Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 4
Spring/Summer Newsletter 2007

COMING SOON

Proudly serving the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, and Mifflin

Melvin McConnell, PresidentBrian Stacey, Vice President
Louise Victor, Secretary Cindy Penvose, C/I
Sherry Morgan, Past President              Festival Policy Coordinator, Kevin Cunningham

WELCOME OUR NEW NEWSLETTER EDITOR

DAN MEREDITH

In This Edition:

President's Message

It's hard to believe that the first year of my presidency is almost over. Being a PMEA officer is a rewarding challenge.

I would like to first extend a huge thank you to the other District 4 officers. Your advice and insight was invaluable on a number of occasions and this truly is the job of many, as no one could, or should , be making these decisions on their own.

Secondly, another huge thank you to the festival hosts for providing excellent opportunities for hundreds of our finest music students. Your organization and efforts do not go unnoticed by your colleagues and friends in District 4.

I have to especially extend an even bigger note of appreciation to Cindy Penvose and the wonderful people of Curwensville. January 2005 began with a bang when the massive ice storm and power outage caused us to exhaustibly attempt to get District Band off the ground. When we finally arrived on Saturday morning, for a very abridged festival, the warmth of the people of the community was second to none. Although they were still without the comfort of electricity for the third day (and for many of them this would extend much longer) they were willing to do whatever was needed to help Saturday be a success.

Thankfully the remainder of the festival season was much less eventful and ran very smoothly!

Thank you all for your support through out the year. Enjoy a relaxing and rejuvenating summer. Working for the people of District 4 is an honor and privilege.
TOP

Citation of Excellence Winner

Congratulations to Larry Schmaus who is the 2005 recipient of the Citation of Excellence award for District 4!!! Larry teaches in the Clearfield Area School District and came highly recommended by his administration, his colleagues and even his wife, Barbara, who also teaches in the same district!

Congratulations, Larry!!
TOP

A Successful Festival Season

Congratulations to all our 2005 festival hosts for jobs well done and for promoting excellence in music education through their efforts. Festival hosts to be recognized are:

District BandCindy Penvose, Curwensville
District 4 & 6 OrchestraJim Robinson State College
Louise Victor, Bellefonte
District ChorusVicki Fensterbush, Lewistown
District Jazz BandDan Klingbeil, Juniata Valley
Region III ChorusJill Tocket, Bald Eagle Area
Elementary SongfestLori Thomas and Mark Baylor
Sixth Grade BandfestJohn Zimmerman
Thank you for the countless hours spent for all our students!!
TOP

Festival Calendar 2005-2006

January 5-7District Orchestra
January 19-21District Band, Curwensville Area High School, Cindy Penvose, Host
February 2-4District Chorus, State College Area High School, Robert Drafall, Host
February 16-18Region Orchestra
March 2-4Region III Band, Philipsburg-Osceola High School, Kevin Roessner, Host
March 16-18Region III Chorus in Region III
March 30-April 1PMEA Conference, Valley Forge
Date TBASongfest-West Branch, Host Jennifer Sproull
May 5Bandfest, Moshannon Valley, Host, John Feigh
Date TBAOther meetings and events
TOP

Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations to the State College Area High School Music Department which was honored as a Grammy Signature school, as being in one of the top 100 communities in the nation for Music Education!

Thank You

To Scott Sheehan, C/I Chair

For simplifying the Act 48 process for this year!!!!

Thank You

To Kevin Cunningham, Festival Policy Coordinator for keeping festival hosts informed and on track!!!!

TOP

Fall General Membership Meeting!!!!

It's not too early to plan! The PMEA District 4 Fall Meeting will be held on:

Sunday, October 9 at 1:30 PM at Indian Valley High School.


Featured performance by

Essence of Joy from Penn State University
under the Direction of Dr. Tony Leach!
Plan now to be there!!!!!

TOP

Advocacy Network

If you have not already done so, please become a member of the Advocacy Network by emailing Rich Victor at:

rdv11@scasd.org


Rich does a fine job of keeping us all aware of the currents trends, issues and concerns that could directly affect our programs.

Get the information you need to be an advocate in your home school to ensure the future of Music Education is alive and well for all!
TOP

Last Printed Newsletter

You may notice that it was mentioned a few times that this would be the last printed newsletter!

I went ahead and did a hard copy one more time to hopefully point all of us the internet! With the technology that we have available at our fingertips, an internet version is more time effective, more economical and an easy way to distribute information to all!

Visit the website for calendars, forms, events, newsletters and other general PMEA information.

Thanks for doing your part to save us all time, energy and money!
TOP

KEEP YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION CURRENT!!!

Should your contact information change, please contact your county rep ASAP to make the necessary changes on the data base! This is vitally important in the event of inclement weather during festival season!!!! We need to be able to contact you both at school and at home. Information will not be publicized without permission.
TOP

District 4 Members participate in PMEA All-State Conference

It was good to see so many of you in Hershey! Special recognition goes out to the District 4 members who served as clinicians during the conference. They are:
  • Scott Sheehan-"Moving your Philosophy off the page"

  • Linda Thorton-"Instrumental Lessons that work" and Research Sessions

  • Nittany Valley Children's Choir-director, Lou Ann Shaffer

  • State College H.S. Chamber Singers-director, Robert Drafall

  • Richard Victor-"Jazz for the Non-Hip" and "Save your Music Program: What Every Teacher Should Know"

  • Joanne Rutkowski-"Make Kindergarten Music an Informal Affair"

  • Samuel Rocco-"MIOSM: It's Not Just For Students Anymore"

  • Scott Sheehan & Johanna Steinbacher-"Starting an Elementary Jazz Band"

  • Darla Burkett-"Adopting State Standards"
TOP

Utilize the website for forms!!!!

Many forms can be found on the PMEA website! Please utilize it if there is something you need!

Do keep in mind if the date on the website conflicts with information given you by a festival host, they've spent many months working on the event and would know correct dates, times, etc. !
TOP

PMEA District 4 Officers

PresidentVice-PresidentSecretary/Treasurer
Sherry TrgovacMelvin McConnellLouise Victor
Indian Valley H.S.Clearfield Area H.S.Bellefonte Area H.S.
700 Cedar StreetPO Box 910830 East Bishop Street
Lewistown, PA 17044Bellefonte, PA 16823
717-248-5441814-765-2401814-355-4833
C/I Chair, Past PresidentHigher Ed. C/IMiddle School C/I
Scott SheehanLinda ThorntonStacy Malachowski
Bald Eagle Area H.S.Penn State UniversityCentral Mountain
751 S. Eagle Valley Rd.Music Building IKeystone Central Dr.
Wingate, PA 16823University Park, PA 16804Mill Hall, PA 17751
814-355-4868814-863-5723570-893-4646
C/I ElementaryJazz Coordinator & AdvocacyFestival Policy Coordinator
Lisa BevanRich VictorKevin Cunningham
Boalsburg ElementaryState College Area H.S.Juniata H.S.
901 Boalsburg Pike653 Westerly ParkwayRR4 Box 4855
Boalsburg, PA 16827State College, PA 16801Mifflintown, PA 17059

County Reps:

CentreJill Tocket, Bald Eagle Area H.S.
ClearfieldJohn Feigh, Moshannon Valley H.S.
ClintonCory Spotts, Sugar Valley Rural Charter School
FultonLarry Stepler, McConnellsburg H.S.
HuntingdonNin Hiles, Huntingdon Area H.S.
JuniataKevin Milliken, East Juniata H.S.
MifflinVicki Fensterbush, Lewistown Area H.S.
TOP

C/I News--Learning from Each Other

By Scott Sheehan
During the past year I have done a great deal of researching as to what other PMEA Districts do in terms of their C/I Committees etc. Much of the job entails typical paperwork to prepare for the clinicians and presentations that are part of the festivals and fests. A point was made by Sharon Potter, State C/I Chair, that the elementary and middle school fests are supposed to be an outgrowth of each district's C/I Committee, rather than an extension of the responsibilities of the District President. There has also been much discussion this past year about limiting the terms of the state C/I representatives. Currently there is no term limit and many districts have had the same C/I representative for several years. The Higher Education Committee (which has members from every district) voted to add term limits to their respective positions a few years ago. They do this on a rotation amongst the districts and help each district find new potential candidates. Originally, the state C/I representatives were added to the State Board as a way to have increased elementary and middle school representation and input. Over the past several years, there have been an increasingly large number of high school representatives filling these positions. This topic will be discussed at length at the July PMEA State Board Meeting by the C/I Committee and the State Board.

From learning this history, a few changes have been recommended to District 4 from the State C/I Committee. Most districts have a Professional Development day that allows for clinics and presentations by both members within the district and from outside sources. There are several districts with very good programs already in place.¾It has been suggested that we change our Fall General Membership Meeting to an entire day that would also include sessions for Professional Development. This day would be separate from the District Band and District Chorus Selections meetings. I have polled many District 4 members and they feel this idea is worth a try. I am asking anyone that would like to present a topic to please contact me and also if anyone has topics of particular interest to please let me know. The goal is to offer topics for elementary, middle, and high school levels and to offer areas in general music, choir, and instrumental. There is great potential considering our many resources within District 4. A date had not been set, but will be made public soon!

I have heard repeatedly during my Presidency and now as C/I Chair that there are middle school folks who sometimes do not feel connected to PMEA. We have offered surveys asking for interest in having PMEA sponsored Middle School events, fests, etc. that have come back with little response. At this time, I am pleased to announce that Stacy Malahowski is the new Middle School C/I representative for District 4. If you have ideas and suggestions, please contact her. She is full of enthusiasm and will be happy to get the music happening! It is incredibly important to have all District 4 members feel connected to our organization! We all need to make this happen.

In closing, I would like to urge as many members as possible to attend the Summer Professional Development Seminar that will be held at the Nittany Lion Inn at Penn State University in July. There is an outstanding schedule of guest speakers and it is definitely a way to stay current with the politics of music education. It's also a wonderful way to spend a day and a half with your colleagues and your ideas become part of the goal setting for next year! We need to have as many people involved in this process as we are here to serve you our members. Please join in the decision making and have your ideas heard.

Have a great close to your school year and enjoy your summer!

President's Note

As this edition of the newsletter was just being completed, I received an email from Scott, our current C/I Chair and Immediate Past President that he had just accepted a job as the Hollidaysburg Area High School Band Director. On a personal note, I would like to wish an outstanding musician, educator, example and friend all the best in his new endeavor. Scott has a tremendous gift and has a lot to offer students wherever he teaches.

From all of us in District 4, we thank you for your service and outstanding leadership in PMEA. Your advocacy for all music education, diplomacy in dealing with PMEA issues and leadership skills were invaluable to our membership.

All the best as you begin this new chapter of your career!
TOP
Home, Calendar Constitution, News, Library, District 4&6 Orch., Officers, HS Directors, County, C/I, Festivals,
Members, Advocacy, PMEA MENC, Forms, Member Database, Jazz, Goals