2010 Honor Bands Selected

The IBA Honor Band Selection Committee has met and selected the bands to perform at this year’s conference. In an effort to provide more information about the process I am providing the following information to our membership. I realize this is a change in standard procedure. I am continuing my work toward demystifying the process and providing an opportunity for all IBA districts to participate and have a voice.

The data regarding recording submissions:
6 Elementary Bands
4 Middle School 1A/2A Bands
15 Middle School 3A/4A Bands
3 High School 1A Bands
1 High School 2A Band
6 High School 3A Bands
7 High School 4A Bands
4 High School Jazz Bands
1 MS Jazz Band
1 Community Band

Submissions by IBA Districts
NE – 17
NW – 2
NC -  1
SE – 9
SC - 19

The selection committee represented all six IBA districts, all school classifications were represented, it included younger and experienced directors, and included directors whose bands have performed a cumulative total of more than a dozen times at our conference.

The assignment given to the selection committee was to listen as an adjudicator and to evaluate the performance based on a state festival rating scale. An “IBA quality” band should be rated with Division I characteristics. A superior performance; outstanding in nearly every detail.  I asked them to evaluate what they heard presented, not the intent of the performance. All listening is done "blind."

Common factors that influenced auditor’s choices were:
pitch
musical style/interpretation
recording quality

I would share this recent comment from a participating director in the process…

"Even though I did not get selected I can't say enough about how great of an experience it was for myself and my students to make a recording for possible selection as an IBA Honor Band. Looking at the number of entries, I think it should be the goal of the Iowa Bandmasters Association to boost the number of entries in all classes.  As a young greenhorn, I did it and wasn't TOO stressed about it. I'm very shocked by the lack of entries though, WE as a state can do better than that for our students."

I hope this information may help you in your future submissions. It is very important to continue and maintain the expectation of an “IBA quality” band for all to experience and hear at the conference.

The Honor Bands for the 83rd Annual IBA Conference are:

Johnston High School Jazz Band - Patrick J. Kearney, conductor
Cedar Rapids Washington High School Concert Band - Jim Miller, conductor
Lisbon Community High School Concert Band - Roger DeYoung, conductor
Johnston Middle School Concert Band- Jessica Heidbreder, conductor
North Fayette 7th & 8th Grade Concert Band - Linda Johansen, conductor
Eleanor Roosevelt (Dubuque) Middle School 6th Grade Concert Band - Daniel A. Norman, conductor

Congratulations to these directors and students. We are looking forward to a wonderful performance!

The move to the Des Moines Marriott Downtown for our 2010 Conference has required different scheduling options for our honor band performances, especially this first year. You will be able to enjoy all of these performances on Thursday and Friday of the conference.

In closing, I will say that band directors are never shy to tell you what they think.  I value the input, but the process to select these bands was based on IBA Resolutions and the Honor Band Selection Guidelines.  Great care was taken to insure that all ensembles represented met the selection criteria that IBA members have established through the years.  Any suggestions to the contrary should be brought to the appropriate chairs and any discussion for future changes to these Guidelines can be decided by the membership.

In my opinion, the cup is always half-full.  While we will no longer be at the “old home” Hotel Fort Des Moines I think the Marriott will provide exciting new possibilities.  Change is inevitable.  Not everyone likes change.   However, it does foster healthy discussions and allows us the opportunity to tweak the system that has served us so well these many years.

Elizabeth Fritz, IBA President

My journey toward the Iowa Core Curriculum – Professional Development

October 2009

Elizabeth Fritz, president

Iowa Bandmasters

I have personally been focusing on Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) for about a year and a half. I have made a concerted effort during my leadership in IBA to be knowledgeable and speak intelligently on the subject. But I have to admit, I may not have started this school year with the most positive attitude toward the subject. In early August, previous to my seven (yes, 7!) professional development days I attended a meeting with arts leaders to talk about ICC and potential professional development opportunities for arts teachers. Many excellent ideas were produced and discussed, with the intent of creating awareness about the possibilities for arts integration with other subject areas, a key component of Iowa Core.

We were also given a timeline about how the professional development would be “rolled out” through the Area Education Agencies later this school year. During this meeting I began thinking to myself (and out loud)… What am I going to be doing for seven days of ICC in-service if professional development is not yet ready to be presented and implemented? The following information will explain my journey down this path and share the “Big Ideas” I have gleaned during this work.