My name is Keith LaBenne, and I am honored to be moving into the role of Alabama Orchestra Association President. I have spent the past 25 years teaching Orchestra in the state of Alabama. I have been blessed to work in a system with a long history of Orchestra programs in all their schools. I realize that my system is the exception, but wouldn’t it be amazing if students all across our state had the opportunity to learn a string instrument? I know it can’t happen overnight, but with AOA members advocating across our state, we can make progress.
In June, the leadership team assumed their new roles in the AOA. In addition to my role as President, I am also the Orchestra Director of Gadsden City High School in Gadsden, Alabama. Jordan Ford is leaving big shoes to fill as she assumes the title of Past-President. Jordan runs the Orchestra program for the Alabaster City Schools in Alabaster, Alabama. At our regular business meeting at the All-State Orchestra festival in February, Kate Francis was elected as Vice-President / President-Elect. Kate serves as the music teacher for Midtown Elementary School in Madison, Alabama, where she runs a “Starting from Scratch” program where every child in the school will have a nine-week introductory unit on playing the Violin. She was able to start this program using a grant from the Alabama Arts Initiative, which she hopes will lead to the formation of an after-school Orchestra. Our Treasurer is Rachel Sherrod, who is the Music Director and Conductor of the Etowah Youth Orchestras. Our secretary is Rachel Christmas, who is the Director of Orchestras at Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Anna Marie Tysinger, in addition to serving as the AOA Executive Director, is also the Executive Director of the Tri-State Community Orchestra and the Wiregrass Youth Symphony Orchestras in Dothan, Alabama. Leroy Hughes completes our leadership team as the All-State Chair, helping to organize logistics for the All-State Festival in February. Leroy serves as the Director, Board President, and Co-Founder of the Baldwin County Youth Orchestra in Fairhope, Alabama. As you can see, the leadership team of the AOA represents orchestras from every corner of the state of Alabama.
Even though we are the Alabama Orchestra Association, the success of our All-State festival depends on the participation and assistance of the Alabama Bandmasters Association. The top two ensembles at All-State are full orchestras, requiring winds, brass, and percussionists to be complete. This means that we need you to encourage your top players to audition for All-State Orchestra. We strive to make the audition process as simple and painless as possible. All auditions are virtual and submitted as a private YouTube video, so they can be recorded at your student’s convenience. The audition materials are taken from the All-State Band audition, so that your student does not have to learn anything additional. Although our deadline is in November, earlier than All-State Band Auditions, we do not require all of the material, just one of the etudes and a few of the scales. Because we want as many Winds, Brass, and Percussionists as possible to have the opportunity to participate, we utilize the top auditioned players at the All-State Festival in February, and the runners-up are given the opportunity to participate in the All-Region Orchestra in January. We want as many student musicians as possible in the State of Alabama to have the opportunity to perform masterworks with a full orchestra. Also, at the All-State Orchestra festival, parents are required to chaperone their students, not the directors. I hope I have done an adequate job of explaining why and how your students can audition to be a part of the All-State Orchestra Festival, and if not, I encourage you to reach out to me at klabenne@gadsdencityschools.org, and I will do my best to clarify any details in the process.
In closing, I would like to make you aware of important upcoming dates for the AOA:
- String Scales / Etudes / Excerpts should be available now on alabamaorchestraassociation.org
- Winds, Brass, Percussion materials will be posted by the ABA when they are available.
- Strings, Harp, Piano audition deadline is October 16, 2026
- Wind, Brass, Percussion audition deadline is November 13, 2026
- All-Region Orchestras (North/South) are January 9-10, 2027
- All-State Orchestra Festival is February 11-14, 2027
- Orchestra Music Performance Assessment (state-wide) will be April 9, 2027