President’s Address | September 2021

Colleagues:

I enjoyed seeing and catching up with so many of you at our Fall Workshop September 10. Thank you to University of Montevallo and Dr. Melinda Doyle, Director of Choral Activities for being such welcoming hosts. Thank you to all presenters and facilitators who made our day one of learning, refueling, and collaborating. At the general membership meeting, we voted on clearer AVA Handbook wording (no policies were changed) that states that participation in All State Show Choir meets the All State requirement for OCS eligibility. We also voted on wording that clarifies that District Chairs ask adjudicators to confer in the situation of abnormal ratings splits at SCPA. Please visit the website to read the adopted Handbook revisions as well as the minutes of the meeting. While you are visiting the website, be sure to check out the newly typeset AVA Handbook. Thank you to Margaret Heron for tacking this huge task. We hope this document will be more user friendly moving forward.

All-State Auditions are October 31-November 9. We are planning to hold these auditions in person in several sites throughout the state. However, contingency plans are in the works should we need to move auditions to a virtual format.

All-State Show Choir Auditions will be recorded and submitted via Google Classroom. Teachers will receive the appropriate Google Classroom code once the audition submission window opens. Students will upload videos of both their singing and dance auditions. Step-by-step instructions will be provided shortly after registration closes. Thank you to Cam Weiler for serving as All-State Show Choir Coordinator.

Honor Choir Screenings will also be recorded and submitted via Google Classroom. This year’s Honor Choir will be an a cappella jazz choir. Thank you to Hilen Wilson for serving as Honor Choir Coordinator.

The 2022 AMEA Conference will be January 20-22 at Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. Along with performances by exemplary choral ensembles from around our state and highly acclaimed presenters, we will also have All State Show Choir and Honor Choir at this conference. The AMEA conference promises to be an event you will not want to miss.

All State Festival will be March 10-12 at Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.

State Choral Performance Assessment and Solo and Ensemble Assessment are scheduled in person in each district in the spring.

Warm Regards,

Randall