2019 GMEA Newsletter | September

GEORGIA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION

N e ws l e t t e r

2019

"Education is the most powerful weapon which yo u c a n u s e t o c h a n g e t h e w o rl d . "

Nelson Mandela

Inspiring Truth for Teachers

IN THIS ISSUE

SEPTEMBER

ALL-NATIONAL AROUND THE STATE

DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 4 DISTRICT 5 DISTRICT 6 DISTRICT 7 DISTRICT 8 DISTRICT 9 DISTRICT 10 DISTRICT 11 DISTRICT 13 TECHNOLOGY CHAIR YEAR OF RETIREMENT MARCHING BAND

1

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

ALL-NATIONAL CONCERT BAND

ALL-NATIONAL MIXED CHOIR

Jonas Du The Westminster Schools

Belle Catanzaro Cambridge High School

Aubrey Ford Ringgold High School

Jenna Pierre-Louis Richmond Hill High School

Stan Lee Lambert High School

Lexi Schieler Richmond Hill High School

Aliceyn Covington Union County High School

James Stinson Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts

Justin Yu Lambert High School

Caleb Middleton Martha Ellen Stilwell School if the Arts

Paul Kwak Buford High School

Luke Stinnett Vidalia High School

Scott Stewart

Matthew Van Dyke

Tracy Wright

Jamie Hillen

Scott McCloy

Jamie Hillen

William Stafford

Jimmy Cheek

Scott McCloy

Jimmy Cheek

Matt Young

John Morgan

Mi Chang Peachtree Ridge High School

ALL-NATIONAL MODERN BAND

Kathryn Wyatt

Nyla Jones Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts

Lizzy Galloway Kell High School

Jimmy Cheek

Kelly Thomas

Grace Rivord North Gwinnett High School

ALL-NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Brianna Greer

Britney White Thomas County Central High School

Nathan Keith Kell High School

Taurence Phillips

Kelly Thomas

Jared Giddens Thomas County Central High School

Frank Zhou North Gwinnett High School

Taurence Phillips

Lauren Mccombe

Daniel Gyimah Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts

Xavier Rodriguez Richmond Hill High School

Jimmy Cheek

Lia Patterson

David Cain North Forsyth High School Raymond Thomas

Kevin Kurashima Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts

you are the

Joel Perkins

music makers!

Bryan Chong Greater Atlanta Christian School Nelson Galarraga

Doowon Kim North Gwinnett High School Lauren McCombe

2

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

REMINDER

ADMINISTRATORS HAVE DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TO HELP PAY FOR IN-SERVICE CONFERENCE. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK IF THEY WILL PAY FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE AT IN-SERVICE

PLEASE VISIT THE SITE FOR INSTRUC TIONS ON HOW TO JOIN AND RENEW 3

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

AROUND THE STATE Events and News from GMEA's 14 Districts 4

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

ALL-NEWTON COUNTY JAZZ BAND DISTRICT ONE

• Mr. William Page has accepted the position of orchestra director at Richmond Hill Middle School. William recently graduated from Georgia Southern University with a B.A. in Music Performance and B.A in Music Education, where he studied cello with Dr. Steven Elisha. Mr. Page also teaches privately in the Savannah area. He looks forward to the development of orchestra in Richmond Hill.

• The Ebenezer Middle School Eagle Winds will be a guest performing ensemble at the 29th annual University of Georgia Middle School Band Festival. Ebenezer Middle School is located in Rincon, GA and is part of the Effingham County School System. The Eagle Winds are under the direction of Kenza Murray and Lisa McDonald.

The concert will be Friday December 13, 2019 at 7:30 pm in the Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall in Athens, GA.

DISTRICT FOUR • In March, the three high school bands in Newton County joined together to present the first-ever All-Newton County Jazz Band, featuring students from Alcovy, Eastside, and Newton High Schools. Directors from each school rehearsed tunes during the day-long rehearsal, and the band performed on The Square in historic downtown Covington the Friday evening before Spring Break. The event was a tremendous success, and there are plans to make it an annual tradition, perhaps even bringing in an outside clinician to work with the students.

• Elizabeth Kasay is a graduate of Georgia Southern University, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a minor in Theatre Performance.

During her time at Georgia Southern, Elizabeth performed in a variety of ensemble and opera performances, as well as serving as an assistant stage manager and director in several theater productions. Elizabeth has been teaching private piano and voice lessons for over five year and is also an operatic soprano.

She has been a substitute teacher for the past year and a half. Elizabeth also serves as the Director of Events for Moon River Opera, which is a new young artist opera program based in Savannah, GA. Ms. Kasay is beginning her first year of teaching at Langston Chapel Middle School in Statesboro, GA, where she will be teaching both Chorus and Music Appreciation.

ELIZABETH KASAY

DISTRICT FIVE • Jammie Phillips, former band director at Eddie White Middle School in Clayton County, has moved to BEST Academy/Coretta Scott King Women’s Leadership Academy 6-12. BEST Academy/Coretta Scott King Women’s Leadership Academy are two single gender schools on the same campus in the Atlanta Public Schools.

JAMMIE PHILLIPS

5

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

AROUND THE STATE

DISTRICT FIVE

DISTRICT SEVEN

CONTINUED

• Dr. Karen Graffius has been appointed as Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education and Assistant Director of Choirs at the University of West Georgia. Dr. Graffius directs the UWG Concert Choir and teaches Choral Methods and Aural Skills. She holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from Louisiana State University and has many years of public-school teaching experience. She is also the newly appointed Georgia ACDA Repertoire and Resources chair for Junior High/Middle School choirs.

• The Webb Bridge Middle School Symphonic Band has been selected as a guest performing ensemble for the 2019 University of Georgia Middle School Band Festival in Athens, GA. MidFest is a three-day event for middle school musicians from all over the Southeast.

There are approximately 1000 students from 130 different middle schools that practice and perform in clinic bands during this three-day festival and watch guest performing ensembles during the evening. Though many ensembles apply to perform as a guest ensemble at this event, only three middle school bands are selected. Performing at an event such as this is a prestigious honor that is highly regarded in the field of music education.

DR. KAREN GRAFFIUS

DISTRICT EIGHT

• Quandrell Claybrooks has been named the Music Specialist/Choral Director at Harper-Archer Elementary School, the new arts integration school in the Atlanta Public School System.

• Dr. Skye Holmes has started her new position as Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands in the Department of Music at Valdosta State University. She directs the Blazin’ Brigade Marching Band, Concert Band, and teaches courses in arranging and marching band techniques. Previously, Dr. Holmes spent several years teaching high school band in Iowa teaching marching, concert, pep band and jazz ensembles. Her ensembles consistently received exceptional ratings in all areas. She hosted All State auditions, large group contest, and jazz contest annually. Dr. Holmes graduated from Drake University with a Bachelor of Music Education, earned a Master of Music in Wind Conducting at Messiah College, and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting degree at Texas Tech University. She is an active member of the College Band Directors National Association, College Music Society and regional instrumental music organizations.

DISTRICT SIX • Dr. Myra Rhoden has been selected to present at the Midwest Clinic on Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at 1:30 PM. Her clinic topic will be, Creating “The Standard” and Sticking to It: The Why, The What, and the How.

DR. SKYE HOLMES

6

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

DISTRICT NINE

DISTRICT thirteen

• Dr. Rebecca Johnston, former Coordinator of Music Education at the University of North Georgia, has taken a full-time administrative position as Associate Director and Interim Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Leadership.

North Georgia hired Marie Graham as Interim Coordinator of Music Education. In addition, the University of North Georgia is pleased to report for the eighth concurrent year that 100% of our graduates seeking employment were placed in positions in the field.

• This fall marks some exciting times for GMEA District 13! District 13 is comprised of Gwinnett County Public Schools and all the city and private schools within that same geographical area. This year, several District 13 programs have been selected to perform at various venues and a number of our teachers are presenting sessions at conferences across the country.

The following directors will be presenting at the MidWest Convention this December - Shawn Morton (Duluth HS) and David Metrio (Lanier HS) have been selected to present their session, Building a Collaborative Environment Between Student Teacher and Supervising Teacher.

DISTRICT TEN • SheaAron Burns, Band Director at Langford Middle School is now the Band/Choral Director at Langford Middle School as well as the Assistant Band Director at the Academy of Richmond County. Mr. Charles Outen is the new Band Director at the Academy of Richmond County.

- Brooke VanKempen from (Dacula HS) will be presenting, What the HECK is Music Tech… and now I have to TEACH it?

• Dr. Andy Edwards (Peachtree Ridge HS) will be presenting a session at the National NAfME Conference in Orlando as part of the Music Education Innovator Award group

DISTRICT eleven • Jonathan Fleischman is the newly appointed Howard Middle School Orchestra Director in Macon. Jonathan joins the Bibb County orchestra faculty from the Syracuse area and is already a welcome member of the team.

• The following directors will have presentations given at GMEA In-Service Conference - Jeremy Lumpkin (Collins Hill HS) and Bryan Daniels (Collins Hill HS) present Jazz Band 101 - John Renfroe (Sweetwater MS) and his Principal, Jay Nebel, will present Winning Results: Director and Administrator Solutions - Natalie Mattson (Twin Rivers MS), Dr. Ruthie Colegrove (Wesleyan School), and Caroline Renner (Twin Rivers MS) will present Let’s Get This Party Started: A guide to help first year directors

SHAWN MORTON

DAVID METRIO

7

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

AROUND THE STATE

DISTRICT thirteen

- The Norcross HS Wind Symphony (Directors Lee Newman, Mimi Phillips, and Corey Fair) has been invited to perform for the 2020 Music For All Southeastern Regional Concert Festival at Georgia State University as well as the Music For All National Concert Festival presented by Yamaha.

CONTINUED

- Heath Jones (McConnell MS) will present several sessions as part of the growing field of educating students through music technology including The New Georgia Standards of Excellence for Music Technology Resources for the teacher and classroom and The Music Technology Teacher's Survival Guide

- The Duluth MS 8th Grade Guitar Ensemble (Ashley Drake, Director) has been invited to perform at GMEA

- Holly Lloyd (Radloff MS) will be presenting alongside fellow band director Billy Hoffman on the topic of balancing life and band

• North Gwinnett MS 8th Grade Advanced Guitar Ensemble (Caryn Volk, Director) will perform at the Old Dominion Festival in Norfolk, VA

- Erik Mason (Mill Creek HS) and Bridget Wildes (Mill Creek HS) will present Taking the Next Step: How to get from where you are to where you want to be as part of a three session series along with other directors that will be applicable at any level.

• In addition to the above announcements, we would like to welcome Rebekah Castner as she begins her new job as Choral Director at Lanier HS; Mr. Corey Fair as Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Percussion Studies at Norcross HS; Mrs. Kathy Mason as Director of Bands at Buford MS; Mr. Luther Harris as Assistant Director of Bands at North Gwinnett HS who will also serve as a Guest Conductor for the 2019 UGA MidFest; Mr. Dixon Pendergrass as Band Director at Mountain View HS; Mr. Carter Still who was hired as the choral director at Brookwood High School after a decade of leading the choral program at Bay Creek Middle School, since its opening year; and to congratulate Mrs. Rachel Hunter-White of Rosebud Elementary School for receiving her Specialist in Education in Music Education from the University of Georgia. Finally, we are proud to announce the District 13 Orchestra Division will start up a District-wide Honor String Orchestra to provide additional performance opportunities to outstanding students. We are very proud of the many fine educators in our district and the accomplishments of all the students and programs.

- Jake Hood and Rosie Riquelme (Collins Hill High School) will present Google apps and the performing ensemble The following Ensembles have been selected to perform at various venues for 2019-20 - The Collins Hill HS Percussion Ensemble will perform at GMEA - The Collins Hill HS Wind Symphony will perform at UGA’s JanFest and The University of Alabama Honor Band Clinic - The Trickum Middle School Symphonic Winds (Robert Davidson and Jessie Matthews) will perform at UGA’s MidFest - The Pinckneyville Symphonic Band (Roland Ventura, Director) has been invited to perform at the Music for All Southeastern Regional Concert Festival at Georgia State University

8

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

from the

Music TechnOlogy chair

heath jones

It is an honor for me to serve as the Music Technology Chairperson with GMEA this year. Music technology has a number of exciting things in store for our conference this year. I am most excited to announce the first annual GMEA Music Technology Student Showcase.

Music technology is one of the fastest growing content areas in music education in our state. With this increasing interest and involvement, it is important that these students and teachers have a chance to showcase the creative work happening in their classrooms. The event will also provide a great opportunity for music teachers to better understand and appreciate what is being taught and produced in these courses.

There are three age divisions for applicants: Middle School, High School, and College. The showcase will be divided into four categories: DAW based composition, digitally notated composition, derivative work, and multimedia. Students may enter up to one work per category in their age divisions.

Entries will be reviewed by a panel of music educators as well as an industry professional representative. All students will receive written feedback and critique of their work from the evaluation panel. The evaluation panel for each category will select exemplary works from the submissions to invite to the 2020 GMEA Conference to be featured in the first GMEA Music Technology Student Showcase. The event will be hosted at Tweed Studios and Recording Academy in downtown Athens.

The submission application and other information can be found on the GMEA website here. The submission deadline is November 1, 2019.

If you have any questions concerning this event or other music tech questions or ideas, please do not hesitate to contact me at heath_jones@gwinnett.k12.ga.us.

9

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

DO YOU TEACH

Guitar?

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU CLICK HERE 10

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

#WoO (without Opus)

LOOKING FORWARD TO SOMETHING NEW

ALL REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR

GMEA EVENTS

ALL-STATE | STATEWIDE HONOR CHORUS LGPE | SOLO & ENSEMBLE | CONFERENCE 11

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

YEAR OF RETIREMENT

YEAR OF RETIREMENT

Sheila Clopton

Sheila Clopton Music Specialist at Langston Road Elementary School retired following

thirty-six years of teaching elementary music. Prior to teaching ten years in Houston County, she served as an elementary music teacher and choral director at Robins AFB (DOD) Schools in Warner Robins, Georgia.

Sheila and her husband, Terry Clopton, also a retired music educator and church musician in Houston and Putnam County are now happy retirees on Lake Sinclair in Putnam County.

12

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

MARCHING

COMPETITIONS AND FESTIVALS

https://www.gmea.org/marching-band 13

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

MARCHING COMPETITIONS AND FESTIVALS SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 THE CONQUEST

ALLATOONA HIGH SCHOOL

CECILIA VICTORIA K CLARK

SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 ARMUCHEE INVITATIONAL (12TH ANNUAL)

ARMUCHEE HIGH SCHOOL

SETH BATES

BOWDON INVITATIONAL

BOWDON, GA

MATTHEW BASS

GEORGIA CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS (AT CAPACITY)

EAST JACKSON COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL

MIGUEL GUISASOLA

OCONEE CLASSIC

BRAVES FIELD (MILLEDGEVILLE, GA)

JAMES MCMILLAN

STATELINE SHOWDOWN

HEARD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

JOHNNY HURD

14

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER 5, 2019 CREEKVIEW CLASSIC

CREEKVIEW HIGH SCHOOL

STEPHEN MCCARTHY

EAGLES NEST INVITATIONAL

COLLINS HILL HIGH SCHOOL

BRYAN DANIELS

GROVETOWN WARRIOR INVITATIONAL

GROVETOWN HIGH SCHOOL

ROBERT WHITAKER

JAGUAR CLASSIC

NEW MANCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL

MARCUS D. CHESTER

KENNESAW MOUNTAIN Mountain 2019 Kennesaw

MARCHING INVITATIONA MARCHING INVITATIONAL

KENNESAW MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL

MICHAEL HUEBNER

LAKE LANIER TOURNAMENT OF BANDS

CHESTATEE HIGH SCHOOL

DANIEL MERCK

MARCH THE PLANK INVITATIONAL

PIKE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

LEE EWING

15

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

MARCHING COMPETITIONS AND FESTIVALS OCTOBER 5, 2019 SOUND OF FREEDOM MARCHING COMPETITION

FREEDOM FIELD (WARNER ROBINS, GA)

JEREMY FERMIN

SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH MARCHING BAND SHOWCASE

BRODIE FIELD (TIFTON, GA)

JENIFER MERCER

SUPER BOWL OF SOUND

CENTRAL-CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL (CARROLLTON, GA)

NEIL RUBY

VALHALLA CLASSIC

NORTHGATE HIGH SCHOOL

ALAN ARMSTRONG

FIND MORE DETAILS ABOUT THESE AMAZING EVENTS 16

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER 12, 2019 BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN MARCHING FESTIVAL

FANNIN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

THOMAS BARNSTEAD

COASTAL EMPIRE CLASSIC

EFFINGHAM COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

WILLIAM ALFORD

GREATER ATLANTA MARCHING FESTIVAL

ROCKDALE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

JACQUES JONES

LEGACY OF CHAMPIONS

CARROLLTON HIGH SCHOOL

CHRISTOPHER CARR

MCEACHERN MARCHING INVITATIONAL

MCEACHERN HIGH SCHOOL

KEITH CLUPPER

WOLVERINE CLASSIC

WEST FORSYTH HIGH SCHOOL

JOSH TYREE

17

CLICK IT... IT'S A LINK TO GMEA.ORG/MARCHING-BAND NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

MARCHING COMPETITIONS AND FESTIVALS OCTOBER 19, 2019 GOLDEN RIVER MARCHING FESTIVAL

HARALSON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

TROY THOMPSON

LAKE HARTWELL MARCHING COMPETITION

HARTWELL, GA

ALAN TOLBERT

MARCHING MUSTANG INVITATIONAL

SOUTH EFFINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL

SEAN MCBRIDE

b Gb P q

qq e q e q e

d

The Sound Of The County Marching Invitational

SOUND OF THE COUNTY INVITATIONAL

HAMILTON, GA

MIRANDA CARLSEN

SOUTHERN INVITATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

SPRAYBERRY HIGH SCHOOL

TROY JESSOP

WARRIOR INVITATIONAL MARCHING FESTIVAL

GORDON CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

NEAL CRAWFORD

YELLOW JACKET CLASSIC

ROCKMART HIGH SCHOOL

ANDY COX

18

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER 26, 2019 3RD ANNUAL

BERKMAR MARCHING INVITATIONAL

BERKMAR HIGH SCHOOL PATRIOT STADIUM

ARTHUR WRIGHT, III

EAST GEORGIA MARCHING CHAMPIONSHIPS

STATESBORO HIGH SCHOOL

DEBORAH CHAMPION

HEART OF GEORGIA MARCHING BAND INVITATIONAL

WARNER ROBINS HIGH SCHOOL

TODD HOWELL

LAFAYETTE MARCHING CLASSIC

FAYETTE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

LINDA JONES

NORTH GEORGIA MARCHING BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

SOUTH FORSYTH HIGH SCHOOL

STEPHEN HENDRICKS

PEACH STATE MARCHING FESTIVAL AND COMPETITION

BARRON STADIUM (ROME GA)

CHAD HANNAH

THE HURRICANE CLASSIC

MORNORE AREA HIGH SCHOOL

GERALD DAILEY

19

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

MARCHING COMPETITIONS AND FESTIVALS NOVEMBER 2, 2019 40TH ANNUAL

OLD SOUTH MARCHING COMPETITION

NEWNAN HIGH SCHOOL

JOSHUA BOYD

DEEP SOUTH CLASSIC MARCHING COMPETITION

JESUP, GEORGIA

DASHAUN MCGEE

NORTHWEST GEORGIA MARCHING BAND CHAMPIONSHIP

CASS HIGH SCHOOL

MEGAN PRUITT AND ERIC WILLOUGHBY

WHITE COLUMNS INVITATIONAL (AT CAPACITY)

MILTON, GEORGIA

CHRISTOPHER SHUMICK

20

NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

A LEADER IS ONE WHO KNOWS THE WAY, GOES THE WAY, AND SHOWS THE WAY.

JOHN C. MAXWELL

LEADERS WANTED

LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM JANUARY 22 + 23, 2020

The symposium is directed towards young teachers (seven years or fewer) and we are asking district chairs to submit a maximum of two candidates for participation. Each division chair will also be asked to submit a maximum of two candidates. Participation will be limited to the first 30 candidates on a first come, first served basis.

The deadline for submission is October 1 with the first 30 received based on time stamp on the email being invited to participate.

21 NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER

MAKE THIS THE BEST YEAR EVER