About

Our History

New York City, 1925: Sergei Rachmaninoff and George Gershwin are at their pianos composing while Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue was closing on 45th St; Jazz was the exciting new sound emanating from stylish uptown venues and Victor Talking Machines is releasing the first ever “electric recording” – piano pieces by Chopin and Schubert.

It seems appropriate that in the same year The Great Gatsby was depicting social decline, Aaron Ornstein founded the Associated Music Teacher’s League. It seems appropriate that it is against the background of the roaring twenties that Aaron Ornstein founded the Associated Music Teacher’s League. Ornstein believed that an association of professional instructors was needed in order to establish standards of excellence in musicianship and to ensure that high-quality music appreciation would flourish. Early AMTL patrons included the Damrosch brothers, Hollis Dann of New York University, Thomas Edison, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and the Steinway Company, which continues to be a leading benefactor to this very day. More about our history.

Today’s AMTL counts scores of musicians and teachers among its membership, who volunteer their time and contribute resources to continue the mission chartered nearly a century ago. Having organized a multitude of well-received events such as the Young Musicians Concert, which was held annually at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall from 1935 to 2017, the AMTL keeps working on the evolvement of its activities into the new era. Within this framework, the AMTL nowadays sponsors students and hosts numerous performances throughout the year, including the Winter Musicales at the Choral Recital Hall at Queens College, the Mid-Season Musicales concerts at Christ & Stephen’s Church in Manhattan, the Honors Concert at Steinway Hall, as well as our annual international New York Young Performers Prize Competition, among many others.

Presenters also include many renowned musicians, such as Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Gyorgy Sandor, Ned Rorem, Cesare Longo, Arnold Steinhardt, Isabelle Vengerova, Seymour Bernstein, Martin Canin, Ann Schein, Cecile Licad, and Jerome Lowenthal.

Find out how you can become part of our rich heritage: BECOME A MEMBER or BECOME A SUPPORTER.

Message from the President

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to the Associated Music Teachers League (AMTL) about to enter the centennial in 2025.

Music is a powerful force for good in the world. It is a language which speaks from one soul to another; it connects people with ideas that are at once both universal and personal.

Music teaches and music rewards. It teaches hard work, patience, discipline and dedication; it rewards with beauty, fulfillment and a wonderful sense of accomplishment, empowerment and success.

For these reasons and so many others, the importance of the mission of the AMTL cannot be understated and has never been more essential than it is now. Each and every day, our membership advances these virtues; and by so doing, helps to nurture and fulfill the aspirations of thousands of children and young adults in communities throughout our region and beyond. We teach our students to be independent and to collaborate; to know and express themselves, to solve problems and to achieve goals.

We teach them Music.
On behalf of all of us at AMTL, I want to thank you for all your support and wish for you a world filled with peace, love, and music.

Sincerely,
Evelyn Ulex
Associated Music Teachers League

Mission Statement

The Associated Music Teachers League is a tax-exempt non-profit 501(c)(3) music organization founded in New York City in 1925. Our membership consists of professional musicians, music teachers, university and conservatory faculty and students, and performing artists. We welcome individuals, organizations, and businesses to join us as both active Members or Sponsors.

Who we are

The purpose of the Associated Music Teachers League, Inc. is to advance, through music, cultural education, physical and mental development, and artistic achievement amongst the general public and to increase public awareness of the ability of music to communicate beyond ideological, cultural, and geographical boundaries. In furtherance of this purpose, the AMTL will promote and foster the study of classical music by presenting public concerts and lectures, providing performance and scholarship opportunities for young musicians, including competitive and non-competitive events, and promoting high artistic, pedagogical, and ethical standards in the study of music.

Officers

(* indicates past AMTL Presidents)

Evelyn Ulex, President 2025–2027

Evelyn Ulex was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. Ms. Ulex studied at the Musikhochschule “Hanns Eisler,” University of Arts in Berlin and at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, holding a Master of Music degree and Pianist Diploma. Highlights include appearances at Carnegie Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, National Sawdust, Symphony Space, Summer Festival at Rutgers University, Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Berlin Philharmonie. She has been featured on Berlin Radio’s “Artist Portraits” series, WWFM, Sirius XM and can be heard on E1 Entertainment (Koch classics), Steinway/Arkive Records Label, Tango Malambo. She is a Steinway Artist. www.evelynulex.com

Jeong-Hwa Park, 1. Vice President, Winter Musicales 2025–2027

Jeong-Hwa Park has regularly appeared in recital venues in New York such as Carnegie Hall, LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College, the London Piano Festival, among many others. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance from Arizona State University and received Suzuki Teacher Training from the School for Strings, NY. Currently, Ms. Park is an adjunct faculty member at Nassau Community College; serves on the piano faculty at Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College; and teaches Suzuki piano at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. http://www.myo.org/

Anthony Newton*, 2. Vice President, Winter Musicales 2025–2027

Pianist, B.M. Queens College, M.M. Manhattan School of Music. Piano Instructor/Concert Coordinator at the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College. Organist/Choir Director at Trinity Lutheran Church, Scarsdale. http://www.musicteacherslist.com

Ron Epstein, Treasurer 2025-2026

Ron Epstein is a business professional on Long Island with extensive experience in commercial real estate development, management, and finance. Over the course of his career, he has worked with property owners, investors, and community partners to guide complex projects and provide long-term solutions both locally and in Eastern Europe. In addition to his professional work, Ron leverages his business insights and experience to support local non-profit initiatives. https://ronepstein.com/

Dr. Pablo Lavandera*, Assistant Treasurer 2025-2027

Pianist Pablo Lavandera came from Argentina to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar in 1998. Mr. Lavandera earned a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the State University of New York Stony Brook. He was a First Prize Winner of the 2009 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition in the collaborative artist category. He performs as soloist and chamber musician through the Americas and Europe (Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires among many others). Currently Dr. Lavandera is an Artist in Residence at the State University of New York Stony Brook where he teaches piano, chamber music, and an accompanying class at the undergraduate level. https://www.stonybrook.edu/

Funds. Linda Strasser, Recording Secretary, Musical Theatre 2025–2027

Linda Strasser earned a BA in Drama/Fine Arts from Colorado College, which led to a successful career in professional musical theatre. She was a Broadway-level performer in New York City for twenty-five years. Her credits include “Les Miserables”, “Cats”, the First National Tour of “The Sound of Music” with Richard Chamberlain, “Ragtime” and many others. She appeared in the smash Off Broadway hit “Forbidden Broadway” for more than two years and is featured on The Volume 2 cast recording as “Liza”. Linda won a Bistro Award for Outstanding Vocalist for her cabaret show in Manhattan and has performed with the New York City Opera. She is a member of Actors Equity Association and The National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Mescal Wilson*, Corresponding Secretary 2025–2027

Pianist: Piano Faculty, Greenwich House Music School and the Spence School. Solo recital tours in Europe, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Member of the cello/piano duo Sofia Ensemble with tours of Southeast Asia, Canada and the U.S. Recording on Centaur Records. M.S. degree from The Juilliard School and B. Mus. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. AMTL President, 2011–2015. https://www.greenwichhouse.org/person/mescal-wilson/

Executive Board

Don Isler, Mid-Season Musicales 2025–2026

Pianist Donald Isler is the founder of KASP Records, which has produced CDs of his playing of unusual as well as standard repertoire, and also performances by three great pianists of the past, Adrian Aeschbacher, Constance Keene and Bruce Hungerford. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he teaches privately, and at the Hackley School Music Institute. This year he will also lecture at Mannes College of Music. http://www.kasprecords.com/donaldisler.htm

Nina Yenik, NYYPP Competition Chair & Mid Season Musicales 2025-2028

Nina Yenik is a pianist and educator based in New York City, dedicated to nurturing a lifelong love of music in both her students and audiences. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in venues around the world, sharing her deep sensitivity and refined artistry across a wide range of musical settings.

She holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and is currently on the faculty of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music while also maintaining a private teaching studio. A certified Suzuki teacher, Nina trained under Marina Obukovsky at the School for Strings. She embraces the Suzuki philosophy that musical ability can be nurtured with love, patience, and consistency. Her teaching is grounded in the belief that music fosters connection, growth, and character—and that nurturing the human being with compassion while striving for excellence is at the heart of her teaching.

Margrit Zimmermann, NYYPP Competition Chair 2025-2028

Margrit Julia Zimmermann has won numerous international piano competitions, including the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria and the International Piano Competition in Roma. Her extensive tours through the U.S. and Europe have included performances from New York’s David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center, to the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow.

Concert highlights include: performances with the Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Richercar in Moscow, Kasseler Symphony Orchestra in Germany, in addition to the HarleshäuFurthermoreser Kammermusik Orchestra in Germany. Margrit’s recent solo recitals include: Nord-Hessen Kultursommer, Rotterdam Festival of Modern Musik, and the Vilnius Summer Festival. As an avid chamber musician and soloist with orchestra , she has recorded numerous highly-acclaimed recordings with SALTO records, ProSound Records, ASV Records, and BIS Records. Margrit Julia Zimmermann was a founder and Artistic Director of the International Music Festival “Cascades” and served as Artist-in-Residence of Alliance University in New York.

Max Antig*, NYYPP & Honors Recital 2025–2028

Pianist and organist Maximillan Antig served as AMTL’s President for two terms (2015-2019), having been a Board Member since 2008 and chairing the Mid-Season Musicales for 8 seasons. He studied at the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines (BM), the University of Northern Iowa (MM), and SUNY Stony Brook (DMA), under the tutelage of Stella Goldenberg Brimo, Howard Aibel, and Martin Canin. In his student days, he won several First Prizes in competitions held by Collins Symphony Orchestra (CO), Schubert Club (MN), Jacksonville-McMurray (IL), and Augustana University (SD, J. Earl Lee Competition). He appeared as Soloist with the Philippine Philharmonic and the Manila Symphony Orchestras, incl. for the Cultural Center of the Philippines, as well as with Wartburg Community Symphony (IA) and Fort Collins Symphony (CO). He has also performed in signature NYC venues like Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, CAMI Hall, and Steinway Hall. Having served as Music Director at St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Woodhaven NY, 2000-2015) and Organist to Shelton’s Trinity Lutheran Church (CT, 2015-2021), he is currently Music Director at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Oxford (CT).

Martha Movasseghi*, Archive & Commemorative Funds 2021–2026

B.Mus. in Piano Performance, Syracuse U., M.Mus. in Voice, Indiana U. at Bloomington, Faculty at Ohio U. and CUNY/Aaron Copland School of Music. AMTL President — 4 years, current AMTL Board and chairperson for Commemorative Funds, Archives and History. Extensive solo and ensemble performances, adjudicator for state and national music events, consultant to state and national public and private institutions and organizations, private music studio.

&

Evangelia Sofianou – Administrative work for AMTL
K. Scheubner – mediadesign.services – Multimedia & Webadmin
Zorba Media – Webhosting

Honorary Life Members

Carole Edwards
Esther Hoffmann
James Lyke
Sylvia Samuels
Paul Sheftel

Honorary Associate Members

Steinway & Sons
Dr. Darius Movasseghi
Andrea Nairne
Dorothy Rittenhouse
Beethoven Pianos
Bechstein Pianos
Klavierhaus

Past Presidents

Dr. Gustave Becker (1925 – 1929)
Ernest Ash (1929 – 1933)
Paul Jelenek (1933 – 1936)
Dr. Verne Westlake (1936 – 1937)
Jean S. Buchanan (1937- 1939)
Everett Engstrom (1939 – 1940)
Ruth Bradley (1940 – 1945)
Rose Raymond (1945 – 1953)
Cecile Hindman (1953 – 1957)
May L. Etts (1957 – 1961)
Elizabeth Z. Perry (1961 – 1965)
Marian K. Gabriel (1965 – 1967)
Augusta Yelin (1967- 1971)
Lucy Boyan Balakian (1971 – 1973)
Muriel Books (1973 – 1977)
Kenneth Gilmore 1977 – 1981
Muriel Brooks (1981 – 1985)
Rosalyn Tobey (1985 – 1989)
Regina Rubinof (1989 – 1992)
Christopher Liccardo (1992- 1997)
Martha Movasseghi (1997-2001)
Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov (2001 – 2003)
Anthony Newton (2003 – 2005)
Joyce Chung Liu (2005 – 2007)
Eric Birk (2008 – 2011)
Mescal Wilson (2011 – 2015)
Maximillan Antig (2015 – 2019)
Evelyn Ulex (2019 – 2023)
Dr. Pablo Lavandera (2023 – 2025)