The Alabama Orchestra Association’s Orchestra Music Performance Assessment (OMPA) 2024 was held on Friday, April 5, 2024. It was a full day highlighting the accomplishments and development of orchestras and string ensembles from across Alabama, and the day was an enormous success. Our stage judges were Dr. Christina Volz Stomackin (University of North Alabama), Dr. Annalisa Chang (Clayton State University), and Mr. David Metrio (Gwinnett County Public Schools), and our sightreading judge was Dr. Christopher David Thiem Lawhorne (University of Alabama). Participating ensembles included:
- Thompson High School Philharmonic (Alabaster), Jordan Ford, conductor
- Thompson Middle School Orchestra (Alabaster), Jordan Ford, conductor
- Emma Sansom Strings (Gadsden), Emma Dilley, conductor
- Ramsay High School String Orchestra (Birmingham), Rachel Christmas, conductor
- Carver Elementary and Arts Magnet Strings (Birmingham), Tabitha Holder, conductor
- G.W. Carver High School Orchestra (Birmingham), Catherine Cochran, conductor
- Academy for Academics and Arts M.S. Sapphire Strings (Huntsville), Mary Peck, conductor
- Gadsden Middle School String Orchestra (Gadsden), Rachel Sherrod, conductor
- Gadsden City Titan Orchestra (Gadsden), Keith LaBenne, conductor
- Graceful Glissandos (Birmingham),
- Layla Humphries, director
I am grateful to the administration, faculty, and staff at Thompson High School for donating the use of their gorgeous Performing Arts Center. Thank you to Dr. Wayne Vickers (Superintendent), Michael Lee (Principal), Jordan Ford (Orchestra Director), Graham Bennett (Band Director), Corey Hyman (Band Director), and Michael Giddens (Technical Director).
In February, at the All-State Orchestra Festival in Tuscaloosa, the membership of AOA elected officers that will serve a two-year term, beginning June 1, 2024. They are:
President: Jordan Kirchner Ford is a native of Knoxville, TN. She attended Samford University where she received her Bachelor of Music Education. She taught general music and strings for 4 years in Birmingham City Schools before becoming the Orchestra Director at Alabaster City Schools in the Fall of 2021. Jordan currently teaches the orchestra classes at Thompson Intermediate, Middle, and High Schools. She is also the youth orchestra manager for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Jordan went on to receive her Masters in Special Education with a concentration in Early Childhood Special Education in the spring of 2022. Jordan has been playing the violin since she was four years old and has actively played in amateur and professional orchestras ever since. She lives in Chelsea, AL, with her music teacher husband, 4 year old, and two fluffy, white dogs.
Past President: Joseph Lee is the Resident Conductor of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the Tennessee Valley Music Festival, Music Director of the Festival Internacional de Música Cóbano (Costa Rica), the Director of Music Ministries at East End United Methodist Church in Nashville, the Principal Conductor of Nashville’s professional modern music ensemble, “chatterbird,” and the Artistic Director of Nashville in Harmony’s youth chorus, Major Minors. Joseph has served on the faculties of Vanderbilt University, Sewanee: The University of the South, University of Alabama Huntsville, and recently served a one-year appointment as the Interim Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Alabama. A bassoonist and cellist, he has developed a passion for Eastern music and studies the Japanese shakuhachi and the Armenian duduk. Joseph will finish his Master of Divinity at Claremont School of Theology in December of 2024 and will be commissioned as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church this June.
Vice President/President-Elect: Keith LaBenne is the Orchestra Director at Gadsden High School and received his Bachelor of Music Education from Jacksonville State University. His own journey playing string instruments began in a school orchestra class when he was in the 6th Grade. He chose to be a part of both the orchestra and the band programs. At JSU he was a member of the Marching Southerners and the JSU Community/University Orchestra founded by Dr. Victor Vallo. Keith was a founding member of this orchestra and continues to play in it today. Over the years, he has played in numerous string quartets, musical/pit and church orchestras, the Gadsden Symphony Orchestra, and the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra. He also plays bass in bluegrass bands, including the Distant Cousins and Kelli Johnson and Chimney Peak. Keith enjoys spending time with his family and taking care of his chickens.
Treasurer: Tricia Marotz teaches violin, viola, cello, guitar, and bass, and has owned TM Music Studio since 1997. She is a member of Staccatti, a string quartet, and serves as the Concertmaster and President of the Board for the Tri-State Community Orchestra in Dothan. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Utah State University. Tricia’s favorite style of music is classical, but she is eclectic, enjoying performers like Lindsey Sterling, the Piano Guys, and Pentatonix.
Secretary: Rachel Christmas is a Detroit native and began playing violin at the age of six. She pursued her passion for music through private lessons, concerto competitions, youth orchestra ensembles, including the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Youth Orchestra. Rachel pursued her undergraduate studies at Birmingham-Southern College and received her Masters in Music Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During her time as a student, she performed with the Alabama Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra, the Samford University Orchestra, the Concert Choir, as well as the Marching and Symphonic Bands. Rachel has taught in Gadsden and Birmingham, and currently serves as the Orchestra Director at Ramsay High School. She enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
It has been an honor to serve as the President of the Alabama Orchestra Association for the past two years. I am proud to tell you that orchestral music education is vibrant and so alive in many areas of Alabama, but we have much work to do. I must remind you that approximately one-third of Alabama schools do not have a music teacher. It is the sincere hope of the Alabama Orchestra Association and Alabama Music Educators Association that, someday, every public-school student in Alabama will have access to this art form if they desire to participate. Help spread the word about the work we are doing to your community, colleagues, friends, family, local media outlets, and government officials. Let your legislators know that you, too, dream of a day where all Alabama children will have the opportunity to have their lives enriched through the arts.
Members of the AOA and beyond, thank you for all that you do to ensure that orchestral music education thrives in the State of Alabama. May we continue to build musical communities where our students find safe spaces to express themselves, their experiences, their hopes, and their dreams for a kinder world where all are loved, nurtured, and supported. May this be our mission and may music be our vehicle.
Musically yours,
Joseph Lee, President
