We’re back! We hope everyone’s summers involved rest and rejuvenation, leading up to a year filled with growth and inspiration. One opportunity that will surely inspire you is our 2024 Alabama NAfME Collegiate Summit. This year’s event will be on Sunday, September 22nd, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Hulsey Center for the Arts. The theme for this year is “Community.”
We may come from different universities and experience music in different ways, but our community is united in our passion for sharing the life-changing power of music through education. This year, Dr. Cara Morantz will be our summit keynote speaker, sharing her passion for music education and performance with our community of educators. She has served as the Assistant Director of Bands at UAB since 2014 and taught middle and high school bands in Cobb County, Georgia, for nine years before her time in higher education.
The summit will also have instrumental, vocal/choral, and general/elementary music breakout sessions. Ms. Kim Bain will lead the instrumental session, focusing on jazz. Her skill as an accomplished saxophonist and her experience as a director will be an incredible resource for attendees. Under her leadership as Director of Bands at Louis Pizitz Middle School in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, the band performed at numerous conferences, including the prestigious Midwest Clinic, and they were awarded the John Philip Sousa Sudler Cup.
Ms. Deanna Bell is leading our elementary/general music session, and her valuable expertise will be an excellent opportunity for attendees to draw upon. She teaches at Vestavia West Elementary and is an adjunct music education professor at UAB. She has received many awards, including the Vestavia City Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year. Our vocal/choral session will feature clinicians focusing on show choir at the secondary level.
The summit will conclude with a panel discussion and Q&A between early-career educators and attendees, followed by a networking dinner. We will soon share registration information and more details about our speakers via our Instagram account @cnafme_al. We hope this event connects and inspires our colleagues throughout the state. See you on Sunday, September 22nd, at UAB!