Archive for

Day: November 10, 2020

AMEA: Coming Together and Moving Forward

Nov 10 2020

“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Over the past several months I have witnessed music educators from across our state overcome unparalleled obstacles to keep programs moving forward. Although the students’ experience may not have been as grandiose as usual, I’m confident to say the experiences provided to the students during these times are just as meaningful.

A highlight of my year came this fall as I once again interacted with my students in person after such long anticipation. Soon after our first meeting, I found myself overwhelmed with joy as I heard the first note performed in person. Seeing the students’ face light up with excitement after making music together again was a sight I will never forget.
Now that we are in the midst of the rigor of in-person instruction, which now includes face masks, bell covers and the constant sanitization of everything, we find there is still much to learn and share. Additionally, we must continue to stay motivated while growing professionally just as we have in the past. For me, attending music conferences is a proven source of inspiration and the 2021 AMEA conference will be no exception.

AMEA Virtual Conference 2021
As we celebrate AMEA’s 75th anniversary, we look back and see that Alabama has enjoyed some of the most successful professional development conferences in the country with exceptional performances, clinicians and fellowship with professionals across our state. Despite the current circumstances, our goal is to continue this tradition with a unique and meaningful experience this January.
Our executive team, which includes Garry Taylor, Rusty Logan and Carl Hancock, has assembled the technical foundation for the conference that will give attendees an exceptional online experience using Map Dynamics and Zoom. Map Dynamics will provide an interface with simple access to all sessions and performances. Since most of us are already Zoom experts, we will use this method to broadcast the sessions and interact with the clinicians.

All divisions have accepted outstanding sessions for this three-day event and pre-conference bonus sessions will be available in November. We will enjoy outstanding performances from programs across our state that will surely inspire us all.

An important part of our yearly conference is the time we spend with our colleagues as we share ideas and enjoy each other’s company. We will provide a time for networking lounges in each division that will provide roundtable discussions. In addition, we will have a social hour to give you an opportunity to catch up with colleagues.

Vendors are an important part of our conference and need our support as they have supported us over the years. We will provide everyone an opportunity to interact through virtual exhibits. These exhibit times will give opportunity to ask questions and see their latest offerings.

A virtual conference will give us the ability to offer multiple keynote speakers. Dr. Judy Bowers, the Emy- Lou Biedenharn Endowed Chair of Music Education at the University of Louisiana, Monroe, will present her keynote session on Thursday night. In 2014, Dr. Bowers was named the Lowell Mason National

Music Education Fellow and inducted into the society by the National Association for Music Education in Washington, DC. Her distinguished choral music career and unique experiences will bring insightful information to us as we look for new ways to engage students.

Friday night, Bob Morrison will present his keynote session that will explore how music education moves beyond 2020 and offer insights on how to plan for the future. Mr. Morrison is the founder of Music for All, was the founding CEO of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, and his advocacy work has earned him both an EMMY and a Peabody Award. He is the founder and CEO of Quadrant Research, the nation’s leading arts education research organization, and his accomplishments and accolades go far beyond the space this article provides. His insightful message will give meaningful information you will not want to miss.

I am extremely proud of the time our Governing Board has put into this year’s conference. The event is full of quality sessions, performances, and nationally recognized presenters. With a reduced price and a convenient schedule, this conference provides a quality experience we should all enjoy and I hope you will take full advantage of this unique opportunity.

Southern Division Meeting
On September 13, I attended the Southern Division Meeting virtually along with Rob Lyda, Greg Gumina, Garry Taylor, and Rusty Logan. During this meeting, we heard from the new NAfME President, Mackie Spradley, the Interim Executive Director, Chris Woodside, and Chief Financial Officer, Chaudlier Moore. Each is new to their position and took time to answer questions and address asks from the states.

NAfME is our national voice and the new leadership is making changes to bring you the most value for your membership. They have implemented large financial changes that will keep the association strong while providing an abundance of advocacy and research campaigns. If you have not looked at their website lately please take a moment and peruse through the enormous amount of resource material they are providing at http://nafme.org

Moving Forward
Finally, I would like to challenge you to keep moving forward with your music programs. If you are feeling overwhelmed, start with taking one idea, one source of information, or one new idea from the conference and use it to keep moving in a positive direction. You will find a crawl will turn into a walk, then a walk into a run, and finally, we will all fly again.

I’m looking forward to coming together this January and moving forward to a brighter future. Let’s fly together.

– David Raney

AMEA Registrar: Join/Renew/Register!

Nov 10 2020

 

Check out the AMEA website and register for the 2021 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 through our virtual conference platform. Rejuvenate your energy and renew your enthusiasm for the rest of the school year! I can’t wait to be part of this exciting new way of holding our conference!

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.us 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. Renewing your membership annually will help you in achieving the continuing service award at our conference on year 25 and beyond.

I look forward to receiving your completed registrations. They should be postmarked by January 8, 2021 and received by January 14, 2021. “See” you at the conference! PS

AVA: Updates

Nov 10 2020

Colleagues:

It was good to see many of you at our virtual Fall Workshop in September. Thank you to Meg Jones, Hilen Wilson, Cameron Weiler, Chris Brown, and all who presented sessions. A special thanks to Jim Schaeffer, our interim webmaster for facilitating the online format for the workshop. At the general membership meeting, we voted on the wording in the AVA Handbook, which we feel clarifies the fact that directors are the experts who should decide the best voice parts for their students regardless of the students’ genders; there were no policy changes. Please visit the website to read the adopted Handbook revisions as well as the minutes of the meeting. Recordings of the sessions will be available on the website through October 11. We expect the newly revised AVA Handbook to be available online soon.

All-State Auditions are November 2-10. We will invite each registered student to join a Google Classroom through which we can communicate instructions with the student and accept recordings of their auditions. We will also send information to teachers through email. Please refer to the website for the official All-State repertoire lists, as there has been some confusion about All-State repertoire. Check your email on October 3 for a preliminary announcement as to how we plan to proceed with auditions based on the numbers of students who registered to audition.

The 2021 AMEA Conference will be January 21-23. The conference will be virtual, and to minimize time away from students, will be Thursday and Friday evenings and all day Saturday. This conference promises to be an event you will not want to miss. We will have live-streamed or recorded concerts of exemplary ensembles from our state as well as the live-streamed performance of our All-State Show Choir. Because this conference will be virtual, we have the unique opportunity to offer timely sessions by presenters from not only our state but from around the nation as well. I look forward to seeing you virtually at the conference.

All other spring semester activities are on track to happen as normal. However, your board is evaluating each event, listening to your concerns and recommendations, and considering the safety of our students. We will announce plans for all spring activities by mid-January. As always, please feel free to reach out to your district chair or me whenever you have a concern or idea that will benefit our students.

Warm Regards,

Randall Fields

AVA President

ABA: Passion, Pride, and Purpose

Nov 10 2020

School, as defined by Webster is “an organization that provides instruction: such as an institution for the teaching of children”. Well, Webster definitely didn’t quite have a definition that would fit everything that has come our way the past three months, but as always, music educators in the state of Alabama met it head-on and climbed every hill and mountain that was thrown at them on a weekly, daily and sometimes hourly basis. We have pulled together resources literally out of thin air at times and found ways to adapt what we do to educate our students. Music teachers have always seemed to be able to adapt to an ever-changing landscape and for that, you are to be commended. I think Walt Disney summed it up best, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing!” YOU formulated a plan of action and put it in motion. That’s what you’ve done for your students daily and I for one want to say Thank You for all the things that you do that go above and beyond to make sure that your students get the best experience possible.

As we have all said before, this year is going to be different, BUT don’t let different mean that you don’t give the best to your students and that you don’t take the time to recharge yourself professionally. The AMEA conference will have a different look, but there are some great clinics and performances planned for ABA that you won’t want to miss. The committee that selected clinics tried to make sure that we picked clinics that will inspire you and will give you what you need to help you right now. We had some outstanding clinics to choose from and because of the virtual format, we have 5 clinic spaces for this year’s conference. Make sure you take the time to renew your NAFME membership now and then register for the conference!!

The ABA membership approved the recent legislation allowing the ABA board, if needed, to move District Level All-State tryouts, Music Performance Assessment and Solo and Ensemble to virtual formats. We have two committees working right now on the Virtual All-State audition format and a committee working on what a Virtual MPA might look like if we have a situation like last Spring where schools are shut down, or schools possibly can’t travel. Both of these committees will present a final draft of their work to the ABA board for the board to consider. Our goal is to do everything in our power as a board for all of our events to happen in the second semester. This will just give us options on how these may occur during the pandemic.

At the Virtual AMEA conference, we will have two membership meetings. In the first, we will consider the legislation that was on the docket from the All-State meeting in April. You will find these online and we will email these back out to the membership. Also, the nominating committee is working to bring a slate of officers to you. According to the legislation we passed at AMEA last year, they will bring 2 candidates for each of the following offices: Vice President/President-Elect, Recording Secretary, and Jazz Vice Chairman. We will also take nominations from the floor. If you have someone you would like to nominate for any of these positions, contact any of the committee members – Chairman, Taylor Cash – Albertville High School, David Waters – Muscle Shoals High School, Michelle Gann – Gordo High School, LT Hughes – Robertsdale High School.

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

AOA: Report

Nov 10 2020

It is at this time every year that trees turn magnificent shades of color, days grow shorter, cooler weather begins to set in, and education

switches from hybrid to face-to-face, to virtual, to in-person, and back to hybrid instruction again. Thankfully, the last example does not happen annually, but neither does a pandemic that has challenged

the core of every music educator in Alabama. I am awed that each of you wake up each day to inspire the students in front of you (with a smile on your face), regardless of the method of delivery. These trials have caused us to face ‘change’ head on – yuck – I shudder at the thought of a ‘change’ to lesson Plan F, the rescheduled upcoming performance, creative instrument tuning through Zoom, or the inevitable principal musician placed in quarantine.

These ‘changes’ have tested our patience and helped us simplify to what is deemed the most notable joy we can discover from an appreciation for music. Instead of fighting the ‘change,’ it is best to embrace what is not in our control, and find new ways to inspire, connect, and communicate. The Alabama Orchestra Association has been in the midst of plenty of ‘change’ lately. While challenging to implement, we are pleased to share a few highlights of ‘change’

VIRTUAL AUDITIONS: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 All-State Orchestra Auditions are being held virtually this Fall.

AOA WELCOMES 9 NEW DISTRICT CHAIRS: We are excited that our leadership team is growing and evolving!

ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Barbara Harrington begins an integral supporting role to Executive Director Julie Hornstein

ADDITION of an ALL-STATE CHAIR: Leroy Hughes graciously steps into a new defining role

In addition to the exciting announcements above, I want to personally invite you to visit the AOA website at www.alabamaorchestra association.org to preview all of the sweeping changes taking place, and to engage with an incredible leadership team here to serve you. Let us help you find resources for your ensembles, classrooms, and virtual educational space.

Please take a moment to reach out to our AOA District Chairs, as they continue to encourage your woodwind, brass, percussion, and string students to submit a virtual 2021 All-State Audition.

The Alabama Orchestra Association is excited to bring world-renowned educators to Alabama:

AMEA CONFERENCE – January 2021

Dr. Christopher Selby, Featured AOA Clinician – author of Habits of a Successful Orchestra Director, Music The- ory for the Successful String Musician, and co-author of the Habits of a Successful String Musician series, published by GIA. He is an active clinician and has presented sessions at two Midwest Clinics, the 2016 NAfME National Con- ference, five American String Teacher Association (ASTA) National Conferences, and he currently directs the high school orchestras at the School of the Arts in Charleston, SC.

ALL-STATE ORCHESTRA COMPOSITION CONTEST WINNER – February 2021

Dr. Christopher Schmitz – Congratulations to Christopher Alan Schmitz for being named Alabama Orchestra Asso- ciation’s Composition Contest 2021 winner. His piece will be premiered by the All-State Festival Orchestra on Febru- ary 14, 2021 at Moody Music Building in Tuscaloosa. He currently serves as Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the University of Texas at Austin.

Important AOA Dates for 2020-2021

All-State String Audition Submission Deadline: October 18, 2020

All-State Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Audition Deadline: November 15, 2020

AMEA Conference: January 21-23, 2021

All-State Orchestra Festival: February 11-14, 2021

Orchestra Music Performance Assessment: April 16-17, 2021

Thank you for inspiring the next generation of professional musicians, educators, and arts philanthropists. Help your students embrace ‘change,’ remind them that our future is bright, and provide hope that our ensembles will soon be filling auditoriums with beautiful music once again.

Blessings,

Daniel Stevens

ELEM/GEN: Life’s Full of Tough Choices

Nov 10 2020

To say that the start of the school year was unusual would be an understatement. Many of you are facing and conquering challenges you’ve never dreamed of. You might be teaching online, in a general education classroom, or in a hybrid model where sometimes synchronous and asynchronous learning occurs at the same time. Again, I am reminded of the seven habits book, I referenced last October, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. Habits 2 and 3 begin with the end in mind and put first things first. What do we want our students to know at the end of the year and how can we accomplish that in a COVID-19 teaching and learning environment? While we know that some of our traditional teaching methods have been suspended temporarily, there are many ways to accomplish our goals. It’s a good thing that most music teachers are creative because we are all having to think outside the box. (I don’t know who wanted to be in the box in the first place, but that’s a different article.) To attain these learning targets, we must put first things first. This is where the tough choices come in. There’s no way to do it all, every day! Some days that may mean making a lesson plan, or a video of yourself singing a song for your kids or a video of you reading them a book to post in your Google classroom. Other days, putting first things first may mean attending to your family’s needs, making sure that the grass is cut, the laundry washed, the homework checked. Or maybe it’s putting yourself first, taking time to meditate, pray, exercise, or get your nails done. When you feel refreshed, you will be better equipped to handle the daily stresses that accompany this pandemic and the months ahead. Begin with the end in mind and put first things first today.

As many of you already know, our AMEA Choral Festival was cancelled, however, the fall workshop was not. The fall workshop, featuring clinician Jeremy Howard, will be held online from 9:00-12:00 on October 17th, 2020. I would like to thank AOSA and SHAKE President, Deanna Bell for partnering with us to provide this workshop for free. Members need to preregister to receive a link to the Zoom meeting. Make sure you include the email you would like to use to receive your link to the workshop. Register at https://tinyurl.com/2020AMEAFallWorkshop Jeremy will present a session on Elementary Improvisation. During the session participants will “extract the core tenants of improvisation (framework + choice + time); explore aural, kinesthetic, and visual preparation methods for improvising with movements, vocal explorations, words, instruments, rhythms, and melodies; and foster Kodály’s vision for complete musicianship.” The workshop will be followed by our fall board meetings. This year, the Elementary Division will be nominating officers for the following positions: President-Elect, and Secretary. A nominating committee has been working on securing nominations for these vacancies, but we will also take nominations from the floor. To nominate a person for a position, you must first have their permission and they must agree to serve if elected.

Finally, on January 21-23, 2021, we will host our virtual AMEA Professional Development Conference. Conference planning is well underway. Since we know it might be difficult to find a sub and take time off, the Executive Board has made several adjustments to the schedule that will allow you to stay at work during the day and enjoy sessions in the evening. Please check out the excellent sessions we are planning for you. David Row will be our main clinician. You may know David from his amazing Facebook Live broadcasts, Teachers Pay Teachers page (TPT), and Make Moments Matter webpage. David is an excellent educator and we are thrilled to have him share virtually in January. We will also have sessions by Dr. Julie Bannerman (University of Montevallo), Toni Garza (Quaver), and various other Alabama music educators. Additionally, you may sign up to share a lesson at the lightning round on Thursday night, or plan to share a book at the Elementary Happy Hour Session (BYOB, Bring Your Own Book) on

Saturday. Be sure to renew your NAfME membership as soon as possible to register for these events and to take advantage of all that NAfME and AMEA have to offer this year.

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

See you in October,
Betty R Wilson, President Elementary/General Division

Upcoming Dates:

Fall Workshop – AMEA/AOSA/SHAKE Saturday, October 17, from 9-12 Online Format

NAfME National Conference
November 4-8, 2020
In-person conference is cancelled.
Visit Nafme.org for upcoming virtual sessions

AMEA Professional Development Conference January 21-23, 2021
Online Format

Alabama AOSA Spring Workshops (Details TBA) March 6, 2021: Manju Durairaj, Clinician March 5, 2022: Jennifer Donovan, Clinician

Sweet Home Alabama Kodály Educators Workshops (Details TBA) April 2021: Lea Hoppe, Clinician
April 2022: Rachel Gibson Clinician

 

HED: Best Practices in Challenging Times

Nov 10 2020

Back in August, my institution held its annual Faculty Institute as a virtual conference. I had reservations at first, but later found it to be outstanding! The upcoming 2021 AMEA Conference will also be held in a virtual format. Based on my prior experience, I am confident in saying that the 2021 AMEA Conference may be the best conference that you have ever attended!

We’ve included all of the elements that you’ve come to expect at a “first-rate” music conference. There will be two General Sessions with awards and keynote speakers. Our exhibitors will be there and you will be able to interact with them via Networking Lounges. There will be a Research Poster Session and an HED Recital. In addition, there will be a virtual happy hour that we are calling “Cocktails with Colleagues.” But just when it couldn’t get any better, we are hosting six presentations that will enlighten and inspire you. These sessions will focus on best practices in a variety of music education areas. But wait, there is more! For the price of admission, you will also have access to three pre-recorded bonus sessions. Kudo’s to the AMEA governing board. They have certainly covered all of the bases!

There is still time to get involved. Research poster applications are being accepted until Nov. 2. Go to the myamea.org website and click on Dr. Jane Kuene’s box with the title Research Poster Update for details. Applications for the HED Recital will be accepted until Nov. 15. Contact Dr. Carly Johnson at cjjohnson@alasu.edu for more information.

HED Studio Instructor Survey

In mid-September, we sent out an informal survey to 191 studio instructors across Alabama to investigate the impact of the COVID pandemic on college-level music instruction. We received responses from 38 instructors. Some responses were anticipated but others provided interesting insights into the future of music education.

Results indicated that most instructors utilized a combination of virtual and in-person instruction (63.16%) while some taught completely online (26.32%) and others taught completely in- person (26.32%). A majority of instructors used Zoom (68.42%) to interact with their students, a few employed Google Meet (7.89%), and no instructor used Microsoft Teams. Individual instructors reported using programs such as Rock Out Loud; Facetime; Facebook and Zoom; and Cleanfeed. As expected, many instructors incorporated hardware devices such as microphones, mixers, digital to analog converters, and various recording devices into their instruction. The collection of brand names and models, however, was beyond the scope of this investigation. In addition, instructors utilized web-based programs such as YouTube (51.35%), SmartMusic (13.51%), FlipGrid (5.41%), and others like GoReact, OBS, DaVinci Resolve, Cleanfeed, Logic – Final Cut Pro, and Loopback to support their instruction.

Some of the more interesting findings may have come from the instructors’ responses to two open-ended questions: “Have any unforeseen benefits come from your virtual instruction? and “What information would you like to share with others about your experience? Responses to the first question organized themselves into four emergent themes (a) Instructional Environment, (b) Self-Evaluation, (c) Attention to Detail, and (d) Learning about Technology. Instructors felt comfortable working from home, noticed that introverted students talked more in the online format, used lesson time more effectively, and dealt with fewer student absences. They also recognized the benefits of having students evaluate their own recorded performances. Students put more effort into their lesson preparation resulting in greater progress. In addition, instructors witnessed an increase in their students’ attention to detail. Vocalists paid more attention to diction while instrumentalists focused on nuances such as hand position. The instructors themselves acknowledged development in their ability to deliver more concise

and effective verbal instruction while the students improved their skills in turning verbal instruction into physical execution. Finally, the pandemic forced instructors and students to learn more about technology. Both found new ways to utilize technology and increased their fluency in a variety of applications. For example, instructors learned to record their instruction, create pedagogical videos, and store PowerPoint presentations for future use. They also learned that guest artists can be included in their lessons easily.

Responses to the second open-ended question (What information would you like to share with others about your experience?) provided further insight. The instructors came to accept the benefits of online instruction and acknowledged that a combination of virtual and in-person instruction worked better that only online or only in-person lessons. Several took the time to remind us about the importance of remaining positive and flexible in these challenging times.

Keep in mind, the results of this survey are limited to its participants and do not generalize to a larger population. All opinions are my own. These findings, however, provide insight into the changes that are taking place within institutions of higher education across Alabama. Further investigation is warranted.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Eric Perry, a doctoral graduate assistant at the University of Alabama, for his help in constructing and administering the survey. He handled the technological “nuts and bolts” turning my ideas into reality. This survey would not have been possible without his efforts. Additional words of appreciate go out to Dr. Carl Hancock for introducing me to Mr. Perry. Thank you, Carl!

I look forward to seeing everyone at the conference.

COLL: Virtual Fall Summit – You’re Invited!

Nov 10 2020

ALcNAfME is hosting its annual summit virtually on October 25th from 1:30-4:30! In this article, you will find (hopefully) all the answers to questions that could possibly accompany a virtual summit. Your collegiate executive board has been working hard to solidify all of the details for this event, and we cannot wait to share this experience with you all!

Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who: We are excited to host four excellent speakers from the state of Alabama as well as a group of new teachers who graduated from Alabama universities in the last year!

Keynote – Mr. Andy Meadows, Alabama Arts Education Specialist
Instrumental – Dr. Pat Stegall, The University of North Alabama
Vocal/Choral – Mr. Randall Fields, Bob Jones High School
Elementary/General – Dr. Rob Lyda, Cary Woods Elementary School
What: Virtual Summit will be a time of professional development. This year we have chosen the theme “Innovate”. Through sessions and discussion, we will engage with how music educators are having to innovate in the classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When: October 25th from 1:30pm-4:30pm

Where: https://samford-edu.zoom.us/j/92531437969?pwd=OWlKck1HU1NaSGNNQzMyVzNFaVBVUT0 9

Why: I think we can all admit we’re a bit “Zoomed out”, but we believe that it is important to continue learning and growing as future music educators during this global pandemic. This will be an exciting time to hear the perspectives of new and veteran educators, and I hope you are excited to put yourselves in their shoes and get a glimpse of what the classroom really looks like!

How: Watch parties! Each university is handling the pandemic a bit differently; therefore, we want to leave how each individual chapter engages with the virtual summit up to you. If you want to tune in individually from the comfort of your home, that’s great! If you want to gather as a cNAfME chapter and watch as a group, that’s also great!

Keep in mind, if you gather as a chapter please ensure you have a minimum of three computers to make sure your chapter has access to all three of the breakout sessions.

We’re So Excited!
We cannot wait to share this virtual experience with you! Please remember these final guidelines as you prepare to attend Virtual Summit:

● Upon entry, please change your name to include your school and the breakout session you wish to attend (i.e. Jackson Vaughan, Samford, Elementary/General).
● Please mute yourself at all times, unless you are engaging with our presenters.
● Please dress professionally (business casual).

● Please ask questions! Summit is no fun if no one engages!

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions by emailing (please do not reply to this email)! We look forward to seeing you virtually soon!

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