MSVMA - Weekly Notes

Weekly Notes 9/17/20

Thursday, September 24, 2020 3:06 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Musical Theatre Intensive

MSVMA will welcome 100 singers in grades 9-12 to our Musical Theatre Intensive on Saturday, October 24 via a virtual event. We are delighted to have an incredible panel of clinicians including Catherine A. Walker from the University of Michigan. Students will have the opportunity to sing for clinicians in a Master Class format and participate in a variety of topic sessions.

Deadline to register is September 25 at 11:59 p.m.

Event Information

Virtual Honors Choirs

Eligibility

All students 6-12th grade may participate.
There is no audition to participate.

Registration

The director or individual students may complete the registration application.
Music will be emailed to participants upon registration. No music purchases are necessary.
After registration and payment are completed, students will be emailed a link to submit their videos.
The participation fee is $40. Payment can be made at the time of registration, or an invoice can be created and paid before the submission deadline.

Deadline to register is November 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Event Registration

It's time to renew your membership for the 2020-21 school year! If you have questions about joining or renewing your membership, check out our FAQs.

Weekly Notes 9/10/20

Thursday, September 24, 2020 3:06 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Musical Theatre Intensive

MSVMA will welcome 100 singers in grades 9-12 to our Musical Theatre Intensive on Saturday, October 24 via a virtual event. We are delighted to have an incredible panel of clinicians including Catherine A. Walker from the University of Michigan. Students will have the opportunity to sing for clinicians in a Master Class format and participate in a variety of topic sessions.

Deadline to register is September 25 at 11:59 p.m.

Event Information

Virtual Honors Choirs

Eligibility

All students 6-12th grade may participate.
There is no audition to participate.

Registration

The director OR individual students may complete the registration application.
Music will be emailed to participants upon registration. No music purchases are necessary.
After registration and payment are completed, students will be emailed a link to submit their videos.
The participation fee is $40. Payment can be made at the time of registration, or an invoice can be created and paid before the submission deadline.

Deadline to register is November 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Event Registration

I was first introduced to MSVMA at a middle school festival and it has been a big part of my musical life ever since. I have been involved with the facilitation of festivals since my freshman year and have always made myself available to volunteer in many positions. I have served as a festival room manager, festival coordinator, site manager, district manager, full board member, adjudicator and Board Secretary. As a teacher I now find myself passing this same passion for service and call to leadership to my students. MSVMA is such an important part of my professional life and I am committed to the organization as we continue to educate, empower and experience the art of vocal music.

It's time to renew your membership for the 2020-21 school year! If you have questions about joining or renewing your membership, check out our FAQs.

Weekly Notes 8/27/20

Thursday, September 24, 2020 3:05 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

In the classroom - face to face or virtual - MSVMA members
always create meaningful learning opportunities for our students.

We wish you success in the coming year!

MSVMA is excited to offer the following virtual events.
For more information, click on the event links below. Some events are being developed and information will be released as it becomes available.

Solo & Ensemble Festival

Musical Theatre Intensive

Musical Theatre Festival

High School Honors Choir

Middle School Honors Choir

Vocal Jazz Honors Choir

Choral Festival

A Cappella Festival

Chamber Choir Festival

Please carefully read the instructions for each event, the requirements have changed with the virtual format!

It's time to renew your membership for the 2020-21 school year! If you have questions about joining or renewing your membership, check out our FAQs.

2020 Virtual Honors Choir

MSVMA's 2020-2021 Honors Choirs will take place in the form of virtual choir performances. There will be one virtual choir for High School (SATB), one for Middle School (SATB), and one for Vocal Jazz. A professional production company will be collecting, editing, and producing each virtual choir.

All students 6-12th grade may participate in their respective choir.
There is no audition to participate. Students are expected to be prepared through personal rehearsal and attending the Zoom rehearsals.
All submissions will be included in the final virtual choir production.

Marques L.A. Garrett - Honors Choir Conductor

A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett is an Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the Glenn Korff School of Music. Before earning his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he holds an MM from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BA from Hampton University.

An active conductor, Dr. Garrett serves as a guest conductor or clinician with school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNL, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences. His formal conducting studies were with Dr. André J. Thomas, Dr. Carole J. Ott, Dr. Carl G. Harris, Jr., and Mr. Royzell Dillard.

A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the baritone soloist for the Germantown Concert Chorus’s performance of Haydn’s Missa in Augustiis. His premiere as a countertenor in Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo served as the work’s European premiere in Limerick, Ireland. Additionally, he performed the role of Lil Lud in Bernstein’s White House Cantata with the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Currently, he sings with First-Plymouth Congregational Church (NE) and Festival Singers of Florida.

Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. GIA Publications, Walton Music, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Hinshaw Music, G. Schirmer, Beckenhorst Press, and Carus-Verlag have published several of his compositions.

As a researcher, his most advantageous topic is the non-idiomatic choral music of black composers. His lectures at state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and at other local and national venues afford him the opportunity to showcase this underrepresented area of music.

Dr. Garrett holds membership in the American Choral Directors Association; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; National Collegiate Choral Organization; and Pi Kappa Lambda. With the National Association of Negro Musicians, he currently serves as the national scholarship chair.

Weekly Notes 8/20/2020

Thursday, August 20, 2020 2:28 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

2020 Membership Update

We understand this is an uncertain time for schools, students, and teachers and want to ensure that MSVMA continues to be a valuable resource. Our goal is to be able to keep every member connected to our MSVMA community.

To assist schools that are facing challenges this year, we are offering a 50% membership discount. To apply this discount to your invoice, enter the code MSVMA2020 when you renew or join.

For information on how to renew your membership and use the discount, click here.

If your school is in need of further assistance, you can apply for our assistance program here. The deadline to apply is September 15.

Are you being asked to prepare virtual/online lessons for a hybrid learning format? MSVMA has developed a 38+ lesson curriculum that can be used for in-person, hybrid, or fully virtual learning environments. Visit http://www.msvma.org/MembershipApplication to join.

For members that would like more information about the lesson curriculum, visit http://www.msvma.org/Curriculum.

To lean more about MSVMA's resources for teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic, visit http://www.msvma.org/COVID-19-Resources.

Please direct any questions or concerns about MSVMA’s Community Well to Adam Wurst: WurstAda@APSFalcons.net.

Weekly Notes 8/13/2020

Friday, August 14, 2020 4:00 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Did you know? MSVMA has employment opportunities listed on the website. Visit msvma.org/joblistings for more information.

If you have a job opening that you would like to post on the website, email hannahmiller@msvma.org.

For information on how to renew and use the membership discount, click here.

Even though the Summer Conference has ended, you can still attend all of the sessions! The sessions and material are available to you until the end of the school year. For more information, check out our Summer Conference FAQs.

You can register for the Summer Conference at http://www.msvma.org/event-3856885.

Are you being asked to prepare virtual/online lessons for a hybrid learning format or if we are forced to return to school online? MSVMA has developed a 38+ lesson curriculum that can be used for in-person, hybrid, or fully virtual learning environments. With a 50% membership fee for the 2020-2021 year, this curriculum is accessible to school members for only $192.50 and available to Associate Members for only $80. Visit http://www.msvma.org/MembershipApplication to join. Don't spend the last few weeks of your summer stressing over virtual lesson plans!

For members that would like more information about the lesson curriculum, visit http://www.msvma.org/Curriculum.

To lean more about MSVMA's resources for teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic, visit http://www.msvma.org/COVID-19-Resources.

Please direct any questions or concerns about MSVMA’s Community Well to Adam Wurst: WurstAda@APSFalcons.net.

Weekly Notes 8/6/2020

Friday, August 07, 2020 2:26 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Summer Conference 2020 – The Virtual Edition

Congratulations to the Summer Conference Committee led by Director of Summer Conference Eric Cadena and staffed by coordinators Helen Hansens and Amy Blevins for re-envisioning Summer Conference to provide an outstanding professional development opportunity. Appreciative acknowledgement of IT Manager Hannah Miller for her leadership, expertise and creative challenge resolution skills in our transition to a virtual event.

Thank you to our dynamic presenters for adapting their sessions to our new format and working with us throughout the process to help ensure effective content delivery. We are grateful for everyone who attended and helped make this a meaningful learning and networking opportunity. Attendance for the event increased by 68% and feedback from attendees confirmed the decision to continue our Summer Conference tradition in the best way in these challenging times.

Highlights included:

Superb Headliner sessions with Dr. Amanda Quist, Director of Choral Activities, University of Miami and Paul Smith, VOCES8 Foundation CEO/Co-Founder and Barnaby Smith, VOCES8 Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Performer
Exceptionally interesting and diverse breakout sessions
Inspiring and thought-provoking remarks by Kevin Cornwall, our Teacher of the Year
Generous and continuing support from Musical Resources
Great fun at the social activities including the Evening with the Ericks mixer with special thanks to our talented featured performers The Three Divas - Rebecca Selvidge, Katherine Rohwer and Carrie VanDenburgh and The Ericks – Eric Cadena, Eric Floetke and Erik Jacobson
State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECH) certified programming

Make plans now to attend Summer Conference 2021 during the last few days of July at the Blue Water Convention Center.

We want to hear from you! Complete the survey below.

Summer Conference Survey

ARTS FIRST! 2020 has gone virtual and free! Zoom with your colleagues on discipline-specific days for wonderful, professional development workshops, especially for K-12 Visual Art, Theatre and Music educators. A full overview of all the presenters, times and their topics is available at https://tinyurl.com/ArtsFirst2020.

To register - when you click on the discipline-specific link (below), it will take you to an Event Management screen with all the info. Look at the very top of that screen – in the dark blue box, it says, “Register Online Now”. Click on that link which will take you to the actual registration.
August 10, 2020 – Arts First! ART & THEATRE
August 11, 2020 - Arts First! MUSIC

Submitted by Sheryl Hauk

Are you being asked to prepare virtual/online lessons for a hybrid learning format or if we are forced to return to school online? MSVMA has developed a 38+ lesson curriculum that can be used for in-person, hybrid, or fully virtual learning environments. With a 50% membership fee for the 2020-2021 year, this curriculum is accessible to school members for only $192.50 and available to Associate Members for only $80. Visit http://www.msvma.org/MembershipApplication to join. Don't spend the last few weeks of your summer stressing over virtual lesson plans!

For members that would like more information about the lesson curriculum, visit http://www.msvma.org/Curriculum.

To lean more about MSVMA's resources for teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic, visit http://www.msvma.org/COVID-19-Resources.

Please direct any questions or concerns about MSVMA’s Community Well to Adam Wurst: WurstAda@APSFalcons.net.

Weekly Notes 7/24/2020

Tuesday, July 28, 2020 3:03 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Join us for the 48th Summer Conference! For the first time offered online, attendees will enjoy professional development sessions designed for vocal music educators of all levels.

In the video above, MSVMA member Dusty Morris shares why you should be a part of the 2020 Summer Conference.

This year we are offering 25 SCECHs! Session videos will be available for one year and you can complete them at any time.
To register for SCECHs, click here. You will need your personal identification number to complete your registration. To locate your PIC, login at https://mdoe.state.mi.us/moecs/login.aspx.

If you are still asking yourself “Why should I attend our Virtual Summer Conference?” Take one minute and watch this video. Our conference begins July 29th, details and the link for registration is at msvma.org/summerconference.

If you can't attend July 29th-31st, still go ahead and register, then watch the recordings the following week. You'll continue to have access to the content for the whole school year over in Whova. Contact Eric Cadena, Director of Summer Conference if you have any questions at ericcadena@msvma.org.

Summer Conference starts next week! If you have already registered for the conference, you can now login to the event using the link below.
https://whova.com/portal/webapp/msvma_202007/

Check out the social and networking features before the event starts. For the full conference experiance, download the Whova event app today!
Android
IOS

Registration Fees

Conference Pass $100

Student $65

Retired/Emeritus $65

1st Year Teacher $65

For more information, visit http://www.msvma.org/summerconference.

Register Now

Our Virtual Summer Conference will include the first ever ‘Evening with the Ericks!’ Just like we spent time together in person at Wings, Etc and the Lansing Brewing Company, ‘Evening with the Erick’s’ will be a virtual happy hour on Thursday July 30th from 6-7pm.

You will still get your chance to come up to the mic and give us your best performance! However, this year we will need your song submitted prior to the conference so the virtual concert can be put together beforehand. We will watch the premiere together that night!

If your video is complete (no mixing/editing required) share it directly with Erik Jacobson, erikjacobson@msvma.org, by 5pm on Monday July 27th.
Need an accompanist? Text Todd Schreiber, 419-343-5286, so he can help.

We would love your participation! There have been so many wonderful performances in the past and we’d love to keep the tradition going.

To lean more about MSVMA's resources for teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic, visit http://www.msvma.org/COVID-19-Resources.

Please direct any questions or concerns about MSVMA’s Community Well to Adam Wurst: WurstAda@APSFalcons.net.

Getting to know your MSVMA Colleagues...

MSVMA is many different things to many different people. That being said - we are ONE community comprised of talented and passionate people who value the art of choral music education. Because we come from all over the state of Michigan, it's difficult to get to know our colleagues. "Getting to know your MSVMA Colleagues" will feature various members as they share their stories in an effort to bring names and faces together within our community...remember Together We Can.

This week we hear from 34 year member Thomas Blue from Rochester Hills.

https://flipgrid.com/763dc3fe

Submitted by Wendee Wolf-Schlarf

Weekly Notes 7/2/2020

Friday, July 03, 2020 1:49 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Giveaway Registration

Join us for the 48th Summer Conference! For the first time offered online, attendees will enjoy professional development sessions designed for vocal music educators of all levels.

Registration Fees

Conference Pass $100

Student $65

Retired/Emeritus $65

1st Year Teacher $65

For more information, visit http://www.msvma.org/summerconference.

Register Now

I was a “band kid”, I came into the choral world very late in the game and always felt I had so much to learn and catch up on. My first choir festival experience was during my student teaching, I had never heard of state honors choir and could barely survive behind the piano. I had so much work to do! I realized very early in my career I needed to seek out mentors, and I found the most amazing ones through MSVMA! Read more...

Happy one year anniversary to Executive Director Erik Jacobson!

Enjoy this brief Q&A to get to know him a bit and check out his bio at http://www.msvma.org/Executive-Director.

Q: What has been you favorite MSVMA moment in the last year?
A: The conferences have definitely been my favorite part of MSVMA. Summer Conference in my first month and MMC last January were amazing experiences to be in the same place with all the wonderful members at one time. Being able to have meaningful and fun conversations about music for days straight and simply hang out to get to know everyone was special.

Q: What has been your least favorite/hardest thing about MSVMA in the last year?
A: COVID. Was that actually a necessary question?

Q: What do you do when you're not working for MSVMA?
A: Well, I have a few other jobs that occupy my free time. I am the General Manager of The VOCES8 Foundation, adjunct Professor of Vocal Jazz at Kalamazoo College, and Artistic Director of the Kalamazoo Male Chorus. Sooo...when I'm not working I'm basically working. Outside of work, I have a wonderful girlfriend, love to play sports (baseball/softball and golf most often), sing and/or play piano or guitar with friends, participate in local theatre, and hang out with my 9-month old Schnoodle pup, Ares.

Michigan has made some important decisions in the last week regarding schools, both for the current year and in planning for the upcoming school year. Decisions in the attached "FY 2020 Budget Agreement" solve some financial issues from the current school year. The state laid out it's reopening plan in the "Return to School Roadmap" that will help inform decisions over the next month by local administrations and state organizations such as MSVMA."

Budget Agreement

Return to School Roadmap

Legislation and Advocacy Update

This past week brought some great new resources for music educators, as well as some more insight for returning to school in the fall.

ACDA made it’s report available, “COVID-19 Response Committee Report (June 15, 2020). It outlines Instructional Models for choral professionals in secondary, post-secondary, collegiate, community choirs, and music in worship. While it is a comprehensive report that may feel a bit overwhelming at first, it contains excellent information to use when communicating with your district leadership.
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), in association with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), released its “Fall 2020 Guidance for Music Education” document to provide guidance for PreK-12 schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This document is an excellent complement to the ACDA report and can be a great resource for district leaders planning for the fall.
Michigan legislators unveiled a plan to “Return to Learn”, which proposes securing federal funding to aid schools and teachers. Governor Whitmer also announced next steps for school reopening in the fall. There is a planned announcement for Tuesday, June 30 that details “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap” to provide details on what will be required and recommended for schools. Governor Whitmer has pledged to continue working closely with the Return to Learn Advisory Council and leaders in health care for ensuring safe practices.

MSVMA’s Community Well committee regularly collects up to date resourcespertinent to vocal music education. You are invited to visit MSVMA’s “A Community Well” page, as well as advocacy resources page for use in communicating with your district leaders.

Please direct any questions or concerns about MSVMA’s Community Well to Adam Wurst: WurstAda@APSFalcons.net.

https://acda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ACDA-COVID-19-Committee-Report.pdf

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/fall-2020-guidance-for-music-education/

Submitted by Adam Wurst

You are invited for a time to connect with other MSVMA members! Each Monday, we would like to meet together to talk about whatever is on your mind about your program, what inspired recently, questions about...well, anything! MSVMA has always been a great place for community and supporting one another as vocal music teachers. It’s important that we maintain our community in this time of change. Head over to the MSVMA Discussion Group on Facebook for the link that will be posted each Monday! Hope to see you there!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/844079995661076/

If you have any questions, please email Adam Wurst (WurstAda@APSFalcons.net) or Kathy Cunningham (kathycunningham@msvma.org).

Submitted by Adam Wurst

"A Community Well" Choral Rubric Curriculum

TOGETHER, our goal is to have 48 ready-made lessons for the Fall, addressing the rubric topics of Tone, Rhythm, Pitch, Diction, Interpretation, and Presentation. Now that school is out, we have begun receiving submissions, and they are GREAT! EVERYONE has something to offer. Please click on the graphic to submit a lesson idea that you’ve used in your classroom!
For more information, click here.

If you have any questions, please email Adam Wurst (WurstAda@APSFalcons.net) or Sarah Stockton (sarahstockton@wlcsd.org).

Submitted by Adam Wurst

Weekly Notes 6/25/2020

Friday, June 26, 2020 3:00 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

Join us for the 48th Summer Conference! For the first time offered online, attendees will enjoy professional development sessions designed for vocal music educators of all levels.

Registration Fees

Conference Pass $100

Student $65

Retired/Emeritus $65

1st Year Teacher $65

For more information, visit http://www.msvma.org/summerconference.

Register Now

Kelvin Moon Loh currently stars on Broadway in Beetlejuice the musical as Otho. Also on Broadway, he’s been in SpongeBob Squarepants, The King and I, and the revival of Side Show. Off Broadway he’s been in Pacific Overtures (Classic Stage Co.) and Here Lies Love (The Public). He was in the first national tour of Green Day’s American Idiot. Kelvin grew up on Long Island, NY and studied vocal performance at New York University.

Interviewer: Ryan Dawley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv9d5UvCR8c&feature=youtu.be

Submitted by Holly Israels

Legislation and Advocacy Update

This past week brought some great new resources for music educators, as well as some more insight for returning to school in the fall.

ACDA made it’s report available, “COVID-19 Response Committee Report (June 15, 2020). It outlines Instructional Models for choral professionals in secondary, post-secondary, collegiate, community choirs, and music in worship. While it is a comprehensive report that may feel a bit overwhelming at first, it contains excellent information to use when communicating with your district leadership.
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), in association with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), released its “Fall 2020 Guidance for Music Education” document to provide guidance for PreK-12 schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This document is an excellent complement to the ACDA report and can be a great resource for district leaders planning for the fall.
Michigan legislators unveiled a plan to “Return to Learn”, which proposes securing federal funding to aid schools and teachers. Governor Whitmer also announced next steps for school reopening in the fall. There is a planned announcement for Tuesday, June 30 that details “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap” to provide details on what will be required and recommended for schools. Governor Whitmer has pledged to continue working closely with the Return to Learn Advisory Council and leaders in health care for ensuring safe practices.

MSVMA’s Community Well committee regularly collects up to date resources pertinent to vocal music education. You are invited to visit MSVMA’s “A Community Well” page, as well as advocacy resources page for use in communicating with your district leaders.

Please direct any questions or concerns about MSVMA’s Community Well to Adam Wurst: WurstAda@APSFalcons.net.

https://acda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ACDA-COVID-19-Committee-Report.pdf

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/fall-2020-guidance-for-music-education/

Submitted by Adam Wurst

You are invited for a time to connect with other MSVMA members! Each Monday, we would like to meet together to talk about whatever is on your mind about your program, what inspired recently, questions about...well, anything! MSVMA has always been a great place for community and supporting one another as vocal music teachers. It’s important that we maintain our community in this time of change. Head over to the MSVMA Discussion Group on Facebook for the link that will be posted each Monday! Hope to see you there!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/844079995661076/

If you have any questions, please email Adam Wurst (WurstAda@APSFalcons.net) or Kathy Cunningham (kathycunningham@msvma.org).

Submitted by Adam Wurst

"A Community Well" Choral Rubric Curriculum

TOGETHER, our goal is to have 48 ready-made lessons for the Fall, addressing the rubric topics of Tone, Rhythm, Pitch, Diction, Interpretation, and Presentation. Now that school is out, we have begun receiving submissions, and they are GREAT! EVERYONE has something to offer. Please click on the graphic to submit a lesson idea that you’ve used in your classroom!
For more information, click here.

If you have any questions, please email Adam Wurst (WurstAda@APSFalcons.net) or Sarah Stockton (sarahstockton@wlcsd.org).

Submitted by Adam Wurst

Choral Student Leadership Online Opportunity July 29-30, 2020

As we are aware, the MSVMA Choral Student Leadership Conference was unfortunately canceled for the summer of 2020. We are planning to have an exciting conference in the summer of 2021 led by Dr. Matthew Arau, who was to be our headliner for 2020.

If you are looking for an opportunity to inspire your student leaders for this upcoming 20-21 school year, Dr. Arau is providing an online Upbeat! Virtual Leadership Academy (July 29-30, 2020) to reach students during this uncertain time. More details are available at Dr. Arau’s website: www.upbeatglobal.com

Dates for the 2021 MSVMA Student Leadership Conference are: July 27 - 28 in Port Huron.

Submitted by Wendee Wolf-Schlarf

Weekly Notes 6/18/2020

Friday, June 19, 2020 1:37 PM | Hannah Miller (Administrator)

This month, the Board of Directors was challenged to reflect on the value of MSVMA in their lives. Treasurer and scheduling guru Julia Holt shares her thoughts this week. Read More...

Join us for the 48th Summer Conference! For the first time offered online, attendees will enjoy professional development sessions designed for vocal music educators of all levels.

Registration Fees

Conference Pass $100

Student $65

Retired/Emeritus $65

1st Year Teacher $65

For more information, visit http://www.msvma.org/summerconference.

Register Now

Volunteerism is the lifeblood of the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. Our vast network of volunteers continues to ensure the success of our festivals and student opportunities. MSVMA is in need of the following positions for the upcoming school year:

Supervisor for State Choral Festivals
Host and Host schools for April 23-24 South State S&E
Host and Host schools for April 28, 29, 30 South State Choral Festival
Hosts and Host schools for May 10, 11 Central State Choral Festival

If you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions, please email Kathy Cunningham at kathycunningham@msvma.org

Registration is open now at https://bit.ly/TheatreWorkshops For full details, visit https://oakland.edu/smtd/community-engagement/
Questions? Email smtdadmissions@oakland.edu.

Subbmitted by Michelle Tschirhart

Submitted by Will Nichols

You are invited for a time to connect with other MSVMA members! Each Monday, we would like to meet together to talk about whatever is on your mind about your program, what inspired recently, questions about...well, anything! MSVMA has always been a great place for community and supporting one another as vocal music teachers. It’s important that we maintain our community in this time of change. Head over to the MSVMA Discussion Group on Facebook for the link that will be posted each Monday! Hope to see you there!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/844079995661076/

If you have any questions, please email Adam Wurst (WurstAda@APSFalcons.net) or Kathy Cunningham (kathycunningham@msvma.org).

Submitted by Adam Wurst

"A Community Well" Choral Rubric Curriculum

MSVMA members are working together to create a curriculum resource that can be used to teach the MSVMA Choral Performance Rubric in a variety of learning environments: In the classroom, online, or a hybrid model. You are invited to share your ideas for teaching Tone Quality, Pitch, Rhythm, Diction, Interpretation, and Presentation. Below is a great introduction video by Sarah Stockton (Walled Lake Western HS)! For more information, click here.

If you have any questions, please email Adam Wurst (WurstAda@APSFalcons.net) or Sarah Stockton (sarahstockton@wlcsd.org).

Submitted by Adam Wurst