is not completed.

The final project report and video due on May 15, 2027.

The awardee is asked to submit a final report of no more than 500 words, outlining the project’s success and a short video of some aspect of your project. Please procure permissions from participants in the video, as MMTA may use it for promotional purposes.

Applicants may apply for only ONE project per year AND any awardee of this grant must wait for one calendar year to pass before applying for another grant.