Teacher Awards and Honors

Guild teachers are also entitled to a variety of awards and honors:

• To honor teachers adopting Guild goals for a majority of their class and encouraging the slow as well as the gifted student, the Guild awards a Gold Seal Certificate.
• Teachers meeting the following criteria automatically receive the Gold Seal Certificate:

1. 1. Present 100% of their class in auditions, or
   2. Present at least 20 students, or
   3. Present at least 80 compositions, or
   4. 4. Serve the Guild in some outstanding capacity.

• Guild members can be entered in the Hall of Fame, receive the Hall of Fame certificate, and be listed in Piano Guild Notes by meeting one or more of the following criteria:

1. 1. From among students who audition, members qualify for the Hall of Fame by producing:
      • Two $200 Scholarship Winners, or
      • Five Paderewski Medal Winners, or
      • 20 Guild Founder’s Plaque Winners or 20 Bach, Sonata, or Sonatina Plaque Winners
      • Five Guild High School/Collegiate/Young Artist Diploma Winners, or
      • Ten Five-year National Winners, or
   2. Teachers (current members) can be named to the Hall of Fame by enrolling 10 new teacher members.
   3. Teachers (current members) can also qualify for the Hall of Fame by serving for 20 years as a chairperson.
   4. Serving 40 weeks as a Guild judge qualifies a teacher for the Hall of Fame.
   5. If a teacher bequeaths $1,000 or more to the American College Scholarship Fund (honoring either himself/herself or someone of their choice), that teacher also has qualified for the Hall of Fame.

• Once any of the above goals are attained, teachers (current members) should advise Headquarters and the inscribed Hall of Fame certificate will be forwarded.

• The 50th Anniversary Club has been established to honor and recognize teachers (current members) for having taught piano for 50 years and therefore dedicated their lives in service to the piano teaching profession.
• Teachers (current members) who qualify to be members of the 50th Anniversary Club should send their names and pictures to Guild Headquarters for inclusion in Piano Guild Notes.

• Guild members who are either judges or whose qualifications make them eligible to judge automatically become members of ACM.
• ACM awards diplomas both to Guild members and musicians (not necessarily piano teachers) deemed worthy of recognition in the musical field.

• The American College of Musicians will grant the High School. Collegiate, and Young Artist Diploma to teachers who present programs in the National Piano Playing Auditions that meet the requirements of the Guild Diplomas.

• Certification (Certificate of Approval) is the highest honor any Guild teacher can attain.
• Applications must be completed before certification will be considered. No exceptions will be made! See p. 41 for Certification application (initial and renewal).
• To qualify, teachers must send copies of report cards OR stubs of 25 students who have passed National or International programs during the past five years (each receiving a minimum of 14 more C’s than A’s). The SMT program cannot be used toward certification. If two 10-piece (or larger) programs have been performed by a student in one year, the multiple programs CAN be submitted for Certification IF repertoire requirements have been met (see p. 22 #18).
  • Send copies of the report cards OR stubs to the following address. (REMEMBER: both front and back must be copied. – DO NOT send originals!!)

Certification Committee

American College of Musicians

Gloria Castro, Chairperson

P.O. Box 9469

Austin. Texas 78766-9469

• • The $21.50 (initial application fee for certification) fee must accompany the application, report cards, and stubs.

• The certification period runs from July 1 through June 30 (example: a teacher originally certified or recertified following the 2021 audition season will be actively certified until June 30, 2022, etc.).
• Those receiving certification may indicate “Certified by the American College of Musicians” on professional correspondence:
• To renew certification, a teacher must submit five national winner STUBS from the current audition season (send COPIES: both front and back must be copied) that have a minimum of 14 more C’s than A’s.
• The renewal fee is $16.50.