AVA: President’s Address | September 2021

Sep 17 2021

President’s Address | September 2021

Colleagues:

I enjoyed seeing and catching up with so many of you at our Fall Workshop September 10. Thank you to University of Montevallo and Dr. Melinda Doyle, Director of Choral Activities for being such welcoming hosts. Thank you to all presenters and facilitators who made our day one of learning, refueling, and collaborating. At the general membership meeting, we voted on clearer AVA Handbook wording (no policies were changed) that states that participation in All State Show Choir meets the All State requirement for OCS eligibility. We also voted on wording that clarifies that District Chairs ask adjudicators to confer in the situation of abnormal ratings splits at SCPA. Please visit the website to read the adopted Handbook revisions as well as the minutes of the meeting. While you are visiting the website, be sure to check out the newly typeset AVA Handbook. Thank you to Margaret Heron for tacking this huge task. We hope this document will be more user friendly moving forward.

All-State Auditions are October 31-November 9. We are planning to hold these auditions in person in several sites throughout the state. However, contingency plans are in the works should we need to move auditions to a virtual format.

All-State Show Choir Auditions will be recorded and submitted via Google Classroom. Teachers will receive the appropriate Google Classroom code once the audition submission window opens. Students will upload videos of both their singing and dance auditions. Step-by-step instructions will be provided shortly after registration closes. Thank you to Cam Weiler for serving as All-State Show Choir Coordinator.

Honor Choir Screenings will also be recorded and submitted via Google Classroom. This year’s Honor Choir will be an a cappella jazz choir. Thank you to Hilen Wilson for serving as Honor Choir Coordinator.

The 2022 AMEA Conference will be January 20-22 at Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. Along with performances by exemplary choral ensembles from around our state and highly acclaimed presenters, we will also have All State Show Choir and Honor Choir at this conference. The AMEA conference promises to be an event you will not want to miss.

All State Festival will be March 10-12 at Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.

State Choral Performance Assessment and Solo and Ensemble Assessment are scheduled in person in each district in the spring.

Warm Regards,

Randall

AVA COVID-19 Recommendations

Jun 11 2021

Alabama Music Education COVID-19
Continuing Music Education Considerations
Updated: June 11, 2021

The Alabama Music Educators Association and our component divisions advocate for every child in Alabama to have unencumbered access to a full music education K-12.

Each school and system presents different circumstances, challenges, and opportunities. Any decision about providing music education in your school and/or system should include the local music educator(s) and administrator(s) with consultation of guidance from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Continued Music Education Guidance

The following links are shared for discussion purposes between decision makers (local music educator, administrator, etc).

COVID-19 Research Related to Music Education
International Coalition by Performing Arts Organizations COVID Study

NAfME & other National Guidance Documents for Continuing Music Education

  • NAfME COVID-19 Resource Page
    This page provides information on instrument sanitation, advocacy, COVID-19 related research, and professional development for music educators.

AVA: Executive Board Positions Open

May 8 2021

AVA Executive Board Positions Open
Many thanks to Meg Jones (Executive Secretary) and Jim Schaeffer (Webmaster) for stepping in to fill these interim positions this spring. The Executive Secretary and Webmaster job descriptions and applications are linked below. We intend to fill these positions in advance of our summer board meeting.

Executive Secretary Job Application 2021
Webmaster Job Application 2021

AVA: Updates

Feb 5 2021

Colleagues,

It was great to see and visit with many of you virtually at the AMEA Winter Conference in January. Congratulations to choruses from Hewitt-Trussville Middle School, directed by Ben Cook, and Spain Park High School, directed by Jim Schaeffer for presenting inspiring performances during the conference.
Your AVA Board has approved modifications to our events for spring semester. I appreciate all the work the board has done to make sure students and teachers across the state have the best possible choral experiences in these uncertain times. I also appreciate the emails, messages, and calls from several AVA members offering help, locating venues, and finding creative ways to move forward. I am truly humbled to serve a community of such caring professionals.

All-State
We looked at several venues and dates, and determined that the best option is April 26 and 27 at Von Braun Center in Huntsville. I know this is the same week, but not the same dates as All-State Show Choir, and I apologize for scheduling these events so close together. Our clinicians are Dr. Brady Allred, High School SATB; Dr. Jami Rhodes, High School SSAA; Victor Johnson, Middle School Mixed; and Dr. P. Phillip Shoultz, III, Middle School Treble.
Rehearsal time will be limited with this schedule, but hopefully, even those who are traveling the longest distances will be able to travel without incurring the expense of a hotel. For this year only, there will be no penalty to students who were selected for All-State but do not register. The concert will be live-streamed and we may need to limit the number of people in the audience because of physical distancing requirements. When we get guidelines from the venue, we will send an update to directors.

Students who were selected for TTBB chorus and who want to perform with the SATB chorus will need to submit recordings through Google Classroom. Directors will need to include these students in their SATB registrations. Refund of registration fees will be issued to the school for any TTBB student who registers but does not pass the proficiency. Meg Jones will set up the screening and will send the invitations.
The deadline to register students for All-State was January 27. If you have registered, but have not received conformation/invoice, please reach out to our Webmaster, Jim Schaeffer. Payment is due by March 15 for the exact number of students registered.
There will be a virtual general membership meeting during All-State week.

All-State Show Choir
This event will be April 28-30 at Enterprise High School. The final concert will be live-streamed at 8 PM April 30. Thanks to Cameron Weiler for serving as the All-State Show Choir Coordinator. Our clinicians are Mark Myers and Shane Coe.

OCS/OA/ME
OCS auditions and interviews are usually held the day before All-State and are adjudicated by District Chairs. This year, student resumes and recorded performances are due by March 3. Students will submit these items through Google Classroom. A schedule for virtual interviews will be sent to the students and their directors.

OA auditions and interviews are also usually held the day before All-State and are adjudicated by members of the Executive Board. This year, student resumes and recorded performances are due by March 3. Students will submit these items through Google Classroom. A schedule for virtual interviews will be sent to the students and their directors.

ME interviews are usually held the evening before AMEA conference in January. This year, these interviews will be later in the year. Student resumes are due by March 3. Students will submit these items through Google Classroom. A schedule for virtual interviews will be sent to the students and their directors.

SCPA
SCPA will be virtual this year. Directors may record two selections and submit them through Google Classroom. There will be no sight-reading component this year. Because many schools have restrictions on who may enter their facilities while students are present, recorded accompaniments may be used this year only. Once directors complete registration—with payment, they will be invited to submit their recordings through Google Classroom.

Important dates to know for SCPA 2021:
February 1 Online registration opens
March 4 Deadline for registration with payment
April 15 Deadline for directors to submit recordings for adjudication Solo and Ensemble.

Solo and Ensemble will also be virtual this year. The submission process for this event will be similar to All-State auditions. Recorded accompaniments may be used this year only. Directors will complete registrations for each soloist or ensemble. Once registration (including payment) is complete, students will be invited to submit their recordings through Google Classroom.

To help simplify the calendar, due dates for Solo and Ensemble follow those of SCPA:

February 1 Online registration opens
March 4 Deadline for registration with payment April 15 Deadline to submit recordings

AVA Executive Board Positions Open
Carl Davis has resigned from his position as Executive Secretary. We will certainly miss Carl, but his responsibilities in his new career in the medical field are demanding his time and energies. He has assured us that he will help with the transition of his replacement. Because the responsibilities of this position are so vital to the operation of our organization, and because Meg Jones is already familiar with most of those responsibilities, I have asked her to serve as interim Executive Secretary. Of course, that will leave our Vice President position vacant. I am working on filling that position now. We will post the Executive Secretary and the Webmaster jobs this spring; we need those positions officially filled well in advance of our summer board meeting so both people can attend the meeting.

As always, your board and I welcome your feedback. Please reach out to your district chair or me whenever we can help you meet the needs of your students.

Warm regards,

Randall

AVA: Updates

Nov 10 2020

Colleagues:

It was good to see many of you at our virtual Fall Workshop in September. Thank you to Meg Jones, Hilen Wilson, Cameron Weiler, Chris Brown, and all who presented sessions. A special thanks to Jim Schaeffer, our interim webmaster for facilitating the online format for the workshop. At the general membership meeting, we voted on the wording in the AVA Handbook, which we feel clarifies the fact that directors are the experts who should decide the best voice parts for their students regardless of the students’ genders; there were no policy changes. Please visit the website to read the adopted Handbook revisions as well as the minutes of the meeting. Recordings of the sessions will be available on the website through October 11. We expect the newly revised AVA Handbook to be available online soon.

All-State Auditions are November 2-10. We will invite each registered student to join a Google Classroom through which we can communicate instructions with the student and accept recordings of their auditions. We will also send information to teachers through email. Please refer to the website for the official All-State repertoire lists, as there has been some confusion about All-State repertoire. Check your email on October 3 for a preliminary announcement as to how we plan to proceed with auditions based on the numbers of students who registered to audition.

The 2021 AMEA Conference will be January 21-23. The conference will be virtual, and to minimize time away from students, will be Thursday and Friday evenings and all day Saturday. This conference promises to be an event you will not want to miss. We will have live-streamed or recorded concerts of exemplary ensembles from our state as well as the live-streamed performance of our All-State Show Choir. Because this conference will be virtual, we have the unique opportunity to offer timely sessions by presenters from not only our state but from around the nation as well. I look forward to seeing you virtually at the conference.

All other spring semester activities are on track to happen as normal. However, your board is evaluating each event, listening to your concerns and recommendations, and considering the safety of our students. We will announce plans for all spring activities by mid-January. As always, please feel free to reach out to your district chair or me whenever you have a concern or idea that will benefit our students.

Warm Regards,

Randall Fields

AVA President

AVA: President’s Address | Fall 2020

Aug 27 2020

President’s Address | Fall 2020

Who would have thought five months ago that the opening of the 2020-2021 academic year would be met with so many uncertainties? I suspect that for most chorus teachers in a “normal” year, the anticipation of our first days of school are filled with excitement over reconnecting with students and colleagues, picking literature for our ensembles, and coming up with engaging lessons. However, I have to admit that this year, my excitement is tinged with fear. What does the opening of school look like? How will I connect with my students? How will I prepare them for the next level? What is going to happen to my program? In fact, we are all entering unknown territory together and being challenged to make connections, teach, and assess learning in ways we never imagined. I hope your Vocal Association will be a valuable resource for you as we all navigate the unknown together.

To meet the changing needs of our organization we have formed a Task Force for Virtual Learning, chaired by Dr. Chris Brown from Foley High School. This task force has already spent many hours curating resources for virtual learning that you might find useful moving forward. These resources include engaging lesson plans, instructional videos, and links to resources featuring best practices for virtual instruction. Chris also created a guide for chorus to return to face to face instruction based on the most current research available.

In the recent board meeting, we identified Essential Standards based on the Alabama Course of Study that are critical to address the minimum skills needed for students to progress. Your board hopes that these will be helpful as you plan lessons for the school year.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to renew your NAfME membership so you and your students are eligible to take full advantage of AVA offerings.

Please check the AVA website for the most up to date calendar information.

Your AVA board has met virtually and face-to-face this summer to plan for the upcoming year, and to revise the AVA Handbook. We will be presenting those plans and revisions at our virtual general membership meeting as part of the Fall Workshop on the afternoon of September 10. Some highlights of our summer board meeting are as follows:

  • Fall Workshop will be September 10. This year’s workshop will be virtual and will be offered to AVA members free of charge. We are planning All State reading sessions, information for new teachers, training for the All State audition process, virtual lesson ideas, and the general membership meeting. Please plan to attend the virtual general membership meeting at 4:00 PM to vote on handbook revisions. Please look for future communications regarding registration for Fall Workshop.
  • All fall AVA activities will be virtual. This includes All State auditions; district level Outstanding Accompanist, Outstanding Choral Student, and Pat Blackwell Music Education auditions and interviews.
  • For now, we are remaining optimistic that spring semester will look more normal. However, your board has worked on contingency plans for the spring events. Please look for a questionnaire from AVA to help us plan for best ways to serve you and your students.
  • We have reinstated the Advocacy Committee. Dr. Khristina Motley from Hillcrest High School will serve as chair. One of the goals of this committee is to connect with educators who may not be fully engaged with the opportunities AVA provides. If you know of personnel changes in schools in your area, will you please help your district chair by sharing contact information. We want to include every chorus teacher who wants to be a part of the organization.

As we move forward, I hope that your vocal association remains as relevant as ever, providing resources for our teachers and educational opportunities of the highest caliber for our students.

Wishing you the best as you begin your school year,

Randall

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