Festival Dates and Registration Period

Festival Dates: Saturday, October 17th, 2026 from 9 am to 7 pm and Sunday, October 18th, 2026 from 10 am to 4pm (Please do not request specific days or times). Please keep your weekend open.
Location: Hartley Mansion, 2320 Rucker Ave, Everett, WA 98201

Registration period: September 1, 2026 to October 1, 2026
NO LATE REGISTRATIONS WILL BE PERMITTED.
This event is ONLY for the students of the teachers of the Edmonds Music Teachers Association

2026 Music Era Festival Information Flyer
2026 EMTA Music Era Festival Registration Form is not yet available.

Registration fee:
$40 for piece(s) 5 minutes of less
$50 for piece(s) 6-10 minutes
Please note: The maximum performance time per student is 10 minutes. All students will be stopped once they reach the 10 minute limit.

The purpose of Music Era Festival is to encourage the exploration of piano music by the chosen era of music. This year’s festival will explore 20th-21st Century Contemporary Music.

IMPORTANT FOR 2026: Piece(s) used for Jazz, Rags, and Blues Festival may NOT be used for Music Era Festival. A different piece may be used.

Festival Director: Allan Park

Prizes:

• All students will receive feedback and mini-lesson by the adjudicator.
• All students will receive accomplishment certificates. Only memorized performances are eligible for awards (except
  for adult amateur/working professional group)
• Seals of Excellence will be discreetly placed on the certificate for outstanding performances.
• Several Gold and Silver Medal Certificates will be given for excellent performances (announced and emailed to the
  teachers ONLY at the completion of the festival).
• Several recipients of Gold Certificates will be selected as Best of Festival winners and will be awarded a
  personalized Grand Prix Medal at the 2025 EMTA Award Gala.
• Divisions: Solo, duet, chamber and concertos welcome. Please note: Concertos is YouTube link format. Same
  adjudicator will provide written feedback.

PRIZES AND RECOGNITION

• All students will receive feedback and mini-lesson by the adjudicator
• All students will receive accomplishment certificates
• Seals of Excellence will be discreetly placed on the certificate for outstanding performances
• Several Gold Medals will be given for excellent performances (announced to the teachers ONLY at the completion of the festival)
• Six students with exceptional performances will be selected as Best of Festival winners and will be awarded a trophy at the 2026 EMTA Award Gala
• Divisions: Solo, duet, chamber and concertos welcome. Please note: Concerto performance is YouTube link format. Same adjudicator will provide written feedback.

Award Chart:

• Best of Festival (performance at end of year EMTA Gala Concert and medal)
• Gold Certificate (PDF emailed to teachers)
• Silver Certificate (PDF emailed to teachers)
• Gold Seals (placed on participation certificate)

AGE DIVISIONS – age of performer as of October 1, 2026:
7-8
9-10
11-12
13-14
15-16
17-18
19+

Requirements for 2026 Participation:

1. Registration is 100% ONLINE on the EMTA website. Each performer must register and pay individually.
2. Participating students MUST be students of EMTA Teachers. This festival is not open to non-members of EMTA.
3. Payment will also be 100% online.
4. 1 or 2 pieces are allowed.
5. Students can only use pieces learned AFTER April 1st, 2026. For medal eligibility, all piece(s) must be memorized.
6. Duets, chamber and concertos are allowed. Concertos are not eligible for best of festival recognition. However solos, chamber and duets are eligible for best of festival prize.
7. Pieces must be memorized for medal eligibility.
8. Registration Fees: Total length of piece(s) per person: 1-5 min ($40), 6-10 min ($50) Please note: The maximum performance time per student is 10 minutes. All students will be stopped once they reach the 10 minute limit.

Other Information:

• PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST A SPECIFIC TIME to participate in this festival. Please keep this day completely open. We will start with earliest age groups and proceed up the age groups throughout the day. If you have other conflicts and engagements that day, please do not participate in this festival.
• All teachers are welcome at anytime to observe the festival.
• Only two adults per performing child can attend due to limited seating in the performance area.
• Children under age 5 are not permitted in the performance area and must be in the waiting room.
• Video recording of your own child is permitted. You may not record others without their written permission.
• You MAY NOT record the adjudicator when they speak.
• Music Era participants perform in assigned groups. When the group is finished, please leave so that the next group can set up.
• Results of medal recognition will be emailed directly to the teachers ONLY.
• Portions of this festival may be photographed. If you have any reservations, please inform the chairperson.
• NO FOOD ALLOWED IN THE PERFORMANCE AREA, PER FACILITY RULES.

Questions about the Music Era Festival from EMTA members should be directed to the festival director Allan Park. Contact information is available on the website on our members only page.

FESTIVAL ADJUDICATOR:  Jeffrey Gilliam

Prior to joining the piano faculty at Western Washington University, Jeffrey Gilliam taught at The Juilliard School; he University of Michigan School of Music; and at The International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland. He has performed and taught all over the world, including guest university teaching positions in Thailand and South Africa, as well as receiving two Fulbright awards. He has recorded with violinists Yehudi Menuhin, Alberto Lysy, and Ruggerio Ricci for the EMI, Dinemec Classics, and Opus 111 labels respectively. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Jeffrey Gilliam studied piano with Cécile Genhart at The Eastman School of Music, and with Theodore Lettvin at The University of Michigan. He also studied collaborative piano with Martin Katz and Margo Garrett. He has performed in master classes for Leon Fleisher, György Sebök, John Perry, Maria Curcio Diamand, Tatiana Nikolayeva, György Sandor, and DorothyTaubman.

In addition to teaching piano and collaborative piano at Western, he is Artistic Director of Western’s Sanford-Hill Piano Series. In 2015 he established the Jeffrey Gilliam Piano Scholarship Endowment Fund. His students have gone on to distinguished piano performance programs at Stony Brook, New England Conservatory, Rice University, and Eastman.