Day: May 9, 2020
AMEA: Well, it happened…
May 9 2020
Hello AMEA!
Well, it happened…The strangest spring of our lifetimes. The most odd time we could never imagine. COVID-19 has changed everything we do. We are Zooming, WebEx’ing, Google Meeting, and literally living in the virtual world. It has been an adjustment for everybody, not just music education. However, inside every challenge is an opportunity to grow and learn. From the very beginning of this experience, we have accepted the challenge and taken advantage of the opportunity. I would like to thank the Governing Board and our AMEA Staff for all of their work on bringing the organization two very valuable resources that are now available. First, through the work of Carl Hancock, we have a dedicated space on our website called “Alternative Music Teaching Resources.” It was designed as a receptacle for anything and everything related to teaching music without actually being at school. Please contribute your best ideas, lessons, practices, and finds related to distanced learning. Please also use the ideas which are there already. Our organization has done a wonderful job of sharing knowledge in this new and unusual time. If you haven’t heard, we also have developed a new platform for ongoing Professional Development called the AMEA “Town Hall Meeting/Social.” At the time of this writing, we have hosted our first session, and it was fabulous. Phil Wilson and Susan Smith both gave wonderful sessions packed with useful and valuable information. Thanks to both of these professionals for being the first presenters in this new format. We will continue hosting the Town Hall Meeting/Social every Monday evening at 5:30. The format will develop over time but expect to see both large group meeting time and break out interest sessions more specific to our various Divisions and classroom situations. Staying connected to our profession is very important, so definitely plan to attend these events.
Engaged and Flexible
The two words which seem to define this very interesting time are Engagement and Flexibility. We must stay engaged with our students so that teaching and learning can continue. We must stay engaged with our parents so they know what the expectations are, and so they continue to support our programs. We must also stay engaged in the process of Advocacy. This is not the time to become invisible and allow ourselves to be distracted. Instead, continue to be visible and vigilant. Our students, parents, communities, culture, profession, and art form deserve our very best…all the time. And finally, we must stay engaged with other professionals so that we can help each other thrive in such a different time. We must not allow ourselves to become complacent with lowered expectations. Instead, stay engaged and communicate as much as possible so that we are prepared for whatever the future holds. We must also be flexible. It seems like every day there is a different outlook on the progress of this virus, and the plans continue to change in response. Be flexible with your students and give them opportunities to learn music in different ways. Take the opportunity to teach the things you have always wanted to teach your students, but never had the time. This is that opportunity! Be flexible with your parents and other stakeholders as well. They are working through this, learning to live life differently, and trying to be teachers to their kids just like we are. And be flexible with the administrative structure at your institution. They are trying to figure out how to have school without actually having school. This is a very difficult time for them as well and they will appreciate the music people being flexible.
Fall 2020 and Beyond
I would highly suggest being prepared for a multitude of possibilities for what education will look like in the fall. You have all heard the conversations. The State of Colorado has already counseled its District Superintendents to be prepared for schools to not open until January of 2021. Colleges and Universities are also talking about the real possibility that they will not reopen to in- person classes until January of 2021. Nobody really knows what education will look like in the fall of 2020 yet, and its only four months away. Some school districts in our state have already made plans to include more distanced learning in the curriculum. Will school start on time? Will there be some sort of alternate scheduling scenario? Will there be football games, AKA Marching Band performances? Will schools start on time, and then have to close again? Will we get to be in the same room with our students? I don’t think anybody can honestly answer these questions quite yet. But our response needs to be one of genuine concern, ferocious planning, purposeful engagement, meaningful connection, and fearless flexibility.
New President and Future Leadership
I have thoroughly enjoyed being the President of AMEA, and thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to serve our fabulous organization. It has indeed been one of the highlights of my career. On June 1st, David Raney will become the President of our organization and I am very much looking forward to his leadership. As I have observed and worked with David over the past two years, I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that he is going to be a wonderful President for the AMEA. We also just completed an election cycle. I would like to thank all the candidates who were willing to serve our organization. Congratulations to Dr. Carla Gallahan for being re-elected as AMEA Recording Secretary and to Dr. Rob Lyda for being elected as President-Elect. We all look forward to your leadership and continued devotion to our profession and our organization. My sincere wish is that each of you stay safe and have a great summer. And regardless of what happens, Music Education is STILL AWESOME in Alabama!
Respectfully Submitted,
Greg Gumina, AMEA President
AMEA Registrar: From the Registrar
May 9 2020
From the Registrar
Are you ready for some social interaction with real live people? I am, too! Although I have enjoyed the time at home, and video conference lessons and meetings, I am longing for some real, face to face interaction. Hopefully that will come soon. I know you are missing your students, friends, colleagues, and family. I just want to go to my favorite restaurant and have a great steak! In the meantime, we must all be thinking about how the future will be impacted by this crisis. Rest assured, the AMEA board is continuing the plans for the 2021 AMEA Professional Development Conference in Montgomery.
I hope you have noticed how much better the registration process has become. Thanks to the work of the AMEA Board, Media Specialist-Dr. Carl Hancock, Mary Ann Stegall and all the registration crew that have made this streamlined process so easy. If you must register on-site we have a process for that. Just remember to do what you can online, ahead of the conference. That would include having your membership current, registering at the kiosks provided at the registration area before coming to the main desk, and having your payment method ready. Checks are easy to process at the desk, but online credit card payments must be made at one of the kiosks.
Remember to renew your membership in June. Also, as soon as the conference registration becomes available, register online! I look forward to serving you again, but I really look forward to seeing you at the conference!
Stay safe, stay healthy!
PS
ABA: How are we going to get through this?
May 9 2020
How are we going to get through this? What are my students going to do? What about my concert? How will I recruit for next year? What about auxiliary and drum major tryouts? How will I teach my content digitally? These are all BIG questions that we have all had to answer over the past 5 weeks. None of us would have ever imagined on March 1 what April would look like for our programs, but there is one thing that I know for sure, we as band directors and music teachers ALWAYS find a path for our students and programs whatever is put before us.
In the days ahead think about the following things to help your program:
- Attend some PD sessions online to aid you in this time
- Look at your program and implement some things you’ve wanted to but haven’t had the time (I’ve revamped my student leadership application procedures and how I will train them for the Fall during this time)
- Spend time getting organized as you close out this year and are getting ready to tackle next year
- Plan for summer activities. a. Have a plan A for normal summer. b. Plan B for shorter summer. c. Plan C for what would happen if there are no summer activities – don’t be caught off guard, plan NOW! Remember, if you fail to plan you have planned to fail!!!!
- Start now planning Concert Band literature your band for the next academic year – order in September: a. Veterans Day, b. Christmas, c. MPA, d. March Madness – if you’ve never done this concert – DO IT, e. Spring Concert
- It’s not too late to recruit – put together a video of your leadership students encouraging younger students to be in band – use iMovie or the like to put this together and get this out on social media and to your school – ASSUME THAT ALL YOUR UPCOMING STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE IN BAND AND GO AFTER THEM!!!!!!!!!
- Use this time to market your program in a positive way!!!
- Look at your finances and how you will manage them in the Fall since most of us missed a fundraiser this Spring
Upcoming ABA events
All-State – All of the clinicians from the 2020 event will be with us for the 2021 event in Mobile. All of the registration money for All-State, the Solo Festival, and the Friday lunch has been refunded to the schools.
Summer Conference – As of now, the ABA Summer Conference is still a go. The board will meet in May to make a final determination about this event, but we are hoping that we will be able to have the event as planned. Doug Farris will be sending out a room link very soon to the membership for this.
Solo and Ensemble – Our bylaws allow for Solo and Ensemble to occur anytime from October through May. Each district has been encouraged to offer two solo and ensemble events next school year for our students. This is something for each district to discuss and see what works best for your district.
AMEA 2021 – All legislation that was going to be voted on at the All-State festival (2020), will be moved to the 2021 AMEA conference so that the membership will have the opportunity to discuss the legislation before we vote on the legislation.
AMEA has a resource page at myamea.us where we can all go to find resources to help during this time. You can also place your ideas and resources here to help us build this site. Also, remember to be proactive and positive as we move forward. The future of our programs will depend upon how we handle this time with our students and their families.
Take time during all of this to invest in personal growth, time to invest and grow with your family, time for your faith, and time for your musical journey as well. I am setting aside 30 minutes a day to sit down and practice my horn. I always complain I don’t have the time, well now I have nothing but time. Remember that this will end, and we will get through this, what matters is what we did with the time we had and did we invest in the things that really matter!!
Stay strong!!
This is your association. Let us all strive to make it better so that we can serve the students and the bands in our state better. We are ABA and together we CAN do great things!!
Terry
The World Turned Upside Down
May 9 2020
“Yet let’s be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn’d upside down.” This is a line from an old English Ballad that dates back to the 1640’s when the English Parliament banned portions of Christmas celebrations. Later, it was rumoured to have been played by the English at the Battle of Yorktown during their surrender. Probably, the most famous recent quoting of this line is from the musical Hamilton in the song “Yorktown” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Although historians have searched Revolutionary War records, there is no source that can confirm this tune was one of the songs that was played when the English surrendered. Whether true or rumor matters very little in 2020, as the legend lives on. Now we know that the world [is] turned upside down.
Learning and teaching continues in a way that none of us could have imagined just 6 months ago. While online learning has been in place for many years, most of us were not prepared for what we were asked to do just a few short weeks ago. I received my Master’s Degree from the University of Florida in 2016 through it’s online Music Education program. I feel lucky to have had exposure to the possibilities of online teaching and learning. However, very little of what I did actually transferred over to what I have been asked to do as an elementary music educator. The requirements from our Principals, Schools and Districts have been wide and varied. Some teachers have been asked to do very little so as not to overwhelm the parents, while others have been asked to deliver the same amount of instruction that the students would have received in the classroom by making and posting videos of themselves teaching. No matter what your school is doing, there are many wonderful resources to help you. Let’s start with a few.
The AMEA board is working to provide you with the necessary resources, professional development and lessons that might meet your needs through our website www.myamea.org. Here, you can access a database of online lessons grouped by teaching specialty: band, choir, orchestra, college and elementary/general. Each set of lessons if further categorized by topic or objectives. You can contribute to this database when you create something for your classroom. The process is very easy and user friendly and I encourage each of you to visit this site. NaFME is also offering professional development and resources on their website www.nafme.org . Some of these are even available for non-members. I encourage you to take advantage of these courses and to keep track of your professional development hours. I would also encourage you to reach out to your local Professional Learning Community. We should all strive to “meet regularly, share expertise, and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students” (www.edglossary.org) even during this time of school closure.
Speaking of professional development, the Fall Workshop is set for Saturday, October 17, 2020 at Eastmont Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. This workshop directly follows our Elementary AMEA Choir Festival and will feature clinician, Jeremy Howard. The sign-up for the choir festival is open and the deadline is Friday, May 8, 2020. All sign ups must be completed online using the following link; https://forms.gle/svmHBCQ731QqbDLg9. Please email Melissa McIntyre for more festival information at ameafestival@gmail.com. The 2021 AMEA Professional Development Conference is coming up as well. We are currently accepting applications for presenters and performers. We would love to strengthen our Alabama PLC by having great sessions provided by you and your colleagues. Use the link on www.myamea.org to submit your session or apply to perform. I would also like to hear from you regarding sessions you’d like to see offered. Please email me at elementaryamea@gmail.com to suggest presenters or topics you like to see. The deadline for session proposals and performing groups is June 1, 2020 <Editor’s note. EXTENDED September 1, 2020>.
In closing, I would like to encourage you to keep the faith and stay the course. We are all gifted with many different gifts and are charged to use them to the best of our abilities. I believe we are stronger when we share what we know with others whether online or in person. Thank you again, for your hard work, dedication and continued support of the Elementary/General Division of the AMEA and the children of Alabama. I can’t wait to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Betty R Wilson, President
Elementary/General Division
Upcoming Dates:
- NAfME In-Service Conference, Nov 4-8, 2020, Orlando, Florida. Elementary Music Festival, Friday, October 16th, 2020; Eastmont Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
- Joint Fall Workshop sponsored by Elementary/General Division of AMEA, AOSA, and
SHAKE, Saturday, October 17th, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastmont Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama featuring clinician Jeremy Howard - American Orff-Schulwerk Association, National Professional Development Conference, November 11-14, 2020, Kansas City. Registration begins July 1st.
- 2021 AMEA Professional Development Conference, January 21-23, 2021, Renaissance Hotel and Spa, Montgomery, Alabama.
AVA: Reflections on the Year, Anticipations of the Future
May 9 2020
AVA: Reflections on the Year, Anticipations of the Future
I could never have imagined that I would be writing my final AMEA article during a time of quarantine. I know we are all desperately missing our students, colleagues, and music-making. I’m so grateful that technology is allowing us all to stay somewhat connected, but I know we all can’t wait for the chance to gather to create music again. The need for community created by our choirs has never been more apparent!
All-State
I cannot say thank you enough to all of our participating schools and directors for how you adapted to our new location and did so with grace and positivity. The AVA Board has already been evaluating areas for improvement for next year as we look forward to returning to the BJCC. We welcome any ideas you may have to make next year even better.
Thank you to all of our members who served as Choir Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator, Attendance Monitor, or in any other capacity and helped to keep the festival running smoothly. I would also like to specifically thank John Kincaid for his hard work in coordinating our concert site in a brand-new venue!
I would also like to say thank you to Melinda Doyle and the University of Montevallo Concert Choir and Brian Kittredge and the UAB Concert Choir for performing for our convocation. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to expose our students to these wonderful choral programs. We look forward to having more university choirs participate in the future. In addition to these convocation performances, we are also planning for next year to invite university choirs to set up recruitment tables in the Forum building so that our students can have the chance to see what choral opportunities are available to them throughout the state.
Next year’s All-State Festival will be March 4-6, 2021. Again, if you have any ideas for next year’s festival, please let us know.
AMEA
The 2021 AMEA conference will be January 21-23 in Montgomery. The deadline to submit is June 1. Please do not let the fact that we do not have recordings from SCPA this year deter you. Submit Christmas recordings if that is what you have available! I would hate for us to have a small number of submissions this year simply because we did not have SCPA or spring concerts. Even if you are unsure of your recordings, I would still encourage you to submit.
Fall Workshop
Please mark your calendar now for this year’s Fall Workshop and make plans to attend! It will be on September 11 in Montgomery. At this workshop, we will announce any major decisions that are made during Summer Board and we will review All-State music to prepare for auditions. If you plan on participating in any AVA events next school year, I would strongly encourage you to attend. Also, if you are interested in presenting a short, 30-minute session during the workshop, please let us know. Though we love hearing from our guest clinician, it’s so beneficial to hear from our colleagues who are in the trenches with us every day!
Summer Board
The AVA will meet this summer to review and revise the handbook, approve All-State music, and plan events for this coming year. If you have anything that you would like added to the agenda for the board to discuss, please submit it in writing to Randall at randall.fields.ava@gmail.com before May 29.
AVA Board
As my time as AVA President comes to a close, I want to say again how much the relationships I’ve built while on the board have meant to me. This has been the biggest benefit and blessing to me. In serving on the board, I have had the privilege of getting to know so many of you across the state, an honor that otherwise might have not been possible. I am so thankful for all of you and am honored to serve with such great people. I look forward to continuing to serve you as Vice-President as I support Randall Fields in his new role as AVA President. I’d also like to say thank you to Ginny Coleman she rotates off of the board for her 10 years of service – an entire decade! – to the AVA. Ginny’s leadership has been invaluable to our organization. I have appreciated her efforts to make our organization more transparent and forward-thinking.
Thank you, again, for allowing me to serve as your AVA President. I look forward to seeing you all in September!
Meg
COLL: Q(uarantined) cNAfME
May 9 2020
Q(uarantined)cNAfME
Throughout this troubling time for our world, cNAfME and music educators have been forced to ask themselves “How do we go on?.” Over the last month, college students across the globe have been sent home to complete the semester online. But what does this mean for musicians whose classes nearly all have some sort of performance aspect? Do we perform online to Facebook Live? Do we cancel our long-awaited recitals? Do we get to complete our internships? All of these questions are troublesome and difficult to answer, but as future music educators, it is important for us to continue to strive to learn from home and become better equipped for the careers ahead of us.
Since being home, cNAfME chapters have been encouraged to continue meeting in some facet. For many of our chapters, that means meeting over Zoom to discuss important music education topics, but for others, it means meeting asynchronously and using a set of resources to continue engaging in educational materials from home. Our chapter presidents have worked diligently to keep their chapters afloat and have collaborated in compiling different ways to still grow as future educators during this time of acting as Q(uarantined)cNAfME.
The University of North Alabama and Troy University have both been able to meet online through Zoom. In their meetings, they discuss what music education looks like from home and how to stay engaged with the classroom away from the classroom.
Alexa Dishroon, president of UNA’s chapter writes, “UNA’s chapter is holding ‘music education roundtable’ discussions via Zoom every week. Here, we present and discuss topics in music education. Our discussions also cover our personal teaching philosophies or procedures, and we discuss and share ideas and advice all in an effort to build us as future music educators.”
Troy University’s president Caroline Swann states, “Our cNAfME chapter has stayed in contact by having our business meetings over Zoom! We are also going to have an edTPA workshop with a guest speaker. Recently we held a business meeting where we talked about the bylaws and nominations for the executive team for next year.”
As chapters continue their normal routines from home, we are seeing how technology has changed how we interact with each other. While last month it would have been easy to say that we are terrified of how education will look in the coming weeks, cNAfME has proven they can carry on through online meetings, plan for the year to come, and become better educators from home. While many of our chapters have been able to meet synchronously, some chapters have had to adapt and engage with each other without face to face interaction.
At the University of Alabama, students have engaged with online resources. President Isabelle Page writes, “I doubt we’ll have a synchronous meeting with the entire chapter. What I plan on doing is to research some online learning tools for music teachers being used currently or to talk to music teachers currently teaching online classes, and compile some narratives or tips/tricks on how to navigate such a unique situation. I think what’s happening right now is horrible, but at the same time, it’s a learning opportunity for future teachers that I think we should take advantage of—it’s an excellent example of how teachers have to be ready to change their plans, so it’s something we should all be keeping up with.”
Our chapters are quickly learning what it means to be adaptable, which is an important trait any teacher should possess. As we continue to navigate the uncertain days and months ahead, ALcNAfME will continue to function and engage with each other with the goal of producing better future music educators than we had at the beginning of 2020. So, as the days at home go on, we will continue to learn, teach, and engage as future music educators.
AOA: Moving Forward
May 9 2020
Moving Forward
Well, this certainly wasn’t the finish of the year we were expecting! I know many of you are missing your students, are disappointed that spring concerts will not be taking place, that graduates will not be recognized for their contributions to your program in ways that have occurred in the past, and are probably feeling some uncertainty around what all of this might mean for the future of your program. However, I am confident we will bounce back, that our programs will thrive as students look for more expressive outlets, and we once again highlight the impact that the arts have on our society.
I hope you have all been able to take advantage of the resources made available through the myamea.org website, and have participated in one of the live townhalls that began taking place in mid-April. I want to thank AMEA President Greg Gumina, AMEA President-elect David Raney, and the entire AMEA leadership for their efforts to continue supporting music teachers as we navigate these challenging times.
While the year did not finish the way we were all hoping, the Alabama Orchestra Association was fortunate enough to be able to hold its annual All-State Orchestra Festival at the University of Alabama’s Moody School of Music in early-February. Once again, the festival was a great success. The students were all thrilled with their conductors, as were their parents, and their teachers. One student even asked me if their clinician could come back year-after-year they enjoyed working with them so much! It is always amazing to see what these renowned conductors can accomplish in a short amount of time. Our Composition Contest winning work Reef by Samford Professor Dr. Mark Lackey was extremely well received by both the students and our audience, and his Meet the Composer session was one of the best I have seen – it could have lasted a few more hours and no one would have been anxious to leave!
We were certainly disappointed that our annual Music Performance Assessment event had to be canceled. However, we look forward to next year’s opportunity and hope that as many programs as possible join us for this relatively new, but important event.
Please be on the lookout for information regarding auditions for the 2021 All-State Orchestra Festival. We will be making some minor adjustments from this last round of auditions and should have more information available soon.
This is my last column as President of the Alabama Orchestra Association and as such, I want to take the time to acknowledge the tremendous support that I receive from the AOA Executive Board, our District Chairs, parent volunteers, and all of the teachers that continue to send students to our events, coach sectionals, lead rehearsals, run audition sites and jump in where needed. Our Executive Director, Julie Hornstein is hands down the single greatest gift any division president could ask for. Without her, we would not be able to continue to run any of the programs we offer. Her knowledge of the organization is second-to-none and I thank her for keeping me on track (amongst other things) when needed.
I am certainly looking forward to seeing the direction our organization takes under its new leadership. I have no doubts that incoming President Dr. Daniel Stevens and President-elect Joseph Lee will take the AOA to new and exciting heights. Please stay tuned for updates from them as we transition and prepare for 2020-2021.
Thank you all for allowing me to serve as AOA President these last two years. I have appreciated all of your support, guidance, suggestions, and encouragement during this time and I look forward to continuing to support our organization in the years to come. As always, if there is anything that the AOA can do to help you and your program please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Regards,
Guy Harrison
President,
Alabama Orchestra Association
HED: Greetings colleagues!
May 9 2020
Greetings colleagues! With great excitement and anticipation, I welcome my new appointment as president of the Higher Education Division of the AMEA. I appreciate your confidence in my abilities and look forward to serving the members of this great organization. My predecessor Mildred Lanier was an effective leader and I will work diligently to maintain her standard of excellence.
Over the past sixth months, the world has become a different place. I commend all of your efforts to remain connected to your students. Music educators are amazing people! Although this pandemic has had negative impacts on us, it has also pushed us into the future.
Video conferencing is now ubiquitous and widely accepted as a communication tool. I can’t count how many video conferences and webinars I’ve been on in the past few months. How did we get along without Zoom and Google Meet? My technology skills have taken a major step forward and I hope yours have too. Recognize that we are living through a major transformation in education. I’m not heralding the death of the traditional classroom, but accepting that video conferencing now has a permanent place in our educator’s toolbox.
I’d like to acknowledge the AMEA Executive Board for its proactive response to the pandemic. I attended the Town Hall Meeting (video conference) on April 20 and found it very engaging. Phil Wilson and Susan Smith provided practical strategies and expressed our collective uneasiness. More meetings are on the way so monitor your email and the AMEA website for future dates.
In addition to the Town Hall, AMEA has added a new Alternative Music Teaching Resources link on its homepage. Developed by Carl Hancock, the resources are organized by specialization and contain links to helpful sources recommended by AMEA members. Remember, this resource is not only for P-12 educators. We need your help in identifying websites and strategies that are useful in higher education.
I’d also like to commend the Alabama State Board of Education for easing internship requirements this semester. Music education interns across the state were not able to complete their 16 weeks in the classroom. The SBOE granted full credit to those students for their time in the classroom and also created a temporary educator certificate so that the interns can apply for jobs in the fall. I hope the SBOE also considers easing the 161 cut-score on the Praxis exam.
This year, NAfME is combining its annual conference with the biennial Music Research and Teacher Education Conference. It is scheduled to take place in Orlando, FL from Nov. 4-8. One goal of this combined conference is to facilitate the interaction of P-12 educators and faculty.
Speaking of interactions, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of personal interaction in our personal and professional lives. We are busy people, but we also need time to develop relationships with people who are important to us. Lesson learned – life is more musical when we have relationships that keep our hearts beating and inspire our imaginations.
Best wishes for all!
Michael Zelenak, HED President
