This is communication is rather lengthy. It contains quite a bit of information that may be relevant to members moving forward. Please take a moment to read through.
Our District 1 Beginning Band Roundtable was a great opportunity for directors across District 1 to be able to meet and dialogue about challenges and ideas for moving forward. We had just over 30 attendees and there was some great discussion. Special thanks to Aaron Booz and Ben Cook for their efforts in putting together this opportunity for members.
Our next roundtable will be on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 @ 7 PM for Beginning Strings Roundtable. Katelyn Piroth & Jeanne Tupper lead a discussion with members of PMEA District 1 regarding beginning strings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members can register in advance at the link provided below.
PMEA members only
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwodeutqz8qGNPTfDu6OQDBvWl2cr4fR4iw
General Music Roundtable
On June 4, 2020 @ 7 PM Rachel Pollard guides a discussion through teaching general music during the COVID-19 Pandemic. What worked? What didn’t? Share ideas and strategies while thinking ahead to Fall with so many unknowns.
PMEA members only
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtc-mppz0qGNAdhpmHG42aSvWvtcZwEpq0
High School Choir Roundtable
Nathan Hart, Amanda Rosco & Ben Murray will facilitate a high school choir director roundtable discussion on June 23, at 7 pm.
PMEA members only
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtcO-gqjguEtNVYlhoJZmqnehbgR1TRJrM
Plans are in the works to provide more opportunities for these discussions with colleagues from around District 1 throughout the summer. Information will be posted on the website as these opportunities are scheduled. If you are interested in suggesting, or organizing a professional dialogue, contact any member of the PMEA District 1 executive committee to help facilitate.
Concerning COVID-19:
PMEA is constantly monitoring the status of the current pandemic at the national level, state level, and local level. New information seems to be available every day. There are some studies being initiated, supported, and sponsored by professional music organizations underway. We will be there to help communicate along the way.
A great dialogue concerning these efforts was communicated in a webinar held by Music For All two weeks ago. I have attached the link below.
https://youtu.be/aMM6rJt7oSo
Because Pennsylvania has shown such a diverse level of perceived threat from the coronavirus, the state PMEA office is relying on the local district level executive committees to determine a path forward into the next year and hosting festivals for their district.
Our district-level executive committee has been busy preparing strategies for the 2020-2021 season. We met through Zoom in early May, and plan to meet each month in the summer to assess the variables presented.
While much of what came out of the May meeting is in progress, I can share the status of what was discussed.
Hosting Fests & Festivals in 2020-2021
The executive committee has determined that we are going to start from a place of past practice (with a few adjustments) in regards to hosting festivals. We believe that because of the current situation that schools are facing in the next year we are going to allow increased flexibility to hosts as they plan. We are asking all members to be patient and flexible as we traverse what teaching/hosting a festival means during a pandemic looks like together.
Hosts will be asked to stay in communication with their administrators through the planning phases as the determination about whether they will be permitted to host the festival will ultimately be up to them. While we can move forward with planning and registration for festivals and fests, I think it is a good idea to consider all of them all TENTATIVE until within a week or two before the festival where a final determination will be made by District 1 and the hosting school district. Should a festival be canceled, our Treasurer, Matt Nelson, will be able to process refunds to districts as he did this past year. A part of our regular updates will include information about festival status moving forward.
In an effort to provide some sort of concrete planning moving into the fall. We have decided that all in-person auditions in District 1 generally held in the fall, will be held via submittable online submission from August - December 2020. We will be waiting until December 2020 to determine the validity of live auditions for festivals in 2021. While we completely understand the importance of a live and in-person audition as a learning tool for students, given the situation we are all in, we felt it necessary to be able to provide some decision that was concrete and safe considering the potential variables.
There are several committees looking into how this affects the traditional audition processes and selections for festivals. We would like to share the specifics for all of these festivals at once when all of the information is ready for each of the auditions. We are hoping that will be available to you for mid-June. We know that there are many questions, regarding how this would work. Please allow us the time to aggregate the information to be able to share it with all of you.
I will be sending/posting monthly updates with regards to the status of festivals moving forward through the year. We will be as transparent as possible as things move forward.
NEW District Band/Honors Band Audition Procedures
- There are new procedures for acceptance into District Band. Acceptance into District Band is completely based on an audition of the listed repertoire on the District 1 website for 2020-2021. We will post the selection process on the website also so that you have the opportunity to review and familiarize yourself with the process.
- Our VP, Eryn Carranza, created a committee of District 1 directors that have selected shortened excerpts students will need to prepare. They are in the final review of those excerpts before they are posted. When they are posted on the D1 website, we will send out another communication. We expect that to be finalized very soon.
We are in the process of reviewing scholarship applicants. Awards for the 2020 PMEA District 1 Scholarships will be announced on June 15th.
Cyndi Mancini, Montour SD joins the ranks as our official Band Content Area Representative for our district!
Amanda Rosco & Jeanne Tupper have contributed so much in a short time in these new positions, we are excited to have Cyndi with us as well. You can reach out to these professionals with specific questions about PMEA D1 related to your content area and they will help you track down answers!
PMEA D1 Content Area Representatives:
Orchestra - Jeanne Tupper, South Fayette SD [email protected]
Band - Cyndi Mancini, Montour SD [email protected]
Chorus - Amanda Rosco, East Allegheny SD [email protected]
High School PD Position open!
We would like to thank Katelyn Piroth for serving for many years on the PMEA District 1 Executive Board as the High School Professional Development Representative.
We are currently taking nominations for any member that might like to serve on the PMEA District 1 Executive Board as the High School Professional Development Representative.
Members of the professional development committee shall assist in planning and conducting workshops, clinics, and festivals, shall assist in presenting curriculum/instruction materials to the membership, and shall serve as a liaison between classroom teachers and the Executive Board.
Nominations may be made by emailing Ben Murray, PMEA District 1 Immediate Past President at [email protected]. Nominations may be made now through June 5th. If more than one candidate is nominated, an election will take place.
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Keep an eye on the PMEA D1 working Calendar!
This document is adjusted in realtime and will be continually updated.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V7Dze63Ake2Rcn1BQ340HU-NmpuY5l6sQ34ag08h6VQ/edit?usp=sharing
HOSTS NEEDED!
- Currently, there are several festivals that DO NOT have hosts in 2020-2021 and WILL NOT have the opportunity to run without a host. If you believe you can host please contact an officer immediately.
- District Orchestra
- PMEA District 1 Elementary Sing Fest
- PMEA Elementary Band Allegheny East
- PMEA Elementary Band Fayette/Greene
- PMEA Elementary Band Westmoreland
- PMEA Elementary Band Washington/Greene
- PMEA JHS District Chorus EAST
- PMEA District 1 JHS District Orchestra
Robert Traugh
President, PMEA District 1
D1 website: https://district1.pmea.net
State website: https://www.pmea.net