TODA News Volume 19, Number 1 Official Publication of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association
Letter from the President . . . It was good to see so many of you at the Convention this summer. What an amazing time of learning, sharing, and just hanging out with our colleagues. It is always encouraging to see so many new teachers in our profession. If you are starting your first years of teaching, rest assured that we are here for you, and you are fortunate to be in a profession where there are so many willing and insightful mentors to help you along your journey. Hang in there – the first few years will pass soon enough. Hats off to Lisa McCutchan for an outstanding Convention. Lisa never ceases to amaze me with the quality and class she brings to our profession. Her countless hours of sacrifice and dedication brought to us one of the best Conventions yet. Congrats, Lisa, on a job well done. You have raised the standard and now we will strive to match it. Of course, the Convention could not have come to life without all of the exhibitors, sponsors, clinicians, and members. We realize that without the support of our exhibitors, there would not be a Convention for us to attend each summer. Thank you for your continuous support and efforts to be a part of TODA. We know that with current economic times it was a sacrifice for many of you to attend this year. To Alfred Publishing, Williamson Music, Hillje Music, Westbank String Shop, Terra Nova Violins, and Southern Music Company we extend a very special thank you for going above and beyond with your generous contributions for our annual social events. We look forward to these each year, and your support ensures that we can continue to provide them for our members. We also offer our sincere gratitude to the following for sponsoring our clinicians and services for the 2009 convention: Antonio Strad, Romeo Music, American Classic Tours, Hal Leonard, Tempo Press, Foundation for the Advancement of String Education, FJH Music, Eastman Strings, Dallas Strings, Rhythm Bee, C Allen Publications, Kjos Music, Mu Omicron, Director’s Choice, TMEA, SmartMusic, TexASTA, and TMAA. We appreciate the extra efforts you made to provide us with the most outstanding clinicians around. We are certain these clinics gave our membership insights and ideas to take with them and implement in their classrooms. Kudos to Teresa Nguyen, Brian Coatney, Mary Havenstrite, and Julianne Booth for doing an outstanding job leading our reading sessions and to all the publishers that submitted music for this very important part of TODA. Special thanks goes to Howard Williams, Jan Garverick, Mike Grinnell and all others that assisted in sorting the reading session music for our door prize giveaway. This is a great service
Bryan Buffaloe
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October 2009
Take Note! October 24-25, 2009 . . . TMEA HS Honor String Orchestra Contest First & Second Round Austin October 31, 2009 . . . Protected Date for All State Recording/Audition Date November 7-8, 2009 . . . First/Second Rounds All State Area Judging Dobie HS, Pasadena November 14, 2009 . . . New TMEA Scholarship Application Deadline December 16-19, 2009 . . . Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic Chicago February 10-13, 2010 . . . TMEA Clinic/Convention San Antonio July 28-31, 2010 . . . TODA Convention/Reading Clinic San Antonio
TODA News, the Official Publication of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association, is published three times per year. For advertising rate information contact Dan L Wood, Executive Director, 7900 Centre Park Drive, Suite A, Austin TX 78754, 512/474-2801. TODA Board of Directors President, Bryan Buffaloe VP/Treasurer, Craig Needham Secretary, Margaret Brown Member At Large, David DeVoto Past President, Lisa McCutchan Executive Director, Dan L Wood 1
Money Matters Craig Needham Vice President During In Service this year, one of our Assistant Principals reminded us that Monday was just around the corner. However, he was not referring to Monday, the first day of school. He was referring to Monday, June 7, 2010 . . . Graduation Day! Maybe this was a little wishful thinking on his part, but it is amazing how quickly the end of the year is upon us. Summer is great, and I hope you had a chance to relax and get away, but it is always good to get back into the daily rhythms of teaching. Tell Texas Orchestra Directors TODA Member Mailing Labels Available Contact: Dan L Wood 7900 Centre Park Dr Suite A Austin TX 78754 512/474-2801 toda@ensemble.org
Letter from the President . continued from page 1
to TODA and we are grateful that you all give up so much of your Convention time to make sure this task is done each year. Also, thank you to Gene Dowdy and the UTSA string majors for giving of their time to help with preparing the preregistration packets, Mark Varian for running the projectors in the reading sessions, James Miculka and Northside ISD for allowing us to use percussion and stands for the reading sessions and clinics. To Danielle Prontka for serving as “Margarita Mama”, the Medina Mud Band for the great entertainment at the BBQ, and the numerous sponsors for our annual Silent Auction, we extend our sincere gratitude for your service and support. 2
The biggest complaint we received this year about the Convention was that there were too many good clinics! Congratulations to Lisa McCutchan for her outstanding planning and leadership in putting together a spectacular Convention. Brava, Lisa! Although the TODA Board spends months planning the Convention, it is the volunteers and membership who really make our Convention the best in the nation. Special thanks to all the volunteers who helped work the registration booth and to the music students of UT San Antonio, and Dr Gene Dowdy, for helping to organize and prepare hundreds of preregistration packets. We appreciate all who helped behind the scenes and know that our Convention would not succeed without you. We had another strong year of attendance at this year’s Convention with nearly 450 attendees, including directors from several states and countries. What a blessing to get to share what we do in Texas with people from all over. Simply put, people from outside Texas are amazed at this Convention Most important, I want to thank my fellow Board members Lisa McCutchan, Craig Needham, Margaret Brown, and George Tate for all their hard work to make this year’s Convention a success. George, we thank you for your five years of service to TODA, and we hope you leave the Board knowing you made a valuable contribution to our profession. Enjoy having your time back. To David Devoto, you will bring so much to this Board and it will be an honor to work with you. As I take over as President of this amazing organization, I am comforted in knowing that I have a great Board to work with. Best wishes to all for this school year, and we will see each of you at TMEA. •
and will tell you an event like this does not exist anywhere else. We would like to welcome our new members and first time attendees and encourage you to find an experienced mentor to help provide resources in your growth as a music educator. As we prepare for the 2010 Convention, we are always open to new ideas for clinics and workshops. If you have any suggestions for future Conventions, please notify a Board member and we will do our best to incorporate the ideas into our planning. If you were unable to attend this year, please be sure and mail in your membership form so we can keep you informed of the events happening in your organization. Have a great fall semester. Do the little things like they are big ones, smile and laugh as much as you can, remember to rest and take time for yourself, and be passionate about music and children. We will see you at TMEA, and remember, Monday is just around the corner! •
Future TODA Convention Dates . . . 2010 July 28 - 31 2011 July 27 - 30 2012 July 25 - 28 2013 July 31 - Aug 3 2014 July 30 - Aug 2 2015 July 29 - Aug 1 2016 July 27 - 30 2017 July 26 - 29 2018 July 25 - 28
Members Matter Margaret Brown Secretary
David DeVoto — TODA’s New Member-At-Large Please welcome our newest TODA Member-At-Large, David DeVoto. David DeVoto is a director of orchestras at Allen HS. He earned a BME from the University of North Texas in 1994. While at UNT he was a member of the UNT Symphony Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and String Orchestra, and was a student of Anshel Brusilow, James Kjelland, and Jeff Bradetich. Starting in 1998, Mr DeVoto served as director of the Lake Highlands JH Orchestras in Richardson ISD. In 2002 he became the director of the Allen HS Orchestra. The AHS Orchestra placed in the final round of the TMEA Honor Full Orchestra competition the following school year. In 2006 the Allen HS Orchestra was invited to perform at the 60th annual Midwest
Clinic in Chicago IL, and again placed in the final round of the TMEA Honor Full Orchestra competition. In addition to orchestra, David teaches music theory, music history, and composition for the International Baccalaureate program at Allen HS which he helped to create in 2006. He David DeVoto has also taught at Plano Summer Festival, University of Texas at Arlington, Sam Houston State University, Texas Tech University, and Hummingbird (New Mexico) music camps. He has served as orchestra division chair for UIL Region 3 and Region Vice-President for UIL Region 25. Mr DeVoto holds memberships in TMEA, TMAA, and TODA, where he served as clinician for the 2007 Convention. In September 2000 he was a recipient of the Minyard’s “First Class Teacher” award. Mr DeVoto is listed in three issues of Who’s Who
Among America’s Teachers. He was the recipient of the 2003-2004 Standing Ovation Award given each year by the Allen Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra to the person who has made a significant contribution to the arts in Allen. We look forward to David’s leadership and talents working towards the goals of TODA. •
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Issues & Answers Lisa McCutchan Greetings from the TODA Past President —
Past President
Several issues were brought to the TODA Board’s attention this year that I thought worth discussing in this article. The entire Board really does read through all of the end-ofconvention surveys each year. We want each of you to attend and invite new teachers to Texas to attend, also. We value your opinions!
the scheduling of clinics that directly competed with one another. The dilemma is that when you have a Convention with dynamic clinicians such as Elliott Del Borgo, Kirt Mosier, Gary Lewis, Ruth Kurtis, Bingie Shui, Amy Williams, Phyllis Malone, Charlotte Moellering, and Sandra Dackow, there definitely will be choices to be made. In scheduling, I tried to visualize what audience would be drawn to the different clinics. For instance, a middle school director might not be as interested in a conducting clinic directed toward high school, but might want to know how to set up students to play “big people” literature that was addressed in Amy Williams’ clinic. Then there is the issue of the clinicians’ time preference requests. Some clinicians are more comfortable in the early hours, while some enjoy sharing their wealth of knowledge after 3 pm. Some can only be in town for one particular day. Then of course, there is always the morning after the BBQ, when few clinicians want the 8 am time slot! Perhaps we should serve Bloody Marys for those attending!?
One of the comments that I read over and over this year concerned
Another issue that we read about in our surveys concerns the food/bev-
I would like to tell each and every one of you how much I thoroughly enjoyed preparing this year’s 48th Annual Convention. I have learned so much over the course of four years! In my pre-board years, I had always taken the Convention for granted. It was a way for me to tool up for the upcoming school year. It was also a way for me to visit with all of you and catch up on our lives outside of the orchestra world. I never realized, before being on the presidential side of the Convention, how much time and effort it takes to create and schedule a great Convention!
erage served at the social events. We do everything we can to make the social events enjoyable, filled with good food and drink. Finally, the issue of the Saturday reading clinic when the exhibitors are no longer there. My thoughts were that if there was not a reading clinic on Saturday, everyone would be gone. We will definitely re-visit this at our fall planning meeting. The TODA Board works diligently to put on a fantastic Convention each year! Have an idea? Send your thoughts about what you would like to see at the 2010 Convention to Bryan Buffaloe, the new TODA President, now, before his convention scheduling is under way. I also want to thank all of you for your input and help during my presidency. The TODA Board wants and needs you to consider serving on the Board. I have enjoyed being on this Board and am looking forward to working on the composition contest this spring as your Past President. Thanks for all of your support during my time on the TODA Board. It has been a fantastic experience for me. •