CMEA Magazine Spring 2014

CM EA Magazine The News Magazine of the California Music Educators Association Spring Issue 2014 • Volume 67, Number 3

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CMEA Magazine

It’s time to win one for the kids!

It’s exciting times for music advocacy in our schools! Sacramento has recently made fundamental changes to how our school districts will be funded by shifting decision-making power from the state to the local level, with community input not only encouraged, but required.

This is an unprecedented opportunity for the Performing Arts, and as a music educator, you are uniquely positioned to play a major role in improving our students’ quality of education. By June 30th of this year, every California school district must engage its parents and community to formulate and adopt a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP ).

LCAP is a major game changer, and what we accomplish by June 30th could have a lasting impact on arts funding for years. This is your chance to speak out! The CA Alliance for Arts Ed website (artsed411.org) has some great tips on making effective presentations at school board meetings, as well as sample letters and templates to help in the process. The California PTA website (capta.org) also offers a wealth of useful information on how you can get involved and make a difference.

This is a call to action!

Please join us in actively advocating for music in our schools; for the sake of the students, the future of our communities, and the health of our society.

Thank you!

Nick Rail President, Nick Rail Music

Spring Issue 2014

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T he News Magazine of th e California M usic Educato rs Associatio n SPRING

ISSUE

2014 •

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

CONTENTS POSTMASTER

CMEA Magazine (ISSN 1099–6710) is published quarterly (September, November, February, May)

by CMEA. Mailing Address: 9923 Hirondelle Lane, Tujunga, CA 91042–2605.

Periodical postage paid at Tujunga, CA and at additional mailing offices.

Subscription price of $4.00 is included in the CMEA annual dues. Non-member subscription rate is $12.00 per year.

Single copies are $3.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CMEA Magazine, 9923 Hirondelle Lane, Tujunga, CA 91042–2605 CMEA Magazine Art Director/Business Manager: Allen Petrinka Mailing Address: 9923 Hirondelle Lane Tujunga, CA 91042–2605 Voice: 818 353–3356 E-mail: cmeamagazine@dslextreme.com Rates and advertising information available at: www.calmusiced.com

• President’s Message: We’ve Come a Long Way

by CMEA President Russ Sperling • Accomplishments What the CMEA Board Accomplished During its Recent Two-Year Term • Persuasion vs. Enforcement Advocating for the Visual and Performing Arts by Dr. Carl W. Schafer • CMEA Southern Border Section News

by Pauline Crooks, CMEA Southern Border Section President • Stand Up 4 Music California Music Education Advocacy Day at the State Capitol by CMEA • Building a Better Conference

by Bill Wilkinson, CMEA CASMEC Logistics Coordinator • Three Simple Rules for Orchestra

by Kate Francis, CMEA CODA Representative • An Outreach Concert at a California State Prison

by Dr. Lawrence F. Stoffel, CMEA Higher Education Representative • Our Work in Music

by Drew Lewis, CMEA Central Coast President • Triple Team: CLA/ACDA/SCVA

by Merryl Nelson, CMEA California ACDA Representative • Choral at CASMEC

by Laura Williams

7 10 13 15 16 & 47 17 19 21 25 27 28

• Performance Bowing Bowing Terms Explained for Band-Trained Teachers by Dr. Thomas Tatton • Making Ourselves Indispensable

by Richard Lawton, CMEA General Music Representative • Final Musings and Coda

By Norman Dea, CMEA Immediate Past President • REVERBeration is Powerful in the New CMEA

by Lisa Crawford, CMEA Southwestern Section Designated Contact • CMEA Awards Gala at CASMEC CMEA State Awards Presentations • What’s New in Music Technology 2014

by Mike Klinger

29 33 35 36 37–46 48

The Executive Committee of CMEA serves as the Editorial Board.

The observations and opinions expressed in any article in this magazine are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Association.

CMEA does not necessarily endorse any product or service advertised in this magazine.

CMEA Administrative Office Mailing Address: 2417 North 11th Avenue Hanford, CA 93230 Office: 559 587-2632 Cell: 559 904-2002 E-mail: cmea@calmusiced.com Website: www.calmusiced.com

ON THE COVER: Two trombonists from the All-State High School Wind Symphony rehearse in Fresno’s Saroyan Theatre; CBDA All-State Junior High School Concert Band Manager Kristen Pallas; CASMEC Piano Tuner Terry Barrett; the CAJ/CBDA All-State High School Jazz Band Director Joey Sellers. PHOTO ABOVE: The CBDA All-State Junior High School Concert Band in rehearsal with Conductor Angela Woo. The bowls are instrumental in Old Churches by Michael Colgrass.

Cover photos and CMEA Award Gala photos by Allen Petrinka.

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Spring Issue 2014

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We’ve Come a Long Way

by Russ Sperling CMEA President

hen I began my term as CMEA president two years ago, outgoing President Norm Dea had made some tough calls and done some hard work to get us back on track, but we were not out of the woods yet. We were in considerable financial debt to our national association, and our status and relevance as an organization was frankly in question. But over the last two years, I must say that as a profession we have really come together, and CMEA is coming back in a big way.

We created a strategic plan that included a vision, mission and goals that we have worked very hard to accomplish. We are far from done, but we have made great progress (see CMEA Accomplishments following this article). We’ve created a new look via a new logo, website and social media presence. We’ve increased our membership to 2064, as of March 1.

On July 1 of this year, we will have paid off all of the $80,000 we owed to NAf ME. We increased our association’s balance as of July 1 by 110% from 2012 to 2013. We split the old Southern Section into two: the new Southeastern and Southwestern Sections are now in better position to provide membership services to music educators in these populous, vast areas of our state.

We are becoming major players in advocacy. We led the creation of the Stand Up 4 Music coalition with our music education family of associations. We’ve hired a music education lobbyist in Sacramento. Our statement in response to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s arts education proposal received national attention. We will again be at our State Capitol this May visiting legislators and making our case (visit the recently re-vamped standup4music.org for more information). We are going to make California better for our students.

I am proud of the status in which I leave CMEA as Michael D. Stone takes over as president on April 6. I will remain very active as immediate past president of CMEA, and now also as NAf ME western division president-elect (effective July 1). Before I “go,” I want to discuss two big themes: • My vision for the ongoing evolution of music education • The CMEA of the future

W

Music’s Place in our Schools and How We Teach It

We are in the midst of a time of major shifts for curriculum and instruction in our schools nationally. Perhaps the last time this happened, it was during the adoption of No Child Left Behind (although this time around seems bigger to me).

We, educators in the arts, were not out in front when NCLB came down, and we have suffered ever since. Now with Common Core and the Spring Issue 2014

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changes in assessments, we need to get out in front and get this right, or we will be gone for good.

First, we need to come to a consensus and advocate about where music education should fit in our schools. As I wrote in my Western Division candidate statement: I believe: “Music Education is core and essential to the curriculum, not just an extra. My vision for public education is one where the arts and sciences are at the center of

CMEA EXECUTIVE BOARD CMEA President Michael D. Stone E-mail: stonem@bcsd.com Work: 661 631-4810 Cell: 661 319-8218 CMEA President-Elect Scott Hedgecock E-mail: scotchdir@aol.com Work: 714 626-3984 Cell: 714 393-5072 CMEA Vice President Steven Hendee E-mail: sjhendee@sbcglobal.net Cell: 510 329-2396 CMEA Secretary Duane Otani E-mail: Dotani916@yahoo.com Work: 858 485-4800 Cell: 808 250-2279 CMEA Immediate Past President Russ Sperling E-mail: rsperli@cox.net Work: 858 292-3547 Cell: 619 571-6227 CMEA Administrative Coordinator Trish Adams E-mail: cmea@calmusiced.com CMEA Office 2417 North 11th Avenue Hanford, CA 93230 Work: 559 587-2632 Cell: 559 904-2002 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CMEA Bay Section President Todd Summers E-mail: tsummers@pausd.org Work: 650 354-8264 Cell: 650 793-4808 CMEA Capitol Section President Brad North E-mail: bnorth@rjuhsd.us Work: 916 771-6565, x 4600 Cell: 916 743-4471 CMEA Central Section President Leonard Ingrande E-mail: lingrande@centralusd.k12.ca.us Work: 559 276-0280 Cell: 559 250-8753

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the curriculum, harnessing the passion of students which will result in them taking ownership of their own education.”

To elaborate, for a really long time we’ve been organizing education around what is easier to test (English and math), rather than how kids learn, through the arts and sciences. It’s time to put English and math in service of the arts and sciences rather than the way it is now.

Second, how should we be teaching music? When I was in school, my music

CMEA Central Coast Section President Willow Manspeaker E-mail: wmanspeaker@stevensonschool.org Work: 831 588-8486 Cell: 831 625-8339 CMEA North Coast Section President Judi Sharnberg E-mail: judimusic@gmail.com Cell: 707 502-4510 CMEA Northern Section President David Green E-mail: david.alvin.green@gmail.com 775 848-3426 CMEA Southeastern Section Designated Contact Armalyn De La O E-mail: adelao@csusb.edu Work: 909 537-5938 Cell: 909 838-3716 CMEA Southern Border Section President Pauline Crooks E-mail: Pauline.crooks@gmail.com Work: 858 485-4850, x4027 Cell: 858 207-7225 CMEA Southwestern Section Designated Contact Lisa A. Crawford E-mail: Lisa.crawford@usc.edu Work: 213 740-6935 Cell: 310 963-6422 NAf ME OFFICERS NAfME President Nancy E. Ditmer 1806 Robert Fulton Drive, Reston, VA 22091 800 336-3768 NAfME Western Division President Ellen Kirkbridge Tucson, AZ 85704 COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES CMEA CA ACDA Representative Merryl Nelson E-mail: mnelson@gladdemusic.com Work: 619 660-4000 x 3009

teachers taught music with an emphasis on “do this for me,” or “play it this way.”

As outlined in the soon to be released National Core Music Standards, we need to move towards “what students should be able to do.” We need to equip students to be independent learners, to be literate in music. Beethoven said, “to play a wrong note is insignificant, to play without passion is inexcusable,” so we need to emphasize teaching artistry over technique. After all, if our teaching centers

CMEA CAJ Representative Michael Galisatus galisatus@comcast.net galisatusm@smccd.edu Work: 650 574-6163 Cell: 650 743-1038 CMEA CBDA Representative Norm Dea E-mail: normdea@yahoo.com 925 280-3970 home Cell: 925 286-6040 CMEA CODA Representative Kate Francis E-mail: mskatefrancis@gmail.com Work: 408 535-6300, x29159 Cell: 415 867-5283 CMEA CASMEC Coordinator/ CMEA Representative on the CBDA Board Bill Wilkinson E-mail: bwilkinsoncmea@gmail.com Work: 559 585-3870 Cell: 559 816-6141 CMEA General Music Representative Richard Lawton E-mail:richard@richardlawtonmusic.com Work: 323 654-4401 Cell: 323 640-2961 CMEA Music Technology Representative James Knight E-mail: jamesknight@mac.com Work: 714 536-2514, x4116, Cell: 714 914-4531 CMEA Advocacy Representative Steve Venz E-mail: stevenvenz@yahoo.com Work: 323 224-3100 Cell: 818 445-8993 CMEA State Band and Orchestra Festival Chairperson Jim Mazzaferro E-mail: jmazzafe@egusd.net Work: 916 681-7500 Cell: 916 690-1992 CMEA State Solo and Ensemble Festival Chairperson Cheryl Yee Glass E-mail: cglass@srvhs.org Work: 925 552-3044 Cell: 925 980-4404

CMEA Membership Chairperson Regina Pryor E-mail: reginapryor78@gmail.com Work: 661 831-8331 Cell: 661 332-9582 CMEA Mentorship Program Chairperson E-mail: mnicholson@sandi.net Mark Nicholson Work: 858 256-2702 Cell: 858 668-8956 CMEA Music Supervisors Representative Phil Rydeen E-mail: fillmore.rydeen@ousd.k12.ca.us Work: 510 336-7609 Cell: 415 205-6525 CMEA Collegiate Representative Dr. John Eros E-mail: john.eros@csueastbay.edu Work: 510 885-3135 Cell: 773 301-7642 CMEA Tri-M Representative Elizabeth Robertson E-mail: erobertson@petk12.org Work: 707 769-9650 Cell: 707 364-4721 CMEA Higher Education Representative Dr. Lawrence Stoffel E-mail: stoffel@csun.edu Work: 818 677-3160 Cell: 661 993-8168 CMEA Research/Special Learners Representative Dr. Ruth Brittin E-mail: rbrittin@pacific.edu Work: 209 946-2408 Cell: 209 471-6332 CMEA World Music Representative Dr. Lily Chen-Hafteck E-mail: lhafteck@ucla.edu Work: 310 825-4668 CMEA Retired Members Representative Jon Christian E-mail: jonchristian41@gmail.com 831 818-6044

CMEA Magazine

around technique, we should be prepared to be replaced by the ever-increasing capabilities of technology.

As music should not exist in a vacuum, we need to become visible, more in service of our communities. Rather than performing away at competitions and performing to empty rooms at festivals 70% of the time, let’s become an indispensable part of the cultural fabric of our towns and cities and instead perform 70% for the people who live in our own neighborhoods. If we continue to emphasize playing for each other rather than our communities, we risk being invisible, irrelevant and easy to cut.

The Future of CMEA

We have become an organization with an engaged, “working” board, and this is how we should remain. California is too large and complex to believe that one office will ever be able to make an impact in this state. We need, and will continue to need, people in every corner of California actively working for our cause.

CMEA should never again delegate its voice to others, as we used to when it

Spring Issue 2014

came to advocacy in particular. We will need strong leaders to be at the helm of CMEA, as well as in the arts, to become school district arts curriculum leaders, especially as more of these positions open up again.

CMEA and our profession will need leaders with preparation in • Knowledge/experience in running a quality music program (without this, poor decisions get made) • Advocacy • Understanding of education policy and institutions • Non-profits • California geography • We need people with lots of built-in connections CMEA/NAf ME needs to make leadership development a priority to equip our profession for the future. I should note here that this life is not for everyone. When you are serving, you end up having to make it your priority for the duration of your term. The work we have to do demands it, but fortunately a term doesn’t last forever. Although it seems

there is always another position waiting.

In Conclusion

When I was elected CMEA president -elect in 2010, I had no idea what was in store for me. Turns out, there was much in store. We’ve been through a lot as an organization in the last four years, and while it has taken more time and energy than I could have expected, I’m incredibly grateful to have been a part of this transformation of CMEA. I believe that the work we have done will, in the end, benefit the students of California. We will continue to increase our membership, our unity as a profession, and our presence among decision-makers. This will cause increased music enrollment and improve the quality of music education in California.

With that, I thank you for your support of CMEA, for the opportunity to serve you as your president over the last two years, and for the support of your votes that has placed me on the NAf ME National Executive Board and will enable me to represent California and the rest of the Western Division. Best wishes to all.

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CMEA Magazine

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CMEA Hall of Fame Award Honoring Lifetime Achievement in Music Education Award Recipients Jon Christian, 2014; Orrin Cross, 2013;

CMEA Past Presidents

1947–1949

1966–1968

1982–1984

1998–2000

Clarence Heagy

Kenneth D. Owens

David S. Goedecke

Dennis L. Johnson

Stockton

Salinas

Fresno

Gerald E. Anderson, 2012; Gayanne Korkmazian,

1968–1970

2012; Dr. David Whitwell, 2011; Nicholas Angiulo,

1949–1951

Judd Chew

1984–1986

2000–2002

2010; Vincent Gomez, 2010; Robert W. Lutt, 2009;

Elwyn Schwartz

Sacramento

Vivian M. Hofstetter

George DeGraffenreid

Bakersfield

Fresno

1951–1953

1970–1972

George F. Barr

Anthony L. Campagna

1986–1988

2002–2004

Foster City

John L. Larrieu

Sam Gronseth

Portola

Paradise

Kem F. Martinez, 2009; Carl W. Schafer, 2009; Terry Summa, 2008; Duane Weston, 2008; John Larrieu, 2007; Barbara Cory Black, 2007; Bill Ingram, 2007; Mary Val Marsh, 2007; Carolynn Lindeman, 2006; Joe Foster, 2006;

1953–1955

Fred Ohlendorf

1972–1974

Long Beach

Louis Nash

1988–1990

2004–2006

La Crescenta

L. Leroy Roach

Rob Klevan

Walnut Creek

Pacific Grove

Paul Shaghoian, 2006; Frances Benedict, 2005; L. Leroy Roach, 2005; Silvester McElroy, 2005; Jerry Kirkpatrick, 2005; Robert Greenwood, 2004;

1955–1957

Harold Youngberg

1974–1976

Oakland

Marlow Earle

1990–1992

2006–2008

Lakewood

Carolynn Lindeman

Cheryl Yee Glass

Greenbrae

Danville

Arthur Huff, 2004; Lyle Stubson, 2004; Lois Vidt, 2004; John Farr, 2003;

1957–1960

Thomas Eagan, 2003; Larry Johnson, 2002;

Joseph W. Landon

1976–1978

Fullerton

Mary C. Reed

1992–1994

2008–2010

Elk Grove

Bill Adam

Jeff Jenkins

Roseville

Chula Vista

Mary Louise Reilly, 2002; William Hill, 2001; Helynn Manning, 2001; Wesley “Colonel” Moore,

1960–1962

2001; Vivian Hoffstetter, 2000;

Douglas Kidd

F. John Pylman, 2000;Lawrence Sutherland, 1999;

1962–1964

Chuck Schroeder, 1998; Dean Semple, 1997;

Gibson Walters

Burl Walter Jr., 1996; Jerry Moore, 1994;

San Jose

Mike Pappone, 1992; David Goedecke, 1991; 1964–1966

Marlowe Earle, 1987; Arthur Dougherty, 1985;

Keith D. Snyder

William Burke, 1983;Aubrey Penman, 1981;

Davis

1978–1980

Henry Avila

1994–1996

2010–2012

Monterey

Don Doyle

Norman Dea

Pasadena

Walnut Creek

1980–1982

Charles L. Freebern

1996–1998

2012–2014

San Diego

Jay D. Zorn

Russ Sperling

La Crescenta

San Diego

Steve Connolly, 1979;; Howard Swan, 1977; Russell Howland, 1975.

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Persuasion vs.

Enforcement Advocating for the Visual and Performing Arts pportunities for instruction in the Visual and Performing Arts in the public schools have been on the Dr. Carl W. Schafer decline for many years. It is quite evident the school district governing boards believe that VAPA are an optional course of study. This is occurring despite the fact that since 1995, VAPA have been mandated by the California Education Code. EC Section 51210(e) requires that all students in grades 1–6 receive instruction in the four disciplines (music, dance, theater and visual art) based on courses of study. EC Section 51220(g) requires that students in grades 7–12 be offered the four disciplines, based on courses of study. In addition, EC Section 51050 requires the governing boards to enforce the courses of study as prescribed in the Education Code. There have been no attempts by educational authorities to enforce these code sections and as a result for almost twenty years, thousands of students have been denied the opportunity to receive instruction in the arts.

As an educator for more than 56 years, I have been deeply involved in arts advocacy. And, like all arts educators, believed that VAPA were optional and approached advocacy as a persuader.

I attended the early Legislative Action Committee for the Arts Education (LACAE) that met yearly at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Monterey and was a member of the first board when it became a year-round organization. I termed out as a board member of the California Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE) and am now on the Policy Council. I have attended rallies at the Capitol, wrote to and met with legislators and served on a variety of task forces and committees. Locally I have performed for the school board, been in charge of a tax override election campaign and organized voter registration. I have given many presentations to civic groups and lobbied my school district officials. These efforts, along with those of hundreds of other arts education advocates have not been successful.

O

It is Time to Change the Advocacy Approach from Persuasion to Enforcement Because I was puzzled why the VAPA Education Code was not enforced, about 18 months ago I began an investigation to learn why and what could be done to achieve compliance.

As a result of presenting to the State School Board (SBE) and meeting with officials in the California Department of Education (CDE), I learned that neither the SDE or the CDE have the authority to enforce. Wow! It appeared that one way to achieve enforcement could be legislation that would give the authority to the CDE and the state superintendent of instruction. To pursue this I have met with staff members of both the Assembly and Senate Education Committees and the Joint Committee on the Arts. After finally actually meeting with two legislators, I received some commitments. The Senate Education Committee will take up the issue in the next twoyear session of the legislature, and the Joint Committee on the Arts will hold a hearing on enforcement in the fall. This is good news and hopefully, will ultimately result in enforcement legislation. If that goal is not achieved, the only other option is litigation. Lawsuits against governing boards (school boards) would pursue a writ of mandate, which requires compliance with a law. There is precedence, but this course of action would only be a last resort.

In the meantime, you can help by finding a way to inform your school board that they are currently breaking the law by not complying with the California Education Code. Here’s how. Locate a parent or community member who is willing to inform and challenge their school board. Have them contact me and I will furnish the information that they will need. I have done it in my local school district and as a result received a commitment from the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services to begin working toward compliance with the VAPA Education Code. We have been trying to persuade for years with minimal results. Now we must work for enforcement.

Dr. Carl W. Schafer artsed@roadrunner.com

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Southern Border Section News

by Pauline Crooks CMEA Southern Border Section President

pring is a time of renewal and reflection. It is the time for the final push to the end of the school year as well as time to begin planning for the new year.

Hopefully you were able to attend CASMEC this past February as well as participate in other professional development opportunities this year and have a list of new ideas to work toward implementing. I personally like to keep a list of new ideas, new books to read, and new pieces of music to explore as time allows or when I need a break from my usual routine.

Our CMEA Southern Border Section will be meeting next month to review and revise the Pauline Crooks mission statement and strategic plan we created in the fall of 2011. One of the top four goals we developed at that time was to establish partnerships with likeminded organizations to promote our mission. This goal lines up with the 21st Century Skills districts across the country are emphasizing with students. One of those skill areas include communication and collaboration. (More information can be found at www.P21.org). As we teach our students these skills we can take the time to evaluate how effectively we are using them as well.

I am pleased to share that our focus in this area of collaboration has paid off beyond our wildest dreams.

Our jazz festival is run in conjunction with a local radio station. Our honor choir concert is presented in combination with one of our local school districts and with support from several local music organiza-

S

Spring Issue 2014

tions. All of our events have local business sponsors who provide financial support as well as door prizes for our students and/or educators. We have support from local colleges and universities who provide facilities, musical groups, guest conductors, and clinicians to help at our events.

This past fall we began a partnership with the other arts organizations in San Diego County, through an organization called ArtsEmpower, to hold our first annual Mega Arts Conference which provided a day of professional development for more than 350 arts educators. Our planning for the second annual Mega Arts Conference is in full swing and will be even bigger than the inaugural event. It has been wonderful to see how much of an impact these partnerships have had on the music educators and therefore the students in the Southern Border Section of CMEA. I encourage you to search out opportunities to collaborate in your CMEA Section and at your school.

As you begin to plan for next year, evaluate what has been working well and what can be improved to better benefit students. Enlist the help of a colleague for a different perspective on your educational mission statement and resulting goals and lesson plans. Listen to music you might not ordinarily listen to, read a new book, or follow an educational blog in order to possibly find a fresh approach to your teaching. Explore ways to get involved with CMEA to make a broader impact on music students across California. Please contact your section or state board to share your ideas. Most importantly, keep yourself refreshed and model collaboration for your students.

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CMEA Magazine

Building a Better Conference Greater Than the Sum of Its Partners

by Bill Wilkinson CMEA CASMEC Logistics Coordinator

nother outstanding state music conference is in the books and we at CMEA have a lot to celebrate. It’s evident that our conference is growing as many of our sessions were filled to near capacity. This is a result of quality presenters who are facilitating sessions that offer pertinent information to today’s music educator. Definitely a hot topic this year was Common Core – these sessions offered in our professional development strand were well attended and many were standing room only. Not only were our Common Core sessions well attended, but we’ve seen a dramatic attendance increase in our General Music sessions. Thank you to Jean Strickland, CMEA’s general music representative. She’s done an excellent job choosing presenters that are very engaging and I know that she’s a big reason why these sessions that once were only drawing 20 attendees are now attracting 70–80 people per session. Congratulations to Jean on her retirement.

It’s been a pleasure working with her and Dennis Mauricio, our technology representative. These people provide CMEA with a crucial communication link to key industry vendors such as Peripole and MakeMusic – I appreciate the help these two individuals have provided me throughout the year as we prepare for CASMEC. It’s impossible to put on a conference without teamwork. Though it may not be apparent to the attendees, CASMEC is comprised of many organizations coming together, working in collaboration for a single purpose. It was a pleasure working with the board members of

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A break from rehearsals in Fresno’s Saroyan Hall at CASMEC 2014.

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CBDA, CODA and CAJ as we prepared for the conference. On the CMEA side of things, I was fortunate this year to have a dedicated team of helpers that assisted with preparing the session rooms with last minute details. Thank you to Stephanie Adney, Rob Bentley, Kelsey Heater, Leonard Ingrande, Emily Johnson, Jim Kusserow, Lanell McCarty and Phil Villalobos for their behind the scenes help. Another crew that was behind the scenes but vital to our conference’s success: the hard working brothers and sisters of Fresno State’s Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. These teams were responsible for the heavy lifting; such as the set up and take down of concert shells, choral risers and countless music stands. A special thanks to the sisters of Fresno State’s Sigma Alpha Iota.

SAI volunteered to help with the packing and removal of our general music instruments at the conclusion of the conference. Lastly, I must thank Trish Adams, CMEA’s administrative assistant, for her timely communications and relentless work to see that our conference was ready to roll on Day One.

CMEA is committed to providing a first-class conference experience for attendees and clinicians alike. It was a pleasure to work with our presenters over these past months as the conference approached. Our journey with the presenters began in June when they submitted their clinic proposals. These proposals were reviewed by our selection committees and those selected were passed on to me. Once I received the selected proposals, I established and maintained contact with the presenters from August on through our conference. This ongoing dialogue ensures that all details are in place to make their session and overall experience at CASMEC memorable.

Sometimes presenters have life circumstances that prohibit them from presenting once they are accepted. Such was the case with Bryan Holbrook, one of our presenters selected this past summer. He contacted us in November that he had to withdraw from this year’s conference because his wife was expecting their second child close to the time of the conference. Though we were sad to see Bryan withdraw, he undoubtedly made the right

choice; he was to present on February 21 and his wife gave birth to a baby boy on the 20th. Congratulations to the Holbrook family and we hope Bryan resubmits for a future conference.

Speaking of future conferences, now that this year’s conference is behind us, we are beginning preparations for CASMEC 2015 for one last year in Fresno before we make the move to San Jose in 2016. It will be exciting to have the Choral Leadership Academy rejoin us in 2015. We encourage potential presenters to submit proposals for these upcoming conferences. Please check www.calmusiced.com in the coming weeks for information and deadlines.

In closing, I would like to thank CMEA President Russ Sperling for giving me this opportunity to be of service to CMEA. It has been a joy serving in this capacity and I look forward to working with CMEA President Michael D. Stone as we work diligently to make CASMEC the premiere music educators conference in the West.

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Three Simple Rules for Orchestra

by Kate Francis CMEA CODA Representative

Me: only Me: Why Why did didwe westop? stop?(after (afterplaying playing only two measures of music) two measures of music) Class: Because we did not start together.

Class: Because we did not start together.

Me: How do we start together?

Me: How do we start together?

Bow on string – So simple, and yet many string players do not do this. Steven starts one inch above the string and Desiree starts from on the string. This will affect the sound because the attack of the note will sound at a different time and each student will have a different sound. Solution: must get all students used to putting their instrument up, then immediately putting their bow directly on the string.

Watch the conductor – I like to open this up and broaden the category. Watch the conductor and watch the section leaders. Be aware of the other musicians in the ensemble.

Breathe – Have you ever asked a string student this question?

Do you breathe when you play? The responses are entertaining, and they start thinking about breathing. I love to hear a great wind section play together because their entrances are so precise as they breathe together. As the students work on breathing before the down beat there is snickering through the ensemble, but this subsides when they realize that if they breathe together they will play together.

I cannot list the number of times each week I remind my orchestras

of these three simple rules. I let them know that the day that I do not care about one of these rules is the day they should worry.

On a completely different note I hope that you enjoyed your experience at CASMEC this year. I would like to thank Mark Aubel and the Amador Valley High School Orchestra for working hard and being the clinic orchestra for two sessions, as well as the reading orchestra to present new music from J.W. Pepper. Robert Anderson, Paul Cummings, Cyrus Ginwala, Dr. Stephen Benham, Dr. Janine Riveire, Thomas Lowenheim, and Adam Noel all presented thoughtful and educational string sessions. I hope you were able to hear the Junior High School All-State Orchestra under the direction of Richard Meyer and the High School All-State Orchestra under the direction of Kenneth Kiesler. From the first rehearsal to the concert both groups made significant musical strides.

As I write this article we have twelve weeks of school left. This is about the time that I start reflecting on my year. How can I improve for my students next year? What can I do better in the last three months? I look at the seniors, knowing we have twelve weeks left until they graduate.

I’m excited to watch the seniors go out and have new adventures, but I also question where the time goes. Enjoy your spring and I hope it is very productive and musical.

The CODA All-State High School Orchestra in rehearsal with conductor Kenneth Kiesler at CASMEC 2014.

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“We Were a Captive Audience” An Outreach Concert at a California State Prison

by Dr. Lawrence F. Stoffel CMEA Higher Education Representative

utreach concerts and other such off-campus performances should be commonplace and regular activities for our college and university music ensembles. These concerts are an important and essential component of the collegiate ensemble experience. Such outreach concerts also fulfill certain fundamental objectives of academia’s mission. The California State University proclaims the CSUs are “working for California,” and the University of California boasts itself to be a university “for,

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by and of California.” Clearly the off-campus concert given by a collegiate ensemble is, at its very core, part of the university mission.

Last December the California State University, Northridge Wind Ensemble presented an unprecedented outreach concert at one of California’s state prisons – home to some of our state’s “fourth world population.” Located in Corona, the California Institution for Women (CIW) is a Level I–III prison for female offenders. In addition to its large general population, CIW houses inmates with spe-

A captivated audience would later express their appreciation in letters to the ensemble.

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CSUN Wind Ensemble students with security identification badges.

cial needs such as pregnancy, psychiatric care, methadone, and medical problems such as HIV infection. CIW also serves as a higher security facility for female inmates in Administrative Segregation.

The California Institution for Women opened in 1952 and, except for the security perimeter, largely resembles a community college campus from that decade.

Indeed, the campus-like design was in keeping with the 1950s’ progressive notion of rehabilitation. It was originally called Frontera, a feminine derivative of the word frontier. Until 1987, CIW was California’s only prison for female felons.

Designed for an inmate population of 1,080, the current bed count at CIW surpasses 1,900.

Planning for the CSUN Wind Ensemble’s performance at CIW began four months in advance of the concert date. The logistics for such a concert were considerable. A formal security clearance was required of each member of the band.

Every aspect of the concert was scrutinized beforehand. Even our concert attire required approval by the prison warden.

One month prior to the concert the CIW chaplain and a volunteer visited the CSUN campus to speak with the Wind Ensemble musicians. The students received a thorough briefing about concert day logistics along with a detailed review of prison procedures and protocols. Any student concerns about safety were also answered.

The chaplain also shared with us this letter from the CIW inmates: 22

Dear Students: The incarcerated women here at the California Institution for Women would very much appreciate you all taking time out of your busy schedule to come and play for us. We never have the opportunity for live music here. We barely have access to music as we do not have access to the digital world you all have access to. Some of us have never seen a cell phone or even used a phone without a cord attached to a wall. For many of us, this will be a brand new experience we have never had before – to be able to see the instruments and the musicians up close would be extremely special. Some of us have never seen a cello before or anything else. For those of us who have had the experience of a concert, it has been so long that it would be a joy to be transported by the beauty of music. The Christmas season is notoriously difficult because it is miserable to be in prison during this time – away from family, friends, etc. A concert would give us a couple of hours from the mundane.

For those of us who are older, seeing amazing young people will be special.

For those of us who are younger as you are, seeing people our age will give us hope… help us see the possibility of other things and other ways. Thank you for considering us. You are welcome here in our virtual reality.

- Women at CIW

Upon arrival at CIW on the morning of the concert, prison security thoroughly inspected all musical instruments and cases, sheet music, folders, and equipment. No personal possessions (cell phones, cameras, keys, purses, wallets, etc.) were permitted inside the prison.

Each musician was individually processed through a metal detector and then issued an identification tag.

The CIW staff and security personnel exhibited the highest level of professionalism and efficiency throughout the entire day.

The concert took place in the CIW auditorium. This modest brick building, adjacent to the prison’s central quad, resembles a ‘50s-era school cafetorium (part auditorium, part cafeteria, part activity room). The entire concert band could not fit on the auditorium’s small stage, so most of the musicians were seated on the main floor. (Anecdotally, despite the interior’s austere appearance and its obvious lack of any frill, the acoustics were extraordinary.)

One-hundred inmates were permitted to attend the concert. This was designated as a privileged event for which an inmate earned a special “ducat” to attend.

I could not adequately express just how profound the concert experience was for all people there that day. The emotional response from the prisoners was equaled by the emotional response from the musicians.

Two days after the concert we received the following letter from the prisoners: Dear Dr. Stoffel and Wind Ensemble, We cannot thank you enough for coming out here and presenting us with the kind gift of music. The introductions to familiar and not so familiar tunes were interesting and enhanced the beauty and/or fun of the song. The joy of music was reflected as each of the members introduced their instruments which lightened the atmosphere and gave us an opportunity for gaiety.

Through the decades that some of us have been incarcerated, there has not been a classical music presentation given within the institution. Many of us didn’t even know what the various

CMEA Magazine

instruments were and this was a brand new introduction to the Arts. Finally, for a few hours we felt like human beings – giving us an escape from our daily lives here. We wish all of you a warm and loving holiday. We hope that you got as much out of the day as we did because odds are that this was a new experience for you too.

Thankfully, - The Grateful Women of the California Institution for Women A few weeks later the chaplain shared with us additional comments from individual prisoners: “There is no joy, there is no beauty in a prison setting at Christmas, or ever. I was enthralled by the joy and beauty of your performance. Thank you.”

“The experience awakened a light part of me that had been shut off. It made me feel as though, ‘Everything will be alright.’ ” “The CSUN Wind Ensemble’s Christmas concert was spectacular! The musical performance they delivered came down from the heaven. The holy season is the most difficult for inmates to experience alone, without loved ones.

The joy that the conductor and musicians brought to us, filled our hearts and distracted us from the pain of isolation…for just a little while, we didn’t feel quite so forgotten.

“Utterly amazing and very valuable, it brought a nice slice of humanity to CIW.” “From the moment the music began I was transported away from prison walls and fences to a place where memories and possible futures reside. My heart was deeply touched.”

Reactions from CSUN students were equally profound: “Playing a concert of this nature was truly special and fulfilling in a way that I had not previously experienced. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to participate in something so special for both the audience and performers alike.” - Josiah Morales, euphonium, senior, BM Performance.

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“Well it was very hard to play the music without crying, knowing that some of these inmates have not been on the outside world for decades and seeing their reactions was by far a gift, one that reminds me of the gift I have to play music for any audience that is willing to listen. It was like they’re watching a movie and we were able to see them live vicariously through that movie. The movie was us.” - Jason Kennedy, oboe, junior, BM Performance.

“I have never felt the experience of sharing such an emotional musical event with so many people that I’ve never met before. You always had a sense of high expectation in the ensemble because everyone cared so much about making sure that the music was going to be performed at 200%.” - Alphonso Johnson, string bass, senior, BA Music Education.

“Prisoners are not much different than us.

Every one of us has made mistakes in our lives, they just happened to make bigger mistakes. Prisoners should be respected and treated humanely by the public. We simply showed them compassion the best way we could, through music.” - Monica Long, senior, trumpet, BM Performance.

“After our performance one of the inmates walked up to the clarinet section and said, ‘ You know before you guys got here I had no hope. But after hearing you play I know that everything is going to be alright. I’m going to be okay.’ As a whole, I came in expecting to make an impact on them, who knew that they’d end up making a life-long impact on me?” – Shaniee Parker, senior, clarinet, BA Music Education /BM Performance.

The concert would never have been possible if not for the efforts and dedicated work of Dr. Maryloyola Yettke, the CIW Chaplain. She shared her thoughts about the concert in a letter: When I received an e-mail from Dr. Stoffel offering to bring the CSUN’s Wind Ensemble into the prison I was ecstatic. Every step of the way of the long (and sometimes laborious) security process was met with graciousness by him and his students. Their music transported all of us to a world where there are no limitations. Dr. Stoffel’s introduction of the various instruments was a delightful educational experience for all. It was just plain fun.

The students were amazing! They had such a professional presence about them. The ensemble was culturally diverse which made a visual (and strong) statement about the ability of people working together. And, of course, music often has that ability.

A warden’s schedule is exceptionally demanding as one might expect, but she came in on her day off (not that it is ever truly a day off ), to attend the concert. Her presence elevated the significance of this first time ever event – something which did not go unnoticed by the inmates.

Now, I have a confession to make. I found myself watching the reactions of the inmates more than the ensemble.

These women, with whom I have worked extensively, were crying, smiling, and profoundly brought into the experience. I could see that for a brief moment in time they forgot that they were in prison. I knew that some of the women thought that they would never again see a live orchestra in their life times; they were enthralled.

I knew that some women had never experienced a concert in their lives and truly had no idea what to expect; they were captivated. Finally, the remarks I continue to receive after the event testify to its success. The deep-hearted thank yous warmed my heart and made all the work, well worth it. I am fervently grateful to Dr. Stoffel and his students for their unselfish gift of giving of their time and talent!

- M. Yettke, Chaplain California Institution for Women

I also experienced the same phenomenon that Dr. Yettke described about forgetting that we were all in a prison. After being processed through security, the CSUN students and I waited in the CIW auditorium for nearly an hour before the concert began. I found myself frequently forgetting that we were actually in a prison. The prison’s 1950s-era auditorium was in many ways identical to an auditorium found on the campus of a typical public school. In many ways the concert was as ordinary as any of the other outreach concerts that the CSUN Wind Ensemble gives every semester. I found it to be all 23

Let me repeat: she had not heard live music performed in more than 40 years.

A few of the women also quietly shared personal anecdotes. One inmate wanted to me know that she had played oboe in her school band. Another let me know that she was once a university professor. I found great dignity in these brief conversations.

One woman expressed her gratitude by saying that the concert could have been twice as long and everyone would still be wanting more. “It wouldn’t be possible for the concert to be too long,” she proclaimed. And then with a lighthearted smile, she added, “We were a captive audience.”

Demonstration of musical instruments.

the more extraordinary that this prison concert was, at least for fleeting moments, rather ordinary.

But unquestionably, this was no ordinary performance. Immediately following the concert, the inmates were methodically processed through the auditorium exit.

During those few minutes that it took for them to file out, a few women came for-

ward to express their gratitude directly to me and to the students. Among all of the inmates that I spoke with that day in December, I will remember one woman in particular. She shared with me that she has been incarcerated at CIW for more than 40 years. Our Christmas concert was the first time that she had heard a performance of live music.

Some information contained in this article is quoted from these California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation websites: www.cdcr.ca.gov/Facilities_Locator/ CIW.html www.insidecdcr.ca.gov/2013/12/universityconcert-band-performs-for-ciw-inmates Photo credits: Lt. Richard Montes, AA/PIO (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Joyce Bean (CIW Associate Warden), Dr. Maryloyola Yettke (CIW chaplain), Dr. Lawrence Stoffel (CSUN), Kimberly Hughes (CIW Warden).

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CMEA Magazine

Our Work in Music

by Drew Lewis CMEA Central Coast President

Drew Lewis

Greetings from the Central Coast of California.We just finished three weekends of honors events in our section which included students sponsored by 61 of our 71 full active members.

Students participated in our middle school and high school honor bands, orchestras, and choirs with some of the most outstanding guest conductors from around the state. It is always a joy to connect with my colleagues and their students. If the success of these events are any indication, I am especially looking forward to our solo and ensemble, choral, and instrumental festivals coming up in the next few weeks.

The two years I’ve spent as CCS president have flown by and I hope I have served my section well. As I wrap up my final months of the school year I’d like to share a few reflections on teaching that I recently presented to the members of my section. truly believe that my students deserve the best that I can give them. I am always striving to become a better musician and educator so I can help them succeed even more in their music education. The film composer, John Williams stated it eloquently in Andrew Zuckerman’s book, Music, when he said “My work in music...will never be finished and I will never have enough time to know what I want to know and to be able to contribute what I possibly could. So I keep working at it.” My work will last a lifetime but I want to share a few of the things I’m currently trying to do in my journey. My hope is that some of these thoughts can remind and encourage you as you do the same.

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Plan

Several years ago I had the privilege of chairing an incredible middle school honor choir with Mel Carillo (from Visalia) as the conductor. I remember seeing the planning he put into rehearsals, including spelling out the time he allotted for each activity. At this point in my career this was a revelation. Somehow I had never thought of planning choir rehearsals in such a way. After this experience I planned my next chamber choir rehearsal down to the minute with what I wanted to achieve and I was astonished. I accomplished exponentially more with that rehearsal than I had in any classes to date. Since then, I try to plan classes in a way that makes the best use of class time and allows events to unfold in the classroom in a way that enhances the students’ learning. I still remain flexible with the time to be open to unplanned teachable moments in the classroom, but the efficiency of what I can accomplish with this level of planning has been worth it.

Prepare

This is one of the hardest things for me to do with my schedule, but I believe that the preparation I put into teaching class makes the experience better for the students.

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Preparation to me includes everything from finding time to do score study to warming up in the car on the way to work so that I can be ready to model vocal technique to my choirs even if it is early in the morning. I must say this is one of the biggest challenges for me, but I know the more equipped I am in score study, background knowledge, and technical aspects of the music, the more I have to offer my students.

Proactively Learn

As a professional, I think this is one of the biggest areas we need to be aware of.

We need to keep learning to fill in the gaps in our knowledge and competency.

There is nothing more humbling than standing in front of students in a performance class to have the students reflect back to you all of your weaknesses. I remember one time in the classroom when I hired a clinician to come in and work with my choir students on solo repertoire and vocal technique. As each student came up to sing, the clinician kept addressing the same issue in every student. After the third student the revelation hit me that these students have the

same vocal issues because they are reflecting my vocal issues. This idea has been addressed by many pedagogues, including Rodney Eichenberger in the video, “What They See Is What You Get.” This video shows many examples of how posture, attitude, and conducting gesture can affect students in noticeable ways. Still, I’ve seen many teachers who yell at their students or complain about their students not giving them what they want, and yet the problem often lies with what the teacher is giving them. I understand that we all teach varying levels of interest and competency in students, but I still firmly believe that when things are not going well in a classroom and rehearsal the first place to look is to yourself. There are some times when I am not the problem, but for me I know those times have been the exception and not the rule. The good news about this however is that many of the good things our ensemble are doing are also a reflection of our strengths.

Put things in perspective

Finally, I need time to relax. Life as a music educator is incredibly busy. There

is so much that happens beyond the classroom in this job that it’s easy to get the life sucked out of you. I was writing this article in a Reedley coffee shop while visiting family in the Central Valley when I ran in to two influential mentors from my early college years. As we talked we discussed how necessary breaks and holidays are and how we have to plan for time off to recharge. I love my job, but there is more to life (thankfully) than teaching. Things need to be kept in perspective. Time with friends, family, or just with a good book help me keep perspective. As my life gets busier I realize I need more time like this. How do you find balance? How do you give your students your best? I think these are all questions we deal with for the rest of our careers. I’ve shared with you some of the ways I’m currently dealing with them and it has also given me new ideas to explore.

I hope they serve as a reminder and encouragement to you as well. Feel free to share with me your ideas on these questions as we continue the conversation. I’m always available at dlewis@kirby.org

Triple Team CLA/ACDA/SCVA

by Merryl Nelson CMEA California ACDA Representative

he 2014 CMEA/ACDA/SCVA Choral Leadership Academy was held this year on February 21–22 during the Western Division ACDA Conference, February 20–22, in Santa Barbara. CMEA graciously “loaned” the CLA to the Western Division ACDA Conference, for this year only, due to the fact that both CASMEC and the Western Division had been inadvertently scheduled for the same weekend. As we have stated in all previous publications, the CLA will return to CASMEC in 2015.

You may have noticed that there is a new acronym that has been added to the CLA sponsorship. CMEA and California ACDA enthusiastically welcome Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) as they join the “team” in our efforts to provide this unique career education opportunity for high school, college, and university students interested in

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Choral Leadership Academy staff, left to right: Chris Peterson, Jonathan Talberg, Edith Copley, Merryl Nelson, Daniel Hughes.

the choral music profession. As music programs are being cut or cut back due to budget concerns and/or unenlightened school administrators, it is more important than ever that we, CMEA, ACDA, and SCVA, (along with CBDA, CODA, and CAJ) stand together in our support of each other and music educators throughout California.

With this in mind, the Third CMEA/ ACDA/SCVA Choral Leadership Academy of 2014 was another enormous success. The 33 high school and college choral musicians were led by Dr. Edith Copley, Regents’ Professor and Director of Choral Studies at Northern Arizona University, in singing new literature, honing musicianship skills, learning effective and eloquent conducting techniques, and building productive and successful choral rehearsals. Dr. Copley also shared with the students some of the “Tried & True & New” techniques and skills along with

inspiring thoughts on “The Calling” of a choral director. Supporting Dr. Copley at the piano during the various reading sessions was Mr. Daniel Hughes, founder and director of “The Choral Project.” Dr. Chris Peterson (CSU Fullerton) and Dr. Jonathan Talberg (CSU Long Beach) provided warm-ups and mixing and bonding activities throughout the two days that inspired a unique camaraderie among the students that hopefully, will continue into the future.

Because the CLA was within the Western Division ACDA Conference, the students attended several concert sessions as part of the CLA schedule where they heard many outstanding choirs.

Afterward, it was a logical progression that the students be able to bring some questions to a few of the conductors of these excellent choirs who graciously shared their expertise in a panel discussion on the choral music profession, col-

Dr. Copley leads CLA students in the proper shaping of vowels.

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lege programs, and other topics.

Participating were Dr. Ron Staheli (Brigham Young University), Dr. Elizabeth Schauer (University of Arizona), and Professor John Byun (Riverside Community College). This was a highly informative and valuable session for all present due to the thoughtful questions posed by the students. Another significant piece of the CLA experience was a master class entitled “Working with High School Singers: Approaches and Techniques,” led by choral director Carolyn Teraoka-Brady with the help of the San Marcos High School Madrigals. All in attendance – CLA students, parents, and seasoned choral directors came away with helpful, informative knowledge and considerable inspiration from all of these sessions.

The most inspiring of these activities, however, occurred as the students arrived on Friday morning. Each student was assigned to one of four groups, in which they would help each other learn a madrigal to perform later on Saturday. It was so exciting to travel the halls throughout the two days and witness the combined musicianship of these young people and then the excellent culmination of their work in their performance Saturday afternoon.

Special thanks go out to Dr. Edith Copley, Dr. Chris Peterson, Dr. Jonathan Talberg, Dr. Ron Staheli, Dr. Elizabeth Schauer, Professor John Byun, Mr. Daniel Hughes, and Ms. Carolyn Teraoka-Brady and the San Marcos High School Madrigals for helping to make this year’s Choral Leadership Academy such a resounding success. Also special thanks to Gary Unruh, program chair for the WD-ACDA Conference, and Steve Hodson, president of WD-ACDA, for their outstanding support of the CLA and smoothly and cheerfully overcoming the challenges of adding this extra piece to the Western Division Conference. Acting as coordinator and registrar for the event was your ACDA choral representative to the CMEA council, Merryl Nelson.

Choral at CASMEC am happy to report that the choral strand of sessions at CASMEC was alive and well in Fresno this year. With many teachers being assigned to teach so Laura Williams many different instrumental and choral classes, our sessions at CASMEC pulled a wide range of attendees who were interested in educating themselves about choir music.

Our long Thursday session was “Choir For the Non-Choral Teacher,” a session set up as the crash course for the instrumental teacher who has been asked to teach choir. Many people who attended this session were in their first or second year of teaching choir – or even some who were preemptively coming to learn as they suspect they’ll be teaching choir next year. This theme continued as the three sessions on Friday drew a variety of attendees. “Which Musical Theatre Score is a Perfect Fit For Your Program?” (presented by Brandon Adams of the Urban School of San Francisco and William Sauerland of Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco) gave insight into shows that are “off the beaten path” – just as entertaining as some of the popular productions, but perhaps less well-known or less expensive to produce.

Dr. Jeb Mueller of University of Houston gave two rousing sessions on Friday afternoon: the first was “Encouraging Emotion and Textual Engagement Throughout the Rehearsal Process” –

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Laura Williams Director of Choral Music Mira Mesa High School San Diego Choral Leadership Academy group photo

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how to invite students to connect to the music – and the second was “It’s Personal: Building and Maintaining a Quality Music Program,” helpful for any teacher who is interested in recruiting for their program and retaining students from year to year. (Isn’t that all of us?)

Saturday began bright and early at 8 a.m. with “Vocal Health and Technique for Young Singers,” by Brigid de Jong of CSU Fresno, a “must-see” session for helping produce healthy breath and sound. This was followed by the nowannual Choral Round Table, facilitated

by Scott Hedgecock (Fullerton High School of the Arts and new CMEA President-Elect). This “bring your own coffee” meeting covered the integration of choir into the State Festival and Advocacy Day in Sacramento and the unification of choral festival rubrics throughout the state as discussion topics. Later Saturday afternoon, a local favorite, Peg Hutson (Valley Oak Middle School in Visalia), brought the Valley Oak Singing Men, a chorus of 7th and 8th grade boys, for her session entitled “Real Men Do Sing: Working With Boys in Middle School.” The “working rehearsal” atmosphere of the session demonstrated repertoire choice for young male voices as well as utilization of physical movement with this age group. We finished off the conference with “Sing Your Way Through Theory” by Kris Adams (Berklee College of Music in Boston), which focused on her sightsinging method designed specifically for singers.

Many thanks to Merryl Nelson, ACDA Choral Representative to the CMEA State Board, for setting up these diverse and engaging sessions.

All choral sessions were co-sponsored by CMEA and ACDA, and we’re looking forward to expanding the choral strand in the next few years with the return of our ACDA colleagues and the Choral Leadership Academy.

LWilliams@miramesachoirs.org CMEA Magazine

Performance Bowings Bowing Terms Explained for Band-Trained Teachers

by Dr. Thomas Tatton

hat an exciting three days: I recently returned from the 2013 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. There were lots of wonderful performing ensembles and clinics. One such clinic, given by Bob Phillips, ASTA President, was titled “Beginning Through Advanced Right-Hand Technique for Strings.” In a one-hour session, Mr. Phillips tried to cover bowing terms, right-hand finger functions, sound creation, lanes, separated bow strokes, and left-hand skills that effect sound. Way too much for a wonderfully gifted pedagogue to cover in an hour. Even more so because the rather full audience was replete with wind players and teachers having to, or wishing to, teach strings or full orchestra. I know this by the soft chatter all around me with frantic note taking, each trying to capture all of the information Bob was sharing.

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There are several notions to examine before delving into the bowing terms themselves.

String players use the term bowing to refer to the actual motion itself or, to the markings in the printed part or, the act of marking the desired bowing into a score or part, i.e., “We are going to bow the parts today.” Or, to answer the question: “What are you doing?” “I am bowing the parts.” Make sure you understand what that string person is referring to and/or that your students know how you are using that term.

String players bandy terms about that are sometimes confusing. For example, the word détaché.

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Détaché can mean everything from very legato to somewhat detached or can simply mean an up and down bow stroke that is on-the-string. The same with the term staccato. Staccato can mean a brief separation, (not unlike détaché) to short, accented (marcato) to “hammered” (martelé) and everything in between.

String players mark bowings in a score or string parts that are frequently confusing. Often there are only subtle differences, or sometimes, no actual difference at all.

String players use different words and markings that enjoy different meanings in different historical periods and/or regional context. A dot (•) over or under a note head has a different meaning for Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartók, or John Adams.

And, a term like spiccato in the 18th century has a different meaning in France than in Italy. That difference creates a difference in sound.

Lastly, a bit of luck, often the bow markings in the parts are explained and defined in the score preface.

What a wonderful opportunity to start using these terms with our students. This is also an early opportunity to start a word wall.

All is Not Lost

Only dilettantes, those attempting to impress and, perhaps a studio teacher or two at big name music schools parse words like détaché into détaché porté, détaché lancé, grand détaché or accented détaché. We don’t really have to deal with that level 29

of sophisticated word usage teaching grade one through five pieces; especially since most string players and teachers aren’t engaged at that level either. Further, most who use that level of terminology do not agree on definition, symbol, or usage.

Generally, bowings needed for most public school and youth symphony situations come in four families: 1) on-the-string, 2) off-the-string 3) various slurred varieties, and 4) special bowings.

There is a fifth category included in many bowing explanations that we don’t need to deal with here.

They are used mainly for solo work and include: ricochet,1 Jeté, staccato volante, and flying staccato can be included in this category. When a clinician comes in to work with your charges or when you start using these bowings,2 clarify what is meant by the term used. Your students will understand your usage and know what you mean. For those experts who come in to your rehearsal ask them to define the terms they are using. You need not be embarrassed, feel like you don’t know anything, or be intimidated – make sure you and your students understand how a word is being used – just ask.

the bow and moving the bow fast across the string. This produces a sound that is light and airy, almost wispy – a flute-like sound and often used in a mysterioso section of music. The closer to the fingerboard the wispier the sound – Sul Tasto.

Family I. On-The-String bowings – Détaché: any bow stroke that is up and down and on-the-string.

Make sure the person who uses that term is specific. Again, détaché can mean legato, separated to varying degrees, emphasized or accented (marcato) to heavily accented (martelé). The terms marcato and martelé are almost always used independently from the term détaché. For example a string person might instruct an ensemble by saying: “Play those notes ‘détaché’ or ‘marcato’ or ‘martelé.’” Then, he or she should explain how those notes are to be played and where in the bow, or better yet, demonstrate.

Chart for Common Off-The-String Bowings

Chart for Common On-The-String Bowings Notes without diacritical marks are simply played legato.

A dash over or under the note head can mean to hold out for full value (or more), i.e. tenuto. It can also mean a slight separation between notes or even to give that note emphasis or some weight. (A dash under a slur can mean up-bow staccato or an expressive bowing such as louré or portato. See slurred bowings) A dash and a dot can also mean either a slight separation or a more staccato stroke. It can also mean a flautando stroke if marked pp. The flautando

A dot can mean staccato or spiccato or even marcato depending on dynamic. (Notes marked with a dot under a slur can mean up-bow spiccato. Usually one will see this with an up-beat or pick-up. See slurred bowings) An accent can mean marcato (accented) or even martelé (heavily accented) Usually used with a percussive attack.

An accent with a dot indicates a heavy accent – marcato and martelé. This is sometimes marked with a wedge ( ).

Family II. Spiccato: any bow stroke that is an up and down bow stroke that comes off-the-string.

We will talk in a different article about how far “offthe-string” the bow actually comes. Spiccato includes everything from a light “brush” stroke, to crisp, to accented, or sautillé.

A dot above or below a note head can mean spiccato if the piece is at a speed the “bounce” can be controlled, or sautillé (also called saltado or saltando) if the tempo is fast enough for the bow to react with its natural bounce.

Successive down bows are very heavy and played at the frog.

Successive up-bow spiccato is very much like an up-bow staccato (see slurred) and used in the same way. The difference is the bow leaves the string. It is most effective lower in the bow – balance point and toward the frog often depending on the number of notes involved.

Family III. Slurred bowings. Slurs are notes (two or more) played under one bow direction, either up or down. The slur is the ultimate legato bowing yet there are other bowings that come under the term slur. Common slurred bowing variations include everything from simple two (or more) notes-in–a-bow to up-bow staccato and louré/portato. (Two or more notes that are hooked together in one bow with just a slight expressive pause between notes.)

Various slurred and hooked bowings are often used to create a positive bow distribution situation and/or solve bow geography difficulties.

stroke is produced by using very light weight with 1 Ricochet is sometimes a stroke used in school music – think the Overture to William Tell. If your orchestra is planning to use ricochet then you are probably not in need of the information in this article.

2 Start a vocabulary wall. Do not be afraid to use these terms as they are the terms string players use.

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CMEA Magazine

Chart for Common Slurred Bow Bowings A slur includes multiple notes taken under one bow direction, either up or down.

A dash or a dot above or below note heads can mean up-bow staccato or spiccato. This is used often for up-beats or pick-ups and results in a strong down bow stroke on the first beat of the next bar.

Portato or Louré, both terms are used for a bow stroke of gentle separation. There is a quiet urgency or expressivity to this pulsing stroke.

There are various “hooked” bowings often with included dots or dashes. This bowing may be shown by dots or dashes within the slur depending on the desired length of the notes. Hooked bowing may also be shown as consecutive up or down bows marked above the notes heads.

The collé stroke is usually a gentle lift, especially for Baroque or early Classical styles. More contemporary usage collé can mean a pinched, lifted stroke.

Family IV. Special bowings include: Playing on-the-bridge: sul ponticello [It.], sur le chevalet [Fr.] or am steg [Gr.]. The bow is placed very close to the bridge – not actually on it – to achieve an ethereal, glassy or spooky sound.

Playing over the fingerboard: sul tasto [It.] , sur le touché [Fr.] or am griffrett [Gr.]. The bow is placed over the end of the fingerboard. This creates a soft, light sound – flautando.

Playing with the wood of the bow: col legno [It.], avec le bois [Fr.] or, mit holz [Gr.]. The stick – wood of the bow is used to strike the string to get a different, rather “wooden” or “clinky” sound.

(Now, it must be said here that in more “today’s” music, i.e. the music of the Turtle Island Quartet, the Kronos Quartet and others, the bow and right hand are used in some rather unique ways. This is a topic for another article.)

Tremolo, measured (that is a set number of iterations) or unmeasured is a difficulty. In most school music one slash breaks into eight notes; two slashes breaks into sixteenth notes and three slashes is most often unmeasured tremolo. Tempo rarely changes this.

In music that one would use by, say Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler or Debussy, editions will vary. For the most part any note with three slashes (except in slow tempos where four slashes are sometimes

used) means unmeasured tremolo. With measured tremolo one line through a half note or a quarter note equals eight notes, two lines equals sixteenths. One line through an eight note equals sixteenth notes; two lines equals thirty-second notes. sixteenth notes eighth notes eighth notes sixteenth notes thirty-second notes

With regard to tremolo – you may have a clear idea what is required, however, some of your orchestra members might not. Especially for measured strokes, make sure your string section members understand what is required and that you include this in your rehearsal. Otherwise, for a measured tremolo section of music someone in the back of a section might be using an unmeasured tremolo and mar an otherwise beautiful pulsating accompaniment.

In subsequent articles we will deal with easy and fun approaches to teach bowing lanes, bow geography, lifts, and bow speed and weight, and how to teach some bow strokes such as spiccato, martelé, and sautillé. There are also simple strategies for teaching awkward string changes/crossings and creating a more authentic Baroque sound without buying a slew of Baroque bows, resetting necks, and sawing off the fingerboard.

If you have specific questions please e-mail me at ttatton43@gmail.com. I will answer promptly and perhaps even include your question in an article.

I recommend every string teacher have a copy of Orchestral Bowings and Routines by Elizabeth Green, and/or Dictionary of Bowing and Pizzicato Terms (4th Edition) by Joel Berman, Barbara G. Jackson and Kenneth Sarch.

Both are published by American String Teachers Association and are available from Alfred Music or ASTA. Orchestral Bowing: Style and Function by James Kjelland is a fine book to also have at the ready. It is also published by Alfred Music.

Dr. Tatton is a retired string specialist with the Lincoln Unified School District in Stockton, California. His previous positions include Associate Professor of String Education, Music History, Violist in Residence and Director of Orchestras at both Whittier College and the University of the Pacific. His monograph on public school string teaching, Connecting the Dots, was published in 2003. He is currently active as a clinician and adjudicator as well as making appearances at school in-service training conferences. He is also the previous CMEA Orchestra Representative. E-mail him at ttatton43@gmail.com Spring Issue 2014

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Making Ourselves Indispensable Community Building as a Strategy for Insuring Success in the Elementary School General Music Program

by Richard Lawton CMEA General Music Representative

hen I attended my first CASMEC this past February, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had always heard that CMEA was a band directors association, and, as a general music elementary school teacher, I wondered how much of the conference would apply to me. It was wonderful to discover that CMEA is, in fact, a broad-based music education organization, with a clear goal of reaching out to all types of music programs in every grade level from kindergarten to college. As for the general music workshops, organized by retiring CMEA General Music Representative Jean Strickland, they were great – useful, well-attended and, most importantly, fun.

During one of several excellent speeches I heard over my three days in Fresno, CMEA President Russ Sperling spoke of the importance of music programs being more visible in our communities.

This notion of community outreach as a way of keeping music education relevant resonated again a few days later when the Pasadena-based public radio station KPCC reported on a proposed Los Angeles Unified School District plan to cut the existing instrumental music program at my school and others in half so that the number of schools receiving music could be doubled.1 Although the presumed goal of reaching more children may be well intended, it speaks to a lack of understanding of what music teachers do and what they need at a bare minimum to be successful.

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For those of us who teach it, the notion that music is an essential part of the curriculum is a given. What might come as a surprise is that our non-music teaching colleagues, parents, and fellow citizens overwhelmingly agree. In a 2003 Gallup Poll 95% of those surveyed felt that music was an important part of a child’s education. And of those, 75% felt it ought to be the law (which, as was mentioned several times during the conference, it is in California).2 In the years since the 2003 poll music programs across the state, particularly in public schools, have been in sharp decline.

Nevertheless, there is comfort to be taken from these numbers, for they suggest that our communities want to support music education and may support it, even in an era where only essential programs survive, if we can persuade them that music education is something their children can absolutely not do without.

School communities are never just one group, but are a series of interconnected ones, the innermost and most important of which is the community of our students and their families. Some of us barely get to know our kids teaching in five different schools a week, while others are considered rock stars in our standalone programs. In both scenarios, and every variation in between, there are plenty of things we can do to upgrade the experience our kids are having. Are we choosing material that is relatable?

Are we reflecting on our teaching practice to ensure that we are giving our students the best chance to be successful?

Are we creating enough opportunities for students to compose their own material and giving them some opportunities to showcase it? Despite the ongoing discussion about national standards and teacher evaluation, the measure of success for most music teachers still comes down to how enthusiastic their students are.

A classroom colleague of mine, who has been with the Los Angeles Unified School District for 25 years, still takes advantage of every professional development opportunity that comes along, still works long hours refining her lesson plans and evaluating her effectiveness.

She does this, she says, because she views her students and their parents as her clientele. This viewpoint will resonate with teachers in private schools, but it is 34

an increasingly healthy perspective for teachers in public schools, as well. Tenure doesn’t mean much if your position or department is eliminated entirely.

Just beyond the classroom is a larger community made up of administrators, other teachers and parent fundraisers.

Studies show that, while they are likely to be supporters of our music programs, they may have different ideas about what the priorities ought to be – for example, placing a higher priority on “music appreciation” as a goal over “student composition.” 3 Although we may disagree, we need to be respectful of these views and incorporate them where possible. As for our classroom colleagues, they are involved in a complex effort to reform education through Common Core. We can be helpful to them by using music to create problem-solving opportunities in language arts and math. Some may argue that the proper role of music teachers is to teach music, but, as we all know, music is an excellent vehicle for teaching every other subject. A few moments spent reinforcing core concepts from other curricula can only enhance musical understanding and, as a practical matter, are likely to engender appreciation and support even from arts educations skeptics.

Most of our schools are part of larger district communities that fund our programs. Often the search for one-size-fitsall solutions waters down the very things that are special about our programs, while at the same time increasing the perceived cost, making us more vulnerable to cuts. There are limits to what an individual teacher can do to influence district policy (and sometimes it is best to keep your head down) but this much is clear – programs that are thought to be extraordinary are harder to cut. What are we doing to make our programs stand out? Festivals and competitions may be more oriented towards upper grade instrumental and choral music, but there are plenty of opportunities – hospitals, rest homes, neighboring schools – to take our general music show on the road. Our kids will have a chance to showcase their skills, do some good, and remind everyone that music, as Plato said, gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

Again, we all agree that this is true but there’s nothing like children caroling one

sunny morning at the farmer’s market to remind everyone how true.

The final community we need to reach out to more is our own. Most music teachers I know operate to a large extent in isolation. It’s important to check in with our peers, not just to get caught up on the latest developments, in the profession and in the effort to support it, but to remind ourselves that we are not alone.

Moreover, when that checking in takes place, as it often does, at a workshop, it is accompanied by an opportunity to engage in music learning along side our peers, something we encourage our students to do every day but don’t experience ourselves often enough.

Which brings us back to CMEA and the CASMEC conference. If you didn’t go this year, consider it for 2015. At the very least you are likely to come away from the experience with a sense of renewed optimism. And for all the reasons given here, each of us can and should do a little bit more to advance our common cause. Music education is not a hard sell, but selling has to be part of the process. That sensibility may seem more rooted in show business than education, but that’s okay...we are music teachers, after all.

1 Plummer, M. (2014, February 21). “LA School Arts Budget: Most funds will go to Arts Integration Teachers.”

89.3 KPCC Southern California Public Radio.

Transcript available at www.scpr.org/blogs/education/2014/02/21/15899/la-unified-artsbudget-most-funds-will-go-to-arts/ 2 Abril, C. & Gault, B. (Spring, 2006) “The State of Music in the Elementary School: a Principal’s Perspective.”

Journal of Research in Music Education, 54 (1), 6-20. http://jrm.sagepub.com/content/54/1/6 3 Major, M. (Spring, 2013) “How They Decide: A Case Study Examining the Decision-Making Process for Keeping or Cutting Music in a K–12 Public School District.” Journal of Research in Music Education. 61(1) 5-25. http://jrm.sagepub.com/content/61/1/5

CMEA Magazine

Final Musings and Coda

by Norman Dea CMEA Immediate Past President

t’s hard to believe that eight years have passed since serving as your CMEA Vice President, President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President during times of uncertainty, and initiating and presiding over enormous organizational changes. Many of us knew that we were very close to the abyss, but through the dedicated work of your elected CMEA Board, the new CMEA is now pertinent once again in California. When I took on the responsibility of leading the board, we collectively knew that we needed to change fundamentally, and travel down a new path of relevancy and service to our membership. I commend the board for its willingness to take on many difficult decisions under my presidency; ones that were not taken lightly by anyone involved but were critical to our very survival. Changes in administrative personnel, reaching out to fellow music education organizations, the cancellation of our professional development conference, and the birth of CASMEC remodeled us into a 21st century organization. “Never let a crisis go to waste!” was the phrase I quoted some years ago from Michael Kumer of Duquesne University. That’s what I’ve lived by during my time serving on the CMEA Board. As an organization, we’re continuing to transform ourselves in positive ways under new dynamic leadership.

With all that said, I can’t tell you how proud I am of the work that has been done by your CMEA Board and our associated organizations. CASMEC is a success, the upcoming move to San Jose is a reality and on the horizon for 2016 (thanks to our good friends at CBDA), we have a revitalized vision and blueprint for the future through our new CMEA Strategic Plan, we have a new complete CMEA Board Manual (thank you Mr. Stone), we’re making a myriad of positive connections with organizations throughout the state, Advocacy has taken center

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stage, the CMEA Board has become a true working board, our Administrative Coordinator Trish Adams is doing a superb job, and by this summer CMEA will have paid off it’s loans to NAf ME. These loans by the way, were key to our very survival as an organization. I can’t help but reflect upon the wonderful and selfless work my colleagues have done in helping reboot, reimage, and reshape our organization.

CMEA wants to serve the membership in tangible, meaningful, and significant ways.

I’ve been asked time and time again on whether I enjoyed my time on the CMEA Board through the years. The answer is a complicated and multilayered yes. That time period was filled with turmoil, upheaval, and doubt. Changes needed to be instituted, and actions needed to be taken to bring us back from the brink. I will share this, my professional and personal life have been forever altered and also enriched by the associations I have made throughout the state and nation. I’ve learned and grown more than you can possibly imagine. There have been times of intense pride, and times of great despair, and it’s definitely a bittersweet feeling as this chapter of my profession life comes to a close.

I know I’ve said this before but I will say it again: I don’t think that there was ever a time during my 31year career when I didn’t serve music education in some capacity. With that in mind, I strongly encourage you to serve music education with the professional organizations that you belong to. Working with your colleagues will almost certainly enrich your teaching skills and your appreciation for what we all strive to do, as you will be in contact with many other talented and dedicated educators. The concept of sharing is such an important aspect of the job we do, and is absolutely essential for our well being and survival. Challenge yourself and take leadership roles in 35

CMEA, in your area, and at your school. It’s never been about us as individual teachers, but about us all as a profession. I strongly encourage you to actively participate in what makes music education such a lofty endeavor. Be an active part of the longterm solution. Service is the cornerstone of our profession.

I want to congratulate outgoing President Russ Sperling for doing such a wonderful job during his two years of refining and expanding what was done before him, for taking the lead in advocacy, and I am looking forward to President Michael D. Stone’s vision and leadership. I can’t tell you how much I respect and admire these two gentlemen, certainly two giants in music education. I want to thank the remaining outgoing Executive Board of Scott Hedgecock and Dr. Diana Hollinger, and continuing Administrative Coordinator Trish Adams for their patience and support of me during my eight years. This executive board has been wonderful to work with, and their dedication to CMEA and California music education is beyond question.

I also want to thank NAf ME President Nancy Ditmer (Ohio), Immediate Past President Dr. Scott C. Shuler (Connecticut), Western Division President Ellen Kirkbride (Arizona) and Past Presidents Martha O’Neill (Nevada) and Dr. Jeff Bush (Arizona), and Executive Director Michael Butera for their support as well. They care deeply about CMEA and music education in California.

There are so many additional people to thank, and so little space in which to do it. These are friends and colleagues who have inspired, supported and encouraged me during much of my 31 years of teaching. They know me so very well: Bob Greenwood, L. LeRoy Roach, John Burn, Michael Boitz, Steven Hendee, Mike Galisatus, Dr. Andy Collinsworth, Cheryl Yee Glass, Dr. Edward Harris, Bob Calonico, Kem Martinez, just to name a few people from a very large list. I humbly owe you more than I can ever repay. Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank John and Ida Larrieu for their decades of dedicated service to music education. Their hard work and perseverance was unquestioned. We owe a large portion of our history to their stewardship. A most heartfelt and profound thank you to John and Ida. Final thought: Never forget the buoyant times, the times of disheartenment, our rich history, and the contributions of so many personalities past and present. The journey with our fellow partners continues and I leave the CMEA Board with a wonderful feeling of renewed hope and humility. The vision remains, the broad long-range plans have not wavered, we are resolute, and the good work continues. The honor is mine. Best wishes.

Respectfully yours, Norman Dea

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REVERBeration is Powerful in the New CMEA

by Lisa Crawford CMEA Southwestern Section Designated Contact

everberation is the persistence of sound after the original sound is produced. With nearly 500 registrants and more than 125 new members, our CASMEC 2014 conference signals return of a California tradition but with reverberation of something new…leadership that has addressed the bottom line.

Inclusivity is a powerful thing. We know the importance of it. When we include everyone, ensure that everyone knows they have a voice, and invite all to a place at the table, organizational and group strength builds beyond imagination. In the case of California Music Educators Association, the bottom line is more than financials.

Valuation is about our relationships with each other, that there is a place that is dependable, reliable, and consistent to convene each year, to renew relationships, learn new things, with the understanding that crafting and maintaining relationships over time is important to our profession and to our musical families. We learn so much from each other and instill these values in our students.

The new CMEA is about leadership…leadership from everyone in the group. Yes, headliner leadership was important to re-strengthening CMEA, but changes have been designed with everyone in mind. The relationships that are being built, maximization of the energy of many groups, and close touch with strategic and financial planning has spirited an inclusiveness that reverberates as new excitement and energy, forward-thinking ideas and newfound strength.

I am proud of our state association. Now it is our turn as the membership to power up the reverb in our own environments, and through collaborative effort, ensure CMEA’s momentum. As we lend support in service to our profession over time, we find in return, constructive resources through CMEA to meet our vision of equity and access for all students to receive, as part of the core curriculum, a consistent, sustainable, first-class music education.

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CMEA Magazine

2014 CMEA Awards Gala California All-State Music Education Conference Friday, February 21, 2014 Fresno, California

Opening remarks by CMEA President Russ Sperling:

CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone:

The CMEA Outstanding Administrator Award honors educators who, as school administrators, have contributed powerfully to the support of music education.

This year, in recognition of the importance our school administrators have on the success of music in our schools, we have three awardees.

Tonight’s first recipient is Brad Van Patten, visual and performing arts coordinator in the Irvine Unified School District. Mr. Van Patten has a Bachelor’s Degree in Instrumental Music and a Master’s in Music Education from Cal State Long Beach and is completing doctoral work at Alliant University. Brad taught in Garden Grove and Vista before coming to Irvine where he taught at Irvine and Northwood High Schools.

Our next administrator award recipient is Donald Wilson. Don is Principal of Wonderland Avenue School-Wonderland Gifted/High Ability Magnet Center in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Wilson is in his sixth year as the principal at what is one of the highest achieving public schools in Los Angeles. While Don spent most of his 25 years in education in some of L.A.’s poorest schools, Don has remained committed to the idea that public education changes lives.

Under Don’s leadership, over the last five years the staff has built up the general music program at Wonderland from one half-hour of classroom instruction to 45 minutes a week for upper grades, with an additional 30 minutes a week for primaries. There is an elective ensemble program for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders that includes chorus, percussion and recorder ensemble and, new this year, string band/bluegrass. All of this is in addition to an excellent orchestra program provided by the district. What makes the Wonderland

The CMEA Outstanding Administrator Award goes to Brad Van Patten with CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock.

Since 2006, Mr. Van Patten has supervised education in visual and performing arts for 30,000 K–12 students in art, music, theatre and dance. He develops curriculum and assessment for all four disciplines and provides ongoing staff development relative to the state framework and staff needs.

Mr. Van patten states: “Music education is an educational right and should be an expectation for every child. For centuries, educators have known that music education is an important element in a complete education and an integral component to the core curriculum. Recent research, especially in brain development, has not only reaffirmed this but puts music and the arts to an increasingly important role in the education of the whole child.”

Of CMEA, Brad says, “Of all the professional organizations that I have subscribed to in the past 31 years, CMEA and NAfME have been the most influential.”

The wrought-iron images above are details from the gate to the social hall of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Fresno, where the the Awards Gala was held.

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The CMEA Outstanding Administrator Award goes to Donald Wilson with CMEA Immediate Past President Norman Dea.

program truly extraordinary is that all of the music instruction occurs during the instructional day. It would not be possible to even contemplate such a program without the patience, ingenuity and unflagging support of an administrator like Don. CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock: Our final administrator award recipient is Dr. Garry Eagles. Dr. Garry Eagles is Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Eagles began his first elected term as county superintendent in January of 2003. He previously served as assistant superintendent, and as director of administrative services with the Humboldt County Office of Education for 19 years in 37

charge of personnel and field support services to local school districts.

Dr. Eagles repeatedly encourages the County’s 30 School Districts to fund arts, particularly music, as core curriculum in the schools. Using his discretionary budget, Dr. Eagles has funded professional development days for local music educators for the past two years.

CMEA Bay Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Dr. Diana Hollinger from San José State University, CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock and Bay Section President Andy Collinsworth.

educators who in the name of social justice are out to change the world. She has been critical to the success of the CMEA Bay Section Conference since her arrival in San José. For Diana’s immense service to music education, we are indebted.

The CMEA Outstanding Administrator Award goes to Dr. Garry Eagles with CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone.

Dr. Eagles is a founding member of “Rising Stars,” a program that funds students of excellence in the arts and other areas.

Dr. Eagles states, “I believe all of us are born with some degree of ‘music inside.’ As an educator, I feel it is extremely important that we try and help all children find what’s hidden within us. I firmly believe the arts should not be viewed as ‘add-on’ or ‘supplemental’ programs that can be eliminated when the budget is tight and we need to cut the ‘extras.’ The arts are not extras; quite the contrary, the arts are integral elements of a quality education.”

Norm Dea: From the CMEA Capitol Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Don Wersky from Folsom and Sutter Middle Schools in Folsom – with Capitol Section President Brad North.

Don Wersky received his Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Long Beach, and completed his graduate studies at Sacramento State University, earning a Master’s Degree in Music Education. He currently enjoys teaching middle school

Russ Sperling: CMEA Section Awards are the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a music educator in any given CMEA Section. It’s our pleasure tonight to introduce our Section Award recipients. As our honorees come forward, I ask that their respective Section President join them.

From the CMEA Bay Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Dr. Diana Hollinger from San José State University – with Bay Section President Andy Collinsworth.

Dr. Hollinger is completing her second term as Secretary of CMEA, has served NAfME as collegiate representative, and served CBDA as president. Dr. Hollinger holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Cal State Fullerton, a Master’s Degree from North Texas, and a DMA from Arizona State. She has been the coordinator of music education at San José State University for eleven years. In this role, she has mentored what she terms “Hollinger’s Army”: present and future music

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CMEA Capitol Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Don Wersky, with Capitol Section President Brad North and CMEA President Russ Sperling.

bands in Folsom, California, and plans to retire at the end of this school year after teaching for 35 years.

Don has taught at all levels and areas of instrumental music education. He has taught in the Garden Grove, Saddleback Valley, Tahoe-Truckee, Folsom-Cordova, Nevada Joint Union, and Pleasant Ridge School Districts.

CMEA Magazine

Don has served terms as president, newsletter editor, band representative, treasurer and webmaster on the Capitol Section board.

Michael Stone: From the CMEA Central Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Edward Hull from Manchester GATE and Del Mar in Fresno Unified School District – with Central Section President Leonard Ingrande.

From the CMEA Central Coast Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Colleen Wall, with former Central Coast Section President Barbara Priest and CMEA President Russ Sperling.

Michael Stone:

CMEA Central Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Edward Hull, with Central Section President Leonard Ingrande and CMEA Immediate Past President Norman Dea.

Ed Hull has taught in the public schools for 33 years. He began teaching in Lakeview, Oregon, and then moved to Fresno in 1984 as band director at Central High School. In 1986 he began teaching band at Manchester GATE school, where he has taught since then, except for a one-year stint as a first grade teacher when elementary music was cut. Ed is well known for his youth Dixieland program and has taken groups to jazz festivals across the U.S. and Canada.

Ed has a special love for starting beginning instrumentalists and for teaching jazz. Ed plans to retire from Fresno Unified in June of 2014.

From the North Coast Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Katri Pitts from Cutten/Ridgewood school district in Eureka – with North Coast Section President Judith Scharnberg.

Katri Pitts received her B.A. in Music Education and Vocal Performance as well as her teaching credential in Music from Humboldt State University. She teaches full time music for the Cutten/Ridgewood School

Scott Hedgecock: From the CMEA Central Coast Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Colleen Wall from Morro Bay High School and Los Osos Middle School in Morro Bay. Colleen Wall, a native of California, began directing the choir at Morro Bay High School in the fall of 2005.

She also serves as the choral director at Los Osos Middle School, providing her own feeder program for the high school groups. Colleen worked as a part-time choral conductor, accompanist, piano teacher, and vocal coach for many years before receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Wyoming, making the teaching of music a full time profession. The Morro Bay High School Choral Department is a vibrant center of activity on the campus where students develop as musicians and gain valuable experience through performance opportunities.

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North Coast Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Katri Pitts, with North Coast Section President Judith Scharnberg and CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock.

District, which includes K–6 general music as well as three levels of choir, strings, and band for grades 4–6.

Mrs. Pitts is an active performer, appearing frequently in Humboldt Light Opera Company productions. In addition to having a studio of private voice students, Katri has served as secretary of the CMEA North Coast Section for more than seven years.

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Norm Dea: From the CMEA Northern Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Randy Humphreys from Alder Creek Middle School in Truckee – with Northern Section President Dave Green.

Randy Humphreys graduated from College of Marin in 1985 where he studied clarinet with Robert Colonico of UC Berkeley. Randy began teaching in San Francisco at Herbert Hoover Middle School and

Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Bruce Rogers from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut- with Southeastern Section Representative Armalyn De La O. Mr. Rogers is director of choral activities at Mt. San Antonio College. He oversees the department’s various vocal and choral programs, which span the entire spectrum of music – from classical to jazz. He directs Mt. San Antonio College’s award-winning Chamber Singers and the elite vocal jazz ensemble, “Singcopation.” Choirs under his direction have achieved top ranking in national and international competitions throughout the world, including performances in concert halls throughout the United States, Canada and throughout Europe. Mr. Rogers’ choirs have had the honor of performing at numerous state, regional and national conventions.

Russ Sperling:

CMEA Northern Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Randy Humphreys, with Northern Section President Dave Green and CMEA President Russ Sperling.

From the CMEA Southern Border Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Jay Posteraro from Mesa Verde Middle School in San Diego – with Southern Border Section President Pauline Crooks.

Jay Posteraro has taught at Mesa Verde Middle School for his entire 19-year career. He earned music

then Aptos Middle School. In 1995, he moved to Truckee to teach at Sierra Mountain Middle School. In 2003, SMMS closed, and Randy opened Alder Creek Middle School where he remains. Randy has tirelessly promoted music in the Truckee/Tahoe area, running honor bands, festivals and exchange concerts for many years. He has served on the CMEA Northern Section board as vice president and membership chair.

Randy is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Music at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Scott Hedgecock: From the CMEA Southeastern Section: The

CMEA Southern Border Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Jay Posteraro. Accepting the award for Jay Posteraro is Southern Border Section President Pauline Crooks with CMEA Immediate Past President Norman Dea.

CMEA Southeastern Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Bruce Rogers. Accepting the award for Bruce Rogers is Southeastern Section Designated Contact Armalyn De La O with CMEA President Michael Stone.

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degrees from the State University of New York Potsdam (Crane School of Music) and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. In March 2011, The Mesa Verde Select Ensemble won the Chicago Festival of Gold, the first time in the thirty-year history of the festival a middle school group has gained such distinction. Jay has conducted many honor bands, including the CMEA-SBS Middle School Honor Band. This year, Jay was chosen as one of three Poway Unified School District Teachers of the Year.

CMEA Magazine

Michael Stone: From the CMEA Southwestern Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Brendan Jennings from John Burroughs High School in Burbank – with Southwestern Section Representative Lisa Crawford.

Brendan Jennings heads the nationally acclaimed music program at Burroughs High that features seven highly-accomplished performing ensembles, a cutting edge technical theater program and nearly 300 students. Powerhouse, the elite-level competitive show

The CMEA Alfred Publishing Elementary Music Specialist Award, which honors excellence in Elementary Instrumental and Choral Music Instruction, goes to Patricia O’Herron with CMEA Immediate Past President Norman Dea.

CMEA Southwestern Section: The Outstanding Music Educator Award goes to Brendan Jennings, with Southwestern Section Designated Contact Lisa Crawford and CMEA President Russ Sperling.

choir at Burroughs, has performed in every corner of the United States winning numerous local and national grand championships. Under the direction of Mr. Jennings, the Burroughs choirs have made many appearances on national television including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dancing with the Stars, and The Voice. Powerhouse has appeared opposite artists such as Christina Aguilera, Harry Connick Jr., Steven Tyler, Adam Levine, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Darren Criss and the cast of Glee.

ways to expand learning for all students.”

“CMEA has given me the opportunity to network with other public school music educators who are interested in professional development. Conferences are a wonderful forum for the exchange of ideas, enriching our own teaching as we “bring home” what we have learned. The CMEA journals have kept me informed of the changes in our state’s arts policies and the activities of my colleagues.”

Michael Stone: The CMEA Peripole General Music Educator Award honors excellence in General Classroom Music Education.

Our award recipient this evening is Cindy Teresi.

Cindy Teresi has been a music specialist in the Loomis Union School District since 2003. She teaches band, choir and classroom music. She has a BA in Music

Scott Hedgecock: The CMEA Alfred Publishing Elementary Music Specialist Award honors excellence in Elementary Instrumental and Choral Music Instruction.

Our award recipient this evening is Patricia O’Herron. Patricia O’Herron has been a general music, choir teacher and teacher-leader for the music enrichment department at the Fontana Unified School District since 1999. She is a music and early literacy integration trainer, where she teaches primary students and coaches classroom teachers to use research-based music and movement strategies that increase speaking and listening skills.

Patricia states, “Once we singers find our voice, we must learn how to fit in with the voices around us. My evolution as a choral conductor began with love for the art. I believe the future of music education depends upon our adaptation to the changes in education, globalization and technology. I encourage my colleagues to collaborate outside their musical discipline, finding

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The CMEA Peripole General Music Educator Award, which honors excellence in General Classroom Music Education, goes to Cindy Teresi, with CMEA President Russ Sperling.

and an MA in Curriculum of the Arts from Cal State Sacramento.

Cindy believes that all children can benefit from music education. Everyone has a voice, an aesthetic 41

nature to discover, an emotion to share, and a game to play. It is through this interweaving of play and song that children can emerge as musical beings. The joy of the play leads to a love of music and music making that lasts a lifetime.

Cindy has been involved in CMEA since she was an undergraduate at Sac State. The contacts she made then as student representative to the CMEA Capitol Section Board were crucial in her getting a job offer immediately after finishing her credential program.

Cindy has been actively involved in numerous early childhood portions of CMEA conferences as organizer and presenter. She has advocated for more respect for classroom music teachers when, for a time, CMEA leadership expressed their goals as supporters of “band, choir, jazz and orchestra teachers.”

Norm Dea: The CMEA Richard L Levin Orchestra Educator Award honors excellence in Orchestra Education and Performance.

Our award recipient tonight is Sandra Lewis.

Sandra Lewis has been the orchestra and assistant band director at Gunn High School for the past 12 years. With a background in strings and woodwinds she received her undergraduate degree at University of

The CMEA Richard L Levin Orchestra Educator Award, which honors excellence in Orchestra Education and Performance, goes to Sandra Lewis, with CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone.

Hawaii, and finished her Master’s Degree in violin performance from San Francisco State. She is passionate about integrating chamber music into string orchestra education and still actively plays chamber music in outside groups.

In the past four years the Gunn High School Orchestra has performed at the CMEA Bay Section Conference, twice for the CMEA State Conference and this past December, the Gunn String Orchestra performed in Chicago for the prestigious Midwest Clinic.

Sandra has served as CMEA Bay Section secretary as well as vice president for the Santa Clara County Honor Band Directors Association, and has hosted numerous solo and ensemble festivals at San José State.

Sandra says, “CMEA has helped my career by sur42

rounding me with master teachers and mentors that have provided me with support both from a content standard and a classroom management standard.

Without mentors like Tom Tatton, Tim Smith, Ernie Thompson, Ed Harris and many others I would not be even half the educator that I am today.”

Scott Hedgecock: The CMEA Pearson Scott Foresman/Silver Burdett Choral Educator Award honors excellence in Choral Education and Performance.

Our award recipient tonight is Michael Hayden.

Michael Hayden has taught the choirs and music appreciation at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach since 2007. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Butler, a Master’s in Choral Conducting form Eastman all doctoral courses completed at Michigan State. He has taught for more than 30 years in Indiana, New York and Michigan.

Michael says, “CMEA launched my teaching career

The CMEA Pearson Scott Foresman/Silver Burdett Choral Educator Award, which honors excellence in Choral Education and Performance, goes to Michael Hayden, with CMEA President Russ Sperling.

in California. I sat down to my computer in Indiana and pulled up the CMEA website and there it was…the job listing for Mira Costa High School. I called my mentor, Rod Eichenberger, former director of choral activities at USC, and asked him what he knew about Manhattan Beach. His response? “Michael, take it…you will love it!” Some two months later, I was hired at Mira Costa.

“In coming to California I knew I was entering a state where choral music was taken very seriously. The legacy of CMEA has established one of the most respected state music cultures in our country. Inspired by this culture, I dove right in and have created a department that is very active around the state, nationally and internationally. My students are all the better, in part, because of CMEA’s inspiration and musical leadership.”

CMEA Magazine

Norm Dea: The CMEA Jazz Educator Award honors excellence in Jazz Education and Performance.

Our award recipient this evening is Bob Avzaradel.

Bob teaches jazz band, symphonic band, orchestra, piano, and guitar, and is co-director of the marching band at Irvine High School. Bob has a Bachelor’s Degree from Cal State University Long Beach.

Previously, Mr. Avzaradel has received the SCSBOA Outstanding Veteran Teaching Award, the Irene

Fame. He is a John Philip Sousa Foundation Bandworld Legion of Honor Laureate. His bands have performed in the Rose Parade and at the White House.

The CMEA Byron Hoyt/Don Schmeer Band Educator Award, which honors excellence in Instrumental Education And Performance, goes to Jim Kusserow, with CMEA President Russ Sperling.

The CMEA Jazz Educator Award, which honors excellence in Jazz Education And Performance, goes to Bob Avzaradel, with CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock.

Schoepfle Award for contributions to music education in Orange County, as well as the Jamey Aebersold Most Outstanding New Jazz Educator Award from the Fullerton College Jazz Festival.

Bob’s jazz ensembles and contributions to jazz education are well known throughout California. He has served as VP of jazz education for SCSBOA and on the board of CAJ. Under Bob’s leadership, Irvine High School is hosting their 20th annual jazz festival this spring. Their festival has more than 80 groups that perform in one day. Bob brings in the best jazz educators possible to adjudicate, and brings in top college bands to perform for the students. Over his career, Bob has hosted 26 jazz festivals and 20 field tournaments.

Bob wants all music educators to know that as an original American art form, we are indisputably responsible to teach them about jazz, the same as we do for the other genres.

Michael Stone: The CMEA Byron Hoyt/Don Schmeer Band Educator Award honors excellence in Instrumental Education And Performance.

Our award recipient this evening is Jim Kusserow.

Jim has been the band director at Porterville High School since 1990, and a music educator since 1981.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree from San José State University and a Master’s Degree from Cal State Bakersfield.

Jim has established himself as one of our iconic band directors in California. Way back in 1990, he was inducted into the National High School Band Hall of Spring Issue 2014

He has served as president and in other board positions of both the Tulare Kings Music Educators Association and CMEA Central Section.

Jim says, “CMEA has shaped me into the educator I am today. After receiving a “good” rating at my first CMEA festival, I was about to learn my first lesson. I heard outstanding bands and I wanted to seek out how they got the results they got.”

Jim believes that music teachers educate the whole child and expose them to the inherent beauty in music and the arts that is sometimes overlooked in our testweary educational system. Jim states: “Music is a fundamental right to every child in K–12 schools in California.”

Norm Dea: The CMEA John Swain College-University Educator Award honors excellence in Music Education at the College/University Level.

Our award recipient this evening is Dr. Andy Collinsworth. Dr. Collinsworth is the director of bands and program director for music education at Sonoma State University. In addition to leading the university symphonic wind ensemble and chamber winds ensemble, he teaches courses in conducting, instrumental music methods and music education. Dr. Collinsworth received a DMA in Conducting from Arizona State University, and he holds degrees in music education and in saxophone performance from the University of Nevada at Reno.

Dr. Collinsworth is in high demand as a guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician throughout California and the Western states. In 2011 CMEA presented him with the Don Schmeer/Byron Hoyt Band Educator Award honoring excellence in instrumental instruction and performance.

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Dr. Collinsworth is president of the CMEA Bay Section, and has also served as area rep and band rep for the Bay Section. He was recently named presidentelect for the Western Division of the College Band Directors National Association.

The CMEA Legislative Award, which honors an elected official whose advocacy for music education has made a noteworthy difference in supporting music in our schools, goes to Kevin Beiser, with CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock and CMEA President Russ Sperling.

The CMEA John Swain College-University Educator Award honors excellence in Music Education at the College/University Level.

Our award recipient this evening is Dr. Andy Collinsworth, with CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone.

Dr. Collinsworth is an incredible mentor to his music education students at Sonoma State University and has built that program (band and music education) from the bottom up.

Russ Sperling: The CMEA Legislative Award honors an elected official whose advocacy for music education has made a noteworthy difference in supporting music in our schools.

Our award recipient this evening is Kevin Beiser.

Mr. Beiser is President of the school board of trustees for the San Diego Unified School District. Kevin’s day job is as a math teacher in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

A percussionist in high school and the first person in his family to graduate from high school and to attend college, Kevin earned his B.A. in Political Science from Willamette University in Oregon. Kevin returned to graduate school to fulfill his dream of helping children, earning a Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Phoenix. The Greater San Diego Math Council has named him “Outstanding Math Teacher of the Year”.

Kevin says, “We must continue to ensure all our schools offer a rigorous curriculum that includes music, the arts, and systemic support programs to help students succeed and achieve at their full potential. I will work hard to keep class sizes low, protect art, music and career vocational education, and improve graduation rates.”

Kevin has done just that, and has been outspoken and creative in making sure that music survives and thrives in San Diego. For instance, he got the board to use funds from electricity savings due to new solar panels to fund music.

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We could use a Kevin Beiser on every school board in California. For his steadfast support of music in our schools, CMEA bestows our Legislative Award to Kevin Beiser.

Russ Sperling: At this point, CMEA would like to recognize our 50Year Members. Unfortunately, none of our 50 year members this year are able to join us this year, but I do want to mention who they are: Claude Piper, now of Prescott, Arizona and Jerrold Snyder from Monte Sereno. We thank them for their CMEA membership for an impressive 50 years, and for their service to music education.

Scott Hedgecock: The CMEA Aubrey Penman Retired Music Educator Award honors continued influence in developing teachers.

Our award recipient this evening is Dan Neece. Dan taught at Santa Ynez High School from 1976 to 1986 and Enterprise High School in Redding from 1986 to

The CMEA Aubrey Penman Retired Music Educator Award, which honors continued influence in developing teachers, goes to Dan Neece, with CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone.

CMEA Magazine

2013. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Cal State Long Beach and a Master’s Degree from Cal State Chico.

In 2002, Dan was awarded the CMEA Northern Section Music Educator of the Year. In 2005, he was the Shasta County Teacher of the Year. And in 2006, CMEA presented Dan the Don Schmeer/Byron Hoyt Band award.

Mr. Neece has been an active member of CMEA for more than 35 years. For the past 25 years he has acted as the Northern section Region 2 chairman and has been on the executive board in various capacities for 15 years. He was instrumental in starting the CMEA Northern Section Junior High Band.

Dan is well known to many CMEA members as the equipment manager at six CMEA state conventions.

He was a cheerful servant, and efficiently managed a staff that made those conferences successful.

Dan says, “CMEA has helped me to stay ‘fresh’ throughout my career with new innovative teaching strategies. This is why I lasted forty years in this profession and can say I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Norm Dea: The CMEA Hall of Fame Award honors a Lifetime of Extraordinary Service and Commitment to Music Education in California.

Our award recipient this evening is Jon Christian.

Jon still serves as the band director of the San Lorenzo Community Band and the newsletter editor for the CMEA Central Coast Section. Jon’s Bachelor’s Degree is from San José State University and following graduation he served as a U.S. Army musician for four years. He taught music at San Lorenzo Valley High School from 1969 to 2000.

In 1984, Jon received the Outstanding Achievement Award from his school district. In 2000, the California Assembly recognized Jon for his exemplary accomplishments in education. It’s been nine years since Jon

received the CMEA Aubrey Penman Retired Music Educator Award, yet he is still serving our profession.

Jon believes that the study of music is a stimulating and positive force in brain development. The exposure to music and the opportunity to receive ongoing music instruction from a young age is a key to students developing musical skills, which then lead to a lifetime of enjoyment and appreciation of music.

Jon states: “With more than twenty years of Central Coast Section Board of Directors experience, several years of honor group chair experience, and 39 years of teaching, I have a lot of background and organizational know-how that I’m able to share with the board, event chairs, and our general membership.”

For devoting his career to music education in California, CMEA hereby inducts Jon Christian into our Hall of Fame.

Russ Sperling: Our next award tonight is the CMEA President’s Award honoring extraordinary accomplishments in music education.

This individual is in his 31st year of teaching and in his 6th year as the director of instrumental music at Acalanes High School in Lafayette. It’s impossible to talk about this person for any length of time without revealing his identity. Yes, the President’s award goes to Norm Dea.

The CMEA President’s Award, honoring extraordinary accomplishments in music education, goes to Norman Dea, with CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone.

The CMEA Hall of Fame Award, which honors a Lifetime of Extraordinary Service and Commitment to Music Education in California, goes to Jon Christian, with CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecock.

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Norm previously taught at Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek for 25 years. Norm is a proud 1981 graduate of San Francisco State University.

Norm is the Immediate Past President of the CMEA and currently serves as the CMEA representative on the CBDA board. He has also served as vice president of CMEA, and is a past president of the Bay Section.

He has been a guest conductor of regional and state honor bands including the CBDA California AllState Junior High Honor Band, and the NCBA AllNorthern California Junior High Honor Band. He has guest conducted summer camp bands at Cazadero 45

Music Camp, and most recently at the Alpine School District Summer Advanced Band Camp in American Fork, Utah. He is scheduled to conduct the Nevada All-State Middle School Honor Band in April, 2014.

Norm has been honored for his contributions to the music education community including: CBDA Distinguished Service Award, Bandworld Legion of Honor Award, CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Music Educator Award, and the CMEA Don Schmeer-Byron Hoyt Outstanding Band Educator Award.

As Norm’s successor to the CMEA Presidency, I am indebted to him for straightforwardly dealing with the CMEA’s crisis during his term. Those were some dark days for our organization. Facing bankruptcy, Norm made the call to cancel the CMEA conference and join CBDA to create CASMEC here in Fresno. He had to make other painful decisions that I know were personally difficult for him in order to make sure CMEA could survive for our profession.

The good news is that we made it through, and Norm passed the torch to me at a stage when we have had the opportunity to rebuild CMEA for the future. And we’re doing that. Norm, thank you.

Because of Norm Dea’s unyielding perseverance on behalf of CMEA and music education in California, I hereby present you with the CMEA President’s Award.

Congratulations.

Russ Sperling: Our final award tonight is a new award, an award that the board may not choose to give every year, or very often for that matter. It’s called the CMEA Lifetime Achievement Award, and it will serve to honor those individuals who leave a profound and unforgettable mark on music education in California, and this case, nationally as well.

The first ever CMEA Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Mr. John Larrieu.

The musical career of John Larrieu began in the United States Air Force Band program, where he played tuba for four years in bands in South Carolina, Tokyo, Japan and Texas. John graduated from San José State University with a degree in music education and received his Master’s Degree from Southern Oregon University.

He taught music in high schools in California for 35 years and upon retiring worked for 14 years in the position of executive director of CMEA. He served as Chair of the National State Managers of NAfME for two years.

John has already received several of the highest honors in our profession, including the CMEA Hall of Fame award, the CBDA Don Schmeer Friends of Music Award, and he is a Lowell Mason Fellow of NAfME. Always committed to serving others, John has served his community as mayor for several years and as a city councilman for the past 15 years. Now fully retired, John plays string bass with the Reno Pops Orchestra and is currently the President of the Board of Directors of the orchestra – if you can call that “fully retired.”

While executive director of our organization, John was totally committed to CMEA. He led the organization through tough financial times, and even used his own personal funds to cover expenses when cash flow was tight. John is respected throughout our profession as a leader with integrity, grace and good humor, and we are all indebted to the substantial work that he gave to all of us that still impacts us today.

It’s for this profound and extraordinary career and commitment to music education that CMEA hereby bestows this Lifetime achievement award to John Larrieu.

Congratulations John.

The CMEA Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring those individuals who leave a profound and unforgettable mark on music education in California, and in this case, nationally as well, goes to John Larrieu. CMEA President-Elect Michael Stone, CMEA Secretary Diana Hollinger, John Larrieu, CMEA President Russ Sperling, and CMEA Vice President Scott Hedgecook.

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CMEA Magazine

Spring Issue 2014

47

What’s New In Music Technology 2014

by Mike Klinger

ots of new things were introduced at NAMM 2014 in January relating to music technology. It amazes me how music technology keeps moving forward to some exciting new levels not before seen. It is the purpose of this article to introduce you to the new things coming out just around the corner and how they can affect you as a music educator.

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Notation The two major players in the music notation field introduced upgrades. Finale 2014™ was introduced and includes some cool new things like: enhancements in linked parts, a new mixer, EPUB support for publishing e-Books, a new audio engine, improved OSX support, new and improved sounds, better percussion notation and much more.

Sibelius™ introduced a Sibelius 7.5 upgrade. Sibelius is not going out of business.

Please stop this terrible rumor.

In fact, the company has a new team of developers, moved their seasoned Pro Tools expert (Bobby Lombardi) over to the Sibelius team, and is now moving forward in leaps and bounds. Expect some great new things coming your way in 2014.

NotateMe™ is a new notation app for portable devices.

Write your music with your finger, or better yet a Stylus and it re-writes your music into published notation. The cool thing is that it learns your handwriting style so the more your write the fewer mistakes are made. You can then e-mail the file, save as XML to bring it into Finale or Sibelius, or play it back right on your portable device.

Promises for the future include: import music XML, sing or play and have it notate your performance, take a photo of your music and have it play back to you on your mobile device.

Digital Audio Presonus™ is a company that is on the rise in the music 48

education field. What I like about this company is they actually have a music teacher as head of their educational division.

John Mlynczak is introducing several new educator bundles. The new Audio Box Music Creation Suite $399 includes: AudioBox interface, PS49 controller keyboard, Studio One Artist recording software, Notion composing software, M7 condenser mic with cable, HD3 stereo headphones and a USB 2.0 HUB. Presonus also introduced their 32, 24,and 16 channel AI digital mixing con-

AudioBox Creation Suite

soles ($3999, $2999, $1999). Amazing mixers and they come with recording software ready to go.

M-Audio introduced the new Mtrack Eight audio interface $399. Up until now 8 inputs would have cost you $999. Features include: High headroom inputs with Octane Preamp Technology, Up to 24/96 kHz resolution, 8 XLR + 1/4" combo inputs with individual metering, Dual headphone outs with selectable source (1/2 or 3/4), Selectable phantom power for Channels 1-4 and 5-8 and much more. A great value for the money.

Cool Stuff We all know that our kids love to turn knobs and dabble with musical sounds and effects. Syntorial $78 educational pricing, allows the student to program his/her own CMEA Magazine

AudioBox Creation Suite

sounds into a synthesizer using the training software notates a chosen pattern and plays it back. Your drummer included. It comes with over 199 lessons. The student can isolate each hand and foot to hear just that part. learns about a single parameter of It also has a video of a real drummer performsound (i.e. oscillator), and is then ing whose speed you can adjust as well. played a sample of the sound. Using ForScore is an app for putting all of your PDF just their ears and the knowledge music into your portable device. Perfect for learned, they begin to program the gigging musicians in that you can organize sound they just heard. If correct, it your music into sets if you wish. A must have rewards the student and allows them for the gigging musician. With the BT-105 to move onto more parameters. The bluetooth air turn pedal, you can get hands kids that I have shown this to absolutefree operation as well. You can also mark up ly love it. Site licensing is also available your PDFs as needed. at $62.50 a seat.

Mike Klinger is the owner of The Synthesis Need a small, portable, powerful Midi Workshop (www.midiworkshop.com), speaker for you classroom or portable which specializes in educational sales and device? Introducing the new iLOUD training in music technology. He offers a $299. 40 watts of power, 50hz-20khz, wide variety of music technology courses bluetooth compatible, up to 10 hours both online and at his Retreat Center in AudioBox Creation Suite in normal use without charging, 1/4” Carson, WA and only sells to music input for connecting guitars to iOS educators and students. devices. The sound of this thing is incredible. I love the portability of it as well.

Be on the lookout for Aerodrums $160. This thing is incredible technology.

Best thing to do is to Google Aerodrums and watch the videos. In a nutshell Aerodrums uses light or iLoud photo technology to watch a drummer perform “air” drums, complete with drums sticks and sensors on his/her feet. The motions then trigger various drum sounds on a computer. No drum kit needed. It is currently available for purchase on Amazon for $160 and then you will also need the Photo camera for $20. Right now available for Windows, but Mac is being developed.

Favorite iPad Apps SoundCloud Express allows you to sing or play into your portable device and have it notated. You can then transfer it over to your favorite notation software. iReal Pro is like having Band in a Box on a portable device. Just type in your chord progression, pick a tempo and style and you get drums, bass and piano accompaniment.

Drum School is a great tool for your drummers. It

MIKE KLINGER MUSIC TECHNOLOGY SUMMER WORKSHOPS

2014

iPADS IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM • ESD101 Spokane, WA - June 17-20 • NCESD Wenatchee, WA - June 23-26 • Retreat Center Carson, WA - August 12-15 TEACHING MUSIC USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM • Retreat Center Carson, WA - July 8-11 DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDING/EDITING USING PRO TOOLS • Retreat Center Carson, WA - July 15-18 SIBELIUS 7 • Retreat Center Carson, WA - July 29-August 1 DIGITAL SONGWRITING PRODUCTION STUDENT WORKSHOP • Retreat Center Carson, WA - August 5-8 To register call (800) 248-9699 or www.midiworkshop.com Can’t make it to these locations? All of the above courses available online at www.wiziq.com starting June 23.

He’s paying the group’s music festival invoice.

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