VOLUME 76

NUMBER 3

SPRING 2016

20 Years... Cecil Wilder

AROUND THE STATE DIVISION NEWS

In-Service Conference RecapSessions - Performances - Candids - General Session

2017-2019 PRESIDENT

Assessment in Music EducationKinsey Edwards

ASall-state

Swstatewide

GeorgIamusic news

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IN THIS ISSUE...04 Association News

12 Division News

21 In-Service Conference Recap

29 All-State Recap

52 Assessment in Music Education

PresidentDr. John Odom

Immediate Past PresidentFrank Folds

Vice-President of All-State Events

Tracy Wright

Vice-President of Performance Evaluation Events

Richard Prouty

Past Presidents RepresentativeDr. Bernadette Scruggs

Executive DirectorCecil Wilder

Band Division ChairNeil Ruby

Choral Division ChairWes Stoner

College Division ChairDr. Laura Stambaugh

Elementary Division ChairVicky Knowles

Orchestra Division ChairSarah Black

Piano Division ChairDr. Joanna Kim

District Chairs1 - Kenza Murray

2 - Andrew C. Bell3 - Jonathan Carmack

4 - D. Alan Fowler5 - Carolyn Landreau

6 - Samuel Miller7 - Bob Steelnack

8 - Steve Myers9 - Pat Gallagher

10 - Gene Hundley11 - C. Lloyd McDonald

12 - Paula Krupiczewicz13 - Lee Newman

14 - Dion Muldrow

Editor, Georgia Music News

For the complete list of Board Members please visit:

GMEA StaffAleta Womack

Brandie Barbee

Ryan Barbee

GMN Advertising/ExhibitorsCindy Reed

Copyright 2016 by the Georgia Music Educators Association

Printing by Priority Press, Stockbridge, GAAll pieces reproduced in this issue are under prior copyright of

the creators and publisher by the contractual arrangements. Nothing shown may be reproduced in any form without obtaining the permission of the publisher and any other person or company who may have copyright ownership.

2016 ISCConference Recap

THE GMEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

21

29 Victoria Enloe

Photos provided by Andy Edwards of Ace of PhotosVisit aceofphotos.smugmug.com

18

18 Dr. Andy Poor selected as Forsyth County

Teacher of the Year 19 The Walker School

at Carnegie Hall

Around the State

All-StateConductors

66Amy Clement andPaige Dobbins

30 All-State Band

36 All-State Chorus

42 All-State Orchestra

48 Statewide Elementary

50 Sixth Grade Statewide

082017-2019President

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Student Growth Assessment in Georgia:

Implementing Student Learning Objectives in

the Music Classroom (Page 58)

FEATUREDCONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Dorothy Musselwhite

Kinsey EdwardsAssessment in Music Education: Showing

Growth, Not Advocacy (Page 52)

Division ChairsDivision chairs recap the In-Service Confer-

ence and this school years All-State events.

(Page 12)

BE A CONTRIBUTING WRITER!submit YOUR ARTICLEto the georgia music newswww.gmea.org/georgia-music-news/

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US!

CONTACT CINDY REEDcindyr@gmea.org

The GMEA Executive Director shares his

perspective after serving twenty years in his

position. (Page 62)

Cecil Wilder

The DistrictsRead up on all thats going on around the

state. (Page 18)

THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS

ASSOCIATIONNEWS

It seems every year that, as soon

as we return to school in January, we all

begin to throttle up as we anticipate the

many GMEA events that are made avail-

able to us to help enrich the experiences of

all our students, as well as our own experi-

ences as music educators. Now as Spring

has sprung, we look back, lift a collective

sigh, and reflect on all those events: Our

Inaugural In-Service Conference in Athens, District Honor ensembles,

All-State events, and our 2016 Large Group Performance Evaluations.

Our 2016 In-Service Conference in Athens saw a myriad of offerings

to help us continue to grow as music educators and add to our tool-

box of skills as we look to bringing our students the most valuable and

memorable experiences possible. Being our first year in Athens, there

were certainly some growing pains and areas that need tweaking as

we look ahead, but, overall, the conference was a resounding success!

As I visited session after session, I saw many rooms packed with people

learning, experiencing and gaining knowledge on so many interesting

and worthwhile subjects and areas of interest. Our performing groups

were outstanding as hundreds of our students from all over the state

were showcased in every area of performance. A hearty Thank You

goes out to those who made all this, and more, possible: our amazing

division chairs, our wonderful office staff, and our executive director.

Countless hours of planning and preparation by these people made our

conference a successful event that sent our membership back home in-

spired and equipped with more tools with which to motivate and guide

our students across the state.

Beyond our conference, all of our all-state events saw out-

standing performances by many amazing ensembles. As I sat back

stage, guest conductor after guest conductor commented on the quality

of Georgias all-state groups and several said, you can invite me back to

Georgia anytime! Thank you to all of our all-state organizers and the

many volunteers who made the 2016 All-State events so wonderfully

successful. Our LGPE events spanned a number of weeks, and we want

to thank all of the local district organizers and hosts who made each

LGPE event run smoothly, offering our membership and our students a

rewarding musical experience.

I want to encourage each of you to attend your spring district

meetings. I realize that some of you will be having spring concerts and

performances on your districts meeting date, but, if not, please make

sure you are there to be a part of the planning process. This is your

opportunity to get up to date information on GMEA news and policies

DR. JOHN ODOM, GMEA PRESIDENT

and have a voice in the setting of dates, venues, and district

guidelines.

Since our last publication, the US Congress has

passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This legisla-

tion replaces No Child Left Behind. In this legislation, music

is listed as a stand-alone subject and an integral part of what

the language of the bill consistently refers to as a well-round-

ed education. This brings the teaching of music to a long-de-

served elevated status and a new layer of responsibility for us

as music educators. Please take time to visit the NAfME web-

site to familiarize yourself with how this legislation impacts

you in your local situation: http://www.nafme.org/wp-con-tent/files/2015/11/ESSA-Implementation-and-Music-Edu-cation-Opportunities-Abound-FINAL.pdf.

As you come to your final performances and ac-

tivities, I wish for each of you a wonderful remainder of the

school year. It is an honor to serve so many amazing music ed-

ucators in this state and to see, time after time, your hard work

and dedication come to fruition through the lives of your stu-

dents. Please do not to hesitate to contact me or any member

of the executive committee with questions or concerns as we

continue to serve you and our students in the ongoing mission

to promote the advancement of music education in Georgia!

EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR On December 3-4,

GMEA exhibited at the con-

ference of the Georgia School

Boards Association and Georgia

School Superintendents Asso-

ciation. As part of our presence

at the conference, we sponsored

24 performances by small el-

ementary, middle school and

high school vocal and instru-

mental ensembles from around

the state in the exhibit hall. The

performances were extremely well received by the conference

attendees and the students all had a great experience. One of

the groups performing was the Centennial High School String

Quintet. They are pictured here along with Ms. Julia Bernath,

a Fulton County School Board member. Ms. Bernath is also a

member of the GMEA Board of Directors, representing the

Georgia School Boards Association.

CECIL WILDER, GMEA

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HISTORIAN

As I mentioned in my last

GMN Historian article, during the late

50s and early 60s, GMEA decided to

pull away from our parent organiza-

tion, the Georgia Education Association

(GEA). One of our biggest steps towards

gaining our independence was to con-

trol when and where our annual state

professional meeting would be held.

While changing the date and the site of our convention (now called

In-Service Conference, or ISC) was an excellent professional step to-

ward independence. Financially, it was very difficult for us.

From its inception, our In-Service was held as a part of the

GEA Convention, which was held annually in Atlanta. During the

month of March, the GEA Convention date was a statewide school

holiday. Since we were under the GEA umbrella, they covered our

expenses. And, as far as facilities went, we were meeting in Atlanta

Public School buildings, like Grady High School.

During our years with GEA, we combined our GMEA

In-Service with our All-State event. One or more of our All-State

groups normally performed on the GEA program. Sharing facilities

and combining events with GEA helped make our ISC meetings and

All State event low expense affairs, but, placed limitations on our abil-

ity to expand our professional education opportunities, and after all,

that was the purpose of having an In-Service Conference.

As we moved toward making a total break with the GEA,

we decided to detach our In-Service Conference from the All-State

Groups. Chaperoning students to and from meals and rehearsals left

little time for many directors to attend the clinics that provided pro-

fessional growth, and the All State groups had grown to the point that

they needed their own venue.

With the 1963 election of Dr. Jerry Newman, UGA Direc-

tor of Music Education, as our GMEA President, Athens became an

obvious possible site for our first totally independent In-Service Con-

ference. Dr. Newman had the idea of combining the GMEA In-Service

with the already established UGA/GMEA Reading Clinic, held annu-

ally in Athens. The purpose of the Reading Clinic was to select new

music to be added to the required music list for festivals (now called

Large Group Performance Evaluations). The Reading Clinic was al-

ways held during the first weekend of December. Dr. Newmans idea

was that combining the two events would lessen the financial impact

DERIK CLACKUM, GMEA HISTORIAN

on GMEA and increase the overall participation in both events. The

concept was simple but like all new ventures, there were some chal-

lenges to overcome.

The newly opened UGA Georgia Center for Continuing Ed-

ucation (GCCE) agreed to handle the coordination of the joint events.

GCCE would collect the registration fees and rent out exhibitor space

in return for providing the facilities and scheduling of all the events.

The event went well and the GCCEs handling of the event was very

professional.

At the end of our first Athens In-Service, however, expenses

were higher than receipts. Since the In-Service fees didnt pay all the

expenses, the GMEA Board had to come up with additional funds to pay

the final bill for their services. GMEA just managed to cover the extra

expenses for the first year. But as I mentioned in my previous GMN

article (Third Time is a Charm), at the end of the next ISC, the GMEA

bill was $1,200 and the GMEA Treasury only contained $1,000.

Fortunately for us, our long time treasurer, Maggie Jenkins

(affectionately known as Miss Maggie), provided us with a timely solu-

tion. Shortly after her retirement from Georgia College for Women

(now Georgia College and State University), Miss Maggie retired as

GMEA Treasurer after over a decade of service to GMEA. About the

time we were trying to figure out how to pay the GCCE bill, Miss Mag-

gie found an envelope of uncashed membership checks as she cleaned

out her work desk. Unbelievably, even though many of the checks were

well over 6 months old, they still cashed and we were covered for the

$200 ISC overrun. The good news was that we paid our bill. The bad

news was that we were nearly broke.

When Boyd McKeown was elected GMEA president in 1965,

he had to deal with this issue as well as several other financial chal-

lenges that were plaguing our newly independent GMEA. Fortunately,

I was able to interview Boyd recently and get some insight into the fi-

nancial situation we faced and how we moved forward. The immediate

challenge with which Boyd had to wrestle was how to make the In-Ser-

vice Conference more profitable, so that we could not only pay our bills,

but expand our professional offerings.

In our interview, Boyd told me that in the summer of 1966, he

traveled to Chicago to participate in the Conference of State Music Ed-

ucation Association Presidents, sponsored by MENC (now NAfME). At

the conference, the state MEA presidents discussed a number of topics

presenting challenges to their state associations. One of these challeng-

es was financing their state in-service meetings.

During the discussions, the president of the Minnesota Ed-

ucators Association mentioned that his states in-service conference

made money after all the expenses were paid. This got Boyds attention

and he asked for more details. The MEA president laid out their plan.

Their association leased the meeting and performance facilities, plus

the area for exhibitors. And the association collected all membership

fees and convention fees from those participating, as well as collecting

the fees from the exhibitor spaces. The association officers set up the

convention schedule and ran all the events, thus not having to pay for

event staff. Boyd really liked what he heard and continued to dig out

the details, thinking all the while how he could apply them to the next

GMEA In-Service Conference.

As it turns out, our next ISC, however, was to be a joint ven-

ture with the SMENC Convention, to be held in Atlanta in April, and

the program was dominated by SMENC events. On the positive side,

the joint GMEA/SMENC meeting created a lot of enthusiasm among

our membership, as they saw what a great experience the ISC could be.

That interest continued on into the next year. We applied the Minne-

sota plan to our next stand alone GMEA ISC, and it worked as Boyd had

hoped, both professionally and financially.

Putting the ISC on strong financial footing also allowed Boyd

to turn his attention to some of the other challenges our growing orga-

nization was experiencing. Ill delve into how we solved those challeng-

es in our next issue.

THE REST OF THE STORY

GMEA was well-represented at the GSBA conference

5

IN MEMORIUM

Frank Butenschon, III, 77, of Lake Park,

Georgia, died at his home on December 25,

2015, after a courageous battle with cancer.

He was born in Opelika, AL, on January 4,

1938 to the late Frank, Jr. and Carrie Tram-

mell Butenschon. An Auburn University

graduate, Mr. Butenschon first came to Val-

dosta in 1960 as band director at Valdosta

Jr. High School. In 1962, he was given the

job of Coordinator of Instrumental Music for the Valdosta City Schools.

From then until 1977, Mr. B led the Valdosta High music program into

national prominence.

Under Mr. Bs direction, the Valdosta High School Marchin Cats per-

formed at every local and state championship football game. This group

grew to over 400 members, who regularly won nationally ranked con-

tests. The Marchin Cats also performed during the Inauguration of

Governor Jimmy Carter.

During his 15 year career as director of the Valdosta High

School Band Program, the Marchin Cats competed and won the 1967

National Cherry Blossom Parade of Princesses Competition in Wash-

ington, D.C., won the Greatest Band In Dixie Grand Championship in

New Orleans in 1969 and 1972, won the 1972 Winternationals Field

Competition and then performed a televised halftime show for the Mi-

ami Dolphins as representatives of the State of Georgia, won the 1974

and 1977 National Field Championships at the Festival of States in St.

Petersburg, Florida, and were named Field Champions at the Largo In-

vitational in Largo, Florida.

The concert and symphonic bands and the jazz ensemble never re-

ceived less than a superior rating during graded competitions. The jazz

ensemble was selected twice to perform at the GMEA In-Service Con-

ference.

In 1970, February 5 was proclaimed, Frank Butenschon

Day, in Valdosta and Lowndes County, and in 1969, 1970, 1972, and

1974, Mr. Butenschon and the Marchin Cats received proclamations

from the Georgia House of Representatives for Outstanding Talents

and Achievements. He was the first Georgia recipient of the National

Band Associations Citation of Excellence and was named Outstanding

Young Educator of Valdosta and Lowndes County in 1970. In 1993, he

FRANK BUTENSCHON

received the Outstanding Music Educator Southeastern United

States award, at the Southeastern United States Band Convention.

In 2006, he was inducted into the National Band Directors Hall of

Fame, and in 2008 was named Director Emeritus of the Valdosta

High School Band.

In 2014, during a reunion of Valdosta High School

Marchin Cats, Mr. B received a Proclamation from State Represen-

tative Tim Golden which commemorated his career of excellence in

education and music and was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement

Award from Troy State University for his career of service in musi-

cal education. In 2015, Mr. B was honored by the Georgia Music Ed-

ucators Association at their annual convention for his outstanding

contribution to Music Education in Georgia.

Mr. Butenschon initiated and chaired the creation of the

Southern Open Band Competition, held annually in Valdosta, which

has attracted bands from around Georgia. In 2015, Mr. B helped to

create Azalea Winds, which he referred as a classic community

band, composed of current and former band students as well as oth-

ers in the community who had musical experience. Mr. B co-con-

ducted his final performance with the group in late November.

Mr. Butenschons career in music education did not end

in 1977 when he left Valdosta City Schools. In 1978, Mr. B joined the

staff at Rutlands Music in Valdosta as Vice President of Instrument

Sales and Service. In 1979, he became high school band director in

Oxford, Alabama, and in 1982, he became director of bands for Gun-

tersville, Alabama, school system. Over the next seven years, Mr. B

also took the Guntersville High School Band to prominence at the

national competition level. In 1989, the City of Vidalia brought in

Mr. B to run their high school band program and, in 1992, the Buten-

schon family moved back to Lowndes County. Mr. B. continued his

career as an educator, working with the band programs in Berrien

and Cook counties and as a popular clinician and source of support

for regional band programs. In 1997, the Butenschons began their

own fund-raising and band consulting business, B & L Enterprises,

which is still in operation to this day.

Mr. Butenschons professional affiliations included Geor-

gia Educators Association, Georgia Music Educators Association,

Music Educators National Conference, National Band Association,

Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Kappa Psi, and Phi Beta Mu.

Mr. Butenschon is survived by his wife of 51 years, Su-

san Stembridge Butenschon of Lake Park; son and daughter-in-law,

Kevin Tod and Kendra Butenschon of Hahira; his son, Chris Dodd

Butenschon of Lake Park; five grandchildren, Taylor Strickland

(Brent), Kari Butenschon, Tiffany Butenschon, Hannah Butenschon,

Tod Butenschon; brother and sister-in-law, Walter and Joan Stem-

bridge; and sister-in-law, Carole Ausum. In addition to his parents,

he was preceded in death by his eldest son, Frank Skip Butenschon

IV; and his father and mother-in-law, Walter and Lynette Stem-

bridge.

REMEMBERING OUR MEMBERS

SEE YOUR

DISTRICT NEWSPAGE 18

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

JOHN THOMAS Lifelong musician and teacher,

John Thomas passed away recently

at his home in Cedartown, GA. Mr.

Thomas was born in 1932 in Al-

bertville, AL , where he learned to

play trumpet from his dad and par-

ticipated in the high school band.

John went on to enroll in Jackson-

ville State University and earned

his B.S. in Music. He was a member

and, eventually, chapter president

of Epsilon Nu chapter of Phi Mu

Alpha Sinfonia. John also earned

his M.A. from Morehead State University and later, returned to JSU

for his Educational Specialist degree.

During his 56 years of teaching, John served as band di-

rector for Ohatchee and Roanoke, AL, Lakeland, FL, and The Dar-

lington School in Rome, GA. Most of his career, from 1959 through

1982, was spent teaching Band, Chorus, and History at Cedartown

High School.

John was a founding member of the North West Georgia

Winds, an adult community band based in Rome, GA. He had the

distinction of never missing a performance of this group during the

29 years he was a member. John also was a founding member of

the 8th Regiment Civil War Band in Rome, the Rhythmaires Dance

Band, and the Cedartown Community Band. He served for a time as

musical director for the Cedartown Little Theatre and as a member of

the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Active in the Cedartown community,

John received many awards for service, including Citizen of the Year

in 1979. He was also voted JSU Sinfonian of the Year in 2000.

As a band director, Mr. Thomas was innovative for his era,

eschewing traditional field marches in favor of classical literature for

his marching bands. His long reaching legacy includes instruction to

over a thousand students, several of whom are still active performers.

In 2012, his former students and colleagues honored him

with a celebratory concert at the Cedartown Civic Arts Center. Just

prior to his death, his Facebook page, Honoring Mr. Thomas, gar-

nered 900 members and scores of testimonies.

John married Sara Anne Winn, in 1963. They raised three

sons, who all followed their dads example and became outstanding

musicians in their own right.

Mr. Thomas was very active in the First United Methodist

Church of Cedartown, where he and his wife sang in the Chancel

Choir for more than fifty years. Even after his retirement, John con-

tinued to share his musical expertise with others. John will be greatly

missed by his family, friends, and community.

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Evelyn Champion

President2017-2019

Mrs. Evelyn Champion has been a member of the Georgia Music Educators Association since the early nineties and has served the organization in many capacities, including GMEA Vice-Presi-dent from 2007 to 2009, followed by a two-year term as the Orchestra Division Chair from 2009 to 2011. As the Orchestra Division chair, she found-ed and organized the All College Orchestra and the Statewide Honor Orchestra, which eventually led to six All-State Orchestras. Mrs. Champion is the statewide organizer for the GMEA All-State Orchestras again this year, and also serves as a Certified Head Adjudicator for Large Group Per-formance Evaluation.

Mrs. Champion is the 2011 Georgia American String Teachers Association String

Teacher of the Year and the 2012 Geor-gia Music Educators Association Music

Educator of the Year. She is also a 2013 Woodruff Arts Center Salutes

Georgia Arts in Education Lead-ers finalist for Music Education.

Mrs. Champion gradu-ated Magna Cum Laude with High Honors from the Univer-sity of Georgia in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, and she holds her Master of Music Education and Education Specialist de-grees from the University of Georgia, as well. Mrs. Cham-pion taught at Daniell Mid-

dle School in Cobb County for nine years before transferring to

Sprayberry High School in 2003, where she now serves as Orches-

tra Director.

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

Mrs. Champion taught Advanced Place-ment Music Theory in the Georgia Virtual School for five years and for many years at Sprayberry. A freelance violinist, she performs with the Geor-gia Symphony Orchestra and is the Co-director of the Encore Orchestra Camp. She lives in Marietta with her husband J. Champion, and sons David, Charlie, and Sam, ages 11, 8, and 4.

I have worked with Evelyn for nearly 20 years. She is one of the most efficient, hard working individuals I have ever had the opportunity to work with. Her deci-sions always keep the students best interest in mind as well!

-Carl Rieke, Orchestra Director, Osborne Middle School

I had the privilege of knowing Evelyn from her first day of teaching at Daniell Middle School. I remember seeing a tall, skinny young woman getting out of a Georgia red car in the parking lot. I thought to myself, That is the new orchestra director! Evelyn was very dedicated to recruiting sixth grade orchestra students and quickly built the orchestra program. In those days, we had to teach Literacy and she was given a gifted group. I remember her getting ideas from her moth-er for her literacy class. Evelyn was always so organized and could unbelievably multi-task. She is the queen of multi-tasking! She and I became very good friends and have remained so even when she moved to Sprayberry High School. She is truly one of the special people in my life and I am so proud that she is now the President-elect of GMEA.

-Billie SHOOK, MUSIC SPECIALIST, ADDISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

I had the opportunity representing district 12 as chair while Evelyn held many posts in the GMEA executive committee. I was impressed by her talent to state what is needed from GMEA in support for educators while also praising GMEA for all of their past efforts. See, Evelyn was/is always looking at the future of music educa-tion. Not just in her area, but the entire state of Georgia. She continues to push the boundaries of what music education should look like (public, private, homeschool/ virtual). All this while being a mom to 3 wonderful boys, a loving wife, and an active member of the church. Evelyn has done what many try to do- she does it all. And does it phenomenally!

-Kristin shinall runnion, MUSIC SPECIALIST, Dunleith Elementary School

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DIVISIONNEWS

Dear Colleagues,

I hope everyone is having

a great 2nd semester and is ready

for the final push to the end of the

school year. The Band Division ex-

perienced great success this year

in all of our events. The GMEA

In-Service Conference, our first in

Athens, was a huge success. The

increased number of concerts and clinics were well attended and

provided our attendees with a wide variety of choices. The addition

of percussion and jazz clinics/concerts was also a welcomed addi-

tion to the conference. I want to thank you for coming out in large

numbers to attend these sessions and supporting all of our clinicians

and performing schools. The facilities in Athens were wonderful,

and we have a strong foundation to build on for future conferences.

The All-State Band and Jazz Band weekends were also a tremen-

dous success. The level of talent displayed by our students is simply

amazing and the final concerts once again proved how much tal-

ent we have in our state. The clinicians were VERY impressed and

complimentary of our All-State process. Students, directors, private

lesson teachers, and families should all be congratulated for their

combined efforts to help the students participate in these excep-

tional ensembles. Dr. Richard Floyd sent me an email after the All-

State Band Concert and commented that, Georgia continues to be

a bright spot in the national band/music scene. Making music with

these students was a total joy! I believe we should always evaluate

our audition processes and strive to make them better to give our

students the best educational opportunities. There will always be

areas needing improvement, but I think we can all agree that the

All-State Band experience in Georgia is among the very best in the

country.

BAND DIVISIONNeil Ruby

I had the opportunity to travel all over the state this year

working with and evaluating bands for the Large Group Evalua-

tions. I continue to be amazed by the incredible teaching and learn-

ing that is taking place in our schools. Large Group Performance

Evaluations are an important part of our music education, but in

my opinion, its not just because of the final evaluation. I believe

the journey getting to that performance is even more important.

For me, seeing the improvement made by students and the joy of

taking the music from the initial sight reading day to the finished

product at the concert is exciting and motivating.

The ever-changing world of education, with seemingly

new testing and evaluation procedures taking place every year, has

certainly made our jobs more strenuous. However, band directors

have proven time and time again that when faced with a challenge,

they will rise to the occasion and continue to strive to make music

education an important role in the lives of our students. Steve Da-

vis, one of our All-State Band conductors, spoke about the impor-

tance of music in our schools. The advantages of being involved in

fine arts, especially in regard to higher test scores, are well docu-

mented. Despite this, he challenged us to not focus on that as the

reason students should be involved in music. Our band students,

because of their participation and love for music, are simply bet-

ter people because of it. Music is such an integral part of society

and our lives. Music is everywhere and is represented in just about

everything we do. Music simply makes everything better. How do

we make a movie better? Add music. How is a sporting event more

exciting? With music. And how is church even more meaningful?

The music. Simply put, music makes our lives better and the gift of

making music makes us all better people. Victor Hugo said, Music

expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible

to be silent.

I hope the final weeks of the school year are positive

and educationally rewarding for you and your students. I hope

everyone can find time this summer to rest, spend time with fam-

ily and friends, and recharge before another school year begins.

It is an honor to serve as your State Band Chair and I continue to

feel blessed to have this opportunity. Thank you for all you do for

GMEA, your students and community, and music education!

Sincerely,

Neil Ruby, State Band Chair

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Happy Spring! The choral

division has had a wonderful and

busy winter with a very success-

ful In-Service Conference, a great

Statewide 6th Grade Honor Chorus,

and a truly inspiring All-State Cho-

rus event. It never ceases to amaze

me what our students are able to

accomplish in choral music each

year, and theyre able to do this be-

cause of the diligent work that you,

the members of the choral division, are doing each day.

As we approach this final tilt toward the end of the se-

mester with concerts, musicals, spring trips and tours, I challenge

you to keep up the good work. I think its so important for us to

step back and realize just how far our students have progressed

in vocal development, musicianship, and artistry since August. I

think, too, that we as conductor/teachers have to recognize our

progression. In our data driven schools, lets take that measurable

data, showing the growth of our students, and use it to make next

year even better. We owe it, not only to our students, but to our-

selves, to continue growing and learning, and making our choral

classrooms and programs places of rigorous and fun learning.

This year, many of our GMEA districts will vote to elect

a district choral chair. I encourage you to get involved in this wor-

thy organization. I have been blessed with the positions that I

have held in leadership, and I hope that many of you will take ad-

vantage of these opportunities. Please attend your districts spring

planning meetings and be active participants in the choral activi-

ties within your district.

Thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility. I

look forward to serving you again for the 2016-2017 school year

and am excited about the wonderful things in store for the choral

division!

CHORAL DIVISIONWes Stoner

I will use this issues col-

umn to share what I learned as part

of a fine arts task force for the PSC.

The task force was solicited in De-

cember 2015 for a January meet-

ing in Atlanta at the PSC offices.

The purpose of the task force was

to include P-12 educators, college/

university faculty, RESAs, and state

agencies in reviewing the educator

preparation rules in Fine Arts. Specifically, the music education

rule number is 505-3-.50, and you can search for this on the PSC

website. This rule lives under the mother rule 505-3-.01. The con-

tent area rules come up for review on a rotating basis.

The task force met for one day in January. After meet-

ing as a complete Fine Arts area (music, drama, dance, theatre), the

content areas had break-out sessions to decide if a major revision

was needed to their existing rule or if more targeted changes would

be sufficient. About seven music professionals were on the music

subcommittee, including three university faculty (Clayton State

University, Georgia Southern University, and Georgia State Uni-

versity), as well as secondary band and choral teachers from the

metro Atlanta area, and a county music supervisor. Each breakout

session was facilitated by a staff member of the PSC.

The music subcommittee did not believe a significant

overhaul of the Music Education Preparation Rule was warrant-

ed. Instead, we identified three areas needing to be updated. First,

language was added to encourage preparation programs to provide

basic guitar competency (encourage, not require). The rationale

for this change was that the proliferation of guitar classes in many

public schools requires music teachers who are capable of teaching

beginning guitar. Second, language was added to encourage prepa-

ration programs to provide a basic understanding of how digital

recording, sound engineering, and music production serve the field

of music as a whole. The rationale for this addition was the chang-

ing nature of music making in contemporary society. Finally, the

field experience/clinical practice requirement was made more spe-

cific, by designating some experiences in choral, instrumental, and

general music. The rationale for this change was to make the field

experience/clinical practice requirement more consistent with the

all-inclusive Music P-12 certification.

The changes made at this meeting are part of a process

to update the music education rule. What happens next, as I un-

derstand the process, is internal review by the PSC and a public

comment period. When the comment period is open, I will email

that information to all university faculty listed in OPUS. I encour-

age you to take part in this comment period, as 505-3-.5 Music

Education Preparation Rule directly affects how your institution

prepares future teachers.

COLLEGE DIVISIONDr. Laura Stambaugh

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The Georgia Music Educators As-

sociation In-Service Conference is

a wrap! If you were not able to join

us this January, please try to make

plans to come next year! Athens

was beautiful and the Classic Cen-

ter was a gracious host. Our sessions

were all well attended- it was great

to see friends, old and new, learn-

ing, networking and collaborating.

The crowning moment of the conference was the two el-

ementary concerts on Friday night. The Stevenson Area Elementa-

ry School Band presented a great concert to a packed house. These

young men and women were very prepared and played so musically.

The second concert of the night was the outstanding Buford Acade-

my Elementary Chorus. These students were also well prepared and

presented a flawless concert to a full room. I am sure parents and

directors, alike, are singing the praises of these kids. They looked and

sounded great!

As I am typing this letter, we are preparing for Statewide

Elementary Honor Chorus, which will also be in Athens. I have high

hopes for a great weekend. Our clinicians are experts; our kids are

usually well behaved and well prepared; our directors are the reason

this event comes together each year.

I hope all of you across the state have a wonderful second

semester with fulfilling performances.

Musically,

Vicky Knowles

GMEA Elementary Division Chair

ELEMENTARY DIVISIONVictoria Knowles

I wish to express thanks and grat-

itude to all attendees, presenters,

and performers for contributing

to the outstanding offerings in gui-

tar education at the 2016 GMEA

In-Service Conference. This year,

the guitar division hosted 13 ses-

sions intended to reach guitar ed-

ucators within a broad range of

professional experience. Sessions

intended for non-guitar specialists

included Erik Hendons, Simple Melodies for Beginning Guitar,

and, Guitar Jam Session. Mary Ackerman presented an informa-

tive session explaining recourses for guitar educators entitled, At-

lanta Guitar Guild and Guitarcurriculum.com: Resources for Atlanta

area teachers and guitarists. Out of state clinician Michael McCallie

presented a session on arranging for guitar ensemble while Trey

Wright shared resources for teaching jazz guitar. Levels in Guitar

Performance: A Reading Session, presented by Caryn Volk, was

both informative in its delivery of graded guitar ensemble reper-

toire and an enjoyable opportunity for session attendees to read

ensemble music together. Sessions explaining advanced techniques

included Sean Throwers session on GAGED chord theory and a

joint session presented by Matthew Anderson and Nicolas Deuson,

A Righteous Right Hand! The guitar division was honored to co-

host sessions with other divisions. Rob Pethel, in a joint session with

the research division, presented his PhD dissertation investigating

the national landscape in the emerging field of guitar education. The

guitar division also shared, Aloha! Ukuleles in Your Classroom,

with the elementary division. This informative session, present-

ed by Laura Stambaugh and Joshua Mock, provided the basics for

getting students started on Ukulele. CNAfME also hosted a guitar

session, presented by Rop Pethel, Matthew Anderson, and Ashley

Drake, intended to reach collegiate guitar students. In addition to

these sessions, the guitar division was pleased to host guest artist

performances. The Kennesaw State University Jazz Guitar Ensem-

ble, under the direction of Trey Wright, provided an outstanding

display of musicianship and set the performances off on a special

note. The professional guitar duo AG (the Athens Guitar Duo), con-

sisting of Matthew Anderson and Dusty Woodruff, dazzled the au-

dience with their virtuosity and sensitive musicianship. I wish to

extend a special thank you to the members of the Atlanta Guitar

Orchestra, under the direction of Mary Akerman and the baton of

Tim Allen, for their wonderful performance.

If you could not attend this year, please join us in Athens

next year for continued professional development, networking, and

camaraderie. I encourage all guitar educators, elementary, middle

school, high school, or college, to submit a session and/or perform-

ing ensemble for the 2017 conference, and, if you are a college gui-

tar instructor with music education students in your studio, please

attend next year with your students! The conference is a wonderful

way to network and gain professional development as well as see

old friends and meet new ones.

If you could not attend this year, please join us in Ath-

ens next year for continued professional development, networking,

and camaraderie. I encourage all guitar educators, be you elemen-

tary, middle school, high school, or college, to submit a session and/

or performing ensemble for the 2017 conference. Furthermore, if

you are a college guitar instructor with music education students in

your studio, please attend next year with your students! The confer-

ence is a wonderful way to network and gain professional develop-

ment as well as see old friends and foster new ones.

GUITAR DIVISIONDr. Luther Enloe

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DIVISION NEWS

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ORCHESTRA DIVISIONSarah Black Spring is such a busy

time for music educators, but

an exciting time as well with so

much to celebrate! I want to start

by looking back to our inaugural

year in Athens for the In-Service

Conference. Thank you to all the

performing groups that prepared

wonderful performances for the

event. Your hard work and ded-

ication to your students is to be

commended, and I know I speak on behalf of all of your colleagues

in thanking you for what you give to our profession every day. I

also want to take a moment to thank all of our wonderful clinicians

that presented on a wide variety of topics. I know I took a lot of new

ideas back to my classroom and my brain was full by the end of the

weekend.

February and March always bring a flurry of activity

with LGPE season and, of course, All-State. I hope you all had a pos-

itive experience at your evaluations and take time to reflect on all

the comments your group(s) receive from judges. What went well?

What can you improve upon? We are so fortunate to be able to

have our colleagues provide objective, constructive, and real time

feedback.

All-State was a phenomenal weekend of watching some

of the best teachers and conductors in our field work with the best

young musicians in our state. All of the conductors were amazed

at the talent and maturity of the students and wanted me to pass

along a huge thank you to all of the teachers that worked with

these students to prepare them for the event. I also want to thank

all of you that gave up your time to work district and state audi-

tions, and most importantly, I want to thank the amazing organiz-

ers that made sure each orchestra and conductor had what they

needed to ensure an awesome experience for all the students. The

middle school organizers were: Carl Rieke, Osborne Middle School,

Patricia Cleaton, Jones Middle School, Teresa Hoebeke, Hopewell

Middle School, Kinsey Edwards, Lanier Middle School, Lori Gomez,

Chattahoochee High School, and Carolyn Landreau, Centennial

High School. Evelyn Champion, Sprayberry High School, deserves

a HUGE shout out for all of her work with scheduling and data

entry (informally known as opus-whispering). Kudos to all of these

organizers as the event truly would not and could not have hap-

pened without you all.

The orchestra standing committee, Amy Clement, Carl

Rieke, Corie Benton, Carolyn Landreau, and myself will be meeting

soon to look at district all-state etudes to handle the issues we had

this past fall with out of print books, and it is quite possible that

etudes at all levels may be new and improved, so make sure to let

me know if you have ideas/suggestions/concerns. We will also be

looking at the LGPE list to eliminate the pieces that are listed mul-

tiple times at different levels. I also have a list of suggestions and

concerns that were brought up at the council meeting and we will

work through those as well. As always, if you have anything you

have a question or concern about, feel free to email me at:

sarah_black@gwinnett.k12.ga.us and Ill be happy to help!

Best of luck as you finish out another amazing school year!!

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BESAYSomething

SUBMIT YOURARTICLE TO THE

WWW.GMEA.ORG/GEORGIA-MUSIC-NEWS/

Georgia Music News

Heard

DIVISION NEWS

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Sally Albrecht, writer of Cinderella..If The Shoe Fits and Sarah Hammerlee, music teacher at Tattnall Square Acad-emy. Sarah is directing this musical at her school this spring.

Sally Albrecht and Sarah Hammerlee

Gary Gribble served as guest con-ductor for the Marywood University Honor Band and for the East Tennessee State Band and Orchestra Association All-State Band.

Dr. Paula Krupiczewicz served as the guest conductor for the Middle Tennes-see All-State 7-8 Orchestra.

Over 200 students from the Hillgrove High School Band and Orchestra programs traveled to Beijing and Shanghai, China, over spring break for a 10 day, multi-concert tour. Both ensem-bles presented concerts at Beijing Jiaotong University, Hang-zhou Youth Arts Center, Shanghai Teachers University, and Hangzhou Youth Arts Center. Hillgrove students also attend-ed classes at a Chinese middle school and high school and performed concerts with ensembles from both schools. Band director Patrick Erwin and orchestra director David Doke con-ducted several master classes with Chinese band and orches-tra students. Assistant directors Jeremy Trimmer, Bobby Crosby, and Lovinggood Middle School orchestra director, Barbera Se-crist, were featured as conductors and guest soloists. Hillgrove

AROUNDTHE STATEDISTRICT NEWS

The Thelonious Monk Institute select-ed the Savannah-Chatham County School System as one of five districts in the U.S. to host a series of concerts and workshops during their visit, April 11-13. They presented an Informance of jazz music with a heavy U.S. History em-phasis. This 75 minute presentation was followed by a simultaneous instrumen-

tal and choral jazz workshop with artists in the band and chorus room at each school.

On Tuesday evening, April 5, 2016, the United States Marine Corps All Star Jazz Ensemble performed at Georgia Southern University.

On Thursday evening, April 28, 2016, the United States Marine Corps Band, at Perris Island, shared the final spring concert of the Georgia Southern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble in the Center for the Performing Arts at Georgia Southern Univer-sity.

Dr. Andrew Poor, band director at South Forsyth Middle School, was se-lected as Forsyth County 2016 Teacher of the Year. Dr. Poor has taught for 28 years and credits his parents with be-ing the most influential on his decision to become a teacher. Under Dr. Poors direction, the FMS band program has grown from 137 to 367 students, has

earned superior ratings at LGPE, and has had students selected to participate in District Honor Band and All-State.

Berry College Jazz Ensemble per-formed a feature concert at Spivey Hall in February of 2016 and hosted the annual GAJE All-State Jazz Workshop in December 2015 with guest artists Troy Roberts (saxophone) and Alex Norris (trumpet). The group presented a con-cert celebrating the life of former Berry College Music Professor Bill Robinson on

April 14th at Ford Auditorium.

Dr. Kerry Bryant, Adairsville High School, was awarded GMEA 2016 Music Educator of the Year.

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band and orchestra students visited the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Olympic Park, Beijing Chil-drens Palace, the Jade Museum, the Pearl Museum, and the Silk Museum.

Dr. Michelle Champion directed the GMEA District 10 Middle School Honor Choir. In addition, she was hired as the adjunct professor of music at George College, where she will be teach-ing the graduate elementary music education courses.

Eighth grade band student Jonathan Deakins, from Pine Mountain MS in Cobb County, GA, was the grand prize winner for middle school for the University of Georgia Melody Contest. Jonathan submitted a 16-bar melody that has been turned into a masterwork. UGA students composed this masterwork with Jonathans input. The premier performance of this work took place on the campus of UGA on April 15th.

The North Cobb High School Chamber Orchestra, the McEachern High School Chamber Orchestra, and the Dicker-son Middle School Chamber Orchestra performed at the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Tampa, FL, March 2016.

The McEachern High School Chamber Orchestra was chosen to perform at the American String Teachers Association Nation-al Orchestra Festival in Tampa, Florida. The NOF brings together orchestras from around the country to a single location in order to provide an unparalleled opportunity to receive placement, ratings, comments, and education from leading clinicians and adjudicators in the industry. This is a first for the McEachern Or-chestra and a great accomplishment.

The Walker School Concert Band, under the direction of Todd Motter, received the honor of being selected to perform at Car-negie Hall in New York on the main stage on Easter weekend. The performance was part of the Heritage Gold Festival and the ensemble was chosen by audition. This group also recently performed at the Kennesaw State University Concert Band In-vitational, their second such performance at KSU. Additionlly, band member Addison Tharp, a junior at the Walker School, has been accepted into the Interlochen Summer Camp in Jazz.

Joe Heiberger, band director at Lovinggood Middle School, was selected to represent the state of Georgia as part of School Band and Orchestra magazines 18th annual 50 Directors Who Make a Difference report.

McEachern High School Chamber Orchestra

Joe Heiberger

Ernie Phillips, band director at West Hall High School, was recognized at the 2016 Georgia Music Educators Conference for his work with the Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta MU International Bandmasters Fra-ternity. Phillips, pictured below with West Hall High School Principal Scott Justus, was president of the Georgia Chapter from 2013-15. He is in his 35th year of teaching in Hall County

Scott Justus and Ernie Phillips

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FRIDAY : 6PMJANUARY 29, 2016THE CLASSIC CENTER

ATRIUMGMEA MEMBERS ONLY

photos provided by

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do you have district NEWS TO SHARE?ELEMENTARY - MIDDLE SCHOOLHIGH SCHOOL - UNIVERSITY

go to www.gmea.organd submit your news

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MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND

ALL-STATE BAND

CHERYL FLOYD

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Cheryl Floyd is in her twenty-fourth year as Director of Bands at Hill Country Middle School in Austin, Texas. Prior to her tenure at Hill Country, she served as Director of Bands at Murchison Middle School, also in Austin, for eight years. Mu-sical organizations under her leadership have consistently been cited for musical excellence at both local contests and national invitational festivals. Mrs. Floyd is recognized nationally for her educational and musical achievements at the middle school level. In 1990, her Murchison pro-gram was the recipient of the coveted Sudler Cup Award, presented to exem-plary middle school band programs by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Hill Country Middle School Band performed at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in 1998 and again in 2006 and, most re-cently, at Music For Alls National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis (March 2012) under Mrs. Floyds direction. The HCMS Symphonic Band performed at the West-ern International Band Clinic in Novem-ber 2015.

Mrs. Floyd routinely serves as a conductor on the University of Texas at Austin band camp faculty and has been a member of summer music faculties at Arkansas Tech University, Baylor Universi-ty, Texas Lutheran University, Stephen F. Austin University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She enjoys an active schedule as an adjudicator, clinician, author, and guest con-ductor throughout the United States, having served as one of the first women guest conductors of the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. in September, 1998.In 2003, Mrs. Floyd was elected to the American Bandmasters Association. She is the fifth female mem-ber of this 225 member organization and the first middle school band director to be chosen for ABA membership.

Over the past twenty plus years, she has maintained a keen interest in commissioning new works for concert band and has collaborated with such internationally recognized composers as Frank Ticheli, Cajun Folk Songs, Shenandoah, Bob Margolis, Renaissance Fair, Dana Wilson, Sang!, Ron Nelson, Courtly Airs and Dances, Steven Barton, Hill Country Flourishes, Chris Tucker, Twilight in the Wilderness. Catherine McMichael, Cape Breton Postcard, Undertow, by John Mackey and, most recently, Span-gled Heavens by Donald Grantham. These projects have generated works acknowledged as being among the most significant works for young band.

A 1980 graduate of Baylor University, Mrs. Floyd has also done graduate work at the University of Texas with Paula Crider, Robert Duke, and Karl Kraber. Since 1985, she has served as co-principal flute with the Austin Symphonic Band and in this capacity has performed at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic on two occasions, the American Bandmasters Association in 1993, and before the Texas Music Educators Association and Texas Bandmasters Association on numerous occasions. She is a member of ABA, TMEA, TBA, and Phi Beta Mu.

Paramount in her life is her twenty-one year old son, Richard Weston, who is a 2012 Westlake High School graduate and a senior trombone performance major at the University of Texas.

MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND

Composer-conductor Todd Stalt-er is currently the Director of Bands at Eu-reka High School in Eureka, IL, and serves as Chair of the Department of Fine Arts for CUSD #140. At Eureka, he directs all components of the high school band program in addition to teaching Gener-al Music grades K through 4, and 5th and 6th grade brass and percussion lessons and technique classes.

Mr. Stalters concert bands have consistently earned Superior ratings at Illinois High School Association contests, and his marching bands have won the Illinois State University Class 1-A champi-onship from 2000 2006 and 2008 2010, most recently performing his original suites for marching band Red Shift, Geome-tries, and in motion He was active as a church musician for nearly 30 years, serving as Principal Trumpet and arranger for the Grace Brass at Grace Presbyte-rian Church in Peoria, IL, appearing on weekly television and radio broadcasts. As a guest conductor, Mr. Stalter has led the Delaware Jr. High All-State Band, the Rockford Wind Ensemble, the ACSI Hon-or Band, several ILMEA District Festival bands, and numerous local and regional high school and junior high ensembles. As a clinician, he regularly works with area and regional high school and junior high bands, and has presented at the Illinois State University State Summer Symposium.

Compositions by Mr. Stalter have been performed by the Chicago Symphony Brass Quintet, at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, and at prominent national and All-State concert festivals by university, school, and community ensembles alike. His music has been performed abroad in Can-ada, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Greece, Germany, and Australia. Awards for Mr. Stalters music

TODD STALTER

ALL-STATE BAND

include five ASCAPlus awards, with seven of his works listed in Band-worlds Top 100. Many of his works appear on state contest and festi-val lists throughout the United States and are included in the renowned educational resource Teaching Music through Performance in Band series published by GIA.

Todd Stalter received his Bachelor of Music Education (cum laude) and Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from Illinois State University, where he studied trumpet with Richard Lehman (Solo Cornet of The Presidents Own United States Marine Band) and Dr. James Buckner, and conducting with Dr. Stephen K. Steele. He has served as a conducting assistant for such luminaries as Robert W. Smith, Gary Green, Larry Gookin, Marguerite Wilder, Randy Vaughan, Cody Bird-well, and Richard Floyd at the Music for All Summer Symposium, and lives in Eureka with his wife Angie, son Evan, and Hershey, the family Aussie-Doodle.

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CONCERT BAND

ALL-STATE BAND

ALEX KAMINSKY

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Alexander Kaminsky holds degrees from the University of Florida and Indiana University, and is active as an adjudicator and guest conductor/clinician throughout the southeastern United States. Bands un-der his direction consistently earn superior ratings at all levels of evaluation. In addi-tion to earning superior ratings at the State Concert Band Assessment for an unprec-edented 19 consecutive years, in 2009, Kaminsky became the only director in the history of the Florida Bandmasters Associ-ation to have three concert bands earn straight superior ratings at State. Kaminskys bands have performed at prestigious state and national festivals and conferences including the Midwest Clinic (2005, 2009 and 2014), American Bandmasters Associ-ation National Convention (2014), CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2004 and 2014), FMEA State Conference (2014), National Concert Band Festival (2002 and 2012), and the National Wind Band Fes-tival at Carnegie Hall (2009). Marching bands under Kaminskys direction consis-tently place in the Florida Marching Band State Championship Finals, winning Grand Champion awards at many FMBC regionals and, most recently, two consecutive FMBC Class 4A State Championships (2013 and 2014).

Mr. Kaminsky is an eight-time re-cipient of the National Band Associations Citation of Excellence and has been rec-ognized with numerous individual achieve-ment awards for education including the Florida Bandmasters Associations Oliver Hobbs Award, National Honor Rolls Out-standing American Teacher, Nobel Educa-tor of Distinction, Teacher of the Year, and is listed in Whos Who Among Americas Teachers. Kaminsky has been featured in several periodicals including The Instrumen-talist, School Band & Orchestra Magazines 50 Directors Who Make A Difference and Home Magazines 12 Exceptional Educa-tors.

Mr. Kaminsky is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors Association. He is a National Board Certified teacher and serves on the national Sousa/Ostwald Award Committee and the FBA Music Performance Assess-ment Committee. His professional affilia-tions include the National Band Association, National Association for Music Education, Florida Music Educators Association, Flori-da Bandmasters Association, Phi Mu Alpha and Kappa Kappa Psi.

CONCERT BAND

John T. Madden serves the Mich-igan State University College of Music as associate director of bands and associ-ate professor of music. He is director of the Spartan Marching Band and conduc-tor of the MSU Symphony Band. Addition-ally, he teaches advanced instrumental conducting at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has previously taught courses on marching band tech-niques. He has served on the MSU faculty since the fall of 1989. Madden received the Dortha J. and John D. Withrow Award for Excellence in Teaching from the MSU College of Music in 2014. He was induct-ed into the prestigious American Band-masters Association in March of 2008.

Prior to coming to MSU, Madden served as associate director of bands in the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He received his master of music education (MME) and masters of wind conducting degrees (MM) from Wichita State University, where he served as grad-uate teaching assistant to the university bands. Madden is a 1985 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Music, where he received his bachelor of music education (BME) degree. His primary conducting teachers and influ-ences include Stanley DeRusha, Richard Blatti, Eugene Corporan, Myles Mazur, and Jay Decker. Madden was chosen

twice to participate in the Rocky Mountain Retreat for wind conductors, led by H. Robert Reynolds. Madden is active throughout the nation as a guest conductor and conducting clinician, and has con-ducted MSU ensembles at state, regional, and national conventions, conferences, and symposiums. In December of 2013, he served as a rehearsal lab clinician at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and again in 2004, presenting a clinic session entitled, From Carnegie Hall to the 50-yard Line: Approaching Concert and Marching Ensembles with the Same Vision. Madden has presented similar clinics at both

JOHN T. MADDEN

ALL-STATE BAND

the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Athletic Bands Symposium as well as the Michigan Music Conference (MMC). In 2000, the MSU Symphony Band was selected to perform at the North Central Divisional Conference of the CBDNA in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. In 2011, the MSU Symphony Band was chosen to perform at the MMC at DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids.

Madden is a member of the College Band Directors National As-sociation and has served that organization as chair of the Athletic Bands Committee. He is a member of the Big Ten Band Directors Association, and is a former national vice-president for professional relations, and past north central district governor of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band service fraternity. He also holds honorary membership in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, Tau Beta Sigma, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Golden Key Honor Society, and MSUs Varsity S Alumni Club. As an adjudicator, he maintains numerous associations with judging organizations around the United States. He currently serves as the resident conductor of the Symphony Band at the New England Music Camp located in the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine. He has been in-volved in several professional recording projects as conductor, including the Brass Band of Battle Creek. Additionally, he has released more than 20 commercial recordings with the MSU Spartan Marching Band.

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SYMPHONIC BAND

ALL-STATE BAND

STEVEN D. DAVIS

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Steven D. Davis is director of bands and wind ensembles, professor of conducting, Conservatory large en-sembles chair, opera conducting facul-ty, and conductor of the Conservatory Wind Symphony at the UMKC Conserva-tory of Music and Dance. He coordinates the graduate program in wind ensemble conducting and oversees all aspects of the UMKC band program. Davis is the founding director of the UMKC Wind Band Teaching Symposium, one of the countrys largest conducting workshops. He is conductor of the Youth Sympho-ny of Kansas Citys Symphony Orchestra and newEar, Kansas Citys professional contemporary chamber ensemble. Davis has served as a conductor at the CBD-NA National Convention, Midwest Clin-ic, MENC National Convention, and the Festival of New American Music. He has also conducted numerous summers at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. As a committed advocate for music educa-tion, he has been a guest conductor and teacher at state conferences, and honor band and orchestra festivals in 37 states. He has appeared as a guest artist at the most significant conservatories in Bang-kok and Chang Mai, Thailand; Lisbon, Por-tugal; and Beijing, China. Davis has been invited for residencies and conducting symposiums at major institutions such as the Eastman School of Music, Ithaca Col-lege, Michigan State University, University of Colorado, University of Georgia, and Florida State University, among others.

Davis is fervently committed to performing new repertoire, and this commitment has been praised by prominent contemporary composers including Leslie Bassett, Robert Beaser, Chen Yi, Mi-chael Colgrass, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, Stephen Hartke, David Lang, James Mobberley, Narong Prangcharoen, Bernard Rands, Paul Rudy, Steven Stucky, Frank Ticheli, and

Zhou Long. He has received dedications for more than 30 commissioned works. In 2014, Davis led the UMKC Con-servatory Wind Symphony as a featured ensemble at the Beijing Modern Music Festival and the Tianjin May Festival. Davis is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and currently serves as the Col-lege Band Directors National Association Southwest Divi-sion president. At UMKC, he has been awarded the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Artistry and Scholarship Award.

SYMPHONIC BAND

Richard Floyd is presently in his 52nd year of active involvement as a conductor, mu-sic educator, and administrator. He has enjoyed a distinguished and highly successful career at virtually every level of wind band performance from beginning band programs through high school and university wind ensembles as well as adult community bands. In 2014, Floyd retired as State Director of Music at the University of Tex-as at Austin, where he coordinated all facets of secondary school music competition for some 3500 performing organizations throughout the state for 30 years. He now holds the title Texas State Director of Music Emeritus. He also serves as Musical Director and Conductor of the Aus-tin Symphonic Band, viewed to be one of the premier adult concert bands in America. In ad-dition, he maintains an active schedule as con-ductor, clinician, lecturer and mentor.

Prior to his appointment at the Universi-ty of Texas, Mr. Floyd served on the faculty at the University of South Florida as Professor of Con-ducting and at Baylor University in Texas, where he held the position of Director of Bands for nine years. He began his career as band director at Richardson Junior High School and then be-come the first director of the award winning J.J. Pearce High School Band in the same city. He also served as Director of Fine Arts for that dis-trict for two years before moving to Baylor Uni-versity in 1972.

His musical achievements include per-formances at numerous state and national con-ventions and conferences, including the 1977

College Band Directors National Association, the 1981 Music Educators National Conference and concerts at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in 1989, 1997 and 2007. Other distinguished perfor-mances include concerts for the American Bandmasters Association in 1993 and 2006 and the 2004 Western Inter-national Band Clinic in Seattle, Washington. Performances by his various ensembles have been heard throughout the United States, Australia and Europe.

Mr. Floyd is a recognized authority on conducting, the art of wind band rehearsing, concert band repertoire, and music advocacy. As such, he has toured extensively throughout the United States, Can-ada, Australia, and Europe as a clinician, adjudicator, and conductor, including appearances in 43 American states and in 9 other countries. He is a frequent featured clinician for the Texas Music Educators Asso-ciation and the Texas Bandmasters Association and has presented four conducting and rehearsal technique clinics for the Mid-West Interna-tional Band and Orchestra Clinic. In 2002 he was the single recipient of the prestigious A.A. Harding Award, presented by the American School Band Directors Association in recognition of his significant and lasting contributions to the school band movement. The Texas Bandmasters Association named him Texas Bandmaster of the Year in 2006 and also recognized him with the TBA Lifetime Administrative Achievement Award in 2008. Most recently, he received the Texas Music Educators Association Distinguished Service Award in 2009 and was inducted into the Bands of America Hall of Fame and Texas Phi Beta Mu Hall of Fame in 2011. Also in 2011, he was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor for distinguished service and contributions to bands, orchestras, and music education. In 2014, he was inducted into the National Band Association Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts, considered to be the academy award for wind band conductors. The same year, he was honored with the Kappa Kappa Phi Distinguished Service to Music medal.

His publications include co-authorship of Best Music For Beginning Band and contributing author for The Musicians Walk by James Jordo, published by GIA. In addition, his articles have appeared in numerous national and international publications. In 2006, he was featured on the GIA produced DVD entitled Kindred Spirits from the series Conducting From The Inside Out. Other conductors included H. Robert Reynolds, Craig Kirchhoff and Allan McMurray. His most recent publication Essential Truths of Music and Music Making, published by GIA publications, will be released in the fall of 2015.

During Mr. Floyds professional career, he has held positions of leadership on many state and national com-mittees for music education and wind music performance. He served as National Secretary of CBDNA from 1979 to 2007 and has played an active leadership role in the implementation of that organizations many projects and ser-vices for over three decades. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Music For All, as a member of the John Philip Sousa Foundation Board of Directors, and is Chairman of the American Bandmasters Association Educational Projects Committee.

Paramount in his life is his wife Cheryl, who enjoys her own distinguished career as one of the premier middle school directors in the nation, their son Weston who is pursuing his own musical journey, and Dicks daughter, Chris, and her extended family.

RICHARD FLOYD

ALL-STATE BAND

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MIDDLE SCHOOL TREBLE CHORUS

ALL-STATE CHORUS

EMILY ELLSWORTH

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Nationally recognized as a leader in the field of youth chorus directors, Ms. Ellsworth has served as Artistic Director of Anima Young Singers of Greater Chica-go since 1996. Under her direction, Anima has won several national awards, includ-ing the 2013 ASCAP award for Adventur-ous Programming from Chorus America, the 2013 Tribute Award from Chicago A Cappella, the once-in-an-organization-al-lifetime Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America (2008), and the 2009 Dale Warland Singers Com-missioning Award, jointly given by the American Composers Forum and Chorus America for Nico Muhlys How Soon? with Grammy winning contemporary cham-ber ensemble eighth blackbird.

Ms. Ellsworth has additionally served as Lecturer in Choral Conducting at Northwestern University with Donald Nally and serves as the advisor for the Op-era Workshop choral series with Boosey & Hawkes publishers. She has served several times on the music panel of the Nation-al Endowment for the Arts and has over 20 years of singing and teaching experi-ence as a voice faculty member in var-ious college and university settings. She has served the American Choral Direc-tors Association as the Central Division Repertoire and Standards Chair for Chil-dren and Community Youth Choirs and is a long standing member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

In great demand as a guest clinician and conductor, Ms. Ellsworth has conducted all-state choirs and festivals in over 25 states, as well as for the Northwest, North Central, and Southwest divisions of ACDA. She has conducted featured performances at national conferences of ACDA, the Orga-nization of American Kodaly Educators, and Chorus America. She has prepared various ensembles within Anima for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Bach Project,

Grant Park Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, Ravinia Festival, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Sinfonietta, and many others. She has appeared as guest conductor at festival performances in Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls; Wexford, Ireland; Englands Wells Cathedral; the Cultural Center in Hong Kong, and given presentations for the na-tional association of choral directors in Brazil.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MIXED CHORUS

Trey Jacobs is Director of Choirs at Head Magnet School in Nashville, Tennes-see. He has served as the Artistic Direc-tor for the Turtle Creek Chorale since Au-gust 2011. The Turtle Creek Chorale, a 225 voice mens chorus, has performed ex-tensively in the United States and Europe. They have performed at three national A.C.D.A. conventions and have over 30 recordings. Before arriving in Dallas, Mr. Jacobs was Assistant Professor and Di-rector of Choral Activities for four years at Eastern Michigan University. While at EMU, his choirs performed at the Michigan A.C.D.A Convention and for the Michi-gan Music Educators Conference.

Mr. Jacobs has completed his coursework on a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, a Master of Music degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Tex-as, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from East Carolina University in Greenville. At Michigan State University, he conducted the MSU Womens Glee Club and was the graduate teaching as-sistant with the MSU Chorale and Choral Union.

Mr. Jacobs was director of Cho-ral Activities at Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Florida, for 11 years. While at Winter Park High School, his choirs consis-tently received superior ratings at district

and state music performance assessments (MPAs). His choirs performed for three different American Choral Directors Association State Conventions and for the National A.C.D.A. Convention in San Diego, California. He conducted his choirs three times at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Jacobs was a founding director of the Orlando Childrens Chorus and was co-conductor of the Bach Childrens Choir at Rollins College, conductor for the Orlando Concert Chorale, and conductor of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestras Holiday Choir. He has conducted the Florida All-State High School Womens Chorus, 7-8 Mixed Chorus, Washington All-State High School Treble Chorus, honor choirs in Florida, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and has adjudicated in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, and Missou-ri. Mr. Jacobs has presented interest sessions at the Florida Music Educators Association Conventions, Michigan Music Conference, Michigan Vocal Association Summer Conference, and the Northwest Division A.C.D.A Conventions Mr. Jacobs is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, NATS, and MTVA and maintains a private voice studio.

TREY JACOBS

ALL-STATE CHORUS

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INTERMEDIATE MIXED CHORUS

ALL-STATE CHORUS

DR. DEANNA JOSEPH

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Dr. Deanna Joseph is director of choral activities at the Georgia State Uni-versity School of Music, where she con-ducts the University Singers and leads the masters program in choral conducting. She is also the artistic director of the Atlan-ta Summer Conducting Institute (ASCI), a weeklong masterclass for conductors that takes place annually during the first week of June.

Under Dr. Josephs baton, the Uni-versity Singers have been invited to per-form at two conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. In May of 2013, the University Singers competed in La Florilge Vocal de Tours, where they placed second overall in the mixed choir category, and Dr. Joseph was honored with the Prix du chef de chour. Additional honors from 2013 include an invited per-formance at the Georgia Music Educa-tors Association annual conference and the North American premiere of David Bintleys Carmina Burana with the Atlan-ta Ballet. The choirs new professional re-cording, Evening Hymn (Gothic Records), is available on compact disk and iTunes.

Dr. Joseph is an active guest con-ductor and clinician and has conducted all-state and honor choirs in more than ten states. She is a frequent conductor of choral-orchestral repertoire, and has led performances of Mendelssohns Elijah, Beethoven Mass in C, Mozarts Requiem, Haydns Creation and Lord Nelson Mass, Schuberts Mass in A-flat and Bruckners Mass in D Minor.

Dr. Josephs research in the area of 19th century choral-orchestral performance-practice has led to invited presentations on the topic at several division conferences of the American Choral Direc-tors Association and at the national convention for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. In October of 2012, she was selected as 1 of 25 presenters from ten countries to speak at the Lund Choral Festival in Sweden.

Prior to her appointment at Georgia State University, Dr. Joseph served on the faculties at Smith College, the Uni-versity of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Hobart and William Smith colleges.

Dr. Joseph holds conducting degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize.

SENIOR WOMENS CHORUS

Kristina Caswell MacMullen serves as Assistant Professor of Music and As-sistant Director of Choral Studies at The Ohio State University, where she conducts the Symphonic Choir, the Womens Glee Club, the Ohio State University College of Medicine Orchestra, and instructs both undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of choral conducting and ped-agogy.

As an active adjudicator and cli-nician, Caswell MacMullen has conduct-ed all-state and honor choirs throughout the United States. Recent and upcoming engagements involve events in Alaska, California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Tex-as, Virginia, and Utah. She has present-ed and co-presented interest sessions at state, regional, national, and interna-tional conferences. In 2011, she was run-ner-up in the National American Choral Directors Association graduate level conducting competition. Other awards include selection as a Fulbright Fellow-ship Alternate to Slovenia, the Don and Kay Cash Fellowship, and being named a graduate student of distinction for Texas Tech University in the areas of music and humanities. Her teaching and conduct-ing is featured on the DVD Conduct-ing-Teaching: Real World Strategies for Success,published by GIA (2009), and her editions for treble choir are published by Musicatus Press and Boosey & Hawkes.

Caswell MacMullen brings a passion and commitment to connecting art, social justice, and education. During the 2014-2015 school year, she spearheaded a three-day summit addressing human trafficking with choral music at its centerpiece, highlighting the work of local magistrates, abolitionists, artists, and international activist and author, Rachel Lloyd. The event featured Lloyds book Girls Like Us in sonic form as realized by the choir. Of the event, Lloyd commented, Its a really innovative and exciting way to kind of introduce people who wouldnt be naturally interested in this subject . . . to a really important social-justice issue.

Caswell MacMullen earned both the Bachelor of Music Education and the Master of Music degrees from Michigan State University. She completed the Doctorate of Musical Arts at Texas Tech University. Prior to her appointment at The Ohio State University, she enjoyed a diverse career as a pub-lic school teacher, interacting with students in rural, suburban, and urban settings, elementary through high school.

DR. KRISTINA CASWELL MACMULLEN

ALL-STATE CHORUS

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SENIOR MENS CHORUS

ALL-STATE CHORUS

DR. GENE PETERSON

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Dr. Gene Peterson is the conduc-tor of the Bethel Choir, the fourth conduc-tor in the ensembles 66 year history, and Director of Choral Activities and Artistic Director of Festival of Christmas at Bethel University St Paul, Minnesota.

Dr. Peterson comes to Bethel af-ter serving seven years on faculty at the University of Tennessee School of Music as the Associate Director of Choral Activities. During his tenure in Knoxville, he was also the Director of Choral Ministries at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, where he administered and conducted a graded choral program and chamber orchestra.

In addition to his duties at Bethel, Dr. Peterson serves as the Artistic Director of Choirs and Director of Performance Tours for an international performance tour company, Perform International. He frequently appears as a clinician and ad-judicator for local, regional, and interna-tional choral festivals and honor choirs. He also serves the choral community through leadership in professional organi-zations, having held posts including Mens Chorus Repertoire and Standards Chair for the Southern Division American Cho-ral Directors Association, Southern Division Conference Planning Committee, and he currently serves on the Executive Com-mittee of the International Choral Festival, America Cantat.

Dr. Peterson is a proud graduate of El Camino College, Chapman University, and the University of Washington, Seattle.

SENIOR MIXED CHORUS

Karen Kennedy is associate pro-fessor and director of choral studies at the University of Miami Frost School of Mu-sic, where she conducts the Frost Chorale and other choral ensembles. She is also artistic director of the Master Chorale of South Florida. She previously held the po-sitions of chorus director for the Honolulu Symphony, director of choral activities at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and director of choral activities at Towson Uni-versity. She earned a D.M.A. degree in choral music from Arizona State Universi-ty, a M.M. in choral conducting from But-ler University, and a B.M. in