I hope by now everyone is settling into a new school year. It’s hard to believe that conference season is right around the corner! Our AMEA Professional Development Conference has always been a highlight of the year for me, and I know many of you feel the same way. There’s something so refreshing about gathering with colleagues who understand the joys and challenges of teaching elementary general music, and this year promises to be no exception.
We have an exciting lineup of sessions waiting for you in Birmingham this January. We are delighted to hear the Oak Mountain Melodies from Oak Mountain Intermediate School, led by Brooke Gray, as they kick things off with the first performance of the conference on Thursday morning.
Our featured presenter this year is Dr. Scott Sexton, who will also be leading our Elementary All-State Choir. Fully certified in both the Kodaly and Orff approaches, Dr. Sexton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. I hope you will review the conference schedule in this issue of the Ala Breve, which highlights the many other great session opportunities available to us.
Plans are also underway for our Elementary All-State Choir. This will be the first year we get to have this event during the conference since we got snowed out in Huntsville two years ago. Registration for schools is now closed (thank you for signing up so quickly!), and individual student names are due by October 31. Invoices will be sent out in October with payments due no later than November 27. If you haven’t already, ensure your NAfME membership is up to date to prevent your students from losing their spots. For those who have registered, please keep up with your emails from our All-State Coordinator, Alicia Luttrell, to ensure you don’t miss any important updates. This is sure to be an experience your students (and you) will not soon forget.
We also have an opportunity to see Mr. Rob DelGaudio (yes, the one from YouTube!) at Samford University on November 15 with the Alabama Orff chapter. Click here to visit their website for information on how to register.
I want to pause for a moment and reflect on the heart of our work. Teaching elementary general music is both incredibly rewarding and, at times, overwhelming. We wear so many hats that it can be easy to get caught up in the to-do lists, classroom management issues, or a constant feeling that there’s never quite enough time to fit in everything we want. But if we zoom out for just a moment, we can see the bigger picture: we are shaping lives through music.
I found a quote somewhere a few years ago that I wrote on a sticky note and stuck to the wall by my desk that says: “Stop digging it up to see if it grew.” As teachers, we often want immediate results. We want the class to master the song, internalize the beat, and understand the concept, and we want to see this happen right away. Growth doesn’t typically work like that. Seeds take time. Sometimes the work we are doing today won’t bear fruit until weeks, months, or even years later, and THAT IS OKAY. Our job is not to rush the process, but to nurture it by providing proper sunlight, water, and care through each musical experience we offer every day. The growth will come, even if we don’t see it right away. A child who finally learns to keep a steady beat may one day become a confident musician, or may simply be better at working with others in group settings. A student who learns to listen closely in a folk dance may carry that skill into how they collaborate as an adult. And the student who discovers the sheer joy of singing may turn to music in the most challenging moments of their life, remembering what it feels like to belong.
So as we dive into the busyness of the upcoming season, remember that your work matters. Every beat, every song, every creative moment adds up to something bigger than we can measure, with no shovels or garden gloves needed. You are doing important, beautiful work, even on the days when it feels messy or unnoticed.
I can’t wait to see you in Birmingham this January 22-24 for our 2026 conference. I look forward to sharing ideas, making music together, socializing, and recharging for the work ahead. Until then, may your classrooms be filled with singing, movement, laughter, and those small moments of magic that remind us why we chose this calling in the first place.