Greetings, and welcome back to a new school year! As I begin my time as President of the Higher Education Division, I would first like to take this opportunity to recognize the contributions of Dr. Jim Zingara. Under his leadership, faculty members from across the state have been engaged in forward-thinking dialogue toward the advancement of music education through AMEA. Alongside President-Elect Mildred Lanier (Jefferson State Community College) and Secretary-Treasurer Katrina Phillips (Alabama State University), I hope to continue strengthening the HED membership through communities of scholarship, productive and engaging conference sessions, and in collaboration with the Collegiate Division.
Each year, the AMEA In-Service Conference offers a poster session for students and faculty who are engaging in innovative and rigorous studies toward the advancement of music education locally, nationally, and globally. The deadline for submitting a poster is Monday, November 7, 2016 by 11:59 p.m. CST. More information can be found here:
http://www.alabamamea.org/ conference/ 2017-AMEA-Research-Call.pdf. This session gives faculty members an opportunity to meet with colleagues from across the state that may have similar research interests.

This January at the AMEA In-Service Conference, the HED will feature a panel session titled I’ll Follow You: The role of the accompanist in collaborative playing. This interactive session will focus on the collaboration between applied faculty, student, and accompanist in performance preparation. Topics for discussion may include selection of music, rehearsal techniques, communication, and other aspects of accompanying that may maximize successful performances. Immediately following this session, the Higher Education Division Recital will feature the panelists, who will perform the music discussed in the session.

As the coming years bring change to the teacher certification process in the state of Alabama, it is important for teacher education programs to prepare for the challenges of EdTPA. By working with the Collegiate Division to face this challenge, students and faculty can support each other in their analogous roles.

I hope that the coming school year brings much success, as our university programs prepare students for their future music classrooms. Please contact me with any questions or comments (ahalliday@montevallo.edu). I look forward to working with you!