Archive for

Day: July 30, 2019

AMEA: From the President’s Desk

Jul 30 2019

 

Hello AMEA!

My sincere hope is that you all had a great summer and that you are prepared to return to the business of educating our young people. It has been very rewarding to follow all of the professional development activities so many of you sought out during these summer months. We have an awesome profession, and I am constantly humbled by, and appreciative of professionals sharing knowledge with each other. It’s definitely one of the things which make our profession so special. Once again, I would like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to represent and work for you as your President. I will continue to do my best in that capacity, and it has indeed been my pleasure to serve our organization.

Summer Board Meeting

The Governing Board had a very productive meeting in June with a very full agenda. All the represented divisions gave excellent reports concerning the depth and breadth of their respective activities and programs. There are truly some exciting things happening throughout our state. All the divisions are healthy and vibrant, and rest assured that each division is very well represented. You have done an excellent job of electing great representatives in each of our divisions. I am happy to report that our organization is moving forward toward our 75th Anniversary next year in a very strong financial position, and membership numbers are solid. Please talk to your fellow music education colleagues and encourage them to renew their membership in AMEA, or join us if they are not already a member.

Advocacy in Our Nation’s Capitol

The NAfME National Leadership Conference, Collegiate Advocacy Summit, and 2019 Hill Day were June 17th-21st. The AMEA was very well represented by two great teams of music education advocates from our state leadership. While in Washington, DC we were able to meet with representatives from the offices of Senator Doug Jones, Senator Richard Shelby, Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Congresswoman Martha Roby, Congressman Mo Brooks, Congressman Gary Palmer, Congressman Mike Rogers, and Congressman Bradley Byrne for Hill Day. We were even fortunate enough to meet with Congresswoman Martha Roby and Congressman Gary Palmer in person. Thanks to these two Representatives for taking the time to meet with us personally. Our message was well received in all offices as we shared the importance of music education as part of a well-rounded education. We made several requests as part of the goals for the day, both legislative and fiscal. The House and Senate have done a very good job of funding the “Every Student Succeeds Act” through the appropriations process, and all parts of the law are currently being funded for 2020 at significantly higher levels than during the Fiscal Year 2019. We also asked for Legislative support for the “GAAME” Act (Guaranteed Access to Arts and Music Education) while on the Hill this year, which more specifically enumerates how federal funding should be used in support of music education. For specifics on federal appropriations, authorized spending, and all things “ESSA” and “GAAME,” please see the NAfME website. During our meetings, we presented each Senator and Congressperson with a framed copy of our state song and a note from the AMEA as part of our State’s Bicentennial Celebration. During the National Assembly many valuable sessions were presented and information was shared amongst state leaders concerning subjects such as: Country Music

Association Grants, ESSA Title IV (Part A), Strategies for Cultivating New and Emerging Leaders, Governance and Fiduciary Responsibilities, Mentoring: State and National, Connecting with the Fundraising Community, Vision 2020: The Future is Now for NAfME, Shortening the Distance: State, Division, and National Collaboration, Working with Affiliate Organizations, and National Standards Initiatives, amongst other informative and valuable sessions. We were also able to meet with Matt Barusch, NAfME State Advocacy and Engagement Manager, to discuss ideas concerning our own advocacy efforts here in Alabama. Dr. Rob Lyda has been doing a great job heading up these efforts for us and we will all need to be engaged in the process of advocacy.
2020 Professional Development Conference

As you know, we are returning to Montgomery for our 2020 conference this year. Please make plans to attend the conference now, and please plan to stay on site. Congratulations to all the performing groups and presenters who were chosen for our conference this year. We look forward to enjoying your performances and learning from your willingness to share knowledge. I’m super excited to announce that the Low Brass Studio @ UNA under the direction of Dr. Thomas Lukowicz will perform as part of our Keynote Address and General Session on Thursday morning, January 16th at 10:30. Please arrange your travel plans so you are able to attend. We will also have the opportunity to feature the Jacksonville State University Steel Band under the direction of Dr. Thomas McCutchen during the Exhibit Reception on Thursday afternoon, January 16 at 4:30. And finally, the Gadsden State Show Band directed by Dr. Matt Leder will entertain us at the President’s Reception on Friday evening, January 17th at 9:30. Thanks to all these groups for participating in our conference. You definitely won’t want to miss any of these outstanding ensembles from our own state. The Governing Board will be meeting in August to finalize plans for the conference, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of you there. It’s going to be fabulous!

Agenda, Goals, and Celebration

The agenda during my tenure has been driven by the goals of advocacy, action, technology, collegiality, standards, knowledge, and pride. I would like everybody to feel included, important, and crucial to the success of the AMEA. There is no stronger advocacy group than one which is united. We all play a part in the musical education and social development of our young people in Alabama, and I wish for us all to identify as one unified association. One of the main ways we are accomplishing this is through advocacy efforts. I want us to become more visual in our communities, in our State Capitol, and be more culturally relevant to our populous. Let’s all continue to be both visible and vigilant at the local, state, and national levels. All politics is indeed local, so make sure you are in contact with our elected officials on all levels. Invite them to your concerts and other events to let them see that music education is healthy and vibrant in Alabama. Additionally, we will be helping our state celebrate its bicentennial. There are now downloadable PDF arrangements of our state song on the AMEA website which I hope you will program on your various concerts and events this fall. We will also continue with our performances in the State Capitol Rotunda during the spring legislative session. And finally, I can now officially announce that we will be a very vital component of the Bicentennial Celebration and parade on December 14th of this year. Funding has been acquired from the

ALSDE, Bicentennial Commission, and the Travel and Tourism Commission, so look for announcements and information about this event which will be released very soon.

As we move forward into the 2019-20 school year, let’s all commit to finding that first-year teacher, that new person to our state, and our fellow music educators not currently involved in AMEA and invite them to participate. I hope that you all have a great school year with wonderful lessons based on best practices, standards and assessments, and high-quality sequential methodologies. Our students deserve the best that we can do for them. Now let’s get busy educating the young people throughout our beloved state.

Music Education is AWESOME in Alabama!

Respectfully Submitted,

Gregory L. Gumina

ABA: As the New Year Begins… Become Involved!

Jul 30 2019

As we start this new school year, the ABA board is at the beginning stages of a 4-year evaluation cycle/review where we will be looking at the data from the past four years of MPA/All-State tryouts and see what the data reveals to us about what we are doing around the state. The committee will use the data to bring back recommendations to the board. As we continue to evaluate what we do, please help us by participating in surveys, evaluations at events and using the app for the AMEA conference in order to rate the conference and clinics you attend. Your input is very valuable. Please remember the Alabama Bandmasters is an organization that serves its members, and we can only do this with your input.

ABA Summer Conference 2019 was great and very well attended. Thank you to our clinicians Doug Farris, Jeff Fondren, Mike Guzman, Missy Lindley, David Caddell, Josh Lynch, Nathan Haskew and our Old Fogey series by Harry McAfee. This conference was filled with something for everyone. I know everyone who was able to attend came away motivated and recharged for the new year ahead. We would also like to thank the following sponsors for providing a wonderful shrimp boil that allowed our band family to come together and fellowship:

  • Southern Performances, David and Dayna Brannan
  • Group Travel Network, Justin Shuler
  • Demoulin, Jeff Thurber and Frank Godfrey
  • AWB Apparel, Wayne Broom
  • Sound Choice Recordings, Chester Bean
  • Art’s Music Shop, Paul Freehling
  • Simply Bedding, Charlie Colwell

We ended the event by presenting our outgoing Executive Secretary, Harry McAfee, a wooden, hand-made music stand in appreciation for his 9 years of service to ABA.

During the conference, the ABA Executive committee presented two names to the board for consideration for the Executive Secretary position. The board voted in Doug Farris as the new ABA Executive Secretary effective July 1, 2019. With this move, Doug relinquished his position on the board as Past President. The ABA Board of Directors reached out to Mr. John Cooper, a past ABA president, to fill this 2-year term on the ABA board. He agreed and we appointed him to this position during our conference. Also, there are several pieces of legislation that came before the board which the membership will have the opportunity to vote on at AMEA. We will publish these for you to have access to on the myamea site, the ABAfest site and in the pages of the August/September issue of Ala Breve. This will give you time to read and familiarize yourself with them before we discuss and vote at AMEA in January. The board also approved a new MPA Adjudication Sheet that we will be used beginning this year. Your district chairman will have more information at your Fall meeting in regard to this change.

Joel Henson met with the Music Selection Committee and they were able to look at the High School All- State Etudes. We will be moving back to method books for these this Fall. The list of books has been sent out. Please make sure that your student has the book with them when they register at the All-State tryout. The board also approved a new high school scale sheet format for this year.

As the new year begins, I encourage you to become involved. The AMEA and ABA provide great clinics, resources, and concerts that are meant to aid you in being the most effective educator you can be for your students. These events allow opportunities to collaborate, network, encourage and most importantly, learn from each other. Why do we have to reinvent the wheel when our neighbor band director already has the plan? Renew your NAfME membership TODAY and register for the AMEA Conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery

This summer I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my time as a husband, parent, friend and teacher. It’s healthy to look back and take stock of what has happened in our past, to learn from it, grow from it, and use it to guide us as we move towards the future. As we begin another school year, take a moment and look back at the successes and failures in your classroom. Evaluate and try to ascertain what made it a success and build upon those foundations. I believe that ABA has spent the past 6-8 years looking back at past successes and failures and we are doing our best to learn from these and allowing these experiences to help guide us forward. I believe this must happen for our association to continue to better serve our students and the bands in Alabama. I look forward to this journey with you for the next two years.

Remember the ABA board is here for you. Do not hesitate to contact your chairman or vice-chairman or anyone on the ABA Board. I hope we all have a great start to school and the best year of our careers.

Terry Ownby
ABA President

ELEM/GEN: Keep Calm and Move with the Cheese

Jul 30 2019

Change is hard. Change is scary. Change is inevitable. We are reminded of this often. Many of us are facing changes this school year. Maybe we have a new job. Maybe we are teaching new grade levels. Or, maybe our principal sees so much potential in us that he/she has given us extra duties in our building. We all will experience changes with new classes as we prepare for the coming school year. In the book Who Moved My Cheese, Spencer Johnson details the woes of change on the job and how to deal with it. Here’s how the book characters Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw, faced the changes in their lives.

Imagine the setting: a maze where the four characters search every day for their supply of cheese. They find great cheese and become comfortable eating it day in and day out. The problem is interjected when the reliable cheese supply is suddenly moved or extinguished. The mice in the story, Sniff and Scurry hurry out into the maze to find new cheese, while the “little people” Hem and Haw look around wondering what happened to their cheese. “While Hem and Haw were still trying to decide what to do, Sniff and Scurry were already well on their way.” (Johnson, p. 39). Finally, Haw realizes that if he does not change, he will become extinct. So he decides to venture out into the maze once again. One of the important questions that Haw asks himself as he tries to venture out again is “What would you do if you weren’t afraid” (Johnson, p. 48). What would WE do this year, if we were not afraid? Would we redesign a stagnant curriculum, finally participate in a choral festival, or take a new leadership position in our school? Johnson says that “When you move beyond your fear, you feel free” (p. 56) and that “change can lead to something better” (p. 59).

The Elementary Executive Board met recently to discuss the upcoming AMEA in-service, music festival, and fall workshop. Your elementary board has been faced with some difficult decisions this year. Many perspectives of music educators all over the state were weighed, and several options were considered. Rest assured the goal of your elementary board is to continue moving our organization forward toward the future. I believe, as Johnson says, “the biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself and that nothing gets better until you change” (p. 71) and I believe, the handwriting is on the wall:

“Change Happens: They keep moving the cheese;”

We should, “Anticipate Change: Get ready for the cheese to move;”

We must, “Monitor the Change: Smell the cheese often so you know when the cheese is getting old;”

and, “Adapt to Change Quickly: The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy the new cheese,

Change: Move with the cheese;”

Furthermore, we should, “Enjoy Change! Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese!”

And, “Be Ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy it Again and Again: They keep moving the Cheese.” (Johnson, p.74). Right now, we are moving with the cheese so we can continue to enjoy it again and again.

Years ago, when I was a consultant with Mary Kay cosmetics, I made a dream board. It was a way for new consultants to envision what they wanted out of their Mary Kay business. Although I gave up selling Mary Kay long ago, I never gave up the concept of dreaming big and envisioning what I wanted to achieve. I recently went back to school and completed my goal of obtaining my Masters’ degree. Consider this, another big question from the story is “What do we need to let go of and what do we need to move on to? (Johnson p. 83). What are your big dreams for this year, for your professional development, or for yourself personally? I challenge you to set goals and make a “dream board” with your goals written out and go for it. Let go of your old habits and reach for the “new cheese.”

Thank you for your hard work, dedication and continued support of the Elementary Division of the AMEA and the children of Alabama.

See you in September,

Betty R. Wilson
President Elementary/General Division

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Workshops and Other Professional Development Opportunities:

East Alabama Music Workshop
Grace United Methodist Church, Auburn Tiffany English
August 24, 2019
Contact: lydarob@me.com

AMEA Choir Festival:
Friday, October 18, 2019
Eastmont Baptist Church, Montgomery Contact Melissa McIntyre, Festival Director Ameafestival@gmail.com

Fall AMEA Workshop:
Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Clinicians: Dr. Madeline Bridges and Dr. Becky Halliday Location: Eastmont Baptist Church, Montgomery Contact: elementaryamea@gmail.com

AMEA Professional Development Conference
Jan 16-18, 2020
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa Featured Clinician: Jim Solomon. Details will be available soon at www.myamea.org

COLL: ­Guest Article…Advocating for Music Ed…

Jul 30 2019

For the Collegiate Division  we present a guest contribution from Isabella Page, cNAfME Secretary. We hope you enjoy reading her thoughts.

DeLee Benton, cNAfME President

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advocating for Music Education and Connecting with Peers From Across the Country by Isabella Page.

One of the most prominent threats to music education is the supposed lack of support from the federal government and our own education systems. In several schools, especially those underfunded or understaffed, the arts—visual art, theater, music, and more—are the first to be reduced or cut. So, how can current and future music educators do more to understand the legislative jargon that allocates the funds for music and the arts? How can we use this knowledge to better advance our programs and support our students?

The National Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C., an annual event sponsored by NAfME, is a great force for change in this area. This unique event allows collegiate members of NAfME from all over the country to congregate in Washington D.C. and interact with legislators and their staffs involved in education and funding legislation. The collegiate members attended several valuable seminars, such as the State Level Advocacy Panel, Leader Development and Public Speaking, and more. They also attended Hill Day, which involved several meetings with legislators and their staffs to learn about the behind-the- scenes decision-making involved in allocating funds to the education department.

The state of Alabama sent three representatives—Sarah Chambless, from the University of Alabama, and Chase Hampton and Sara Slusher, from the University of North Alabama. Chambless shared some of her personal experiences with the legislators and their staff, commenting, “I gained knowledge about legislation that could one day impact my career. I also learned how to advocate for music and the importance of doing so.”

Hampton comments that, had he not attended the Summit, he may have blamed insufficient funding or lacking support “on the apathy of a faceless group of people.” Instead, he realizes that “there are many groups of people making demands on our legislators, and some had not thought much about music education before we came. It will be a task for the upcoming generation of music educators to…create an ongoing dialogue with members of Congress. For me, it became less about what ‘they’ should be doing and more about what I can do.

Hampton’s realization is a viewpoint that we as collegiate members have a special obligation to explore. It is very easy to blame the government for hardships within the education system, especially as a future music educator—there never seems to be enough money for your dream program, and there never seems to be enough support from the legislators who make those decisions. Instead, we must explore our options—what can we do with the funding we have? How can we recruit members of the community to support our cause? How can we serve our students and our communities to the best of our abilities? How can we create a dialogue with our congressmen and women—or, perhaps more importantly, our own school officials?

All of the above questions have a very simple solution: we must all be well-versed in the tricky rhetoric of effective advocacy. There are endless online resources, countless seminars—college students have so many resources that become more difficult to access once we graduate, so we must be proactive.

Within your own chapter, discuss the necessity of advocacy, and raise funds to bring in a speaker or send representatives to a seminar. Better yet, explore the possibility of having one or more members apply to next years’ Summit, or fundraise to send one of your members independently.

The next challenge we often face is this: once we know how to advocate, what can we use? There is extensive and conclusive evidence to support the necessity of music and the arts in children’s overall development; NAfME has a wonderful list outlining several advantages of music to a child’s development (see https://nafme.org/20-important-benefits-of-music-in-our-schools/). These and other resources are essential to any advocate—craft your pitch, research conclusive and documented studies to prove your argument, and advocate for your school’s program to the best of your ability.

This Summit and the Summits from the past have all done an excellent job in exposing collegiate members to the inner workings of the legislation surrounding music education’s funding, as well as equipping members with the tools and courage to advocate for their programs and pass on their knowledge to their chapters and peers. There is, however, another wonderful opportunity, perhaps even more valuable than the others.

Both Chambless and Hampton agreed that, aside from the knowledge gained in advocacy and legislation, the most rewarding experience of the Summit was getting to connect with their peers from across the country. This one-of-a-kind experience allowed members from all over the nation to meet one other and swap information and ideas, all in an effort to better their own cNAfME chapters and educate their peers with the information gained. Collegiate members exchanged future plans and ideas for several key issues in statewide cNAfME chapters, including fundraising, member involvement, and participation in local schools.

Collegiate members are a powerful part of NAfME’s presence around the country—while we are still young, we have the unique opportunity to witness change within our own schools, which in turn allows us to implement those changes in our own chapters and carry the knowledge into our future jobs. We have the resources and ability to contribute to our own chapters in outreach and service, bettering our communities—we then use that knowledge and experience to nurture our programs and further our careers, all the while continuing to use our greatest resource: each other.

“While it may seem as though legislators hold most of the power,” Hampton admits, “I do not think any amount of lobbying will affect our field as much as the teachers entering.”

For more information about the National Advocacy Summit and the legislative processes involved in program funding, visit https://nafme.org/advocacy/nafme-collegiate-advocacy-summit/ and https://nafme.org/advocacy/ESSA/.

AVA: Fall Updates and Reminders

Jul 30 2019

Greetings!

I hope you all have had a wonderful summer and have enjoyed some time to rest and prepare for this year. I enjoyed seeing many of you in July at the ACDA Summer Conference in Tuscaloosa. I especially enjoyed connecting again with this past year’s All-State Middle School Mixed choir clinician, Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, and hearing everything he had to share with us. I left the conference refreshed and ready to jump head-first into the school year. If you have never attended this conference, I encourage you to do so in the future. It always gets me back in “school mode” and excited to start back. Thank you to the Alabama ACDA leadership for organizing and providing great sessions and social events.

NAfME Membership

If you have not already done so, please renew your NAfME membership. In order to log onto the website to register for AVA events, your membership must be current.

AVA Mailing List Sign-Up

In addition to having a current NAfME membership, the AVA also requires annual sign-up on the AVA mailing list in order to receive communications. All directors must complete this even if there have been no changes since the previous school year. The link to sign up for the mailing list is on the AVA website at www.myamea.org/ava. Please make sure to complete this as soon as possible to ensure you don’t miss any important information.

Summer Board Decisions and Changes for 2019-2020

The AVA had another productive meeting this summer to plan for this year. I will be talking in more detail at Fall Workshop about some of the decisions that were made, but here are a few highlights:

● We will continue with our usual in-person auditions for this year’s All-State auditions. No changes will be made at this time, though we are still considering moving to recorded auditions in the future.

● The All-State Festival registration fee was increased to $35 to account for increased costs due to moving our festival to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

● The All-State Show Choir Festival will be held during the AMEA Conference this year and will not perform during the All-State Choral Festival. As decided by the membership at our All-State General Membership Meeting, ASSC students are no longer required to audition for the All-State Choral Festival.

● The SCPA Adjudication Rubric was reevaluated and the point spread for each rating was adjusted slightly. The new point range for a superior rating is 74-88.

● The SPCA Adjudication Form was changed to include the Auxiliary Information Form. Each directorwill now complete the auxiliary form as part of the adjudication form in order to provide the adjudicators with background information about the choirs.

● The Sight-Reading Rubric was changed in order to include a dotted-quarter note at the Advanced Middle School/ Intermediate High School levels.

2019-2020 AVA Events

Please visit the AVA website to find the dates for all events for the year. Be aware now of all registration deadlines and plan ahead to avoid paying any late fees.

Fall Workshop

Our next event will be the Fall Workshop at Huntingdon College on Friday, September 6. I am so excited that this past year’s High School All-State Choir clinician, Derrick Fox from the University of Nebraska- Omaha, will be joining us. We will also have All-State music information sessions, mini break-out sessions, and our General Membership Meeting. Registration is now open on the AVA website. I hope to see you all there!

Thank you for taking the time to read about our organization. I would like to encourage you not only to read but to also “jump in” and serve where you are able. We all bring different areas of strength to this organization and are all needed in order to best function. As I begin my final year as AVA President and sixth year on the board, I can truly say that serving our organization is worthwhile, rewarding, and fun. Thank you to everyone who has helped out, even in ways that may seem insignificant. I can assure you that no task is too small or not appreciated.

Please let me know if I can be of service to you in any way or if you have any questions or suggestions about our organization. You may email me at meg.jones.ava@gmail.com.

I wish you all the best for the starts of your school year and I look forward to seeing you all at the Fall Workshop!

Sincerely,

Meg Jones

And So, it Begins

Jul 30 2019


Dear Educators,

Welcome back to what I hope will be another great year! I know all of you have been working hard throughout the summer preparing for the new school year. Please know the work you do for our students does not go unnoticed! As such, the Alabama Orchestra Association is looking forward to serving you and your students throughout the 2019-2020 school year.

As we begin this school year, I would love to hear from those of you currently teaching in a school-based or community-based string and/or orchestra program here in Alabama. We want to feature you and your programs via our social media pages and other available outlets. Please let me know what you’re up to and any events you may want to promote and we will share that with our membership.

The fall is an especially busy time for the AOA. The beginning of August will see excerpts posted for the upcoming Orchestra All-State Festival auditions. We have made several updates to our audition procedures for next year’s festival. We will be combining the audition material for the Festival and Sinfonia orchestras and including scales and etudes for the first time. We will also be adding a second audition day in early-November specifically for Wind, Brass, and Percussion students ONLY to help alleviate the issues of preparing and auditioning during marching season. More information about these changes as well as district audition dates, times and locations can be found on our website – www.alabamaorchestraassociation.org. As in previous years, students can take advantage of being able to audition in any district so as to allow for scheduling conflicts. If you are a band director, we sincerely hope that you will encourage your students to audition for our All-State Festival. As you know, the experience of performing with strings as well as the challenge of playing one to a part is something a lot of our band students never get the chance to do.

I am excited to announce that we have a wonderful line up of conductors for our 2019 Orchestra All- State Festival which will be held from Feb 6-9, 2020 at the University of Alabama. Our Festival Orchestra will be under the leadership of Mr. Thomas Heuser (Idaho Falls Symphony and San Juan (CO) Symphony), with Mr. Creston Herron from Klein HS (TX) conducting our Sinfonia Orchestra, and Dr. Rebecca MacLeod (UNC-Greensboro) conducting our Consort String ensemble. More information about our conductors and festival repertoire can be found on our website.

The Alabama Orchestra Association always strives to find quality clinicians for the AMEA Professional Development Conference. We look for clinicians who will inform, educate, and inspire not only our state’s string teachers but music educators across all the divisions. The 2020 AMEA Conference (Jan. 17- 19) will be no exception with a lineup of distinguished clinicians headlined by Richard Meyer. Mr. Meyer is a highly sought-after music educator as well as being a nationally-recognized, best-selling composer with over 190 compositions and arrangements in print. For 16 years, Mr. Meyer served as string editor for Alfred Publishing Company and is the co-author of several string method books, including the popular String Explorer Series and Sight-read It for Strings. He maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician and we are delighted that he will be joining us!

We will also continue to encourage string vendors to attend the 2020 AMEA conference. As we are able to lock in those vendors, we will let you know who they are via our Facebook page so you can contact them with any specific needs you might have while you are attending the conference.

During the 2019-2020 school year, we will continue to build upon the success of our annual Orchestra Music Performance Assessment event. We expect to have details regarding locations and dates (in Spring 2020) finalized soon. As always, check our Facebook page and/or the AOA website for updates. We encourage all string teachers including those that teach guitar and non-traditional string ensembles from both school-based and community-based programs to plan on participating.

Lastly, the AOA is here to serve you. If we can be of any assistance to you or your program please reach out to us. We hope you have a successful and rewarding school year and look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.

Important Dates for 2019-2020

  • All-State Audition Materials Released – August 2, 2019
  • All-StateAuditionApplication Deadline -September27,2019
  • String Auditions (as well as early wind, brass, & percussion) – Early-October (check website)
  • Wind, Brass, & Percussion ONLY Auditions – Early-November (check website)
  • String Audition Results Posted – November 18, 2019
  • Wind, Brass, & Percussion Results Posted – November 25, 2019
  • All-State Scholarship Application Deadline – December 6, 2020
  • AMEA Conference – January 16-18, 2020
  • All-State Orchestra Festival – February 6-9, 2020
  • Orchestra Music Performance Assessment – Spring 2020 (check website)

HED: From the President!

Jul 30 2019

Have you reflected lately on what drew you to a career in music? Have you reflected lately on the depth of creativity that has been born out of your love for music? Have you reflected lately on the intellectual exploration of music that has challenged how you engage in critical discourse, teaching, and performing of music? If you have not reflected lately, the sessions to be presented by the Higher Education Division at the 2020 AMEA Professional Development Conference will allow you to do just that and more.

I am excited to come together with all of you, my colleagues, from across the state to reflect, to be creative, and engage in intellectual discourse. The HED is excited to learn from presenters from around the state. We are excited about topics on music curriculum, developing singers, next-generation music leaders, self-efficacy, and much, much more. You don’t want to miss any of the sessions that will allow you to reflect, refresh, and redirect to go to the next level of your personal music expression.

As we feed our musical mind at the round table session and poster session, we will also feed our body at the HED luncheon, so please make sure to reserve your seat by emailing me. And not to be forgotten, we will feed our musical soul with ensemble performances at the HED recital. These musical gatherings and sessions will provide the opportunity for holistic music reflection for spirit, soul, and body.

Now is a good time for each of us to begin to reflect on our personal “why” about music and make plans to attend the 2020 AMEA Conference in Montgomery. If you have questions or want to reserve your seat at the HED luncheon, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (mlanier@jeffersonstate.edu).

AMEA Registrar: From the Registrar

Jul 30 2019

It is not too early to be thinking about our AMEA Conference in January, 2020. Just remember, you must join NAfME, and you should pre-register if possible. A healthy organization is always concerned with growth and development, and the AMEA board is interested in growing our organization, and for getting all music teachers in Alabama involved in professional development through AMEA and NAfME. You can help increase our membership by communicating the benefits of membership to our colleagues. When you are joining or renewing your membership, think of those music teachers in your area that may not be active members, and send them a message inviting them to join! You could send an email with their contact information to me at pstegall@mscs.k12.al and I will invite them!

Remember to:

  • Remind your colleagues to join, include the new music teachers, invite the inactive music teachers and be involved as a mentor to the young music teachers.
  • Renew your membership now at www.nafme.org. Membership in NAfME is required for participation in state MEA sponsored events like the AMEA Conference, the Elementary Division Fall Conference, All- state and Musical Performance Assessments. Joining NAfME secures your membership in AMEA and in your division. The national office has recently gone through an upgrade to the system, so I would recommend that you get your information updated ASAP.
  • Register now for the 2020 AMEA conference online at www.myamea.org. You will find it is easy and will save you time and money. Reunite with friends and colleagues from all over the state in January. Rejuvenate your energy and renew your enthusiasm for the rest of the school year!

Pat Stegall

Garry Taylor (2005-2022)

Jul 30 2019

Garry Taylor retired after a thirty-one year career as a band director, serving most of those years at Cullman High School in Cullman, Alabama. Mr. Taylor received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Auburn University and Master’s Degree and A.A. Certificate from the University of North Alabama. He served as Vice-President and President of the Alabama Chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators. He served twice as Chairman of the Alabama Bandmasters Association, District III as well as Recording Secretary, Vice President, and President of the Alabama Bandmasters Association. He received the National Band Association Citation of Excellence, was selected as an “Outstanding Young Man of America”, inducted into “Who’s Who among American High School Teachers” was selected “Featured Alumnus” of the Auburn University Bands, and is the recipient of the AMEA Barbara Odom Distinguished Service Award. In 2015 he was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu Alabama Bandmasters Hall of Fame. Mr. Taylor is Executive Director of the Alabama Music Educators Association and Editor of Ala Breve, the official publication of AMEA. He currently conducts the Cullman Community Band and often serves as guest conductor of honor bands and as an adjudicator throughout the Southeast.

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