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vmeanotes The Official Journal of the Virginia Music Educators Association
www.vmea.com
Fall 2021
In This Issue:
2021 Election Candidates 2021 VBODA Sidney Berg Scholarship Winner
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Volume 78, Number 1
Fall 2021
Editorial Board Chair: Annamarie Bollino, President, VMEA
Alice Hammel, President-Elect, VMEA John Brewington, Vice President, VMEA
Publication Staff
Merry Beth Hall, Editor Art Pittman, Photographer
Publishing Address
VMEA Notes 2106 E. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23223
Advertising Contact Merry Beth Hall
2106 E. Broad St. Richmond, VA 23223
©2021 by VMEA Opinions expressed herein are those of the
individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of VMEA.
Virginia Music Educators Association, Inc.
Steve Turner, Treasurer 114 Powhatan Dr., Williamsburg, VA 23188
vmeanotes CONTENTS President’s Message (Annamarie Bollino) 4 State Executive (Allen Hall) 6 Government Relations (Steve King) 7 VBODA (David Webb) 9 VBODA Orchestra (Carrie Finnegan) 11 VCDA (Dana VanSlyke) 12 VEMEA (Kimberly Upshaw) 14 Collegiate (Jennifer McDonel) 16 VAMEA (Katrina D. Chaney) 17 VAMHE (Sandy Goldie) 19 Guitar Council (Kevin Vigil) 21 Membership (Lisette Satterwhite) 22 Music in Our Schools Month (Marie Weber) 23 2021 VBODA Sidney Berg Scholarship Winner 23 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Ashley Cuthbertson) 24 2021 Election Candidates 25 The Virginia Music Educators Association, Inc. (VMEA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support to its membership and to promote the advancement of music education through schools and other educational institutions. VMEA is an affiliated state chapter of the Na-tional Association for Music Education (NAfME). Member-ship in VMEA is open to any individual engaged in or asso-ciated with the teaching of music, in schools or privately. Active membership dues for VMEA and NAfME are $130 per year and include subscriptions to Music Educators Journal and Teaching Music. All member address changes should be processed by contacting NAfME. Publication and Advertising Deadlines for VMEA Notes: Fall: Sept. 10 Winter: Jan. 7 Spring: Apr. 8
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VMEA Executive Board
VMEA Officers President: Annamarie Bollino [email protected] President-Elect: Alice Hammel [email protected] Vice President: John Brewington [email protected] Secretary: Jenny Ryan [email protected] Treasurer: Steve Turner [email protected]
Section Presidents/Representatives VCDA: Dana VanSlyke VBODA: David Webb VBODA Orchestra: Carrie Finnegan VEMEA: Kimberly Upshaw VAMEA: Katrina Chaney VAMHE: Sandy Goldie Collegiate: Bailey Kinsella
District Chairs District 1: Ryan Addair District 2: Ashley Landon District 3: Storm Burks District 4: Donny Allen District 5: Jon Wilson District 6: Michael Hand District 7: Casey Page District 8: Jackie Stetina District 9: David Mann District 10: Steve Jacoby District 11: Dustin Brandt District 12: Bill Podolski District 13: Sarah Harkrader District 14: Ben Lombardo District 15: Gene Welch District 16: Jordan Markwood
Ex Officio State Executive: Allen Hall Notes Editor: Merry Beth Hall CCVMEA Advisor: Jennifer McDonel DOE Music Specialist: Kelly Bisogno VMEA Attorney: Bret Zwerdling VHSL Executive Dir.: Kenneth G. Tilley Contact information for the above individuals is available at http://www.vmea.com/index.php/general/leadership.
Advertiser Index
Christopher Newport University 18 George Mason University 17 Ithaca College 11 James Madison University 15 Longwood University 13 Old Dominion University 10 Radford University 6 Shenandoah University 8 Virginia Commonwealth University 17 Yamaha 5 NAfME—The National Association for Music Education 1806 Robert Fulton Drive Reston, VA 20191 www.nafme.org
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Welcome to a bright new school year! This year has all the hope and newness of a freshly sharpened #2 pencil. Although it isn’t exactly as we envisioned it, the new school year has brought some positives and those need to be celebrated. There is music playing and singers singing from our rehearsal halls again and our classrooms are filled with students ready to make music together! Rehearsals are happen-ing. Performances are scheduled. Music is alive and well in Virginia! While these instances are filling our hearts with joy and our ears with music, there are still many obsta-cles to overcome. Many schools across the state are experiencing lower music student enrollment numbers. Students may be strug-gling to find the resilience or pas-sion they had pre-pandemic. Admin-istrators are focused on “learning loss” and other concerns related to tested subjects that sometimes appear to diminish the value of mu-sic education. This means that we must be dili-gent in our advocacy efforts. Two projects are discussed in this article highlighting VMEA’s commitment to advocacy efforts for music educa-tion. It is our intent that this work will assist local school divisions and communities in (re)building strong-er music programs. The first project is the Arts Educa-tion Data Project. Virginia will be joining over 20 states in this pro-ject, which is rooted in reporting
state department of education arts education data. VMEA is part of the Virginia Coalition for Fine Arts Edu-cation, which has partnered with the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Virginia Department of Edu-cation to fund and build an arts ed-ucation data dashboard with Quad-rant Arts Research. This public dashboard will be available to high-light the overall status of arts edu-cation in Virginia schools through the use of student enrollment data by school. The data will allow us to 1) celebrate where music education is thriving and 2) identify areas for growth, with the ultimate goal of increasing student access to and participation in music education in Virginia. A session at Conference in November will dive into greater de-tail about the project. The second project will be funded through an advocacy grant from the Country Music Association Founda-tion (CMAF), which has partnered with NAfME to support the work of state MEAs in augmenting existing advocacy initiatives and creating new advocacy opportunities. VMEA has been awarded a 2021 State Music Education Association Advo-cacy Grant that will allow us to ele-vate the connection between our organization, VMEA members, and state legislators. VMEA intends to use the funding to connect with state and federal policymakers in new and creative ways. By cultivat-ing strong relationships with legisla-tors, we hope to enact our legisla-tive agenda, generating more sup-port and stronger policies for music education in the Commonwealth. This includes boosting our associ-ate membership and building quar-terly advocacy training for this group of booster organizations, par-ents, and community music educa-tion advocates. VMEA will also in-vite state legislators and special guests to participate in our All-
Virginia event in April 2022 by host-ing a breakfast for honored guests prior to the performances on Satur-day. This work will primarily be ac-complished through our Advocacy and Government Relations Commit-tee. If advocacy is your passion, contact Dr. Steve King to join the committee! Advocacy occurs at all levels—national, state, and local. VMEA leadership is committed to continu-ing advocacy work at the state level and supporting local divisions and teachers with professional develop-ment, talking points, and materials. By developing relationships with Virginia policymakers, we intend to continue guiding the development of policy, which can have a great impact on values and attitudes to-wards music education. We should also be encouraging supporters of music education who are not music educators to do so. This is why our Associate Membership is so im-portant. By providing a mechanism for music education advocates to connect, understand the legislative process, and recognize the best way to advocate, we create a larger community of voices. Think about how many voices (over 10,000) were heard on our petition last spring. Our advocacy and policy work is meant to support the everyday work that music educators do in their classrooms. I cannot overstate the importance of music educators building strong, supportive relation-ships with local/state/federal poli-cymakers, school board members, local government officials, superin-tendents, and principals. Advocacy can be as local as your school per-formance, performing at school and community events, and informanc-es to highlight student musical de-velopment. YOU are the most im-portant advocate for your program.
VMEA President’s Report Annamarie Bollino
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Everyone loves volunteers! To those who have volunteered to serve VMEA in so many capacities, thank you. We appreciate you! If you’ve never grown through ser-vice in an organization like VMEA, we could use your passion. There are so many roles where you can give back to your profession! Volun-teers are needed to represent their districts on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee – if inter-
ested, please email Ashley Cuth-bertson. Leaders recognize outstanding achievement through awards. Please take the time to nominate an outstanding teacher or adminis-trator in your area for an award. The deadline is October 15. Contact Alice Hammel with questions. Share resources with colleagues. NAfME has some strong material like their Return to Music project. Check these out and share things that you think will help your friends. This is a titleless leadership posi-tion, but no less important. Mentor, be mentored, or get out of the way. Please get involved with our mentorship program. Contact Claire Leeper if interested.
Encourage students to participate in our composition festival. Details are on the website. Contact Brian Coffill if interested. So many of our talented students have abilities that they don’t even comprehend yet. Encourage them to compose and submit so they can be show-cased at our fall Conference. Great leaders complete. Please be sure to keep up with your paper-work in these crazy times. And if you can help a newer member, please be generous. One of the most difficult things about being a new teacher is navigating the laby-rinth of required paperwork for the success of your programs. That is all. Continue to be amazing, and take care of yourself and each other.
State Executive’s Report Allen Hall
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Welcome back to a new year. From the classroom teacher to adminis-trators to school boards to parents, we continue to struggle with in-structional and life-changing deci-sions related to the pandemic and the additional wave of virus vari-ants. It will take only a few who fail to recognize that their actions will cause a shutdown of an individual class, school, or school division. I truly hope there will be few situa-tions where this takes place and some semblance of normal can take place as soon as possible.
Please take note of the VMEA Re-vised Music Guidance for the 21-22 School Year information concerning how you may effectively deal with music instruction in-person. Please share with your administrators. The information is based on The Inter-national Coalition of Performing Arts Aerosol Study.
Clearly, advocacy has become an increasingly important aspect of VMEA’s work given the serious con-ditions we face in maintaining mu-sic education as a vital component of our students’ overall education. This is a long-term issue and each year will present a slightly different set of issues. This year we expect that enrollments will present con-cerns for divisions and may impact personnel. Advocacy in schools and communities will be critical in ad-dressing the need to provide for the needs of our students. You may find the need to modify your expec-tations for your program until it can be built back to the level of previ-
ous years. Another opportunity for advocacy!
The committee hopes to develop materials that will assist VMEA members in presenting the case for continued offering of music classes at all levels. We have become in-creasingly aware of the social-emotional learning (SEL) of our stu-dents, particularly due to the Covid-19 situation. It is most important to stress to those making the deci-sions that no subject has a greater impact on SEL than music. We ex-pect another busy year!
We expect to maintain VMEA’s ef-forts to collaborate with our visual arts colleagues and the other pro-fessional arts education associa-tions, building on our efforts from last year. We are stronger when we all stand together.
Once again, Vice President John Brewington and I will represent VMEA at the monthly NAfME Advo-cacy Leadership Force (ALF) meet-ings directed by new NAfME State Advocacy Engagement Manager, Jazzmone Sutton. We welcome Jazzmone and her unbridled enthu-siasm! It is enlightening to hear how other states are dealing with the current issues we all are facing. We expect that the information shared at the ALF meetings will help guide our advocacy efforts go-ing forward. John and I will follow up the ALF meetings by sharing with the committee each month and at our VMEA board meetings.
As a reminder, to whom are we to advocate – our principals? Yes, but advocacy goes beyond our individu-al administrators and buildings. We must recognize who ultimately makes the local instructional deci-sions. In most cases this is the re-sponsibility of the local school divi-sion school board. They rely on the
advice and evidence presented by the instructional staff: subject area directors/supervisors/coordinators, directors of instruction, assistant superintendents for instruction and superintendent. And do not forget the parents and community. These individuals and groups are the chain for advocacy on the local lev-el. Get to know them. Establish a positive relationship. Be prepared to share relevant information when called upon.
Then there are processes for the Virginia Board of Education, the Virginia Department of Education, and the General Assembly. We will follow the decisions and legislation offered throughout the year. Please be willing to respond to requests for action. Please know that often things happen quickly and requires quick action. Your participation is vital!
I encourage each of you to find ways to keep music in front of your schools and community. Knowing that your principals are under enor-mous pressure, if you are out of sight, you are also out of mind when decision time arrives for class offerings and personnel. Find small ways to remind the principal and your community of the value of mu-sic in your schools and for the stu-dents. Try to use small groups of students to sing or play in the lob-by, front office, cafeteria, etc. This is a small but important and easy approach to advocacy.
As you strive to keep music alive in your schools, look for small ways to advocate for continued inclusion of music in your curriculum. The Advo-cacy and Government Relations committee will attempt to serve as a resource for your efforts. I wish you each the very best as you attempt to bring music back for our students.
Advocacy and Government Relations Dr. Stephen E. King, Chair
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VMEA Conference COVID Protocols Announced In light of the recent spike in COVID cases and changes in safety protocols across our nation and the Common-wealth, VMEA is moving to align its mitigation actions with current practiced norms and recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control. For the 2021 VMEA Conference, all adult participants will be required to submit proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test completed within 72 hours of conference. Spaces will be utilized to maximize physical distancing to the fullest extent. All conference attendees and guests will be required to wear masks indoors during the conference. Performing groups have been notified of practices applicable to them. Visit the VMEA website for more details.
Challenges. That word understates what we all face as we begin the 2021-22 school year. The nearly 17-month period leading up to this school year was like nothing any of us could have imagined. Programs throughout the Commonwealth have seen significant enrollment drops since the 2019-20 school year, and for many the reclamation process could be lengthy. Instru-mental music education in Virginia needs you—your experience, your passion, your expertise, and your commitment. We will all need the resolve to provide our current stu-dents with high quality instruction while simultaneously focusing on recruiting and retention for the fu-ture. This will not be easy, and it may at times be discouraging. I en-courage you to have open dialogue with your administrators and coun-selors—they need to understand what you need to reconstruct your program. Consult and collaborate with colleagues around the state, sharing ideas or just having a con-versation with someone who under-stands what you’re facing. Be open with your students and perhaps especially with parents. You will
need “all hands on deck” to reverse the effects the pandemic had on your programs. In the meantime, the leadership of VBODA is committed to providing meaningful educational opportuni-ties for you and your students. We hope many of those opportunities can be held in-person but must acknowledge the possibility of hold-ing some events virtually. I have asked each District Instrumental Rep and Orchestra Regional Rep to make contingency plans for each event on the calendar to be held virtually. It is not the intent of VBO-DA to dictate to Districts how to hold their events—we simply want everyone to be prepared for any eventuality so that all events on the calendar can be held successfully one way or the other. Last year, we were successful in holding Senior Regional Orchestra Auditions, All-District Band Auditions, All-Virginia Band & Orchestra Auditions, and the All-Virginia Band & Orchestra Event virtually. A few Districts also held virtual All-District Band Events. We have the templates, so even though virtual events may not be everyone’s first choice, we know we can do them well if it comes to that. We are looking forward to VMEA Conference in November being held in-person. In addition to a strong slate of professional development
sessions, we are excited to hear performances from the Albemarle High School Jazz Ensemble (Andrew LaPrade, conductor), Westfield High School Wind Symphony (Alan John-son, conductor), Justice High School Wind Ensemble (Brian Thomas, conductor), Lake Brad-dock Secondary School Chamber Orchestra (Clayton Allen, conduc-tor), Liberty University Wind Sym-phony (Dr. Stephen Kerr, conduc-tor), Fairfax Wind Symphony (Stan Schoonover, conductor), and the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” (Colonel Andrew Esch, conductor). We will also invite several chamber ensembles to pro-vide lobby concerts at various times and places throughout the confer-ence as we have done for the past two VMEA Conferences. That is a very exciting bill of live performanc-es! I am also thrilled that we will be inducting both the 2020 and 2021 classes of the VBODA Hall of Fame during the VBODA General Business Meeting during VMEA Conference. I hope to see all of you in attendance as we honor some of Virginia’s fin-est teachers. In the meantime, hang in there! As always, please do not hesitate to call on me with any questions, con-cerns, or suggestions you may have!
Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association David Webb, President
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As we embark on our third school year during a global pandemic, may we all take a deep breath and re-member how we got here in the first place. Most likely it was our love of music, making music with an ensemble, being with students, watching them make music, and witnessing their love of music. None of that has changed, we may just have to work or look a little harder for some of them. Don’t for-get to lean on each other when you need support so you are physically and mentally capable of providing your students with what they need.
For the second year, many directors will kick off their year with virtual Senior Regional Orchestra audi-tions. We hope to be able to offer in-person and rewarding events inNovember. At the very least, we willbe able to offer All-Virginia eligibilityto these deserving students.
We are excited to offer the VMEA Professional Development Confer-ence in-person again. In addition to some exciting sessions and perfor-mances, students have the oppor-tunity to audition to perform for the lobby concerts. This is a great way to showcase a chamber ensemble from your school. See the VMEA website for more information.
Many organizations have been busy providing learning opportunities throughout the summer. There are many webinars and PowerPoints
that are available in a wide variety of subjects available from organiza-tions such as NAfME and VDOE. In addition to the many professional learning opportunities available, the VDOE has been hard at work to pro-vide new instructional plans that align with the revised 2020 Instru-mental Standards of Learning. Eve-ry teacher in Virginia can access these plans through GoOpenVA.
And finally, if you are feeling isolat-ed or like you are able to lend a helping hand, check out this men-torship opportunity from VMEA. The mentorship program is dedicated to pairing individuals to create profes-sional relationships through Virgin-ia.
Be present. Be active. Let me know if I can help. [email protected]
VBODA Orchestra Representative Carrie Finnegan
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Welcome back to singing. Welcome back to your students and to mak-ing music together.
As I moved into my brand new cho-ral room this August there were many frustrations with our contrac-tors not having completed things. There was a punch list of items that truly made my room unteachable, I thought. It was a frustrating begin-ning and teacher return week al-lowed for little time to plan for teaching and instead was full of unpacking boxes and finding old cords for new technology. Not to mention the return of singing in masks and the uncertainty of new COVID mitigation regulations.
The first day came and the kids ar-rived. They were much fewer in number than two years ago. A cou-ple of my ensembles were at the smallest they have ever been in my 28 years tenure. But I decided to start my year with music and see how it went. Instead of going through my syllabus and my grading policies that first week, or instead of fitting for concert attire, I re-hearsed. Students got folders and music. We warmed up, sightsung,
and started our concert music. I soon learned that the size of my groups did not matter. We were to-gether making music. The kids were excited and they seemed kind. They were and are genuinely happy to be in my room. I didn’t have a spring trip planned. I didn’t need to dangle any carrots to keep them in my choir past the days they were al-lowed to go to their counselors and change their schedule. I didn’t have to bargain with the parents at back to school night to convince them how important music was. Everyone was just happy to be back. That in itself was so refreshing. So despite my construction difficulties, I am SO happy to be with my students. I hope you have found that same joy somewhere along the way in the past few weeks.
I am excited for our fall VMEA con-ference. I hope you all are too! We have missed and mourned for the collegial connections that only con-ference can provide. We also have a whole generation of new teachers that have not experienced our con-ference and need encouragement to join us. Pre-registration is open now until Oct. 31st. Our headliner is Diana Saez from Towson University. Dr. Saez is a leading specialist in the field of Latin American choral music and she will be leading a reading session with that focus. We are also welcoming Dr. Brandon Cash from Mississippi Valley State
University. He will be presenting a session on Lifting the Marginalized Voices. Dr. Robert Shoup, founder of the Norfolk Street Choir, will share with us his session on Voices of Hope: Homelessness and the Human Expression. We will hear from our wonderful Virginia col-leagues Pamela McDermott, Mere-dith Bowen, Jeremy Craft, and Willis Rosenfeld on topics of Rhythm and Conducting, Music of Female Com-posers, Self Care, and Weeding Out Your Libraries for the 21st Century. We also welcome back Dr. John Feierabend to present on Teaching Harmony and Improv through Con-versational Solfege and McKenna Stenson to speak on Transfiguring our Choral Communities Post Pan-demic. I do look forward to seeing you all in person as we gather in Norfolk in November. I look forward to hearing about your students, the beginning of your school year. I want to hear about your victories over and above the masks, and I also want to hear your stories of frustration. That is what conference is for, to share with those who understand be-cause they too are trying to make music in trying times. Please con-tact me anytime if I can be of help or support to you, your students and your choral program.
Virginia Choral Directors Association Dana VanSlyke, President
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Welcome back to another year of being blessed to get to teach music to our elementary aged students! I am so happy to be back in my classroom teaching all of my stu-dents in-person again. I plan to fol-low all of the recommended precau-tions to get us singing, dancing, playing recorders and Orff instru-ments, and having performances again. It is time to restore our mu-sic programs and make them shine again! Please read this guidance put forth by VMEA for teaching mu-sic safely in our classroom this year if you haven’t already.
Our 2021 VMEA Professional Devel-opment Conference is in-person this year on November 18-20 and we are so excited to see everyone in Norfolk. Registration is now open. There will be informative ses-sions, great performances, a forum for new teachers to ask questions of successful teachers who are in different stages of their career, and time to relax and network with teachers from all over Virginia.
We have so many great presenters lined up for you. We really appreci-ate West Music for sponsoring ses-sions from Paul Corbiere on New Ensemble Music and Music Literacy Using Chrome Music Lab; Peripole for sponsoring sessions from Thom-as Pierre on Orff in the Urban Class-room and Orff that incorporates Pop and Soul music; and GIA for sponsoring sessions from John Fei-erabend on Teaching the Art Part of Music through Movement in Lower Elementary and Tuneful Artful Sing-
ing in Parts for Upper Elementary. We also have other wonderful pre-senters who are teachers and col-lege professors around Virginia sharing sessions on Samba Drum-ming and Percussion for General Music, Kodaly in the Early Years Using Games and Songs from Latin America, Retaining the Tech Savvy Generation, and Using Diverse Chil-dren’s Books in the Music Class-room. There will be many other in-teresting sessions offered through-out the conference on Bridging the Gap Between Elementary and Sec-ondary, Racism in the Music Class-room, Searching for Authenticity in Latin American Music, Asian Ameri-can Students in the Music Class-room, and Inclusivity in Elementary School in regards to Gender. We hope you join us to see this awe-some group of presenters.
We were excited to kick off the VMEA Conference this year with our first All-Virginia Orff Ensemble, but due to many reasons, we are made the tough decision to postpone this event until November 2022 so we can make it the grand event that it should be. Right now there is a lot of uncertainty still with Covid-19 and many school systems are not allowing overnight field trips of ele-mentary students. There are also many teachers who will not be starting their Orff Ensembles at their schools until the spring and who haven’t played with their stu-dents since schools first shut down in March 2020. We will allow this time for rebuilding Orff Ensembles so we have strong players ready to perform at the Conference next fall.
There will be three VEMEA grants awarded again this year in amounts of up to $500 each. The grants are designed to encourage educators within a VMEA district to work to-
gether for the betterment of the students of that district. Applica-tions are available on the VEMEA website and must be sent to Jenny Shirley by November 1, 2021. Grants are awarded at the end of the November VMEA Conference. It is very easy to apply! Our VEMEA Regional Professional Development Workshops will be on February 19, 2021 this year and these grants may be used for one of these work-shops. Please let us know if you have a great idea for someone you’d like to see present at this workshop. Music In Our Schools Month is in March. If you would like more information on ways to show-case or advocate for your music program, please take time to visit https://nafme.org/programs/miosm/.
Our annual All- Virginia Elementary Chorus event is scheduled for April 9, 2021 at Longwood University and will be directed by Dr. Pamela McDermott, the Director of Choral Activities at Longwood. We hope to have this event in-person this year. I was so impressed with how the virtual performance turned out last year. Thank you to the AVEC coordi-nator, Jason Kriner, for all of his hard work on that, along with Scott Hayes and also Gary Wright of Vi-sion Quest Productions. If you have any questions about this year’s AVEC, please contact Jason.
If you need any help, have ques-tions or concerns, or have ideas you’d like to share with VEMEA, please do not hesitate to email me or Jenny Shirley. You may also reach out to your district rep. A list of the reps for each district with their email address is available on the VEMEA website. You can also follow on Facebook to stay up to date on VEMEA happenings.
Virginia Elementary Music Educators Association Kimberly Upshaw, President
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Welcome, or welcome back to VMEA! Your CoVMEA board is primed for a great fall that culmi-nates in a great VMEA Conference experience for you. We are ready to move forward in positive ways! To that end, allow me to re-introduce the current board mem-bers and their current initiatives. Our CoVMEA President/Northern Representative is Bailey Kinsella ([email protected]), Secretary Ada Rexrode, Southern Representative Brycen Stratton, and Western Rep-resentative Nichole Wright. These folks are currently working on the following: Contacting all current chapter
presidents to re-connect across the Commonwealth.
Planning a CoVMEA Kickoff Event: an online movie night via Zoom on Wednesday, Septem-ber 15 at 8:30 pm.
Preparing a Collegiate packet of information with dates and deadlines for submitting Board nominations, Chapter of Excel-lence Award nominations, Colle-giate Recital applications, and Chapter iMovies for the VMEA conference.
Creating a new CoVMEA web-site.
Creating new online voting pro-cedures to ensure equity and access for all CoVMEA mem-bers.
To all CoVMEA members, I encour-age you to introduce yourself to oth-ers in your local chapter and be-yond. Go out of your way to befriend new music education students in
your department and make them feel welcome. As we move beyond the pandemic, let’s make the most of personal, human connections—what a joy to be together in person again! This year’s annual VMEA Profes-sional Development Conference will be held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott and Sheraton hotels on November 18–20, 2021—a great place to make new introductions, communicate, and collaborate to-gether! Pre-service teachers can register for the conference for the incredibly low price of just $30. Here is a list of our major Collegiate-sponsored VMEA events where many connections may be made with other collegiate members from across the Commonwealth! Encour-age members of your local chapter to serve as regional or state repre-sentatives! The next CoVMEA elec-tion will be at the business meeting at the VMEA conference. Thurs., Nov. 18, 5:00–6:00 PM Collegiate Business Meeting Bailey Kinsella, VMEA Collegiate President Location: TBD Fri., Nov. 19, 5:00–6:00 PM Collegiate Recital VMEA Collegiate Performers Location: TBD Fri., Nov. 19, 6:30–7:30 PM Collegiate Reception VMEA Collegiate Recognition Pro-gram Location: TBD There will be multiple collegiate pro-fessional development sessions where you may connect with other collegiate members and in-service teachers from across the Common-wealth. You also are invited to at-tend any other interesting VMEA
sessions during the day and attend the exhibits as you are able! Below is a message from your CoVMEA president, Bailey Kinsella: You made it! A year of uncertainty has proven to be quite difficult on all of us, but I am thrilled to be en-tering a new year full of possibilities with all of you. VMEA is just around the corner! It is hard to believe that we are back to a point of normalcy once again. I hope that everyone has had a great start to the aca-demic year – teachers and college students alike. To the seniors this year: you did it! You are so close to crossing that finish line. To all the teachers this year: good luck! Thank you for your guidance and excellence in the last year. The Col-legiate side of VMEA is excited to be sponsoring a plethora of ses-sions at this year's conference. Elections for Collegiate VMEA will occur during the Collegiate Busi-ness Meeting. If there are any colle-giate members interested in run-ning for office, please be on the lookout for an email regarding the process. I look forward to seeing you all in November! To close, I send best wishes for a productive and successful academ-ic year! Feel free to touch base with our Collegiate officers or regional representatives or with me ([email protected]) any time during the school year. Communi-cate and connect with other pre-service music teachers across the Commonwealth through our Colle-giate Facebook Group. We hope to see each of you at the conference this year as we gather with one another in person again to advance music education in Virgin-ia!
Collegiate Section Jennifer McDonel, Advisor
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I hope that the beginning of the school year has brought you joy and excitement as students en-tered your buildings. Many things have changed from 2019, but one thing has remained the same: the joy of music-making! Students hear-ing live music, making music with others, and finding the thrill of play-ing or singing with colleagues! The music becomes alive again in our schools. Throughout the pandemic, we learned to use technology more and provide students with other ways to learn and make music. This year, we need to incorporate some of the lessons from both the pan-demic and pre-pandemic years in order to yield a new renaissance in the art of performing music. As mu-sicians, we thrive on human rela-tionships and provide students with outlets to create. You are im-portant, not only to students, but to the communities that you serve! At times, things are difficult and frus-
trating, but keeping your students as the focus and knowing you are doing what you believe in is the cat-alyst to great success. Understanding current safety guide-lines from credible sources and having the information ready for parents, administrators, and com-munity members can benefit you and your students. Be cognizant of others' feelings, comfort levels, and overall fears with credible infor-mation that is accurate and time-ly. Opening our classroom to new ideas for room set-ups, outdoor classrooms, staggered numbers of students playing at one time, PPE supplies, creative lessons, use of technology, and rethinking the tra-ditional concert may allow you to become more creative in determin-ing what is best for your students and program. Be flexible and open
about music-making and above all else, have fun! Create a network of colleagues and friends in order to share ideas to transform your music class. Having a network of people you trust and admire provides you with the sup-port you need and provides you with new ideas. This is the year to try something new and excit-ing! Remember, you are not alone in this journey and there are people ready to help you! Let's take this new school year and rebuild, rein-vent, and reinvigorate music educa-tion! I believe we can propel music education into the next phase of musicality and bring people togeth-er again! Thank you for all that you do and I hope you have a magical school year!
Virginia Association of Music Education Administrators Katrina D. Chaney, President
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Round 2: Courage, Strength, Daring As I began thinking about what I could share with you that might be meaningful, I decided to take a look back at what I wrote one year ago at this time. It began like this...
The 2020 school year came in like a lion. One thing is for sure: this has been a “back to school” season like no other – a raging pandemic taking lives, social unrest and injustice in our streets creating fresh trauma almost daily, and economic dis-tress impacting living conditions for students, faculty, staff and universities.
When I read this, I thought to my-self: How could we have come so far, yet still seem to be stuck in so many of the same ways? We are still surrounded by a deadly virus (just the new variant), we are still struggling with basic rights and eq-uity (in new, but the same ways), and many in our community are still facing unprecedented economic hardship as well as new threats and repercussions brought on by deadly storms and wildfires that consume lives and homes. Our second fall semester or back-to-school season of pandemic teach-ing is upon us. For many of us, at least we get to see our students in person if we are vaccinated and masked. Others are still in a virtual world of teaching and learning. How
will this round look different than the last? What have we learned or created that better prepares us for the road that lies in front of us now? For me, it is a wealth of digital materials and resources that sup-port in-person learning and a new outlook on how we spend the sa-cred minutes we have together in the classroom as a community. What about you? What have you gained amidst all the loss? We know that our greatest growth often comes in times of struggle (not ease or complacency). Round 2 is sure to present its own chal-lenges and opportunities for growth. Where will you find strength? Courage? Hope? Happi-ness? Gratitude? Connection? Mo-ments to savor? What actions will you take to purposefully empower yourself and others? For each of us, the answers are different, but I be-lieve they are out there and they have the ability to transform how we experience the coming year… if we have the courage to seek them out. COURAGE The Oxford English Dictionary de-fines courage as, “the ability to do something that frightens one. Strength in the face of pain or grief.” What does courage look like for you right now? What would it take to act with courage in your context? I ask myself these same questions. How would having cour-age (in big ways and small) impact those around you? Brené Brown reminds us that courage is conta-gious and that “Every time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver.” STRENGTH Internal greatness is often revealed in moments of external hardship as the profound strength we each pos-
sess within us is revealed. We begin to understand more deeply the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are but tiny matters com-pared to what lies within us." Will we discover our strength? The strength to show up whole-heartedly every day and be vulnera-ble, take risks, and continue to put ourselves out there without armor-ing up or shutting down when faced with hardship? Will we bravely face the challenges locked arm in arm with our community – realizing that we can’t and shouldn’t do it alone? Will we be daring? Will we dare to be great in the midst of all of this because we can? In 1942, during the Nazi occupa-tion of France, Albert Camus wrote:
In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invinci-ble love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invinci-ble smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invinci-ble calm. I realized, through it all, that… In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invinci-ble summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.
DARING One of my favorite books is by Brené Brown, “Dare to Lead.” It’s a book about brave work, tough con-versations, and whole hearts. Brené reminds us of the famous “Man in the Arena” quote by Theodore Roo-sevelt:
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Virginia Association of Music in Higher Education Sandy Goldie, President
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring great-ly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
One challenge Brené issues to us as readers is to have the courage to “dare greatly,” to show up in the arena of our lives and to spend our-selves in a wor-thy cause. That is the chal-lenge I face this year and I ask you to join me – to dare greatly, to be brave, and to show up whole-heartedly for the important work that only we can do. References Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead. New York: Random House LLC. Camus, A. (1942). The Stranger. Gallibard.
OED Online. Courage. Ox-ford University Press, September 10, 2021. Roosevelt, T., & Thomsen, B. (2003). The man in the arena: The selected writings of Theodore Roo-sevelt; a reader. New York: Forge.
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“The Guitar: Symbol of Change” A Reflection on the Proposed VGDA On Saturday, September 11, 2021, I had the honor to represent the VMEA Guitar Council to propose the creation of the Virginia Guitar Direc-tors Association (VGDA) to the Exec-utive Board. This proposal did not appear out of thin air. It was the work, advocacy, and support of many individuals over a long period of time. To give some historic perspective on the demand for guitar educa-tion, here’s a quote from a 1967 article published in the November edition of the Music Educators Journal written by Meyer M. Cahn; the title of the article is “The Guitar: Symbol of Change.”
This could be told to the first few guitar aspirants who trickled in some years ago, but now there is more than a trickle, there is a trend. These are sensible, trust-ing, and highly motivated young people, who love their guitar mu-sic just as much as those of oth-er generations loved large sym-phony orchestras in their youth… They have their heroes, as did any past generation. They want training and acceptance from the educator.
Now let’s fast forward to recent pre-cursors that have brought us to this moment: 2010 – NMMEA First All-State
Guitar
2011 – FMEA First All-State Gui-tar
2011 – NAfME formed the Coun-cil for Guitar Education with Glen McCarthy (Virginia) as its first chair
2012 – NMMEA added a Vice-President for Guitar to its Consti-tution
2013 - VMEA Executive Board’s unanimous approval to form the All-Virginia Guitar Ensemble
2018 – First NAfME National Honors Guitar Ensemble
2018 - VMEA Guitar Council for-mation
2020 - Presidential task for the Guitar Council to draft Bylaws and Event Procedures to form a new section for guitar under the VMEA umbrella
What is responsible for this forward momentum in guitar education? Simply put, student demand from decades past to the present. Here is an excerpt from an interview con-ducted by Glen McCarthy with the two pioneers of All-State Guitar, Ed Prasse (Florida) and John Truitt (New Mexico). Q: How did you start an all-state guitar ensemble? EP: Each fall, our principal would congratulate band and chorus members for making all-state on the morning announcements. In the late ‘90s, a student asked me, “How come we don’t have that for guitar?” I replied, “They don’t have those events for guitar.” “Then you start one!” he urged. (Teaching Music Magazine, January 2013, p. 28) As chair of the VMEA Guitar Council and as the Southern Representa-tive for the NAfME Council for Gui-tar Education, my daughter often refers to me as a guitar rights activ-ist. She wouldn’t be completely wrong, but I am really an advocate
for all music education. In the words of Ruth LeMay “Music is magical for humans.” (KARE 11 News, July 8, 2019) I live in a musical family. My wife, Barbara, retired from The US Army Band “Pershing’s Own” after 26 years of service (flute/piccolo). My daughter, Bonnie, is a violin perfor-mance major at Baldwin Wallace University. Their music education experiences were rich, rewarding, and recognized. This is not always the case when it comes to guitar. The proposal to create the VGDA is a step toward equity in music edu-cation. The guitar attracts students that would not otherwise be in a music program at all. These stu-dents deserve the same opportuni-ties and experiences as that of their peers in other musical disciplines. They will receive guidance from ex-perts in the field, play in ensembles with peers in their districts, regions and across the state. They will ex-perience the magic of music-making in ways they had not experi-enced previously. It’s time for guitar to be more than a “Symbol of Change”. It’s time for it to be recog-nized. I would like to recognize the mem-bers of the VMEA Guitar Council for their diligent work to write the pro-posed Bylaws and Event Proce-dures necessary to create the Vir-ginia Guitar Directors Association (VGDA): Aaron Kunk, Peter Mercier, Katherine Robinson, Dr. Scott Sei-fried, Dr. Jaqueline Secoy, Matt Trkula, and William Wells. I would also like to show my gratitude to the VMEA leadership who have sup-ported the Guitar Council’s efforts: Linda Gammon, Terry Hall, John Brewington, Allen Hall, and An-namarie Bollino. Finally, I would like to thank the preacher of the “guitar gospel” himself...Glen McCarthy.
Guitar Council Dr. Kevin Vigil, Chair
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I hope you are healthy and having a successful, musical start to the school year. Over the last few weeks, I have received emails from several new teachers interested in joining VMEA, which is always en-couraging! Their excitement and enthusiasm is a good reminder to us all to do our best to be in a posi-tive mindset as we start what may be yet another unpredictable year. For those of us with kindergarten-ers in our classroom, or students we have not taught in the past, we still need to do our best to have a fresh start and create a joyful envi-ronment, although we as adults
may be programmed to think of all of the ways this school year can go wrong. There may be some major holes in the plan for masks tied to the end of a plastic soprano record-er and issues with the lunch duty schedule. While we “plan for the worst,” let’s not forget the other half of that saying; we need to re-member to “hope for the best!” At VMEA we do our best to try to reach out to and welcome new teachers to our organization. If you
know a new teacher, they may have received the letter reprinted below from your district representative, but please share it with them just in case they have not. Do not hesitate to put them in touch with me if they have any questions. Take care, and I hope to see many of you in person again in Novem-ber!
Membership Committee Lisette Satterwhite, Chair
Dear new Virginia music educators, Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year and your new teaching position! Whether you are in the first few days of your career, new to Virginia, returning to the profession, or switching school districts, we hope your transition is going smoothly. With every change comes challenge, and often an increased need to seek help from others. In the trying moments of my teaching career I always lean heavily on my mentors, friends, and colleagues for guidance. It is for this reason that I would like to share with you the many benefits of membership in the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA), an organization that can provide a safe-ty net on the toughest days, and room to grow and challenge yourself on the best ones. Our mission: to promote quality education throughout the Commonwealth by providing leadership, instructional resources and professional development opportunities for Virginia's music educators. What membership and our mission means for you: By joining NAfME, you are automatically a member of VMEA (and sub-sections for choral, band, orchestra, and elementary
general music teachers) Secondary choral and instrumental teachers can have students participate in district, regional, and state assessments
and events November professional development conference, with opportunities to attend educational sessions and apply to be a clini-
cian. Visit this link for more details and to pre-register: https://www.vmea.com/index.php/events-menu/conference This year we also expanded our professional development opportunities throughout the year to meet the needs of our
membership Members of VMEA receive VMEA Notes (our triannual publication) as well as NAfME’s Teaching Music and Music Educa-
tors Journal, and can submit articles for publication Leadership opportunities in the annual Leadership Symposium, options to serve as district representatives, committee
members, and run for officer positions in the sub-sections and VMEA as a whole Advocacy resources and interaction with the officers of VMEA who go directly to Richmond to appeal to our state govern-
ment on behalf of music education Especially for elementary general music teachers: participation for your students in the All-Virginia Orff Ensemble, All-
Virginia Elementary Chorus, February professional development workshops around the state, opportunity to apply for $500 grants
District representatives provide your link to the statewide organization, guidance in hosting events such as state assess-ments, district honor ensembles, solo & ensemble festival
Mentorship from experts in your field all across the state, or opportunities for you to be a mentor We hope that you will consider membership in our organization and start reaping the benefits of the expertise, resources, and camaraderie of VMEA to improve both your teaching, and your overall experience as a music educator in our state. Please con-tact me or your VMEA district representative for details or further questions. Thank you, and I hope to meet you at our conference in Norfolk, November 18th - 20th! Lisette Satterwhite [email protected]
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Welcome back to the “new” normal in music education! I hope every-one is doing well and is off to a strong, healthy beginning to your school year. Our theme for the 2021-2022 Music in Our Schools Month academic year is Music: The Sound of My Heart. This theme is a continuation of the 2020-21 MI-OSM theme and logo.
The Council for General Music Edu-cation is currently working on the 2022 lesson plans for 3rd grade. These are expected to be available for music educators as early as Oc-tober. The previous MIOSM lesson plans include grades 1, 2, 4 and 5 and are available online on the MI-OSM Lesson Plans page. Additional materials can be purchased on the MIOSM website and shareable so-cial media images as well. Let’s continue with our theme and let music touch your lives every day. Music touches our lives; that is why we teach. Let continue to spread the love to all our students; the love for music. Have a terrific opening!
Music in Our Schools Month Marie Weber, Chair
Maia Trafton Selected as VBODA Sidney Berg 2021 Scholarship Recipient Maia Trafton was selected by the VBODA Sidney Berg Scholarship Committee as the 2021 recipient of the $10,000 scholarship. Maia entered Baylor University in fall 2021 as a music education major. Maia is the first recipient to receive the increased amount of $10,000. The VBODA Executive Board voted to also increase the scholarships of current active recipients, Kevin Ro-mano, 2020, and Michael Baker, 2019. Deb Myers, Sidney Berg Scholar-ship Committee member (left), pre-sented the award to Maia Trafton at her home in Burke. Maia is a 2021 graduate of Lake Braddock Secondary School. Her band Direc-tor was Michael Luley.
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The DEI council continues to con-sider what we can do to support our colleagues around the state. We are pleased to be able to present and sponsor several sessions this November at the VMEA Profession-al Development Conference: Conference Presenting 101 One area of need we have identi-fied is the need for more diverse conference presenters. In this ses-sion, members of the DEI Council will share how to get started with presenting professional develop-ment sessions, from putting togeth-er proposals all the way through presenting at a conference. We will also offer ongoing support for any-
one who is interested in having a thought partner in developing a conference session. DEI Learning Series To support music educators with music-specific learning around is-sues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and access, we will be sponsoring a DEI Learning Series. The DEI Learn-ing Series will be a space to learn, discuss, and process ways to be-come more culturally competent and inclusive in community with fellow music educators. This confer-ence session will kick off the learn-ing series which will then continue in a variety of formats throughout the year. We hope you’ll join us for this interactive session and conver-sation! We are also pleased to sponsor Dr. Vimari Colon-Leon who will be pre-senting a session on “Searching for Authenticity in Latin American Mu-sic” and Seika Van Keuren who will present a session entitled “Not
Your Model Minority: Asian-American Students in the Music Classroom.” We hope to see you at one of our sessions in November! Additionally, the DEI Council is in-tentionally seeking a diverse group of members to serve on the council to represent District 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16. Interested VMEA members should email a statement about why you are inter-ested in serving on the council, your previous background/training/experience in diversity, inclusion, and equity work, your VMEA section (general music, band, orchestra, choral, higher education, admin-istration, collegiate, guitar), your VMEA district number, and where you are located. Please send via email to Ashley Cuthbertson: [email protected]. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any members of the DEI council if you need support or just want a think partner.
Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ashley Cuthbertson, Chair
Congratulations to the
University of Lynchburg Collegiate Chapter on its recognition as a
NAfME Chapter of Excellence!
Lynchburg’s NAfME Collegiate chapter hosted panel discussions that included practicing educators addressing topics such as graduate school, cross-discipline teaching, program budgets, diversity in music education, and teaching music in a virtual
world. The chapter also hosted several professional development workshops, including clinics on the Alexander Techniques, Orff pedagogy, steel drum, and ukulele. Students from the chapter are exceptionally engaged in the Virginia Music Educators
Association (VMEA) Professional Development Conference, with multiple students presenting their own sessions on topics such as culturally responsive teaching, music in Montessori schools, and interpreting choral scores through textual analysis.
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2021 Election Candidates
VMEA President Mike Horanski joined the music faculty of Robinson Secondary School in 2005 (Fairfax County Public Schools) as the Director of Choral Activities. Mike has served as a District Representative for VMEA, was President of the Virginia Choral Directors Association from 2015-2016, is currently serving as the All-Virginia Band, Chorus, and Orchestra Event Chair-person and was named VMEA Outstanding Music Music Educator in 2017. For the past sev-eral years, Mike has been providing adjudicator training sessions for VCDA. In addition to the choral ensembles at Robinson, Mr. Horanski is the Artistic Director for the Vienna Choral Society. “I believe that every school in the Commonwealth of Virginia should be a place where all
students can participate equally and have access to a high quality music education. Programs and events should be inclusive of all students. I also believe that as an organization all music teachers, at all levels and disciplines, should feel represented and have a voice in leadership so music education can remain strong for generations of all Virginia’s students and music educators. I am committed to listening and learning all I can to increase my knowledge and growth in this area.”
William L. Prentiss Jr. is a native of Richmond, VA. He attended Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School (Wythe Building) Mr. Prentiss furthered his education at Norfolk State Univer-sity where he received his BM in Music/Media, Endorsement in Education and Masters in Music Education. He also studied at Shenandoah University and James Madison Universi-ty. Mr. Prentiss has taught elementary, middle, and high school band and orchestra. He is an adjudicator, conductor, and clinician. Mr. Prentiss has received superior ratings at the state level in marching, concert, and jazz band. His concert bands have received numerous superior ratings. While at Huguenot High School, his program became the first and only Virginia Honor Band in the City of
Richmond. In 2007 he served as the Instrumental Representative for District I. (VBODA). He is presently the Band and Orchestra Director at Meadowbrook High School and the Assistant Band Director and Adjunct Professor at Virginia Union University. “I am a firm believer and chief exponent of diversity. I embrace inclusion and always do my best to ensure equity for all. I am also an active supporter of practices in and out of the school community that respect, affirm, and protect the dignity of all music educators and music students.”
2021 is an election year for VMEA and its sections. Following are the candidates for office (as of 9/15/21). Click here to request an absentee ballot.
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2021 Election Candidates
VMEA Secretary Jenny Ryan has directed bands on the middle and high school levels for the past twenty-seven years. A native of Richmond, Virginia, she earned her Undergraduate and Masters degrees from James Madison University in music education and conducting. She taught in the Spotsylvania County school system for six years and is in her 22nd year as band direc-tor at Monacan High School in Chesterfield County. Jenny has also been Monacan’s or-chestra director for the past ten years. Monacan’s band program has been recognized as a Virginia Honor Band ten times and Monacan has been recognized as a VMEA Blue Rib-bon School for Music nine times. Jenny has adjudicated and guest conducted middle and high school bands from around the state. She is a member of VBODA, VMEA, NAfME, and Phi Beta Mu. She served as VMEA Secretary from 2010-2014.
Danielle Yonkers is a graduate of the prestigious Norfolk State University where she re-ceived her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education. She is also a graduate of the University of Richmond where she received a Post-Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She is currently the Band and Orchestra Director at Hol-man Middle School and the Assistant Band Director at Highland Springs High School, both in Henrico County. She also served two terms as the VBODA District I Instrumental Repre-sentative and served as the VMEA representative for the Southern Division of NAfME Nom-inating Committee for Division President in 2017. “Equity is important in any organization. Our world is forever changing, and we must em-
brace this change. VMEA must be an example to others that we welcome all people no matter the race, gender, or socioeconomic background. We have many talented people in this organization but sometimes the leadership does not represent the differences in our association. By taking on a different position, I hope to contribute to existing leaders and groups and create more groups that focus on enhancing equity in our organization.”
Why Vote?
This November, VMEA members have the op-portunity to vote for officer leadership in VMEA and VMEA Sections. But how many of us will vote? For many years, non-voting VMEA mem-bers have offered excuses such as “what can one vote do” or “it doesn’t matter”. With sev-eral VMEA Section officer elections having nar-row margins (as low as one vote), your vote DOES count. Participation matters. Members from all six-teen VMEA districts must speak up through participation, by running for an office, and by voting. Take a few moments and cast your vote in November!
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2021 Election Candidates
VBODA President Darren Kirsch is in his 26th year as the Director of Bands at Grafton High School in York County. Mr. Kirsch graduated from Virginia Tech where he received a Bachelor of Arts De-gree with an emphasis in Music Education and Music Performance. He is an active adjudi-cator and clinician in the state. Mr. Kirsch’s responsibilities as the director at Grafton High School include directing the three concert bands, the jazz ensemble, and the marching band. He has also served as the Fine Arts Department chair for the past 16 years. The Grafton High School Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the VMEA Conference in 2007 and 2014. The Grafton High
School Band has been named a Virginia Honor Band 15 times. Mr. Kirsch is a past instrumental chairman of District VIII. He currently lives in York County with his wife Cena, his son Jackson, and daughter Molly.
Daniel Upton is in his 10th year at Harrisonburg High School where he conducts the Sym-phonic Band, Percussion Ensembles, Pit Orchestra, and co-directs the Concert Band and Marching Blue Streak Band. During his tenure, the band program has more than doubled in size and is one of the largest in the Shenandoah Valley. The program prides itself on inclusion, hosting Virginia's first United Sound Band. In 2021, he launched an Adaptive Music Peer Mentorship class. His ensembles have performed at the VA Day of Percussion, PASIC, and the concert halls of JMU, VCU, and Virginia Tech. He is an active adjudicator/ clinician, has served as VBODA District Chair, and coordinator of the Workshops at All-Virginia. He received BA/MA degrees from Virginia Tech and performed with the Marching Virginians, Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, and as section leader/President of the Wind
Ensemble. He now performs as a founding member of the Valley Wind Ensemble. He is married to Gracie. They have a senior rescue dog, Dozer, and two cats, Baxter and Beau.
VBODA Secretary Carrie Albers is the director of Orchestras at Broad Run High School (Loudoun County). She began teaching in 2003, becoming the first director to pilot the school-day orchestra pro-gram. Beyond LCPS, she is a frequent adjudicator for District Assessment, Solo and En-semble, and the Governor’s School for the Performing Arts. She has guest conducted with YMPAA , Harford County, LCPS, and Spring String Thing at JMU (Spring 2020). She is cur-rently the VBODA Regional chairperson for North Central, serves on the music grading committee, the VBODA strategic planning committee, VBODA Commissioning Committee, and is a member of the VMEA Council for Music Education. Ms. Albers has also written or-chestra-specific content for VDOE (2020). Kathleen Jacoby is in her 18th year of teaching. She is currently VBODA secretary, and pri-or to that founded/chaired the VBODA Inclusion Committee. She has presented at VMEA on inclusive practices and programming. Kathleen is a 11 time Virginia Honor Band Direc-tor and conducted the Herndon High Wind Ensemble during their featured performance at the 2014 VMEA Conference. Kathleen collaboratively created the Virginia Band Director Inclusion Toolkit. Kathleen is a Conn Selmer VIP, a member of Phi Beta Mu, a SBO Maga-zine “50 Music Teachers to Watch”, and a finalist for the Fairfax County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.
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2021 Election Candidates
VBODA Orchestra Representative Carrie Finnegan, a 2002 graduate from James Madison University, studied violin with Dr. Wanchi Huang, violin and conducting with Dr. Robert McCashin, and served as vice presi-dent of the JMU ASTA chapter. Originally from Woodbridge, Virginia, Mrs. Finnegan began playing violin in her middle school orchestra, which instilled her passion for school orchestra and music education. She was a member and vice president of the orchestras at Woodbridge High School un-der the tutelage of Mr. Bud Hearne and a member and orchestra librarian of the Youth Orchestras of Prince William.
Mrs. Finnegan began her teaching career in Albemarle County with the orchestras at Jack Jouett and Lakeside Middle Schools. Currently in her 20th year, the program has grown from 36 to nearly 300 students and now also includes an orchestra program at Albemarle High School. Under her direction, the orchestras of Albemarle High, Jack Jouett, and Lakeside Middle Schools have consistently received superior ratings in District Assessments, first place awards and superior ratings in seventeen national competitions, including the 2011 and 2016 Cruise Festivals Grand Championship. The Albemarle High String Ensemble performed at the 2011 VMEA Conference in Norfolk and the 2016 Virginia School Board Association Convention and has been awarded the Blue Ribbon Award from VMEA for 13 consecutive years. Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Finnegan has served as the State Orchestra Representative for VBODA since 2012 and enjoys serving on numerous VBODA and VMEA committees including the VMEA Conference Planning Committee. One of her passions is serving her alma mater as the Logistics Director for the JMU Spring String Thing Camp. She was recently honored by JMU with the Outstanding Music Educator Alumni Award. Mrs. Finne-gan resides in Charlottesville with her husband, Kerry, who enjoys performing with The Charlottesville Band, and two sons, Brady and Quinn, who are budding violinists themselves.
VBODA Middle School Representative Joe LaBrie is the band director at Liberty Middle School and currently in his 19th year of teaching in Fairfax County. He enjoys teaching all levels of band classes as well as percus-sion classes and an after-school Jazz Band. As a member of VMEA/VBODA, Joe has been Chair of District X, and served on the logistics committee for the VMEA Conference. For the past six years, Joe has been honored to serve the state as Middle School Representa-tive. A native of Prince William County, Joe went on to receive music education degrees from Louisiana State University and the American Band College through Sam Houston State University. He currently lives in Fairfax with his wife, Katie, who is a middle school orches-tra director, and their son, Liam.
Tracy Magwire is in her 18th year of teaching, 17 of which have been at the middle school level. She opened both South County Secondary and South County Middle schools and is currently the director of bands at Stone Middle School in Centreville. She served as the District X Middle School Band Assessment Chair for five years and is now the Instrumental Music Rep for District XI.
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2021 Election Candidates
VCDA President My-Van Nguyen (MEE-vahn NEW-yen) is a music educator inspired by the power of choral music to build community and empower personal growth. A career changer, she is in her 12th year as the choral director at Dominion High School in Sterling, VA. She serves as the co-chair for the VMEA Honors Choir Auditions and previously was the District XVI rep-resentative. Ms. Nguyen studied Commerce & Music at the University of Virginia and has a Masters in Music Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Outside of school, she per-forms with the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Choral Arts Chamber Choir.
VCDA Secretary
Rita Gigliotti serves as the Choral Director for South Lakes High School in Reston (Fairfax County Public Schools). Originally from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rita be-gan her professional teaching career in 2001 teaching middle school chorus and general music. She moved to northern Virginia in 2005 and accepted the position at South Lakes High School. Gigliotti directs four choirs, sponsors three student-directed a cappella groups and is the co-sponsor of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Her choirs consistently earn superior rat-ings at district assessments and are regularly invited to perform with guest artists, uni-versity choirs, and for state and national music festivals. South Lakes Advanced Choirs
were honored to be accepted to perform at Carnegie Hall in March 2019 and for the Walt Disney World Candle-light Processional at Epcot in December 2019. The advanced treble ensemble, Bella Voce, performed for the Vir-ginia Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference in 2011. Currently, Gigliotti is earning a Graduate Certificate in Music for Well-Being at George Mason University where she also is pursuing her PhD in Music Education and teaching the GMU Healing Arts Ensemble as a Graduate Lectur-er. Gigliotti earned a Master of Music in Music Education from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh (2005) and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Voice from Seton Hill University Greensburg, Pennsylvania (2001). She is a member of National Association for Music Education, A Cappella Educators Association, American Choral Di-rectors Association, and Virginia Music Educators Association. She is a member and past-president of the Fairfax County Choral Directors Association, and has served VMEA as a Chorus Representative for District XII as well as a member of the Advocacy and Government Relations Committee.
Jordan Markwood is a passionate musician excited about bringing people together to communicate meaningful messages through singing. He is in his eighth year as the Cho-ral Director and Fine Arts Department Chair at Rock Ridge High School and also serves as the Music Director at Galilee UMC. Previously, Mr. Markwood taught at Stone Hill Middle School for and was the VA-ACDA MS R&R Chair from 2013-2015. Current leadership roles include co-chair of the VMEA Honors Choir Auditions and VCDA District XIV Representa-tive. Mr. Markwood holds degrees in Music Education (Houghton College) and Vocal Pedagogy and Performance (Westminster Choir College).
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2021 Election Candidates
VEMEA President An Albemarle County native, Stefan Castro is in his seventh year teaching General Music in Virginia. He teaches at Oak Grove Elementary in Roanoke County, where he serves as Encore Supervisor. Stefan served VMEA the past four years as District VI Representative and two years as Elementary Member-at-Large on the Executive Board. Mr.Castro has provided multi-ple professional development opportunities for music teachers in Southwest Virginia, served as room chair at VMEA Conferences, and assisted All-Virginia Elementary Choir. He is a gradu-ate of Radford University, maintains an active private studio and performance schedule, and resides in Roanoke with his wife, Lauren. “Teaching students with a variety of needs has given me great perspective to create meaning-
ful, diversified, and engaging lessons for all learners. I strive to make my classroom a safe space where every student can express themselves freely. Studying the arts provides a unique opportunity to allow students to ex-plore who they are and affirm their individual identities.”
Shelly Reagan has been a music educator for thirty-five years. She began teaching elementary music in Memphis then accompanied her Marine husband to North Carolina where she taught general music and chorus. Mrs. Reagan has been with Prince William County Schools for twenty-eight years as a middle school choral director, administrative intern, and elementary music specialist. She has hosted and adjudicated choral events, held several leadership positions within schools and the dis-trict, and hosted pre-service interns. Her students have participated in countless competi-tions, events, and concerts.
Mrs. Reagan holds master's degrees in Administration & Supervision and Music Education. “Across thirty-five years as a music educator, I have developed the beliefs that children and teens should be of-fered opportunities to create and perform music in a variety of ways such as vocal, instrumental, movement, and technology and to also be instructed in many other facets of the subject area such as notation, vocabulary, histo-ry, culture, careers, response to music in various settings, and music technology. Children and teens of all races and ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religious background, and ability levels should be afforded the opportunity to have broad musical experiences. Music appeals to both the brain and the emo-tions and teaches life skills such as persistence and collaboration; it is a gift to the world and should be promot-ed for all. Likewise, I believe that music educators should understand the value they add to students' lives, espe-cially those who instruct students across multiple years. They should strive to create an engaging and fun class-room environment that presents a rich music curriculum and to continually promote and advocate for the value of music education in the lives of their students to parents, administrators, school division executives, and the community.”
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2021 Election Candidates
VAHME President Kimberly L. Ankney is Associate Professor and Director of Music Education at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Her research focuses on improvisation/composition, responsive pedagogy, teacher development, and string education. Kimberly is coauthor of Music Discovery: Improvisation for the Large Ensemble and the Music Class-room with Oxford University Press. She has dedicated herself to consistently presenting at VMEA and supporting the presentation of research of other scholars at the state-level. As a music educator, she taught instrumental music in Montgomery County, Maryland, and choral and instrumental music in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Kimberly is excited for the oppor-tunity to serve Virginia Music Teacher Educators!
“As a music teacher educator and member of VMEA, I am committed to addressing issues of equity and diversity in music education. Our profession needs to be representative of all voices in the field as well as support oppor-tunities for all students and teachers no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or whom they choose to love. I am honored to work in a field where our art form reflects the strength and beauty of the human spirit and will do all I can to support the wide and varied fabric that makes music and music education so great.”
Jennifer S. McDonel, Ph.D., Director of Music Education at Radford University, teaches music education courses and supervises student teachers. In her 29-year career, she has taught music to infants through graduate students and beyond. She is co-developer of the new Har-mony & Heart™ early childhood music program for Primrose Schools®, a national early edu-cation and care franchise. She presents research and professional development clinics local-ly to internationally. Her service is focused on bringing music education to all children in Ne-pal through teacher development and advocacy. In VMEA, she currently serves as Collegiate Advisor, mentoring students in leadership and collegiate initiatives.
“Music is as diverse as the people who create and make it. All persons deserve equitable and inclusive access to a music education that represents the beauty of diversity and the power of music to express emotion, heal hurts, and bring humans together in harmonious relationship and solidarity. I consistently strive to learn how to better support all persons in the music education communities I serve.”
VAMEA President J.R. Snow is the Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for Harrisonburg City Public Schools, a role he has served in since 2011. Mr. Snow served as Director of Instrumental Studies at Harrisonburg High School, Forest Park High School, and Highland Springs High School during his K-12 teaching career. J.R. also served as Assistant Director of the James Madison Univer-sity Marching Royal Dukes and taught in the James Madison University College of Education. J.R. is the Director for Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley, a 501c3 organization focusing on access and equity in the arts for children in the communities of Harrisonburg City and Rock-ingham County. Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley is part of the national network Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is also the own-
er of Snow Leadership Group, a youth leadership empowerment company focusing on educating, motivating, and cultivating leadership in young adults in an effort for them to grow and serve their communities. J.R. earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree and Master of Music Performance degree in Instrumental Conducting at James Madison University in 1999 and 2008, respectively, where his conducting teachers includ-ed Dr. Pat Rooney and Dr. Steve Bolstad. He lives in Harrisonburg with his fantastic and supportive wife Kelly and three children.
