"Listen, Learn, Teach"

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
August 2008

"Listen, Learn, Teach"
Paul Copenhaver

"Where has the summer gone?"

How many times have you heard that lately? Hopefully, you’ve all been able to enjoy the time, and are looking forward to the upcoming school year.

Members of your MMEA Executive Board/Advisory Council have been busy this summer preparing for our upcoming 71st Annual In-Service Conference/Workshop. These duties have included contacting and arranging for potential clinicians, coordinating out-of-state committees as they selected performing groups, attending meetings, writing articles, and on and on.

PERFORMING ENSEMBLES
As you know, the deadline for submission of Application for Performance materials was June 1. This year 142 Missouri groups applied. Each area Vice-President assembled an out-of-state committee [Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio] to review the recorded performances and make final recommendations for groups to perform next January. The conductors of all groups [both those selected and those not selected] were informed of the results in early July, and each conductor received an Ensemble Evaluation Form completed by each committee member. A listing of the 33 groups selected to perform follows:

General Music: Shere Khan Percussion Ensemble [Pam Dumey]

Early Childhood/Elementary: Camdenton Chorale [Andrea Grace Mack], Eagle Glen 6th Grade Choir [Jennifer Gibson]

Jazz: UMKC Conservatory Concert Jazz Band [Michael Pagan], Fort Zumwalt North High School Jazz Band [Rob Babel]

Orchestra: Nipher Middle School Orchestra [Kelly Judge], Missouri State University Symphony Orchestra [Robert Quebbeman], Lee’s Summit West High School Symphony Orchestra [Kirt Mosier], Park Hill High School Symphonic Orchestra [Stephanie Rathbun], Lee’s Summit North High School Symphony Orchestra [Joseph Keeney]

Choir: Ozark High School Chorale [Jason Roberts], Liberty High School Chamber Choir [Rika Heruth], Willard High School Chamber Choir [Mark Lawley], West Plains High School Concert Choir [Kelly Dame], Pleasant Hill High School Hillside Singers [Karen Dollins], New Covenant Academy Concert Choir [Vickie Wisdom], Missouri State University Chorale [Guy Webb], College of the Ozarks Chorale [Lynda Jesse], South Valley Junior High 9th Grade Women [Phillip Holthus], Summit Lakes Middle School Singers [Beth Files]

College/University: UMKC Trombone Ensemble [JoDee Davis], University of Missouri-Columbia Faculty Brass Quintet [Iskander Akhmadullin]

Band: Drury University Wind Symphony [Christopher Koch], Missouri State University Symphonic Band [Jerry Hoover], Truman State University Wind Symphony [Dan Peterson], West Junior High School Viking Band [Tom Sweeney], Gallatin High School Symphonic Band [Gene Edwards], Oakville High School Symphonic Band [David Meador], St. Clair High School Band [Paul/Elaine Swofford], Jefferson City High School Symphonic Band [Steve Eubanks], Eureka High School Band [John Arata], Liberty High School Symphonic Band [Paul Warnex], Lutheran South High School Wind Symphony [John Miller]

PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Many of you will be interested to know about pre-sessions planned for our upcoming workshop/conference. These sessions have increased in popularity the past few years, and provide the opportunity to gain very useful and insightful information.

MSHSAA will again offer both vocal and instrumental adjudicator training sessions. These sessions are valuable to both those seeking to adjudicate MSHSAA festivals, but also to those who “want to know what judges are taught.”

MMEA Mentoring Chair, Steve Litwiller, is preparing a session for first year teachers entitled “First Aid for First Year Teachers!” The session will feature a panel of experienced vocal, instrumental, and general music teachers who will share practical knowledge, literature suggestions, ideas and strategies for success in the music classroom. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions of these panel members, and make connections that might be helpful during the early years of a career.

Phyllis Weikart will present another very interesting session. She is the Associate Professor Emeritus in the Division of Kinesiology, University of Michigan; Visiting Associate Professor at Hartt School of Music; and Senior Advisor to the Movement and Music Division of the High Scope Educational Research Foundation. Dr. Weikart’s session will focus on the connections made between folk dance and music concepts, and the self-confidence students feel when they experience success in music classes. Additionally, it will provide frameworks for implementing basic movement abilities into music classes, and physical education and early childhood classes.

CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Area Vice-Presidents have been busy contacting potential clinicians. Early indications indicate offerings that are varied and useful. Some of those sessions will include: “Motivating Music for Middle School Choirs,” “12 Steps to Music Literacy Using Conversational Solfege,” “The Band Director’s Survival Guide,” “I Would Do Jazz With My Choir, But I Don’t Know How,” “The Rhythm Section: The Band Within the Band,” “School Law and the Professional Music Educator,” “Sight Reading: Approach, Practice, Results,” and “Teaching Early Music Literacy Skills Through Multicultural Folk Songs.”

MENC President Barbara Geer will attend our workshop/conference, and speak at one of our general sessions. Of course, besides the outstanding ensembles already mentioned, the all-state groups will hold open rehearsals and perform during our final general session.

These sessions, and many more, promise to make an exciting and useful workshop/conference!

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Another summer activity has been to create a user friendly, reliable area on our MMEA website to accommodate conference registration, and pre-conference session registrations. As of this writing, that task is not completed, so watch under the “Convention 2009” section for those forms.

WORKSHOP/CONFERENCE FORMS
In an effort to avoid clutter in this magazine created by pages of forms and applications, we are moving many to our website. Please check under the “Convention 2009” section for the following: Reception Request Form [due 10/1], District Meeting Request [due 10/1], Request to Schedule Business Meeting [due 10/1], and Work Crew Technician Application [due 12/5]. And, as stated above, watch for both the workshop/conference preregistration and pre-conference session registration forms.

THEME?
Each of our MMEA In-Service Workshop/Conferences has a theme. This year our theme is “Listen, Learn, Teach.” As you can see, the workshop/conference will provide lots of opportunities to listen to outstanding performances, to learn about many areas in music education, and, then, go back to our schools to teach our students!