Below I describe what has been accomplished and issue grades on our progress. Let’s see if your scores match mine.


Professional Outreach. In the August issue of the Ala Breve, we featured an advocacy article written by Edward Lisk (New York). His contribution was the first of 14 original articles we plan to publish by accomplished and rising stars in the field. In this issue, we have four articles written by authors from across the US. Dr. Rebecca Macleod (U. North Carolina) describes how participating in an orchestra can serve as a vehicle for social change, teach discipline and perseverance, as well as enrich the lives of all students. Dr. Rodney Dorsey (U. Oregon) shares several considerations directors should make when programming for concert bands and provides a list of recommended pieces to explore. Dr. Shelly Cooper (U. Arizona) explores the connections between music and language literacy using the lens of Brain-Targeted Teaching and provides an illustrative general music lesson to try in the classroom. And finally, Dr. Virginia Davis (U. Texas Pan American) describes the phases of student mentorship and how teachers are critical to the process. In February 2015, the Ala Breve will include contributions from four different authors (a choral article is coming folks, so stay-tuned). Grade: “A”


Special Clinicians Fund. At our June Governing Board Meeting, a special fund was created for the AVA and ABA to secure two nationally recognized clinicians for the upcoming conference. I am pleased to report the Alabama Vocal Association, under the leadership of Dr. Carl Davis, secured Dr. Tucker Biddlecombe (Vanderbilt U.) for the 2015 conference and scheduled three sessions with this master teacher. Details about Dr. Biddlecombe can be found in the conference program section of this issue. Grade: “B”


Industry Connections. I am very excited to report that the current number of Industry members is up by 29% when compared with June 2014. Industry connections began under the leadership of Past-president Dr. Sara Womack and are tended to by our Executive Director, Garry Taylor. Grade: “A”


Collegiate Connections. I am pleased to report that we added two new efforts to connect with College and University faculty.


Reviewers for the Association. They agreed to review at least 25 pieces over the next year and will contribute a regular music review column to the Ala Breve beginning this February. Second, Dr. Ellary Draper (music therapy) volunteered to serve as the Chair of the Multicultural and Special Education Committee. In this role, Dr. Draper will keep us informed of relevant issues at state and national levels and offer a dedicated inservice session on special education in 2016. Information about Dr. Draper can be found on page 10. Grade: “B”


Research Connections. Dr. Frank Buck was reappointed to the position of AMEA historian. His compilation of state band ratings, concert programs, president biographies, and hall of fame inductees are important pieces of our history. Dr. Buck’s article on page 57 details his upcoming research projects and includes a call for assistance from AMEA members. I encourage everyone, especially retired members and graduate students, to lend a helping hand. Grade: “A”


Research Connections. Danielle Todd presented the results of her study on the contents of AMEA inservice conference from 1984 to 2014 at the August Governing Board Meeting. Her research revealed several unique trends and areas in need of attention. For example, she found the proportion of performances by middle school and community ensembles were significantly lower than those by high school groups since the inception of the conference. She also found that clinic sessions covering special and multicultural education issues were rarely available to Alabama music educators. Results of the study influenced some of our long-term plans for the 2016 conference and supported the creation of our new multicultural and special education committee. Grade: “A”


Milestone 2: Escalate advocacy by directly engaging members of our state legislature through data driven arguments and solutions.


My report: I think we are making good progress toward preparing our Association to pass the second milestone. So, let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished since June.


First, to


directly engage faculty in the professional development of Alabama Music Teachers, Dr. Erin Colwitz (choral) and Dr. David Ragsdale (band) volunteered to serve as Music


ala breve


Music Education Rally in Montgomery. A clear plan is coming into focus and Susan Smith, AMEA President-elect, outlined a series of benchmarks at our August meeting for hosting an Alabama version of NAfME’s Hill Day in 2016. The day will include a series of


concerts by Alabama bands, choirs, and other groups in front of the state capitol and we will host a press conference to talk about the importance of music education in Alabama. Grade: “In progress”


Non-Member Survey. To build the capacity we need to have a clear voice in Montgomery, we need everyone who is involved in K-College music education in Alabama to advocate for music in our schools. Which means, we need to increase the size of our association by bringing all Alabama music teachers into the fold. Khristina Motley sent me preliminary results from her study on non-members of the AVA, which was presented at the AVA Fall Workshop. Her very insightful interviews with choral educators revealed some of the top barriers to belonging to our association. We are using this information to reach out to our disenfranchised teachers holding long-expired NAfME memberships. Grade: “In progress”


Rebrand the Association Through Logo Redesign. The governing board is selecting a new logo for the AMEA. Our current logo does not print well on dark backgrounds and when enlarged for printing on banners and other advocacy materials. We will need a flexible logo for our 2016 Music Education Rally in Montgomery and for the business we conduct as an association. We currently have over 25 designs to select from, which were inexpensively created by crowdsourcing our ideas to a team of designers online. Grade: “In progress”


Milestone 3: Enhance communications between our association, members, and school administrators.


My report: Building the capacity to quickly communicate our initiatives and goals is an important part of an effective music advocacy campaign. We are using social media aggressively, which attracted the attention of several high profile educators and organizations. However, we need to get more of our members and eventually music parents involved in our communication infrastructure. Here are a couple of updates representing our excellent progress since June.


Enhance Communication Capacity through Twitter. @ALMusicEd. Since June, we created 454 Tweets about education news, arts advocacy, music festivals, and the music industry. In addition, the AMEA reported “live” from The Future of Public Education


Continued on page 9 7


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64