By now, we’re all back in the swing of things after an always-too-short summer break. Whether it’s the first steps of the marching band show or the first steps of putting an instrument together, there’s an excitement about the start of a new year. And while the responsibilities that exist within the walls of our band rooms are numerous, I want to encourage you to go “beyond the band room” as an educator and leader in your school.
The band director in a school has valuable input in the areas of logistical planning, assessing student performance in class, classroom management, etc. When the opportunity arises, speak up and add your professional experience to the conversation. Too often, band directors feel “unseen” because we aren’t traditional content classroom teachers. However, sometimes we do that to ourselves when we sit in the back of the room and dismiss everything as “this doesn’t apply to me.” By adding our voices to the discussion, we are not only advocating for ourselves as educators but also advocating for our programs as an equal part of the curriculum and school culture. Speak up!
Turning to business, your ABA board has been busy preparing for the upcoming school year. For this year’s summer work session, we met for a day and a half in Decatur, AL, on June 23-24. Executive Secretary Doug Farris provided a financial report, and we continue to improve financially while we still recover from the Covid year of activities. President-Elect Gene Butler presented several recommendations from the Music Selection Committee, including additions to the MPA Cumulative List and Solofest Approved List, and edits to the 2026 All-State etudes and scale requirements.
Jazz Association President Kelvin Benion spoke highly of the Jazz MPA event and its growth in the second year. Plans are being finalized for the 2026 dates/locations, and expectations are for that event to continue to grow.
The Marching Committee, chaired by Nathan Haskew, submitted its final recommendations based on a year’s worth of work and surveys. The board adopted a set of marching rubrics to serve as a resource for marching bands and/or contests, to be used at their discretion as one tool to benefit the marching bands across our state. I would like to thank the committee for all their work on this project!
Other policy updates include allowing districts to reimburse band programs incurring the cost of a substitute when a district official has to miss school due to district responsibilities, increased honorarium for solo and ensemble judges, district chairmen, and vice chairmen, and the addition of an event coordinator to assist with the multitude of responsibilities when hosting our annual All-State Band festival in April. For our retired members, the board has adopted a policy allowing retired directors to attend All-State at no charge for registration.
On the next page you’ll find three legislation proposals to be voted on at the AMEA conference in January. Please read these carefully. I encourage you to be informed regarding the bylaws and board policies that pertain to your program, and please reach out to other directors in your district and encourage them in any way you can. The board continues to work diligently on behalf of the membership to help you and your students have the best possible band experience, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to a board member for assistance. Good luck to everyone on a great fall semester!
Proposal 25.3 Scales Memorization
Article XV, Section 2, b.
CURRENT: Directors will judge students within their own district. The district Chairman will have the discretion to enlist other qualified judges as needed. Where possible, directors should be assigned in teams and their scores averaged. This would relieve the problem of directors having to listen to their own students. This would also keep a player from playing for a judge who has not heard all of the other players of a given instrument. All-State Audition activities are subject to the approval of district members. Students will not be allowed to audition if their director is not present to help judge auditions. Exceptions may be granted by the District Chairman. A student will be allowed to tryout on only one instrument. A student auditioning for the High School Bands must correctly play a minimum of seven (7) major scales with their related arpeggios, and a student auditioning for the Middle School Band must correctly play five (5) major scales with their related arpeggios to advance to the Prepared Studies and Sight Reading portions of the All-State Band audition. No student will be selected for the All-State Band without having performed the entire audition. A score of “NA” is to be given in the event a student fails to attempt any or all of the prepared studies or the sight reading portion of the audition.
PROPOSAL: Directors will judge students within their own district. The district Chairman will have the discretion to enlist other qualified judges as needed. Where possible, directors should be assigned in teams and their scores averaged. This would relieve the problem of directors having to listen to their own students. This would also keep a player from playing for a judge who has not heard all of the other players of a given instrument. All-State Audition activities are subject to the approval of district members. Students will not be allowed to audition if their director is not present to help judge auditions. Exceptions may be granted by the District Chairman. A student will be allowed to tryout on only one instrument. A student auditioning for the High School Bands must correctly play a minimum of seven (7) major scales with their related arpeggios, and a student auditioning for the Middle School Band must correctly play five (5) major scales with their related arpeggios to advance to the Prepared Studies and Sight Reading portions of the All-State Band audition. All scales must be memorized. The use of scale sheets or fingering charts are not allowed in the audition room. No student will be selected for the All-State Band without having performed the entire audition. A score of “NA” is to be given in the event a student fails to attempt any or all of the prepared studies or the sight reading portion of the audition.
Proposal 25.4 Electronic Device Policy
Article XV, Section 2, b
CURRENT: Directors will judge students within their own district. The district Chairman will have the discretion to enlist other qualified judges as needed. Where possible, directors should be assigned in teams and their scores averaged. This would relieve the problem of directors having to listen to their own students. This would also keep a player from playing for a judge who has not heard all of the other players of a given instrument. All-State Audition activities are subject to the approval of district members. Students will not be allowed to audition if their director is not present to help judge auditions. Exceptions may be granted by the District Chairman. A student will be allowed to tryout on only one instrument. A student auditioning for the High School Bands must correctly play a minimum of seven (7) major scales with their related arpeggios, and a student auditioning for the Middle School Band must correctly play five (5) major scales with their related arpeggios to advance to the Prepared Studies and Sight Reading portions of the All-State Band audition. No student will be selected for the All-State Band without having performed the entire audition. A score of “NA” is to be given in the event a student fails to attempt any or all of the prepared studies or the sight reading portion of the audition.
PROPOSAL: Directors will judge students within their own district. The district Chairman will have the discretion to enlist other qualified judges as needed. Where possible, directors should be assigned in teams and their scores averaged. This would relieve the problem of directors having to listen to their own students. This would also keep a player from playing for a judge who has not heard all of the other players of a given instrument. All-State Audition activities are subject to the approval of district members. Students will not be allowed to audition if their director is not present to help judge auditions. Exceptions may be granted by the District Chairman. A student will be allowed to tryout on only one instrument. A student auditioning for the High School Bands must correctly play a minimum of seven (7) major scales with their related arpeggios, and a student auditioning for the Middle School Band must correctly play five (5) major scales with their related arpeggios to advance to the Prepared Studies and Sight Reading portions of the All-State Band audition. No student will be selected for the All-State Band without having performed the entire audition. A score of “NA” is to be given in the event a student fails to attempt any or all of the prepared studies or the sight reading portion of the audition. Students will not be permitted to use electronic devices in the audition room.
Proposal 25.5 Level 1 Band Programming Exemption
Article XVI, Section 3, a
CURRENT: A band may play a maximum of twenty-five (25) minutes performing time. A program which consists of fewer than three selections must be at least twenty (20) minutes
performing time. Any band which exceeds its allotted time will not be eligible to receive
a “I” rating. A band playing a program of two (2) selections may request an extension of
performing time, not to exceed ten (10) minutes. Requests for time extensions at ABA Music Performance Assessment must be received by the President for approval at least 20 days prior to the first day of the Assessment. No performing time extensions will be
granted for programs consisting of three selections.”
PROPOSAL: A band may perform for a maximum of twenty-five (25) minutes of performing time. A program consisting of fewer than three selections must be at least twenty (20) minutes of performing time. Any band that exceeds its allotted time will not be eligible to receive a Division 1 (Superior) rating. A band performing a program of two selections may request an extension of performing time, not to exceed ten (10) minutes. Level I bands composed of middle and junior high school students with no 9th graders may request to perform only two selections, provided the total combined performance time is a minimum of four (4) minutes and one selection is from the Level I ABA Cumulative List. Requests for time extensions and Level I exemptions at ABA Music Performance Assessment must be submitted to the ABA President for approval no later than the third Friday in January. Performance time extensions will not be granted for programs consisting of three selections.