CODA Update

post-COVID. I do want to commend and applaud the amazing efforts of music educators everywhere in keeping their students engaged with innovative content, offering steady encouragement to the students, and working so hard to keep their programs alive with online performances. Music educators are strong, innovative, and resilient. Bravo!

To those of you close to retirement but haven’t pulled the trigger, you may have some questions / thoughts. Let me know of some topics you would like to hear about at CASMEC 2022, or here in the CMEA Magazine. CalSTRS? Retirement finances and planning? How to help mentor colleagues? Let me know and we can start a group dialogue. There is a lot to talk about. Have a great summer as we continue to open up society.

Be positive, be kind, be thankful to the scientists and medical community, get vaccinated, and most importantly, stay safe.

Zoom Concert of the Saratoga Stings with Interim Director Norm Dea

Post-COVID And Beyond:

It’s my belief that as the 2020-21 school year draws to a close in the hybrid model, and with the future heavily leaning towards the full reopening of school in the fall, how can retirees help? It starts first by knowing what modifications and accommodations will be made to keep teachers and students safe in the rehearsal environment. Will coaches and mentors be allowed back into the classroom as it was pre-pandemic? When these questions are clarified and answered, then we can talk about the role of interested retirees in more detail. I have spoken to a number of retirees, and they say that they probably won’t be going back to subbing or helping with sectionals and such for safety concerns, which I find totally reasonable. But some retirees will continue to want to help. This all comes down to personal choices and your personal threshold of how you view and address your personal safety. I believe that retirees can continue to make a difference in the post-COVID music education landscape as helpers, clinicians, adjudicators, and mentors. Stay tuned.

The California Orchestra Directors Association is committed to increasing opportunities for students across the state. With that objective in mind, a second Junior High School All-State Orchestra will be added to the California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC) in 2022! Adding a second ensemble at the junior high school level will help ensure that more students are able to be recognized for their musicianship and take part in the All-State experience.

Additionally, a committee of educators, including junior high/middle school specialists have worked to select and/or revise the audition excerpts for this age group.

Updated excerpts and audition materials will be available at codaorchestras.org.

Craig Bryant, composer Jan Van der Roost, and Norm Dea on tour in Salzburg, Austria.