All-State Music Conference

UMaine campus

It was great to see so many music educators at the All-State conference last week participating in professional development opportunities. The workshops were enriching and provided a variety of topics and presenters to deepen music educators learning. I enjoyed hearing the keynote by Scott Shuler, president of  National Association for Music Education. Attending the session were several of our teacher leaders from the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative. Some from the first phase and some of our second phase. Included in this post is a photo of some.

I am always moved by the intensity of the students who are practicing for the Saturday performance. The energy of the conductors, the sustained focus of the students, and the sheer number of students is so impressive. I was only sad I couldn’t attend the performances on Saturday. All reports were that they were fantastic!

Attending the banquet on Thursday evening was a wonderful opportunity to connect wtih teachers. Musicians from the North Yarmouth Academy delighted us with a handful of songs. The evening ended with the presentation of awards to outstanding music educators. Congratulations to the following:

• Carol Shumway, Mt. Blue High School – Hall of Fame recipient
• Tom Lizotte, Cape Elizabeth High School – Hall of Fame recipient
• Andy Forster, Messalonskee High School – Maine Music Educator Association Educator of the Year
• Steve Orlofsky, George Stevens Academy – Maine Musice Educator Association Educator of the Year

Andy was nominated by Steve Muise

Carol was nominated by Karen Beacham

Steve was nominated by GSA Headmaster, Paul Perkinson

Enjoying the banquet: Pam Kinsey, Sam Moore-Young, Nancy Curran