Beginning, Middle, End.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 indicates that, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof…”. I am grateful to begin the second half of my term as AVA president. As we begin the school year, we are experiencing all of the aspects of beginning, middle and end. Pat Blackwell, after serving the AVA board as the executive secretary for seven years, retired, ending her seven year term, giving notice at the beginning of April that her last day was would be June 30th Rebekah Stevens of Northport began working before her official first day on July 1st. This is a one-year interim position and we will repost the job for applicants in January, 2016. Rebekah also assumed the responsibilities of webmaster. We encourage you to be patient as we are dealing with a huge handicap. Both positions - executive secretary and webmaster - have a huge work load in the late spring and early part of the summer. Rebekah is doing - and is going to do - a great job this year. My prediction is that she will be a great customer service asset to our organization. You certainly will want to attend the fall workshop and meet her.

Communicating with and within our organization is an essential. To more effectively communicate and to maintain a trouble free emailing service, we have moved all of our AVA board email accounts to Gmail. Now when AVA board members rotate on and off the board, email addresses will stay the same even though the people change. The permanent addresses of the AVA Board positions are:

PresidentOfAva@gmail.com - Carl Davis

PresidentElectAva@gmail.com - Ginny Coleman

VicePresidentAva@gmail.com - Jody Powell

RecSecAva@gmail.com - Jane Powell

ExecSecAva@gmail.com - Rebekah Stevens

District1Ava@gmail.com - Michelle Reburn

District2Ava@gmail.com - Hilen Powell

District3Ava@gmail.com - Ginny Hughes

District4Ava@gmail.com - Cathy Spence

District5Ava@gmail.com - Meg Jones

District6Ava@gmail.com - Jerry Cunningham

District7Ava@gmail.com - Daniel Massey

Each of these new gmail accounts provides each board member 15 GB of free storage on google drive to maintain AVA documents. This will allow smooth transfer of documents to the next person who takes a board position. After Fall Workshop, your AVA board will only use the above addresses for communication as the @alavocal.org addresses will be closed.

Maintaining a current up-to-date database of our membership facilitates our ability to communicate. Last year, I indicated that one of my goals was to move our organization into the 21st century in the areas of communication and registering for events. I think that we are on track for both of those. This past year we provided information by which you could enter your biographical data on the AVA website as practice. This year, to be able to register for any AVA event, after Fall Workshop, you will have to have entered your contact information on the AVA website. This will be a yearly requirement and will afford us an up-to-date database for communication. Visit the AVA website and complete the following steps: 1. Visit www.AlaVocal.org. 2. Click the “Director Portal”

3. Enter the Case Sensitive Username and Password (all lower case) Username: pat Password: blackwell 4. Under the “Membership” Heading, Click the “Member Registration” button. 5. Enter you data. You will receive an email (at all addresses provided - home and school) indicating the information submitted. This is your proof of registration. This endeavor should yield our organization a current yearto-year reliable database of information. I also project that we will collect registration information for one event this year via our website. More instruction will come later concerning collecting registration data online instead of mailing or faxing paperwork.

The 2015AVA Fall Workshop will be held at First Baptist Church, 305 S Perry St, Montgomery, AL, on Friday, September 11th. Again this year the fall workshop is a one-day event. Dr. Debra Spurgeon will present four sessions: 1. Improving the sound of your school, community, and church choir:

Targeting sopranos and altos; 2. Tried and true and overlooked: Recommended online repertoire and resources for the middle and high school choir. 3. Arranging your choir for success: Standing formations, spacing, and recent research on choral acoustics; 4. Reading Session. The twenty titles will be bound in octavo size and are included as part of your registration cost. We will also have 3 mini-sessions. These sessions will address: All State Music and Auditions(Carl Davis); Honor Choir and Screening(Ginny Coleman) ; Physical Expressivity in Performance (Dr. Marvin Latimer); If you have taught one – three years, please register for the free New Teacher Luncheon. Cathy Spence and Dr. Debra Spurgeon will present some relevant information at that luncheon.

Remember to join or renew your NAfME membership before the fall workshop. I wish you all the best as you begin your new school year.

Micheal Holmes - President, Alabama Bandmasters Association

The Process Continues

As educators we never really end a school year and start over as most think we do. We just continue, with hopefully a few breaks along the way, to prepare for what is next. There is always another rehearsal, performance, fund-raiser, booster meeting, trip, or field to line off. I know this is true in the band director profession. We are researching MPA performance music while planning a marching band show. We are recruiting for the future as we are preparing for our final concert of the year. And one of the things that we do that is most impressive is we are helping each other all along the way. Working each other’s band camps, conducting instrument tryouts for a colleague’s next beginner band, visiting rehearsals to assist with contest preparation, sharing advice on music that is advisable or not so advisable to play. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I see the same dedication and camaraderie from band students. If the band room is open, they will come. It is their “Clubhouse.” Hanging out with fellow band members, meeting after the game at Waffle House, throwing a Frisbee during water breaks, or crashing the flute section’s pool party is what keeps them coming back. Observing the friendships that develop, the musical growth, and the personal growth of our students is what keeps us coming back. It’s going to be another great year of band.

ABA Summer Conference 2015 is in the books. I am positive that if you attended you were not disappointed. We had outstanding clinics presented by Keith Anderson, Pat Stegall, Mark Foster and Sallie Vines White, and Greg Gumina (Southwind Drum Corps). What great attendance we had for the “Social Hour”/Shrimp Boil -approximately 140 directors and family members attended. Having Betty Bates as our featured “Old Fogie” speaker had much to do with the huge crowd. Betty is an amazing person. Please plan to attend next year. I promise that we will be fully prepared for a large crowd and we will get you fed more efficiently. Thank you to AWB Apparel, Southern Performances, Art’s Music Shop, Demoulin Uniforms, Sound Choices Recording, Super Holiday Tours, and Mouchette Enterprises for serving as sponsors of the “Social Hour.” Hopefully, you and your family also got in some much needed beach time as well. We will return to Hampton Inn-Orange Beach in June of 2016.

I want to thank and congratulate you on selecting such fine representatives from your districts to serve on the ABA Board. We had a very productive board meeting.It is a privilegeto be surrounded by such talented individuals.

Several committees are working on assigned projects, such as updating our by-laws, adjudicator certification process, and list of approved adjudicators. President-Elect Doug Farris has already proven to be an invaluable asset to your organization and especially to me. As outlined in our By-Laws, Doug is Chair of the Music Selection Committee. We have representation from throughout the state on this committee. They met for several hours and will be adding a number of new compositions to the Cumulative List. New music added this summer will be noted as such on the list. Executive Secretary Harry McAfee received a well-deserved positive review from the board as well. Thanks to Harry for a job well done.

As a member of AMEA/ABA,you also have responsibilities. Return all dues, fees, registrations,and respond to all correspondence in a timely manner. Renew your NAfME membership now if you have not done so. Please do not wait until the AMEA In-Service in January to renew as this creates delays in the onsite registration and pre-registration pick-up process. Check the AMEA/ABA website regularly. You will find needed forms, AllState Band audition requirements and etudes, Cumulative Music list, ABA Directory, and other useful and needed information. Check the abafest.com site weekly for announcements and calendar updates. Your ABA state officers and district officers will be using this site to keep you informed as well as have you register for events such as All-State and MPA. With the guidance of David Raney we are continuing to develop and expand this site.

We will have three pieces of new legislation (included in this issue) to consider at our business meeting in January at the AMEA Conference. Conferenceregistration and lodging reservations are available now. Visit the AMEA websiteto access this information. Pre-register today and save. We have a great line-up of per-forming ensembles and clinics/sessions representing ABA for this conference.

Alabama has been well represented for the past several years at the annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago. We have had a band perform, as well as several of our ABA members present clinics, rehearsal labs, serve on panel discussions,etc. This year the Pizitz Middle School Band, under the direction of Kim Bain and Leah Seng,will perform on Wednesday, December 16, 2015, at 10:45 A.M. Please make your reservation for Tuesday,and let’s have a strong ABA showing in support of our colleagues and their students.

I wish you success as you continue to inspire your students to reach the goals that have been set. And DON’T FORGET THE SUNSCREEN.

Alabama Bandmasters Proposed Legislation 2016-1

Submitted by Clay Sloan

Article XVI, Section 2-1

Eliminate the final two sentences that state:

“A band may be allowed to drop a maximum of two classifications and shall have to climb one classification per year until reaching its regular classification. Requests to reclassify should be the exception to the rule.”

Add the following:

Any band that has not received an overall rating of superior in the previous two years of Music Performance Assessment may perform in any classification the director chooses. (High School bands must remain in the High School classifications). Upon receiving an overall rating of superior in a lower classification, a band will be required to climb one classification until reaching the classification that is dictated by school enrollment.

Alabama Bandmasters Proposed Legislation 2016-2

Submitted by Mark Foster, Jazz Chair

Jazz Fee Structure

2. Article XIX. Fee Schedule

Currently reads:

All-State Jazz Band audition fee: $15.00 per student

$20.00 school fee

$40.00 participation fee for students who are selected to participate in one of the All-State Jazz Bands

Change this section to read:

All-State Jazz Band audition fee: $15.00 per student

$20.00 school fee

$50.00 participation fee for students who are selected to participate in one of the All-State Jazz Bands

Alabama Bandmasters Proposed Legislation 2016-3

Submitted by Dr. Mark Foster

By-laws currently read:

Article XVI

Section 7. State Solo and Ensemble Festival j. No “approved lists” shall be required. NAFME’s “Ensemble Music for Wind and Percussion Instruments” and the University of Texas “Prescribed Music” catalogues may be helpful in selecting material. It shall be the responsibility of each director to guide his performers so that they make wise choices of literature. Adjudicators will have the right to lower ratings for poor choices.

Change this to read: j. All performance music for all events except for jazz ensemble events must be selected from the ABA Solo and Ensemble Suggested Music List. It shall be the responsibility of each director to guide her/his performers to make wise choices of literature. Adjudicators have the right to lower ratings for poor choices of literature. It is the intent of the author of this legislation that it take effect during the school year 2016-2017.

All State Excerpts will be posted on our website www.alabamaorchestraassociation.org on August 10, 2015. All State Conductors and music will be as follows: Festival Orchestra: Peter Bay will conduct the

As the new school year starts, we are all gearing up for the excitement that is sure to come. Here’s a quote to remind us how important our profession is.

“The back-to basics curricula, while it has merit, ignores the most urgent void in our present system- absence of self-discipline. The arts, inspiring— indeed requiring –self-discipline, may be more basic to our nation’s survival than traditional courses.”

Paul Harvey

Wow! How amazing is it to be reminded that our classes are not just EXTRA, but essential to the survival or our nation. I hope this year you remember how important our roles are as music educators. Be inspired to be the best you can be so those essential character traits needed to keep our country great will be instilled in your students.

As this new school year begins, the AOA executive board is busily working to make this year of festivals and conferences amazing for our students and teachers. We are working on All State auditions, nailing down speakers for our AMEA in-service conference, and working out details for the first ever AOA Music Performance Assessment Festival.

Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Nielsen’s 3rd Symphony, Finale, and the AOA composition contest winner’s piece; Sinfonia Orchestra: Dr. David Pope will conduct March Militaire Francaise by Saint-Saens/arr. Isaac, Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: No. 1 Scene by Tchaikovsky, Millennium by Meyer, and Pines of Rome by Respighi/arr. Bulla ; Consort String Orchestra: Kirsten Marshall will conduct Coiled! by Lipton, Dance of the Harlequins, by Clark. Agincourt, by Spata, Deep River by Gruselle, and Final Quest, by Chisham. I am very excited about our lineup of music and conductors for this year’s Festival. I can’t wait to see all the students again in February and hear the amazing results at the concluding concert from your hours and hours of practice.

AOA will have an amazing line up of speakers at this year’s AMEA in-service conference. Mark your calendars for Januray 21-23, 2016 to make sure you are in attendance. We will be featuring sessions from nationally acclaimed composers Soon Hee Newbold and Brian Balmages. We will also have sessions from our Alabama ASTA President, Caroline Nordlund and two of our college string professors, Dr. Anne Witt and Dr. Daniel Stevens. Some of the session titles include: “The Frenzied Instrumental Conductor’s Guide to Score Preparation,” “Injury Prevention for the String Studio,” “Bow Games and Twinkle and Solfege, O My!,” “Classroom Management 201,” “ The Publishing Process,” and “Picking the Perfect Piece for Your Concert.” In addition to these wonderful sessions we will have the opportunity to hear the Shoals Symphony under the direction of Dr. Daniel Stevens perform. You don’t want to miss this conference!!!

I am excited to tell you about our new Orchestra Music Performance Festival that is set to happen on April 22 and 23, 2016. This Festival will be held at Auburn University. All details are still being worked out, but we are excited that this will take place this year. Details will be posted on our website as they become available. www.alabamaorchestraassociation.org

I wish everyone an exciting year of music teaching and performing. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!