President's Message by Anne Fennell, CMEA President
I am honored and excited to be the president of California Music Educators Association for the next two years and I look forward to all that we will create together as we continue to grow and support one another. Through Armalyn De La O’s presidency, we co-created CMEA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) policy and I will continue this work as we begin writing our next Strategic Plan. Our DEIA policy is a pillar and lens through which we move our organization forward to ensure that CMEA’s Vision — “to ensure that all California students have equal access to high quality music instruction as a part of a well-rounded education” — truly becomes our reality. We continue to collaborate with our 4 Arts Ed Org partners, CAEA, CDEA, CETA, and hold a proactive and collective voice advocating for arts education. Never before has this been so important as it is now as we support Californians for Arts and Music Education in Public Schools to ensure that arts education is funded and a priority in our schools. This proposed measure, intended for the November 2022 general election, will guarantee roughly $800 million a year in new funding that ensures arts education for all current and future generations. It will be a game-changer for arts education and the single most important piece of legislation for arts education in our collective careers. Music education for all students is attainable, and with this new possible funding we will all be able to reach out, serve, and bring music to every school and student in our state, while contributing to our culture and creative economy. Can you imagine every one of our 6 million students in the state of California finding themselves immersed in the beauty of music? I can. I have always had this vision because I know that music is in every person, a fundamental human right, and a part
of all cultures. Music evokes emotions to everyone in its proximity, and gives beauty, opportunity, as well as strength, and a sense of knowing that we are part of something larger than ourselves. Music is the culture of the past, and when we serve all students, music is the culture of the present day and our future. We all have the genetic predisposition to learn, as well as to perceive and make music, and this cultural universal is a gift we can connect with and share. My passions and beliefs have always guided me to support all that is possible, and today as you read this, I hope that our connected beliefs for music education bring us together to be the best organization for every student. I believe in lifelong learning and music education for ALL students. I believe in casting the educational net wide so all humans can find themselves in and through music and the beauty of sound that is found in every moment of time. I believe and know that music is a creative and rigorous academic subject, and with creativity and critical thinking, music improves the human condition through a personal expression that defines our own humanity and culture. And I believe and know that we are here because our passions have brought us to learn and grow for the sake of every student. For the sake of music and for the sake of our collective culture and human potential. I look forward to the next two years as we grow together and I promise I will do my best to support, see, and hear the music educators and students in California.
Spring Issue 2022
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