NBRMTA NEWS! June 8, 2026:
NBRMTA News
- The Atlantic Young Artist competition and Student Composer
Competition have been completed.
- MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL- Our membership renewal is now open for
the 2026-27 year. Please remember that our membership and insurance
runs until August 24 each year. We must give our preliminary numbers
to the insurance company by the end of July, so please renew in a
timely manner to ensure that your liability insurance will remain.
- INSURANCE CERTIFICATE- If you are having a recital or event
at a location other than your home and are in need of a specifically
named insurance certificate, you can reach out to Marsh Insurance at
winnipegcertificates@marsh.com to receive this.
- CFMTA/FCAPM Professional Development- Connecting Canada
2026 Virtual Professional Development registration is open. Full
registration is only $80 (or $25 for a week) with workshops available
for viewing until the end of August. CFMTA members can receive a 10%
discount using the code: member2026cc
For details on the workshops and registration:
https://www.cfmta.org/en/connecting-canada-2026/
ATLANTIC YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION WINNER! June 7, 2026:
PRESS RELEASE Atlantic Young Artist 2026 Competition The Atlantic Young Artist Competition took place in Brunton Auditorium at Mount Allison University on Saturday, April 25th. The competitors originally included three pianists and one saxophonist. Unfortunately, one pianist had to withdraw from the competition. Each of the three performers presented a recital program approximately 45-minutes in length of contrasting works. Three of the Atlantic Provinces were represented. From New Brunswick, pianist Gillianne Smith opened the competition with a program of Bach, Haydn, Amy Beach and Canadian composer François Morel. Next was pianist Jenny Chen from Nova Scotia. Her program included works from Mozart, Chopin and Debussy. The afternoon concluded with a performance from saxophonist, Nathan Wright and collaborative pianist Megaria Halim. Nathan represented Prince Edward Island. They performed works by Jean-Baptiste Singelée, Paule Maurice and Erwin Schulhoff. What a treat to hear each of them perform. The performances of each were toplevel both technically and musically. Not an easy decision for our adjudicators.
Two well-known music professionals acted as adjudicators for the 2026 AYA Competition. Edmund Dawe has performed from New York's Carnegie Hall to the National Theatre in Seoul. He has adjudicated numerous music festivals and competitions from Whitehorse, YK, to St. John’s NL., and has served as a juror for the Juno Awards. He is highly respected as a university educator and visionary leader. James Kalyn is a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician on both clarinet and saxophone, a conductor of orchestra, band, and jazz ensemble, and an arranger and composer. Presently, an Associate Professor at Mount Allison University, Kalyn has performed throughout the world with groups such as the Cleveland Orchestra. He is the clarinetist and arranger for the highly successful woodwind quintet Ventus Machina. This year’s winner of the Atlantic Young Artist Competition is sixteen year-old pianist, Jenny Chen. Jenny started her piano study at the age of 5 and became a student of Professor Lynn Stodola in 2018. Jenny has been the recipient of many awards including the NS Talent Trust Scholarship (2020-2025), the NS Registered Music Teacher Association Scholarship, the Halifax Ladies' Musical Club Award (2021-2025), Young Artist Achievement Award and Royal Conservatory of Music Gold Medal in Piano. She is the 2025 representative of Nova Scotia and a semi-finalist of the prestigious CFMTA National Piano Competition. She was the Senior Piano prize winner at the Nova Scotia Provincial Finals in 2024 and 2025, as well as the Junior Piano prize winner in 2022 and 2023. In 2025 Jenny was chosen to represent Nova Scotia at the CFMTA's National Piano Competition. At age 11, Jenny won the Chebucto Symphony Orchestra concerto competition and appeared as the soloist with them. She has participated in masterclasses with Andre Laplante, John Perry, Jane Coop. Stéphane Lemelin and Michael Angelucci. When not playing piano, Jenny enjoys swimming, reading, watching movies and family hiking. She is also an avid and knowledgeable bird watcher as well as an excellent athlete playing lacrosse. As the Atlantic Young Artist for 2026, Jenny Chen will embark upon a short concert tour of the Atlantic region in the fall. The Atlantic Young Artist Competition and Tour are projects of the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Association and its provincial counterparts in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. The competition is open to pianists, singers and instrumentalists between the ages of 16 and 25 (27 for singers) who are currently studying with a Registered Music Teacher.
STUDENT COMPOSER COMPETITION NEWS! June 6, 2026:
Heather Hindman, this year's adjudicator for the NBRMTA SCC, has returned her results and adjudications.
Here are the results:
Preparatory Category
Winner: Noah Ferron, Impertinence
Category A
Winner: Mateo Bregel, Our Apple Tree
Category B
Winner: Emmett Flores, To Reminisce
Category C
Winner: Onkit Saha, Aria Sospesa: Starbound
Honorable Mention: Yufei Claire Linn Wang, Suburban Spring
Janet Hammock Prizes:
Emmett Flores, To Reminisce
Mateo Bregel, Our Apple Tree
Bio – Emmett Flores
A 14 Year old composer in grade 9. Emmett has been composing since he was 11 years old. He writes mainly for orchestra due to his love for its grandiose and all the possibilities you can make with the group. He is a violist who has been playing for 7 years through Sistema Fredericton, private lessons, the MEKA quartet and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. Emmett won gold in the Fredericton music festivals' national competition with the third movement of his first symphony.
Bio – Mateo Bregel
Mateo is a 10-year-old violist from Saint John. He has been taking lessons with the Anglophone South School District Strings Program for 4 years. He started composing when he was 8 years old and loves writing new songs. When he is not playing violin, he loves doing judo, reading and riding his bike.
Bio – Noah Ferron
Noah est un enfant de 8 ans plein d'énergie qui découvre la musique à travers le piano. Ses cours de piano avec Mme Renée sont une véritable aventure musicale. Non seulement il y découvre des pièces classiques et des mélodies de jeux vidéos, il apprend à composer ses propres pièces. Il voudrait un jour apprendre à jouer de la batterie.
Bio – Onkit Saha
I am a grade 12 student composer from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and particularly I love music. I was exposed to this when I was 4, and wrote my first simple piece at age 6 dubbed "Hail Day". I love challenges, and am an exceptionally curious person, and my life ambition is to become an astronaut through academics and the military.
CFMTA invites Registered Music Teachers to add one (or more) of the following logos to their website and/or social media platforms to let people know you are also a member of the CFMTA. Please right click on the following images to download/save to your files.
The New Brunswick Registered Music Teachers' Association (NBRMTA) is a non-profit organization of independent Registered Music Teachers across NB, Canada.
We are committed to furthering the art of music through programs that support teaching and performance, while offering professional growth and networking opportunities, for teachers and musicians. Take a few moments to look at what we can offer you as a teacher, student or as a parent looking for quality music education.