If I’m completely honest, I’ve had a difficult time thinking of what this article should cover. In normal years, this article would cover the great successes of our conference. We would all glow about the fantastic performances, the thought-provoking sessions, and the time shared with like-minded colleagues. However, this year is different. We are not left with fond memories, but merely our wonderings of what could’ve been.

Many of you know that I enjoy spending my limited free time in library archives researching the past. Learning about the past always gives me great comfort and clarity. I visited the Auburn University Archives the Sunday after we decided to cancel the conference to examine the Ala Breve from the early years of our Association. While there wasn’t a full set of every volume of the Ala Breve, I did gain an appreciation and perspective from our past.

The very first issue of Ala. breve (original spelling) was published in November 1955. The president of AMEA was Lamar Triplett. I will be honest; I was taken aback when I saw the first president’s column in the Ala. breve. You see, I have heard many stories about Mr. Triplett because Mr. Triplett was my Dad’s junior high school band director. Actually, Mr. Triplett is one of the people who encouraged my Dad to become a music educator. It was also Mr. Triplett who encouraged AMEA to host a conference. “To knit our organization closer, reach all phases of music education, a meeting of all music educator personnel, elementary through college level, with clinics for all levels, performing groups at all levels, and panels for discussion of all our mutual problems, would greatly increase our understanding of each other, and give administrators a better understanding of our values in the teaching of music and most of all the relationship of music to the overall educational curriculum in the state” (Triplett, 1956, p. 1).

During the early years of AMEA, the conference was held in conjunction with All-State. In fact, All-State was held for all the divisions during the same three days in March at the University of Alabama. All-State was the cornerstone of the AMEA conference. During the conference, there were meetings and clinics for all divisions and a Friday evening banquet with a dinner and dancing. Don’t worry – I’m not suggesting we bring back the Friday night dancing!

I continued thumbing through the old issues of Ala. breve. I smiled at the many pictures and columns from music education legends in AMEA’s history. I loved seeing pictures of Dr. Ed Cleino and Dr. Lacey Powell in their early years; they were both so kind to me as an early career music teacher. I laughed at the many impassioned pleas from the membership chairperson for people to join AMEA and MENC. It was fascinating to learn about the early stages and implementation of hosting the first conference. It’s important to note that AMEA existed for almost 8-10 years before a conference was hosted.

Sadly, the archives do not have a complete set of the Ala Breve. I also checked other university’s holdings – no university has a complete set of the Ala Breve. If you have issues of the Ala Breve from the 1960s-1990s, we would love to scan them and place them on AMEA’s new website that will launch this summer.

My journey into our Association’s past ended with the April 1960 issue. Of course, we can view the last 19 years of Ala Breve on the AMEA website. However, I would have loved to see more from the 60s-90s. I had more questions to be answered. I wanted to know when Ala. breve became Ala Breve. How did the Association handle canceling the conference in the early 90s? I would have loved to see the growth of our conference over the decades.

Although we often refer to AMEA as the three-day conference we attend in January, AMEA is more than just a conference. For me, AMEA is a collection of hard-working music educators, devoted music education supporters and advocates, and students eager to make music. AMEA is an organization made up of people. I agree with an editorial published in the second issue of the Ala. breve, “Clearly the only objective of A.M.E.A. is to advance the cause of music education through a cooperative organization of musicians and music educators…Come on in. We can rise to such lofty heights and make such beautiful music…TOGETHER”. (Ala breve, 1956, p. 5). For me, AMEA has always been about the people. I’m often asked why people should join AMEA and NAfME and my response has always stayed the same – the people. My life has been enriched because of the people I have met as a musician and music educator.

It would be disingenuous for me not to use this President’s Column to recognize the fabulous work our people have been doing. Even though we didn’t have a conference, so much work went into planning the conference. The AMEA staff – Dr. Rusty Logan, Garry Taylor, Pat Stegall, and David Raney completed countless hours of work before the decision was made to cancel the conference. In addition, they all have done countless hours of work after the decision was made to cancel the conference. In addition, Joey Harbison has been invaluable with our industry members and helping Rusty with the exhibitors. AMEA would not be as strong of an Association without our hardworking staff! Thank you, Rusty, Garry, Pat, and David for your dedication to AMEA.

I hope you will all take a moment to thank your division presidents. They spent hours planning a fantastic conference for all of you. They had to witness countless dreams and plans dissipate with one board motion and vote. Many of them have also had to deal with the herculean task of rescheduling All-States, honor groups, and performing ensembles to ensure the students still receive the benefit of AMEA performances. Thank you, Lori, Joe, Hilen, Alicia, Meghan, Carly, and Sarah for serving your divisions and AMEA with integrity.

In addition, Heather Holmes served all of us with grace and a calming presence. Thank you, Heather, for your gentle spirit, perspective, and kindness during this time.

I have been blessed to be friends with our President-elect for over 25 years. Phil has provided me with perspective, guidance, and friendship that is immeasurable. Thank you, Phil, for being the calm and reassuring voice throughout this experience. I am blessed by your friendship, and I know AMEA will be blessed by your leadership.

I want to thank all of you for your patience and understanding as we had to make difficult decisions and deal with the ramifications of our decisions. I’m thankful for the many calls, texts, and messages of support for the AMEA Board. Thank you to our clinicians who prepared fantastic sessions for all of us. Most of all, thank you to our directors and students who were set to perform at the conference. I know what a disappointment canceling the conference was for all of you, however, I have been so encouraged by your individual communities’ support. It has brought me great joy to see “AMEA Conference” concerts happening throughout our state. As I said earlier, AMEA is more than a conference – you brought AMEA to the people of Alabama. Thank you for ensuring that the music of the AMEA conference still happened.

Earlier, I said my Ala Breve archive hunt ended in 1960, but that’s not entirely true. While the archives did end in 1960, they picked back up in March of 2001. As I thumbed through the March 2001 issue of Ala Breve I saw a familiar face – mine. There on page 10, was a fresh-faced student teacher that had their final article as the cMENC state president. As I sat and stared at my picture in the Ala Breve, I couldn’t help but be humbled and grateful that I am part of this incredible organization. Although I may have some age on me and a lot of music-teaching battle scars, my words from 2001 still ring true in 2024.

“I am very appreciative and feel fortunate to have served you as President this year. You all have allowed me to spread my wings and see the music education world from a different perspective. I look forward to joining what I feel is the most noble profession, teaching. On top of that, teaching music. Through music, we have the opportunity to teach children how to create something intimate and self-rewarding. We must always look for ways to move on and ever upward towards excellence. Never settle for just sliding by, and never give up!” (Lyda, 2001, p. 10).

We must remember that AMEA is more than a conference. AMEA is an organization of impassioned people. We are people who work each day to provide and ensure the children of Alabama have access to music education. TOGETHER we can change the lives of students through the power of music. I’m eternally grateful for you and your work in our state. Thank you, friends, for allowing me to be part of AMEA’s journey in the past, the present, and into the future.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!” To be honest, I’ve never read Anne of Green Gables, but I’ve always loved that quote. When I was a child, I thought October when the leaves change, and the weather is crisp and cool was mythical.  Growing up in the Panhandle of Florida, I never experienced a true Fall or October. The temperature would get cooler and there would be less humidity, Winn Dixie would put pumpkins in the produce section, and the pine needles would begin falling off the trees – all those things would signal Fall for the people of the Florida Panhandle.

I can still remember “the tree” that made me fall in love with Fall.  One late September or early October afternoon during my freshman year at Troy, I decided to take a back road to my travel trailer at Swindall’s RV Park after band practice. There in the distance on County Road 26 was the most beautiful orange-colored tree. I had seen pictures and movies of multicolored trees; in all honesty, I questioned if that was even real. I had never seen anything like it in person. I stopped my car and got out on the side of the road to admire the majestic splendor of Fall.

When I taught at Notasulga I enjoyed the trees on my morning commute in the Fall. I remember one particular Fall and one particular field of trees. Every tree was green, except one. The one tree had already changed to a vibrant red that appeared almost on fire compared to the other trees. I drove past that field for several weeks before the other trees decided to join in and change colors.

Every time I drove past the field and saw the red tree, it made me think about change. When to make a change? The fact that change is scary. Is collective change better than individual change? The person that changes, are they brave or foolish for changing early? Why do we need to change?

I finally settled on the idea that it takes one person or tree to change, to be brave enough to initiate change, and eventually others will change. I’ve been thinking about change a lot as we’ve been preparing for the 2024 AMEA Professional Development Conference. We are changing locations. We are offering new things. We are expanding our offerings to include more music educators, more ways to engage with students, and more types of music.

Let’s think for a minute about how much our organization has changed since I joined 26 years ago. We have a staff of four instead of one Executive Director. We meet in conference centers instead of on a university campus. Our membership has grown. We have a Hill Day. We added the Higher Education Division. AMEA and our divisions have held conferences or events in Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Montgomery, Mobile, Birmingham, and Huntsville. We have had three different sets of standards. We have weathered a global financial crisis, proration, and a global pandemic.  We have had to make changes and adjustments through the years and each time we have become stronger as an organization. Change has led our organization to be vibrant and better serve our members and their students.

The other reason why I love October is because of the conference issue of the Ala Breve! I love seeing what groups will be performing, who will be presenting, and planning to see friends. I know this conference brings a change in venue, but I can honestly say I am excited and welcome the opportunity to be in Huntsville!

Conference 2024

AMEA has never had the habit of giving a theme to our annual conference. However, if I were to give a theme to this year’s conference it would be – “Firsts in the Rocket City’. We will have three days of fabulous professional development sessions, soul-enriching concerts, eager exhibitors, fantastic food, and fellowship. I promise this year’s conference is one you will regret if you miss it.

Here are a few things you can look forward to experiencing at the conference.

This year we will feature our inaugural All-State Elementary Honor Choir as part of the Friday evening performances. Thank you to the elementary division and in particular, Melissa McIntrye, for their hard work and bringing this new All-State Honor Choir to fruition.

Thursday afternoon, in the Mars Music Hall, we will host our first Open Mic event for popular/commercial/industry music ensembles from 12:00-5:00. This event will allow k-12 and higher education groups a place to perform as part of the conference. Each group will be allowed to perform a 20-minute set of covers or original music. Space is limited and registration will open on November 1. The director of the ensemble must be a member of AMEA and register for the conference.

Our featured speaker for the leadership breakfast will be Dr. Rob Deemer from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Many of you may know Dr. Deemer’s work as the Founder and Director of the Institute for Composer Diversity. In addition, Dr. Deemer will present two sessions for our membership on teaching composition and Composer Diversity. I have known Rob for several years and he is a fantastic resource and I’m glad he will spend a few days with us in Alabama.

When I was a kid, my dad belonged to the Columbia CD club and we eagerly awaited new music each month arriving in the mail. I can still remember the month Take 6’s debut album arrived. Sorry, we don’t have Take 6 as our featured performer. We are having the ensemble that birthed Take 6 – The Aeolians of Oakwood University under the direction of Mr. Jeremy Jordan. I can’t wait for their performance during the General Session on Friday.

Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Scott Burstein, the Education Director of Music Will. Scott will be speaking about expanding music education to reach all students in our schools. His keynote will be a thought-provoking time and an interactive time of collaborative music-making.

Finally – the food! You will find a list of restaurants around Von Braun Center. In addition, we have asked the Von Braun Center to open a concession stand in the exhibit hall to serve food. There are also two restaurants on-site – Rhythm on Monroe and the CO/OP in the Embassy Suites. Click on the restaurant name to find menus for Rhythm on Monroe and CO/OP). We listened to your feedback and added 30 minutes to lunch on Thursday and Friday. You should have plenty of time to eat, relax, and get back to sessions!

Last April Phil Wilson, Rusty Logan, and I did a site visit of the Von Braun Center during ABA’s All-State Festival. The AMEA Governing Board completed another site visit in August. We have tried to think of everything to make your experience in Huntsville the best possible. We want you to have an amazing time of fellowship and learning at this year’s AMEA!

Music Will & Modern Band 101

This past summer I was asked to attend the Modern Band Summit in Fort Collins, CO as part of a delegation from NAfME. I love a good conference and trust me, the Modern Band Summit was a good conference. There is only one way I can describe the experience – Summer Camp for Music Teachers. I spent four days learning, connecting with music teachers from all over the country, and making music. The highlight of the trip for me was performing as part of the NAfME Rock Band – “Ralph and the Association”. I’m sure if you search hard enough you can find a video of me playing tambourine on “Can’t Hold Us” and ukulele on “I Want it That Way”.

It would be hard to replicate the experience of the Modern Band Summit at our conference, but we are going to try and replicate one facet. I’m pleased to announce that on Saturday of our conference from 10:30 – 4:30, we will offer Modern Band 101 with Dr. Scott Burstein. Here is a course description:

“This course covers the basic core values of Music Will: how we teach music-making, improvisation, and composition by getting our students into a comfort zone using student-centered instruction, approximation, and scaffolding. Participants are introduced to the instruments of modern band: guitar, keyboard, drums, vocals, bass, and technology, and learn basic playing skills and pedagogy for each. Participants will also use their new musical skills to compose and perform an original song in a collaborative setting.”

At the conclusion of Modern Band 101, participants will receive a certificate and be awarded an additional 6 hours of PD credit. Modern Band 101 is a free add-on to your conference registration. Registration is limited to 45 people. The registration link for Modern Band 101 will open on November 1, 2023. You must be registered for the conference to participate.

Capitol Tunes

Each Thursday in February and March the rotunda of the State Capitol is filled with music. AMEA is once again partnering with the Alabama State Department of Education to offer public school music groups the chance to perform in the rotunda of the State Capitol. A bonus is that groups selected for performance receive a stipend to help offset the cost of transportation to Montgomery. Please visit the AMEA website for ensemble guidelines and the application.

The Capitol Tunes program is a fabulous way to showcase your small ensembles and advocate for music education. Thank you to Andy Meadows, ALSDE Arts Education Specialist, for his support and advocacy for this program. Please consider applying! The deadline for performance applications is November 1, 2023.

I’m glad I live in a world with Octobers, AMEA, and you. Thank you for all you do day in and day out to bring music to our students.  I hope you all have a vibrant Fall full of pumpkin spice, yellows, reds, oranges, and crisp cool air. I can’t wait to see all of you in Huntsville!

One of the many things I love about being a member of AMEA and NAfME is that I am surrounded by passionate people. I’m not sure any other profession or any other subject in education allows students and teachers to work towards a common goal where everyone participates. Sure, in a math or English classroom students learn together, but they are evaluated on how well they individually perform. The music classroom is different. The music classroom is a magical place where collaborative performance, creation, response, and connection are birthed every day. I view my classroom as an incubator where students are constantly growing and developing new knowledge and skills.

I honestly think music teachers are special and unique in the education ecosystem. Could you imagine if other classes were taught like music or if other content areas were expected to attain the same level of success? In other subject areas, mastery is measured on a scale from 70-100%. I can’t imagine going to a concert or seeing a music teacher give any less than their best. We are accustomed to giving and expecting from our students 100% each time.

I’ve had the privilege to rack up a few frequent flyer miles this summer as I’ve traveled around the country working with music teachers. I’ve seen the same passion in music educators across the country. I’ve also noticed some of the same ills impacting music teachers and their programs as the ones I’ve observed in Alabama. Lack of resources, funding issues, scheduling problems, substitute shortages, feelings of lack of respect for teachers and their programs, and lack of qualified music teachers to fill all the vacancies this summer are common ills in all parts of the country.

I’ve thought a lot about perspective this summer. As I’ve looked out of plane windows and observed the landscape in miniature – I’ve thought about refocusing our perspective. What are the things we need to look at from 10,000 feet? What are the things we can control? What are the things that are worth fighting? Are we on an island or are we dealing with issues that are universal throughout education? What can we do as a profession to make everyone’s job and programs better? How can I help? These are just a few of the questions I‘ve asked myself as I’ve tried to gain and shift my perspective.

I can’t remember a time in my 23 years of teaching when anything about teaching was perfect. How many of you remember proration of the early 2000s or the great recession? I remember having to bring my own toilet paper to school. I will always be thankful to Steve McLendon for fighting and advocating for me when my school system decided to do away with summer employment and told me I wouldn’t get paid in October after I had already worked during the summer. I can’t remember a time during my teaching career when there weren’t ills, of some kind, that we all had to overcome. There have always been problems. We can’t let the problems consume us and force us into a vicious cycle of self-doubt and self-loathing that steals our passion.

Please don’t think I’m trying to minimize any of your problems. No one should teach in dangerous or unhealthy conditions. Teaching the past few years has been challenging. I will admit to you that the hardest years of my career happened during the pandemic. Many of us are still trying to recover from the ills of the pandemic. The pandemic gave us a natural time to refocus and examine our perspective. However, I’m afraid that too many people in education are ready to recreate the days before the pandemic. I’m not so sure that we remember the teaching conditions of yesteryear accurately.

We invest every fiber of our being into our programs and our students. Often, neglecting ourselves and sometimes even our family. Looking back on my career, the ills are the times when I learned to be a teacher. Our ills offer us two choices – give in to negativity or figure out how to make it happen.

Let me be the first to give you some encouragement this school year – I’m proud of you. I’m honored that you show up every day and work to provide your students with the best music education possible. I know there are days when you are tired when you don’t know how to keep going, and you ask yourself if all of this is worth it. Guess what…it is worth it. You are worth it. Your students are worth it. You do great work and are a light in the dark night for many of your students. Please never forget that you matter. We all have bad days and on the worst of those days, I want you to remember that you are doing incredibly important work. You bring joy, give hope, and make music with other human beings. We couldn’t do this without you.

Summer and breaks are important for us to recharge, reevaluate, and rest. I hope this summer was full of rest for you, your family, and your students. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me if you need help. I will help you think through shifting your perspective or give you a pep talk. I will listen. I am here to help you; I know others are willing to help too. Please don’t feel alone this year. Connect with other members of AMEA, meet for dinner or coffee, and share your successes and worries. You don’t have to do this alone.

This summer was incredibly busy for AMEA. The Governing Board has worked to plan conference, launch new initiatives, and discuss how we can better serve our members.  I will discuss a few items of importance in the next few paragraphs.

Ala Breve

Welcome to the first digital issue of the 2023-2024 school year. Due to the cost of printing and mailing the Ala Breve, the Governing Board decided to offer three digital issues and one print issue this school year. The new digital format will allow for an interactive reading experience supported by new graphics, videos, and sound capabilities. We hope you enjoy this new format. At the end of this school year, we will evaluate the delivery format of the Ala Breve for the next school year.

Social Media Committee

We want to thank Dr. Carl Hancock for his years of dedicated service to AMEA as Media Specialist. The Governing Board realizes that Dr. Hancock’s shoes will be hard to fill! In the coming months, we will form a social media committee to create and publish content to AMEA’s social media pages. Specifically, we are looking for people that have strong social media publishing skills that can help us connect with our members and broaden our reach. We will publish a call for interested AMEA members in late August. Watch the AMEA newsletter and social media channels for more information.

Assistant Executive Director

We were fortunate that Garry Taylor continued to serve AMEA as assistant executive director last school year. The Governing Board will be publishing a call for interested members to apply for Assistant Executive Director for this school year. Please watch your email and AMEA’s social media channels for the call in August.

NAfME National Assembly and Hill Day

Each year NAfME is required to gather all State MEA Presidents, members of NAfME’s National Executive Board, and the Chairs of NAfME’s Societies and Councils to discuss the business of the Association. This year NAfME also brought back the Hill Day experience to allow us to meet and advocate for music education with our elected officials. Southern Division NAfME President-elect Susan Smith, cNAfME officers Sarah Hicks and Matthew Suit, and I met with staff members in both Senate offices, three Representatives’ offices, and with Rep. Terri Sewell.

I’m pleased to report that all our meetings were positive. However, our work isn’t done. The FY24 Budget is currently going through the appropriations process. The House budget is seeking to cut education spending to pre-2006 numbers. The Senate is still in the process of appropriations markup. We need every one of you and your supporters to contact our elected officials. We need to advocate for continuing to fund the FY24 education budget, at least, at current funding levels.

The draconian cuts proposed by the House would slash an average of four teaching units from each Title I school. Many of the state’s music teaching positions are funded through Title I funds. Please call, email, or use NAfME’s grassroots advocacy center to let your voice be heard. Many of our elected officials will be in Alabama during the August Congressional recess. It might be a good idea to schedule a meeting with your elected officials.

The simplest advocacy tool you can use is social media. Please continue to share about your programs using #ala4musiced.

CMA and NAfME State Advocacy Grant

AMEA was one of only three state MEAs selected to receive a $4,000.00 grant to be used for advocacy activities during the 2023-2024 school year. The focus of this grant will be on mentoring music teachers in their first five years of teaching, providing scholarships for cNAfME students enrolled in HBCUs to attend the AMEA Professional Development Conference, supporting first-year music educators to attend the AMEA Professional Development Conference and leadership training for AMEA’s 2024 Hill Day. More information will be distributed in the coming weeks about these programs.

Thank you to Dr. Diane Orlofsky and Dr. Phil Wilson for writing the grant with me and for their leadership with our mentoring and emerging leader programs. One way you could help us be more successful is by helping us connect with new music teachers in your area. If you know of a new teacher in need of a mentor, please contact Dr. Orlofsky (dorlof@troy.edu), Dr. Wilson (prwilson1898@gmail.com), or myself (lydarob@me.com) with their contact information. We want to do everything possible to support our new teachers.

I know many of you are fully engaged in back-to-school activities. I hope you will take time throughout this year to put things into perspective. If I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to contact me. I hope you focus on the joy of making music. I hope you have a fantastic school year. Welcome to another year of making music!

When I taught band one of the most common questions I heard during the Spring semester was, “What’s the band doing now that marching season is over.” No mater how many times I was asked the question above, I was still taken aback. “What do you mean what is the band doing now that marching season is over?” The tone of my voice gave away my irritation. “Band is a year-round activity.” Then I would fill in the blanks with a litany of activities that the entire band and individual students participate in throughout the spring.

I’ve been thinking, for a while now, about how we can make the often invisible of our music programs visible to our communities. Of course, performances are the most visible part of music education, but what about the weeks and months of teaching and learning that build into a performance? Performing is only one piece of sequential and comprehensive music education. We need to convey, without coming across as bragging, that we and our students are busy in a never-ending cycle of teaching and learning. We need our parents, administrators, civic leaders, and boards of education to know that a performance is a mile marker on an education journey. Nothing can ever replicate the feeling of a performance, but the true magic of music education happens every day in music classrooms.

I think the first step is realizing that people truly do not understand what we do. In all honesty, how many of you actually understood what it truly meant to be a music educator until you became a music educator? Just like we teach our students how to be musicians, we must teach our communities how to be supporters of music. The tricky part is making sure we educate our communities in ways that build advocates for music education and not merely people that empathize with music educators.

There are plenty of people who support the arts by giving their money, subscribing to concert series, and giving lip service to the importance of music education. If music education is to thrive in our communities and our state, we need to educate and create advocates that will get their hands dirty and work to ensure every child has access to music education. Advocacy doesn’t have to be grandiose, but it does need to be impactful and meaningful. In my humble opinion, the most effective advocacy is authentic, focused on students, and contextual.

In my best Cher voice – “If I could turn back time…” I think my response to “What is the band doing now that football season is over” would be different. I would have highlighted the accomplishments of my students, but I would have also invited the questioner to visit my classroom. I would have invited them to talk to my students preparing for honor band, solo and ensemble, or All-State. I would have highlighted everything from performances to daily learning in my classroom on social media and used the hashtag #ala4musiced. I would have taken a posture of education instead of defensiveness. Please take every opportunity to highlight your professional accomplishments and your students’ accomplishments.

We could apply the same question to AMEA – “What is AMEA doing now that the conference is over?” Let me assure you, AMEA has been busy. Please allow me to highlight a small portion of the work AMEA has been engaged in this spring.

Hill Day 2023

I am happy to report that AMEA had a fantastic first Hill Day in Montgomery, on March 21, 2023! Thank you to cNAfME members from the University of Alabama and Troy University, AMEA members from all parts of the state, Dr. Rusty Logan, Dr. Phil Wilson, the AMEA advocacy team, and the AMEA governing board for making Hill Day a huge success. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Lloyd Warman at the Alabama Capitol for helping us secure rooms and permits for using the various areas of the Capitol. Hill Day was the culmination of months of planning and I am delighted with how AMEA advocated in Montgomery.

The highlight of the day was the performing ensembles performing on the Capitol steps, in the Capitol Auditorium, and the Old House Chamber. 

Thank you – Auburn Junior High School Jazz Band – Josh Wine, Director Auburn Junior High Show Choir – Taylor Holt, Director Hillcrest Elementary Choir – Sarah McLendon, Director Rucker Rhythms – Andrea Marsh, Director

Smith Station High School Saxophone Ensemble – Gene Butler, Director The Huxford Symphony of the University of Alabama – Joseph Lee, Director

I personally want to thank the performing ensembles and their directors for traveling, the hours of preparation, and allowing our elected officials to see and hear why we were advocating.

In addition to musical performances, many AMEA members met with their elected officials. Dr. Phil Wilson, Dr. Becky Halliday, and I delivered informational folders to 35 Senators and 105 Representatives. In each folder were a music education fact sheet and postcards from AMEA members. Even if you couldn’t be physically in Montgomery your words were there. Your stories of how and why music education is important were hand-delivered to your elected officials.

In my legislative meetings, I heard a common theme – investment. Every Legislator I spoke with discussed the importance of showing how music education is an investment in Alabama’s future. Friends, there’s our next advocacy task. We need to show why music education is a good investment for Alabama and our children. I hope you will make plans to advocate with me and to be at our next Hill Day in March 2024.

Casting a Wider Net

For many years, our profession has examined ways to increase access to music education for all students. According to enrollment numbers from the State Department of Education, one-third of schools in Alabama do not offer music education. More troubling is that only 34% of students in Alabama’s schools choose to take music education classes. We, as an Association, need to work to provide access to music education for every student in Alabama. Equally as important, our Association must advocate that we increase the types of music offerings for students.

Currently, 117 secondary schools in Alabama offer guitar, ukulele, keyboard, music production, music theory, popular music, and music technology courses. We need to take a long hard look at ourselves and ask if we are providing space and resources for music teachers and their students that don’t currently fit into one of our existing divisions. I also believe that we need to examine what our existing divisions are doing to ensure we are meeting the needs of all music educators from all areas of the state. Growing up I was involved in the band, and choir, and I played in my local community orchestra. I value the experiences each of those performing ensembles opportunities provided me. I also realize that many students want to participate in music, but not in band, choir, or orchestra. I believe, there is room for all types of music education and all students in our Association.

During our August 2022 board meeting the AMEA board challenged me to find ways to engage with music educators beyond our current membership. You may have noticed that we expanded our call for sessions to include new areas – Guitar, Composition, Music Technology, Advocacy, Research, and Music Industry Education. We are also working to engage with different groups of music educators from beginning and young teachers, emerging leaders with 5-10 years of experience, and music teachers that teach music industry, guitar, technology, and other music courses beyond our traditional performing ensembles.

You may have noticed that we are also offering several different session formats. We will still have our 50-minute sessions and 10-minute lighting round sessions, but we have also added 25-minute sessions. I encourage you to apply to present at AMEA. Please encourage your colleagues to submit a session. There are experts in every school in Alabama that music educators need to hear present their techniques and ideas. Please share your expertise by applying to present at our conference.

I hope no one will mistake our efforts to offer more music courses, resources, and to connect with various groups of music teachers as threatening to our long-standing traditions found in our bands, choirs, and orchestras. I believe there is room to honor our traditions and simultaneously open our music education spaces to new possibilities. Sixty-six percent of Alabama’s students either don’t have access to or choose not to enroll in music courses. I hope and dream of a day when every school will have multiple music educators on staff and offer a variety of music courses that meet the needs of students. I hope that AMEA will be the driving force that changes music education in Alabama.

Summer 2023

As we approach the end of school and the impending summer vacation season, I do have a request. Please take time to rest and relax. Find opportunities to feed your passion for teaching young people music, but please also find ways to rest and relax. I know the summer starts a new busy year for many of you. Band and music camps, choosing and revamping curriculum, selecting repertoire, atending professional development, and many things to prepare for a new school year. I implore you to take time for yourself and your family.

As always – thank you for all you do for students. Thank you for the many hours you give to students’ musical and personal development inside and outside of your classroom.

I look forward to continuing to serve you and your students over the next year. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help you.

I’ve been trying to find adequate words to express my thoughts and feelings since returning from Birmingham. I sit in front of my computer trying to come up with words and my mind wanders back to all of us being together. I try to think how I can sum up three incredible days of learning, laughter, comradery, and music. What could I possibly say that would encapsulate all that our annual AMEA Professional Development Conference provided to us?

In my humble opinion, the sincerest thing I can offer to you is my gratitude. I’m grateful for your energy. I’m grateful for intellectually stimulating sessions and conversations. I’m grateful for soul-stirring student performances. I’m grateful for our exhibitors. I’m grateful for Dr. Deb Confredo listening to us and encouraging us to work for music education for all. I’m grateful to the Dill Pickers for providing music, an opportunity to tap our toes, and put a smile on our faces. I’m grateful to our AMEA staff – Dr. Rusty Logan, Garry Taylor, Pat Stegall, and Dr. Carl Hancock for making sure everything ran so smoothly. I’m grateful to the AMEA governing board for their dedication and service to all of you. Most of all, I’m grateful to you for investing in your personal professional development to be the absolute best teacher for your students. Thank you for your commitment to the children of Alabama. Our time together in Birmingham was simply wonderful.
As I mentioned at the conference, we broke our previous attendance records. In all, we had 1,091 people register for the conference. ABA had 529 attendees, AOA had 22 attendees, AVA had 149 attendees, Elementary/General had 170 attendees, cNAfME had 126 attendees, Higher Education had 49 attendees, and 46 attendees didn’t indicate a division affiliation. While we revel in our record- breaking attendance, we know there are areas we can improve. Based upon the Governing Board’s Saturday meeting and the conference evaluations many of you completed, we have identified several areas we would like to further evaluate and improve for the Huntsville conference.

I would like to offer two suggestions to improve our future conferences. We are fortunate that each division can devote resources to bringing in well-known clinicians as headliners. Out-of-state clinicians are fabulous and give the conference a little pizazz, but nothing beats our homegrown Alabama music educators. There are many talented folks from Alabama that should be presenting at our conference. Some of you do incredible things that should be highlighted. Please apply to present at AMEA and share your expertise. Also, don’t hesitate to apply for your instrumental or vocal ensemble to perform.

We have a wonderful music industry community, fabulous colleges and universities, and many other organizations that support travel, fundraising, and other needs of our members. We are thankful for their continued support of our exhibits. However, we are aware that many of you would like to see exhibitors that represent the various needs of our membership. As an elementary music teacher, I would love to see more general music exhibitors. However, having diversity in our exhibits will take all of us working to get exhibitors to Alabama. We need to invite exhibitors to the conference, but more importantly, we need to spend money with the exhibitors. If there is a company you would like to see exhibit at AMEA – personally contact them and ask them to purchase a booth. The AMEA Governing Board will be working to attract new exhibitors, but we need your help.

Advocacy
I will take every opportunity to extol the value of music education in our schools and students’ lives. One reason why advocacy is important to me is because my teachers advocated for me to have access to music education. Advocating for this generation and future generations to have access to music education is a personal mission. Advocacy is one way I can honor the work of my music teachers and ensure the health of music education for future generations. Advocating for music education is my passion.

I encourage you to find simple ways to advocate for your students and programs. Invite people into your classrooms. Elevate your students’ voices to highlight the importance of music education. Write a postcard to your State Senator and Representative asking them to support music education. Encourage your students to write letters, send emails, or write their own postcards. I would be happy to send you a stack of AMEA postcards if you request them. Use #ala4musiced on your social media to highlight student performances and successes. The best advocacy work usually isn’t grand gestures, but small authentic, and intentional moments that are student-focused.

“What’s your Music Education story?”
I’m sure many of you have seen our first “What’s your Music Education story” video featuring James Spann. I have been pleasantly surprised with the reception James’ video has received. We are working to get other celebrities to record videos in the coming months. Look for more videos soon.

AMEA is hopefully affording people the opportunity to tell their stories and will provide powerful advocacy testimonies. We don’t want to limit the videos to only celebrities; some of the most powerful music education stories will more than likely come from regular people who credit music education to enriching their life. Thousands of people were involved in school music, and we need to elevate their voices to advocate. We need your help identifying and encouraging people to tell their music education stories. Please use your influence to help tell Alabama and the world why music education should be part of every child’s education.

Hill Day
Twenty-three years ago, I made my first trip to Washington, DC as a member of AMEA’s delegation to advocate for music education. AMEA has done great work and made many inroads with our elected officials in DC; however, we have done little to advocate in Montgomery. If we are going to make a substantial change for music education in Alabama, we must advocate in our state capital. I hope you will make plans to attend AMEA’s first Hill Day on March 21, 2023, in Montgomery. We will post more details on our social media and e-newsletters throughout February and March.

The question has been asked – “what are we advocating for?” We are working to build relationships with our elected officials. We are advocating for inclusion in the school curriculum, a place at the table in education policy decisions, and for every child to have access to music education. As I mentioned at our conference, it’s time for us to stand up, speak out, and work to change the way teaching units are allocated to ensure every school has a music teacher. We must use our collective voices as Alabama’s largest Arts Education organization to enact change for our students and communities. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work. I hope you are too.
I leave you the way I started this article – with gratitude. I am grateful for all of you, and I am grateful to be a music educator. As I told you during the General Session at the conference, as long as I have breath in my body, I will fight for our children to have access to music education. Music is important. Children are important. It’s important that children have music in their lives.

Thank you for trusting me to lead our Association. I am deeply honored to serve as the President of the Alabama Music Educators Association.