I am so proud to inform you that the 2024 North and South Region Orchestra and All-State Orchestra Festivals were an enormous success. The North and South Region Festivals were held in Huntsville and Greenville, respectively, January 6-7, and the All-State Orchestra Festival was held on the campus of the University of Alabama, February 8-11. Our conductors for the North Region Festival were William Waag (Santa Fe Youth Orchestra) and Andrea Dawson (Middle TN State University), and our conductors for the South Region Festival were Dan Allcott (TN Tech University) and Susan Mullen (Murfreesboro Symphony and the Webb School).

At the 2024 AOA All-State Orchestra Festival, the Festival Orchestra was led by Mr. Robin Fountain. Originally from the United Kingdom, Mr. Fountain joined us from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Mr. Fountain is the Emeritus Professor of Orchestral Studies and Conducting at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. He has also served as the Music Director of the Southwest Michigan Symphony and the Williamsport Symphony in Pennsylvania. Mr. Fountain was also my primary conducting teacher and remains a close friend and mentor today. It was incredibly special for me to witness my students, and students from across Alabama, studying with, and learning from, my mentor.

The Sinfonia was led by Dr. César Leal. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Dr. Leal joined us from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College. There, Dr. Leal also serves as a professor of musicology. 

The Consort String Orchestra was led by Mrs. Jennifer Drake. Mrs. Drake joined us from Boise, Idaho, where she serves as the Music Director of the Serenata Orchestra and the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestras. She is also the founder of the Idaho Viola Camp and the Co-Artistic Director of the Idaho Orchestra Institute.

Both of the Regional Orchestra Festivals and the All-State Orchestra Festival hosted nearly 200 young musicians from all corners of Alabama. These students are the cream of the crop, not only among young musicians in our state, but among young people in our state. They are among Alabama’s finest young musicians, scholars, seekers, dreamers, and future leaders. Undoubtedly, they will shape their present and future communities with their work ethic and their dedication to their artform.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to announce to you that orchestral music education is vibrant and so alive in many areas of Alabama, but I must also tell you that, at this moment, approximately one-third of Alabama schools do not have a music teacher. We have much work left to do, my friends. It is the sincere hope of the Alabama Orchestra Association and Alabama Music Educators Association that, someday, every public-school student in Alabama will have access to this art form if they desire to participate. You can help us by spreading the word about the work we are doing to your community, colleagues, friends, family, and government officials. Let your legislators know that you, too, dream of a day where all Alabama children will have the opportunity to have their lives enriched through the arts. While we celebrate the incredible work of the students that were able to participate, I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the children that were not present due to lack of resources and opportunity.

Members of the AOA and beyond, thank you for all that you do to ensure that orchestral music thrives in the State of Alabama. May we strive to build musical communities where our students find safe spaces to express themselves, their experiences, their hopes, and their dreams for a kinder world where all are loved, nurtured, and supported.  May this be our mission and may music be our vehicle.

Musically yours, Joseph Lee, President