11 minute read
From the Editor
FLORIDA MUSIC SUPERVISION ASSOCIATION Lindsey R. Williams, PhD, President
Asemester is in the books, and we’ve all navigated our quasi-new teaching environment with hopeful perseverance. Now we can look forward to returning to an in-person FMEA Professional Development Conference where together we can learn, laugh, and connect in a way that has been absent for too long. As you peruse the conference sessions and prepare to take on a new semester of successes and challenges, may I be so bold as to offer a bit of advice? When you’re connecting with colleagues, when you’re engaged in a session, or when you’re listening to a concert that provides the spark of motivation you need—approach these opportunities with the following mindset: « First, listen to understand. « What is your colleague trying to « « share? What is the clinician’s perspective? What is the composer trying to « convey? Seek out the moments that resonate with you.
Too often, I, for one, fall into the trap of listening simply for “my turn” rather than engaging my whole attention to the conversation or experience. We have so much to gain by simply listening to understand. When you think about it, this is exactly what we are trying to teach our students as we help them develop as independent musicians. We use the term listen frequently; perhaps we can all take time to recalibrate our operational use of this term and provide more specificity by extending it to “Listen for …” or “Listen to the … .” This simple clarification may provide students with additional clues to focus their listening such that they are actively and purposefully doing so. In a solo setting, there are so many variables that need attention that it can become a massive exercise in self-awareness. In an ensemble setting, we have the added task of identifying how or if our sonic expressions fit within those happening simultaneously around us. In a clinic session, we listen for both content and intent such that we can make transfers to our own teaching environments. When experiencing a performance, watch the conductor for her communication with her students rather than critiquing her ictus or questioning her conducting gestures. Listen for the heart of the message, then listen some more.
I look forward to hearing many of you in Tampa at FMEA 2022!
Gregory Springer, PhD
Editor in Chief Florida Music Director
Want to contribute a feature article to Florida Music Director?
We invite you to submit a feature article to be considered for publication in Florida Music Director. Florida Music Director is a previous recipient of the Music Educators National Conference Award for Excellence. It is the official publication of the Florida Music Education Association, the largest unit in the 11-state NAfME Southern Division and one of the largest MEAs in the nation. Florida Music Director contains articles of interest to music educators of all levels—from kindergarten through college. It is published eight times annually and distributed to more than 5,000 music teachers, district music supervisors, and other subscribers.
Please consider sharing your knowledge with other music educators by writing an article and submitting it for consideration. You can view our submission guidelines for authors at FMEA.org/FMD. As FMEA members, you can view the current issue and past issues of Florida Music Director at FMEA.org/FMD.
If you have any questions about submissions, please contact me at dgspringer@fsu.edu.
ComponentNews
FLORIDA NAfME COLLEGIATE Mark A. Belfast, Jr., PhD, Advisor
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
I. Love. December! You all know I do. I love the music, the decorations, wearing a vest with my suit without overheating, the smell of wood-burning fireplaces, and spending LOTS of time with my family! It also brings me great joy to see my students breathing a little easier after completing another semester that, at times, seemed insurmountable. As you wrap these last couple weeks of school, know I am thinking of you, wishing you all the best with your final exams, and praying you have a safe and joyful break. As usual, I will remind you not to let your mom play cheesy holiday music while you’re at home! Feel free to use my holiday playlist to refresh your mom’s holiday music rotation:
Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/AppleMusic-Holiday-Jazz
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/Spotify-Holiday-Jazz
It was so wonderful to see everyone in person during our Fall Conference back in October. If you enjoyed that event, you won’t know what to do with yourself during the FMEA Professional Development Conference in Tampa next month. This year’s event will begin with preconference sessions on Wednesday, January 12, followed by the full conference on January 13-15. Dr. Chipman’s theme, Unity in Music Education: Building Communities One Note at a Time, is incredibly important as we approach the post-pandemic era, and your FMEA and Florida NAfME Collegiate leadership have stacked this year’s conference with heavy hitters in all music content areas. I hope you will do all you can to join us in Tampa! If there is anything Florida NAfME Collegiate can do to help you get there and experience the conference, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Review the full conference schedule at FMEA.org/ conference, and make sure to attend the following sessions hosted by Florida NAfME Collegiate: « Jumpstart Your Career: Career Building Strategies
to Ignite Your Future
«Thursday at 4:15 pm Florida NAfME Collegiate General Business Meeting 1 « Thursday at 5:30 pm Building Independence, Critical Thinking, and
Social Unity Through Unconducted Chamber Music
«Friday at 10:30 am Florida NAfME Collegiate Business Meeting 2
Saturday at 10:15 am
Additional conference information is available at FMEA.org/ conference. Don’t forget, we will also be holding elections for a new State Executive Board in January. I hope you will consider running for a position and serving collegiate members across the state during 2022. If you would like to learn more about any of the board positions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or any member of the current board.
I wish you good tidings, comfort, and joy in this season!
FLORIDA ELEMENTARY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION Joani Slawson, President
Tis the season! I hope that all of you have the opportunity to create music in some way with your students during this time of year. Thank you for sharing the joy of the season for so many in your community. I hope you are able to take time to reflect, breathe, and enjoy all of the merriment you create for others. The magical learning opportunities you provide for your students create a lifetime of memories and musical connections for life.
After all of the concerts have ended, the decorations have been put away, and the tinsel has been tossed, it’s time for the 2022 FMEA Professional Development Conference, January 12-15 in Tampa. Our FMEA and FEMEA executive boards have been busily preparing for the conference and look forward to making our state conference a great experience for all who attend. Congratulations to all of the students and teachers participating in the 2022 All-State Elementary Chorus and All-State Orff Ensemble. It is time to finalize your travel plans, hotel arrangements, registrations, and schedule to join us for the best conference yet. I know we are all looking forward to being together again!
We are delighted to have these world-class clinicians for FEMEA’s headliner conference sessions: Deb Navin (sponsored by West Music), Tom Pierre (sponsored by Peripole), and David Frego and Marla Butke (sponsored by Music Is Elementary). These amazing teachers will share exciting and relevant sessions with us. I am thrilled they are at our conference! Please join us Thursday night for our annual business meeting followed by a drum session with James Mader. Don’t forget there will be door prizes! Please stop by our booth in the exhibition hall to say “hello” and so we can answer any questions.
I also hope that everyone will take time to reconnect with friends and colleagues, enjoy an amazing all-state concert, and use this time to fill your bucket. Thank you for all the inspiration you have given to me and all that you do for the students in Florida. Happy holidays!
FLORIDA VOCAL ASSOCIATION Jeannine Stemmer, President
Enjoy the gift of sharing music this holiday season. Teach your students to share joy by loving big and singing loud! (But not as loud as it is beautiful.) Looking forward to seeing you all at the FMEA conference. Please enjoy my holiday poem.
‘Twas the weeks before Christmas, and the children are wired. You have five concerts left and are so very tired.
As you shut off the light, and you leave for the night, you look at your classroom and think, “What a fright!”
When the sun rises, the students return. They are eager and ready for lessons to learn.
You think to yourself, “Do I matter to them? Will they notice if I do not come back again?”
You think of their faces and what you must do, and you know in that moment they matter to you.
You know in your heart that this is their time, and you are the one that will help them to shine.
You will teach them that failure is part of success and to keep moving forward, though life is a mess.
You will challenge their minds, their hearts, and their souls. You will show them to never give up on their goals.
You will patiently wait when they have an off day and remind them that life will still be OK.
You will be there when nobody else is around to make sure that they all have gone home safe and sound.
As the last student leaves and drives out of sight, you hear them exclaim, “I love you, goodnight!”
ComponentNews
FLORIDA BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION Ian Schwindt, President
– Charles Dickens
Little did Dickens realize that he was describing the times in a band program (at least in my band program) immediately following a worldwide pandemic.
What an unbelievable time we get to experience. We are seeing the joy light up our students’ eyes as they experience playing together, yet at the same time we are struggling to keep the joy there when the grind sets in. We are experiencing students making huge strides forward as musicians, yet we are facing the fact that many do not play very well (yet!) compared to past students. We are watching our student leaders attack every day with gusto and verve, yet we are constantly channeling, directing, and guiding that energy in the right direction as these leaders lack the experience to truly know what to do with it.
I have heard many directors voice the sentiment “this year is actually more challenging and tiring than the last.” I am right there with them. But take heart, you
FLORIDA NAfME COLLEGIATE Alexis Hobbs, President
Now that Fall Conference 2021 is over, and was a great success, we are excited to be preparing for the 2022 FMEA Professional Development Conference in January. Florida NAfME Collegiate is sponsoring sessions by Dr. Annalisa Change, Dr. Angela Ammerman, Dr. Blair Williams, and Dr. Tyson Voigt. You can find the times published in the conference schedule under the topic “collegiate.” We will be holding two annual business meetings in January: the first on Thursday, January 13, at 5:30 pm and the second on Saturday, January 15, at 10:15 am. On Saturday, we will be holding elections for next year’s State Executive Board.
Serving as a leader of Florida NAfME Collegiate at the state level is an extremely rewarding endeavor. You can assist and encourage students just like you across the state and further the development of music education in Florida. Anyone who is interested in running for a position should reach out to the current Executive Board and be on the lookout for an email explaining the application process and election procedures.
We look forward to seeing you in January! are not alone! We are all experiencing the same highs and lows together. It is not you, it is the circumstances. And one of my favorite things about being part of the fraternity of band directors is that there are NO circumstances that cannot be overcome by band directors.
Gather your friends, colleagues, and loved ones and get ready to experience personal revelations, growth, and successes like we have never seen. And we are going to do it together. I have had the opportunity to attend several marching MPAs and concerts already this fall, and I have been absolutely blown away by the incredible things happening across our state. If you have not had a chance to watch it yet, please check out the slide show on the FBA president’s YouTube channel of all of the marching bands that participated in MPA this year. It is really great to see!
Find a daily routine of fundamentals in your classroom and stick to it. Trust that results will follow. If you do not have a routine you trust, reach out and ask those around you for help in formulating one. When you go to the gym, you do not see results after one day of working out—maybe not even after one week. But across months you will see HUGE gains. The same is true in our classrooms. Trust the process and BELIEVE. It will work and you will see results. And when you do see the gains, rejoice with your support system and your students!
You are making a positive difference in your students’ lives. We are all here to support each other no matter the challenges. Keep going. You are doing great!
