POCO VOCEPOCO VOCEPoco Voce - the newsletter of the Washington Music Educators Association Volume 33 - September 2021

2022 CONFERENCE Feb 17th-20th

Poco Voce Fall 2021

WMEA has survived this turbulent year thanks to the engagement and generosity

of our members, regions, and partner organizations. A hearty thanks to all who contributed to our Spring fundraising campaign! I’d also like to acknowledge our Executive Director Scott Ketron for his heroic work all year to keep our orga-nization afloat. Although we are still not out of the woods with the COVID-19 pandemic, as we look ahead to the coming year, we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the availability of safe and effective vaccines has significantly reduced risk to our communities so that we can begin to envision our next chapter.

We have a lot to look forward to this school year! Yakima Convention Center has completed an extensive expansion and renovation, and will be hosting us again for our 2022 Conference, “Turning the Page.” Now that we are finally emerging from the dystopian landscape of COVID, we will be able to offer our students more robust musical experiences than the past year has allowed, so that they may truly experience the joy and fulfill-ment that comes from making music with others in person. We return to our classroom equipped with new skills that will continue to serve us into the future (and probably some that we would rather leave in the past!). The pandemic has given all of us an opportunity to reflect on our work, evaluating our practices in the context of the 21st century. As we “turn the page” to discover what is next, we know that our “new normal” will be different from our past. We are entering a period of transition and resurgence, and we have the unique opportunity to let go of any methods or traditions that are no longer relevant or productive, and to structure our music programs so that they will effectively include and nurture all learners. It will take time to rebuild, but remember that we are in this together, and WMEA is in your corner.

In addition to an in-person conference, WMEA also looks forward to a return to full-scale student events this year. All-State Honor Groups will gather in Yakima in conjunction with the professional development confer-ence. Please see our website for significant changes to student housing procedures, and encourage your students to audition. We are also excited to resume Regional and State Solo and Ensemble contests in 2022.

After what has felt to many like a period of hibernation, please also remember that WMEA is a member-ship organization. Is your membership active? If not, please renew today at nafme.org. We are stronger together, and together we will build a brighter future for music education in Washington! I wish you the very best as you launch the new school year, and hope you will make plans to join us February 18-20 in Yakima!

JOIN NOWGet 21st -century advocacy support and resources

Become part of the network of serious, committed music educatorsGain access to online, state, and national professional development

Spotlight your students with ensembles, honors, and contests

Do you need support in your career? Do you need to connect with other music teachers? Join NAfME today!

Simply go to www.wmea.org and click:

WMEA President’s Message

Greetings and welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! The last 18 months have relentlessly delivered one challenge after another, and I hope that you are returning to school rejuvenated, and with renewed hope for the future. It is heartening to see the performing groups in our communities scheduling their concert seasons, and to anticipate a return to music activities that have been on hold for so long.Karen Helseth

Shorewood High SchoolShoreline School District

(C) 206-779-6305president@wmea.org

Washington Music Educators Association

Deborah Confredo, KeynoteDeborah Confredo (formerly Sheldon) is Professor of Music Education and Director of Graduate Programs for Music Education at the Boyer College of Music and Dance. Confredo’s specialt ies include instrumental rehearsal techniques and teaching methods, assessment, research, music psychology, cognitive-behavioral techniques, conducting, wind band literature, and systematic observation.

Confredo has taught elementary and secondary instrumental music in Pennsylvania and New York. Her numerous articles in music education, pedagogy, and research are published in journals such as the Journal for Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education (CRME), Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal for Music Teacher Education, Journal of Music Therapy, Music Educators Journal, Journal of Band Research, The Instrumentalist, and Contributions to Music Education, as well as in several state music education journals. A past editor of the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Confredo has also served multiple terms as an editorial board member for that journal as well as the Journal of Research in Music Education, as is currently an editorial board member for Education.

She has co-authored the texts The Complete Woodwind Instructor: A Guidebook for the Music Educator and Lessons in Performance (FJH), and is editor of Superior Bands in Sixteen Weeks, and Chorales and Rhythmic Etudes for Superior Bands. She is an instrumental editor, arranger, author, and consultant for the FJH Music Company and lead author for the FJH publication Measures of Success, a band method for beginning and intermediate instrumentalists. She is founder of the Temple Night Owls Campus/Community Band. Confredo is in demand as clinician, adjudicator, guest conductor, and lecturer. Tau Beta Sigma and the Illinois Music Educators Association have honored her for her distinguished service to music and music education. Mansfield University has recognized her as a distinguished alumnus. At home in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area, Confredo plays saxophones and keyboards in the four-member jazz fusion band, West River Drive.

Sarah Gulish, OrchestraSarah Gulish holds a Ph.D in music education from Temple University. For over a decade, Sarah has taught secondary level music at Lower Moreland High School located in the state of Pennsylvania. She also serves as Adjunct Professor of Music Education at Buffalo State University and Temple University. Her teaching centers on creativity and improvisation in courses focused on new music

learners.Sarah is an active researcher, writer, presenter, and clinician at the state, national, and international levels. She serves as the United States representative for the International Society of Music Education’s Popular Music Special Interest Group and is a past member of the National Association for Music Education’s IN-ovations Council. She also regularly tours and records as a rock musician with a variety of groups. Her experience as a popular musician has influenced her curricula and philosophy as a music educator and is detailed in her book, Creativity in the Classroom: An Innovative Approach to Integrate Arts Education. She works to provide authentic learning and performing experiences for adolescents both in and out of the classroom. Her research interests include informal learning, creativity, popular music pedagogy, and student autonomy.

WMEA 2022 In-Service Conference H E A D L I N E R S

Coty Raven Morris, ChoirCoty Raven Morris is a proud alumnus of Texas State University- San Marcos where she studied with Drs. Lynn Brinckmeyer, Jonathan Bacock, and Joey Martin. She received her Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in the Spring of 2020 under Drs. David Rayl, Jonathan Reed, and Sandra Snow.

She is currently the Visiting Professor of Music Education and Social Justice at Portland State University. Prior to this, she was the Director of Choirs at Crosby High School in the Houston area and has served as the the Outreach Choir Director at the MSU Community Music School and Music Director at Grand Ledge United Methodist Church. Her choirs received consistent Sweepstakes & Division I ratings at UIL and choral festivals.

Poco Voce Fall 2021

For more than a decade, educator, and leader, Franklin Willis has served the students and families of the Metro Nashville Public Schools community. Through music, Willis has educated, mentored, and developed young minds to be forward thinking contributors to society. A servant leader specializing in authentic culturally relevant teaching, empowering student contributions, and

developing teachers to reach their full capacity, Willis finds true joy when at the service of others.As Elementary Music Coach for MNPS, he equips teachers with instructional support and necessary resources to strengthen their professional acumen and enhance their classrooms. This includes shepherding colleagues and teachers through the realities students are faced with around equity, inclusion and racism. Through his work, he has developed a passion in the cultivation of musicianship for young minds as every child has musical potential and deserves a music teacher who will see the best in them. Willis believes that music education is a vital tool to teach students about other cultures, create community, and inspire a love for learning. Willis consistently uses his network to provide opportunities for students to utilize their passion for music for all to see. This includes producing music videos and stadium performances at CMA Fest, a four-day music festival in Nashville, TN.Willis has created and facilitated professional development sessions for music teachers of all grade levels sharing his unique and relevant teaching practices. He consistently collaborates with colleagues, community organizations, local businesses, colleges, and universities to advocate for the importance of music education in our schools as well as developing curriculum that will lead to higher engagement from students. Through his work Willis has received national recognition for his commitment to student learning, his passion for the profession and his innovative teaching practices. He is a three-time recipient of the CMA Foundation Music Teacher ofExcellence Award. (‘16, ‘18, ‘19).Willis is a children’s book author and graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Music Education with an emphasis in Choral Music in 2009. In 2012, he earned the Master of Education Degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Belmont University. Most recently Willis completed the Education Specialist Degree with an emphasis in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University.

Gemma Arguelles, ElementaryGemma Arguel les (B.M. , Music Education and Choral Conducting, University of the Philippines; M.M. in M.Ed., Holy Names University) is Music Specialist and Chorus Director at Convent of the Sacred Heart Elementary School in San Francisco, CA.

She has taught in the HNU Kodály Summer Institute since 1997. She is a frequent presenter at OAKE National Conferences and CMEA State Conferences and has led workshops for many music organizations. Gemma was a conductor in the Training department of Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs from 1995-2009 and sang with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus from 1997-2009. She is a candidate for PhD in Music Education at the University of Oklahoma.

Matthew Arau, BandDr. Matthew Arau is an Assistant Professor of Music, Chair of the Music Education Department and Associate Director of Bands at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. He conducts the Lawrence Symphonic Band and student and faculty chamber groups, guest conducts the Lawrence Wind Ensemble, supervises student teachers, and teaches Conducting and Instrumental Methods and Rehearsal

Techniques I & II.

WMEA 2022 In-Service Conference H E A D L I N E R S

Franklin Willis, Elementary

Washington Music Educators Association

studentevents

2022 WMEA Junior All-State Youth Choir (grades 5-6)2022 WMEA Junior All-State Bands, Choirs and Orchestra (grades 7-8)

September 1 ..................................................... Online auditions openOctober 1 ........................................................... Junior Youth Choir online auditions closeOctober 5 ........................................................... Junior All-State online auditions close

2022 WMEA All-State Bands, Orchestras and Choirs (grades 9-12)September 1 .....................................................................................Online auditions openOctober 7 .......................................................................................... Online auditions close

April 29, 2022 State Ensemble ContestApril 30, 2022 State Solo Contest

Central Washington University

WMEA All-State Honor Group Staff 2022C O N D U CTO R S

Wind Ensemble Conductor: Caroline Beatty

Concert Band Conductor: Paul Popiel

Wind Symphony Conductor: Glen Adsit

Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Carolyn Watson

Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Sergio Espinosa

Symphonic Choir Conductor: Christopher Harris

Treble Choir Conductor: Gennevieve Brown-Kibble

Percussion EnsemblePercussion EnsembleConductor: She-e Wu

Jazz Band Conductor: T.B.D.

Jazz Choir Conductor: Greg Jasperse

Jr. Jazz Band Conductor: Kate Olson

Jr. Rainier Band Conductor: Lisa Ray

Jr. Baker Band Conductor: Kevin Paustian

Jr. Orchestra Conductor: Paul-Elliott Cobbs

Jr. Mixed Choir Conductor: Barbara Tappa

Jr. Treble Choir Conductor: Jolene Dalton Gailey

Jr. Youth Choir Conductor: Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah

Each MUSIC MATTERS license plate purchased contributes funds to school

music programs. Find out more at www.wmea.org.

Washington Music Educators AssociationPOCO VOCEFrank Kralovec, Editor19105 36th Avenue West Suite 213Lynnwood, WA 98036-5760

PLEASE SHARE WITH ALL MUSIC TEACHERSIN YOUR BUILDING

If you are new music teacher, or new to our state, or if you know of a new music teacher,

please notify the WMEA office.

Call 425-712-9632 or 800-324-9632or

Email: newteacher@wmea.orgWe will send all new music teachers we know about a “welcome” packet.

Nonprofit Org.US Postage

PAIDPermit #764Lubbock, TX

To Donate, or for more informa-tion about how you can support YME visit http://wmea.org.