SCSBOA Update

Greetings from SCSBOA in Southern CA. I hope this bulletin finds you doing well. No one can quite understand what this year has been like for each of us. It has been a year full of ups and downs and through it all, we have juggled masks and then no masks, outside of the classroom teaching, and thankfully back inside once again. Through it all, we have all persevered. Now it’s time to focus on the close of this school year and take a much-needed summer break.

This spring, SCSBOA saw the return of band and orchestra festivals in most regions. Groups were not limited to a list of repertoire or number of selections to be performed. Instead, we allowed directors to make the best choices for their own programs. Isn’t that the way it should be done? We all know our groups better than anyone else. We will continue to discuss festivals for many months to come to make sure students and educators feel they are getting the best educational experience possible.

We have continued our wonderful tradition of the AllSouthern Honor Groups in April. The first weekend of April kicked off with the elementary virtual honor groups along with the middle school virtual honor groups. On the same weekend, we celebrated three Middle School in person Honor Groups at Woodbridge HS and the High School Honor Groups at Santa Monica HS the following weekend. April 24th ended the series of honor concerts with the Jazz all-stars and ambassadors. It was so nice to see and hear kids come back together once again! We had a total of 9 honor groups in person and 4 virtual groups. I’d like to thank the four VPs of Education - Ray Llewelyn, Yeon Choi, Amy Villanova, and Dennis Crystal, along with the managers who helped make each experience special for our students. Our guest conductors all did a fantastic job! Thank you to Curt Richardson, Ami Garvin, Eric Mabrey, Dr. Rickey Badua, Dr.

Jeanne Christensen

President, Southern California Band and Orchestra Directors Association Director of Bands, Mira Mesa High School

Vu Nguyen, Sayra Siverson, Dan Robbins, Dr. J.B. Dyas, and Wayne Bergeron.

The hard-working SCSBOA Board of Directors is planning and getting ready for the fall marching season, next year’s honor groups, and our annual SCSBOA conference which will be held in Orange County next January. You are all invited to attend this fantastic professional development weekend. The dates are January 20 – 22, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County. Look for more details and the conference registration this summer on the SCSBOA website (www.scsboa.org).

I am grateful to the SCSBOA Board of Directors for all of their time, planning, and energy they give to the association to make sure music education and music educators are supported. It is essential we keep supporting one another, so that we can support our students. SCSBOA is thankful and a proud partner with CBDA and the other associations across our state. Together we are all stronger as professionals when we work together.