The new school year is officially underway and moving quickly. I hope that in these first few weeks of school, you are reaping the benefits of your pre-planning and preparation for this year. By now you have met and reconnected with students and colleagues, pre-assessed skills and knowledge, chosen repertoire, established routines, and mapped out your calendar of events. If you are already feeling tired or overwhelmed, slow down. Pace yourself. The school year is a marathon, not a sprint. I encourage you to find a pace that sets you up to finish the year just as strong as you have started!
Fall Workshop
I am full of gratitude and happiness to have seen so many of you in Montgomery at the 2024 Fall Workshop. Fall Workshop always creates a wonderful space for connection, collaboration, and exceptional professional learning and this year’s event was no exception. Our clinician, Dr. Emily Burch, helped us build our toolbox of warm-up techniques and repertoire. She challenged us to be vocal about the business of choral music education and its importance in the lives of students. Her enthusiasm was just the jolt of energy we needed to keep the momentum of the year going strong. I also want to say a special thank you to the teachers who led breakout sessions and roundtable discussions.
During Fall Workshop there was an AVA general membership meeting. The minutes from the meeting will be made available on the AVA Website. However, I will share two important votes that came out of our meeting. The membership voted to accept the proposed amendments to the AVA bylaws. The newly approved bylaws can be found in the current AVA handbook posted on the AVA website. The membership also voted to rescind a motion made at the 2022 Fall Workshop that, if passed, would have made way for the addition of a sight-reading component to the All-State audition process. At this time, the addition of a sight-reading component to the All-State audition process will continue to be a topic of discussion and research for the AVA governing board.
All-State Auditions and Festival
All-State auditions are quickly approaching. Make sure you have ordered music for every student who plans to audition, including a copy of “Alabama”. Students should number the measures in each song and be prepared to sing all 7 pieces of music. Please go over the new audition process with your students. While they need to prepare all songs, they will only be asked to sing 3 of the selected pieces and a portion of Alabama. The new audition process will be as follows:
- Each student will sing selected measures from 3 of the 6 assigned repertoire in addition to Alabama.
- The 3 auditioned songs will be selected by the festival clinicians.
- Every student will sing selected measures of Alabama.
- Students will not know which of the 3 songs will be selected until they enter the audition room. Consequently, students will be required to learn ALL 6 selections before the audition.
Please ensure that students bring an adjudication form to the audition filled out completely, including a parent’s signature.
The 2025 Alabama All-State Festival will take place at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, AL on April 3-5, 2025. The 2025 All-State clinicians are:
- MS Mixed: Victor C. Johnson
- MS Treble: Sophia Miller
- HS TTBB: Dr. Brian Murray
- HS SSAA: Dr. Joni Jensen
- HS SATB: Dr. Gary Packwood
AMEA Conference
If you are a new teacher or think back to your first years of teaching, you may remember a more seasoned teacher telling you, “It will get easier”. The “it” they were referring to, of course, was the job of teaching. Well, I’d like to offer a reframing to those seemingly kind words of encouragement. The profession of teaching is hard and it doesn’t get any easier, but you have the opportunity every day and every year to get better at it. When you reach out to other teachers for help, when you are an active member of a professional organization, when you attend professional learning like Fall Workshop or AMEA you create opportunities for professional growth that make you better at tackling this beautifully complex career called teaching.
With that thought in mind, I encourage you to make every effort to attend the 2025 AMEA Conference. This year’s conference will be held January 23-25 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, AL. Our guest clinician will be Francis Cathlina. Cathlina is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis and has recently been named one of six conductors to participate in the 2025 International Conductors Exchange Program in the Philippines. He will present three sessions including: 7 Essentials for Developing Voices in Choir, “Tech Time”: Intentional Voice Building through an 8-Step Warm-Up and a conducting masterclass titled, “Unlocking Inner Artistry”.
Congratulations to the choirs who were selected to perform at the conference. We are looking forward to hearing performances by Shades Mountain Elementary Singers, Muscle Shoals Middle School, Indian Springs Chamber Choir, Hewitt-Trussville High Chamber Choir, University of North Alabama Collegiate Singers, University of Alabama Singers, and Jacksonville State University A Capella Choir. Performing at AMEA is a special honor and I am eager to hear the beautiful music each group will share with the AMEA conference attendees.
Until we meet again, please know that I am grateful for you and the work we do together for each other and our students. If you have questions, concerns, or ideas to share contact me at amanda.slay.ava@gmail.com.
Amanda Slay
AVA President