I closed my last Ala Breve article by expressing my profound gratitude for the dedicated members of the entire ABA Board, who tirelessly work behind the scenes to ensure our students have opportunities to grow and experience musical moments that they will cherish for a lifetime. As I reflected, these past few days, after our Summer Board Meeting, I once again felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. This reflection led me to consider how essential gratitude is in various aspects of our lives. Gratitude is the heartfelt appreciation for the positive aspects of life, whether big or small. It involves recognizing and valuing the good things that come our way, fostering a sense of contentment and well-being. By cultivating gratitude, we can shift our focus from what we “lack” to what we “have”, enhancing our emotional resilience and deepening our connections with others. Practicing gratitude regularly can transform our outlook, making us more mindful and appreciative of the present moment. Take a moment to think of three things you are grateful for. I am grateful for my family and friends. At my age, I am grateful for the opportunity to just wake up every day and make a difference in someone’s life. Most of all, I am grateful for the life I have been given and for the many people who have helped mold me into the person I am today. As we begin a new school year, it is important for us as teachers to reflect on our gratitude and use that to guide us in our classrooms and all areas of our daily lives.
The Summer Board meeting/work session was outstanding! Things were different this year, due to not having the conference, but it allowed us time to really dig into some training and work on making the Alabama Bandmasters Association better. Some of the highlights from our meeting in Montgomery included extensive training in using our Website and Google Drive, New Teacher Mentorship, and an introduction and training session for our new All State District Audition procedures. A huge shout of gratitude to Chance Nelson who has put in hundreds of hours getting us ready to move forward with this! Our All-State Conductors for 2025 are Red Band- Dr. Eugene Coporon, White Band-Randall D. Standridge, Blue Band- Dr. Peter Boonshaft, and Middle School – Dr. Mary Land and William Owens
ABA President-Elect Keith Anderson brought forth several recommendations from the Music Selection Committee, including a revision of Middle School Scale requirements for All-State, along with revisions to the audition music, additions to the Solo Festival music list, the MPA cumulative music list, and the addition of a philosophy, judging rubrics and guidelines for Solo Festival adjudication.
Jazz Chairman, Nick McDonald, discussed the success of the All-State Jazz Bands and the Inaugural Jazz MPA event. Keep a lookout for the new All-State Jazz requirements on the alaband.org website, and I am excited to say the 2025 Jazz Clinicians are going to be awesome!
Past President, Joel Henson presented the ABA Board with proposals from the Adjudication Committee including a revised Adjudicator list, MPA Rubric, Guiding Questions for MPA, and more defined Sight Reading procedures. All of this will move the ABA toward making our state Music Performance Assessment as consistent as humanly possible.
The Board voted to suspend the Summer Conference indefinitely due to the continued concern for the financial feasibility of the event. The Board approved Mobile to host the 2027 and 2028 All-State Band Festival, with the dates being April 21-24, 2027, and April 19-22, 2028. The Nominating Committee for our upcoming elections for President-Elect, Recording Secretary, and Jazz Vice-Chairman are as follows: District I and II: Chairman Jonathan Steinman Hayden High School, District III and IV: Corinth Lewis Hewitt Trussville Middle School, District V and VI: Dakota Bromley Jemison High School and District VII and VIII: Jonathan Chance Pike County High School. If you have someone you would like to nominate for one of our offices, please contact one of the committee members. Their contact information is in the ABA Directory on the website. These elections will take place at our Business Meeting on Saturday morning of AMEA. We will also vote on the two Proposed Legislation changes that were presented to the Board. (see below)
So as you can see, some exciting things are happening within our great organization and it is vitally important that each one of you, read the updates on the website. Your District Chairman and Vice-Chairman have been given information to pass on to you, and you must adhere to it. This doesn’t just affect you, it also affects your students. Be grateful for each and every opportunity you have to make a difference in their lives! Be willing to step up and mentor one of our young teachers. Make plans to attend our annual AMEA Professional Development Conference in Birmingham on January 23-25, 2025! We have much to be grateful for and I am grateful for each of you! I close with these wise words from John F. Kennedy, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you! May each of you have a wonderful beginning to the upcoming school year!