South East Iowa Bandmasters Association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEIBA 2009-2010

Dear Southeast Iowa Band Directors,

First of all, thank you for the electing me as your district President. While my service has begun earlier than anticipated, I hope I am able to serve you well and continue the standard of excellence that precedes me. Second, I hope this letter finds you settling into your schedules, getting reacquainted with former students, creating relationships with new students, and well on your way to having a wonderful school year.

I would like to extend an especially warm welcome to all the new to SEIBA directors but particular any 1st and 2nd year teachers. I hope you will take advantage of the ‘Welcome and Get to Know You’ gathering on Thursday, September 1st at 6:30PM at Godfather's Pizza in Iowa City, Hwy 1. This meeting is full of valuable information and provides an opportunity to begin building a network of support that is priceless. Contact Jane Triplett if you have any questions regarding this meeting or our mentorship program.

I encourage all of you to bookmark the SEIBA website as it is a valuable resource. Thank you to Nick Propes for his work as webmaster making available all necessary information regarding our district events. Please keep in mind that you must be a member of SEIBA and IBA in order for your students to participate in our district activities. SEIBA dues have increased to $10 if received by October 1st and $15 after October 1st. Dues should be sent along with the membership form, which is available on the SEIBA website, to Pam De Boer as soon as possible. In addition, a list of officers, event chairs, and state committee members can be found at the website. These people, while busily maintaining their own programs, are willing to answer any questions and listen to concerns and suggestions you may have, so do not hesitate to contact them. I thank them whole-heartedly for serving in this capacity and volunteering their valuable time.

Please help keep their service to our district as simple as possible by observing all registration deadlines, filling out forms accurately, and following event rules and guidelines.

Please consider serving the district by volunteering to adjudicate for one of our many events, in particular honor band auditions in January. I would highly recommend adjudicating as it provides you with valuable information that reflects in your ability to prepare your own students for the audition process. Even if judging an instrument that is not your primary instrument, be reassured that you are still a qualified music educator who has trained listening skills. If still concerned about serving in this capacity, you may also consider ‘shadowing’ another adjudicator to gain confidence. Contact our event chairs for more information about adjudicating or shadowing an adjudicator.

RETIREMENTS! If you are, or know of someone, who will be retiring from teaching at the end of this school year in our district, please send me your/their name as soon as possible! Congratulations on making this exciting milestone in your career. SEIBA is so very proud of our excellent musical tradition and outstanding educators.

IBA President, Tony Garmoe, shared his goals for the year at the summer planning meeting in Des Moines. I was most impressed with the announcement of writing a series of books about the history of bands in Iowa. I am excited to see this project unfold and watch the wealth of talent within our state accomplish this momentous project.

In addition, President Garmoe discussed the 2011-2012 IBA convention. Do take advantage of the IBA website for all up to date information about the conference and state events. If you have not already received it in the mail, the official form to be an active member of IBA may be downloaded from the website at www.bandmasters.org. Dues are $50 and should be sent to Steve Cook by September 15th in order for your contact information to be included in the IBA directory. Furthermore, new to the website this year is a social media component called “our community” where individuals and groups can meet, chat, and share information.

Do make time to send program copies to Elaine Menke for IBA magazine publications. Technology makes everything a couple clicks away from sharing information and this valuable tool provides a resource for everyone to know what is happening in the band programs across the state.

Finally, with the turmoil surrounding our nation’s economy, I would like to take this opportunity to strongly advise you to be a pro-active advocate in keeping your programs highlighted this year. Do not make idle thoughts of ‘…my program and budget are safe.’ Do all that you can to positively promote the importance and significance of music education and the fine arts in students’ educations and lives. Invite your administrators to speak or narrate at your concerts, enthusiastically thank your audiences for their support and encourage them to let your administrators know how much they appreciate you and all your fine arts programs within your district. Perform out in the community more than usual this year, and notify your local newspapers regularly of the events happening within your classrooms and stages. Start a ‘Band Blog’ and safely use other technology resources to promote your program. If you need additional help or ideas in advocating for music education, you may contact myself, visit our district and state websites for advocacy resources as well as become a member of the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education. IAAE is an organization that specializes in advocating for the fine arts education and is a valuable resource for all fine arts educators.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Jacobi
SEIBA President