My name is Dr. Carla Maltas.  I am the advisor for the state CMENC organization.  I began my career teaching K-12 vocal music in a town of 1,000 people in southeast Nebraska.  In that job, I was also the MS and HS cheerleading sponsor and first and second grade PE teacher.  After three years, I moved to Columbus, NE, where I taught K-5 General Music.  During those years, I also directed a couple of church choirs, became involved with the community band, jazz band, chorus and theater and taught at the local community college.  I also toured with two country rock bands (Flashback and Stone Soup).

In 2000, I moved to the University of Oklahoma, where I completed my Ph.D. in music education with a Kodaly emphasis.  It was always my intention to spend the first half of my career teaching young children, and the second half of my teaching career training future teachers.  So far, it's worked well.

If you have chosen to become a music teacher, congratulations!  It's a terrific career!  There's nothing like helping students discover the joy of music making.  There are times when you will feel frustration, but more times when I hope that you will feel enthusiastic about music and teaching.

The College Music Educator's National Conference is a branch of the National Association of Music Education (NAME).  We specialize in working with collegiate members, from freshman through graduate students.  We hold special workshops during state conferences, and supplement class instruction with chapter meetings.

If you haven't found a chapter yet, contact the national office.  If you have found a chapter, then you are on your way down the road that leads to a great profession.  Viva la musica!!