North Carolina Music Educators Association
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The North Carolina Music Educators Association is the North Carolina affiliate of the Music Educators National Conference. Growing from its roots that began with the North Carolina Contest Festival at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, it now meets annually in Winston Salem, a city known for its rich cultural history and on-going commitment to the arts, every November. Its current president is Jerry Cribbs, a music educator from the Wilmington area. It is based in Charlotte, where former state president Reta Pfifer is now Executive Director. David Albert, director of bands at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, serves as president elect.
History
The history of the NCMEA can be divided into four segments, 1) the evolution of the Contest-Festival which began under the leadership of Wade R. Brown at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1920, 2) the North Carolina State Music Teachers Association, an organization of African-American music educators established at North Carolina Central University and Hillside High School by the late Samuel Hill in 1931, 3) the North Carolina Music Educators Conference, which was established in 1947 under the presidency of Ezra Weiss, a faculty member at Guilford College, and 4) the present-day North Carolina Music Educators Association, which was formed in 1970 from the NCSMTA and the NCMEC.
From 1931 to 1970, African-American music educators were members of the North Carolina State Music Teacher's Association. During the course of this organization's history, there were only three presidents, the last one being Hortense Reid Kerr. The activities of this organization centered around North Carolina Central University. It was under her leadership, that the organization merged with the historically white North Carolina Music Educators Conference.
The period of the organization’s history between 1947 and 1970 was traced in the thesis, From Contest to Merger: a History of the North Carolina Music Educators Association/Conference, completed by John Brian Heath at Appalachian State University under the mentorship of Dr. Victor Mansure.
Additional insightful historical resources include Dr. Jane McKinney's dissertation on three leaders in music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. McKinney's dissertation was recognized by the Council on Research in Music Education as the best in the nation (Peggy Longmire, Making Music Happen, Greensboro News and Record, August 2009). Harold Jeffrey's 1988 dissertation on Herbert Hazelman, who was for many years director of bands at Greensboro's Grimsley High School, contains a great deal of information on the organization's roots viz-a-vi his discussions about Hazelman's career.
Publication
The official publication of the organization is the North Carolina Music Educator, which has been published since 1952. Former editors include Herbert Hazelman, John R. Locke, and George W. Knight.
Leadership
To ensure diverse representation among its leadership, the NCMEA's constitution is set up so that each third elected leader is to come from a minority background. In other words, if elections for state office are to take place in 2010, 2012, and 2014, the officer elected in 2014 must be from a minority background. These guidelines for diversity were established at the merger of the NCMEC and the NCSMTA in 1970.
The presidential leadership consists of a "president elect" who serves for two years, a "president" who serves for two years, and a "past president" who serves for two years. Thus, the commitment of the president is a six year commitment.
The state board of officers typically meets quarterly. When it does not meet in Winston Salem in November, it often meets in Burlington or another centrally located city in the state.
Well-known past presidents include Dr. John R. Locke, Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Ralph Shumaker, retired professor of music education at East Carolina University; Dr. Mary Beth Yoder-White, former professor of music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Appalachian State University; Barbara Bair, late professor of music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and Dr. Charles Gilchrist, professor of music education at North Carolina Central University.
Conventions
From the early 1920s into the 1960s, the annual inservice conference was held on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. With merger with the NCSMTA in 1970, conventions were held in Raleigh, Durham, and Wilmington. Beginning in 1974, the annual conference has been held each November in Winston-Salem, primarily at the Benton Convention Center, adjoining hotels, and at the Stevens Center for the Arts on the campus of the University of North Carolina School for the Arts. The convention traditionally begins with a weekend of rehearsals for all-state orchestra and honors chorus, culminating with the opening of the exhibit hall at noon on Sunday, which opened one year to the sounds of the Canadian Brass. That afternoon, workshops and concerts take place. The finale of the opening day of the conference is the Sunday night general session, which for many years consisted of a showcase like concert from one of the major universities in the state. The day's activities conclude with a variety of informal networking opportunities held in the two host hotels. Sunday is typically the busiest day of the conference, as many return to their local areas on Monday.
Monday is made up of meetings and concerts, with elections for regional officers taking place that afternoon. Monday afternoon and evening includes alumni receptions for area universities, followed by an evening general session. The Monday evening general session typically consists of a guest speaker, the presentation of awards, officer installations, and a featured concert. While this concert can be a university showcase type concert like the traditional Sunday night concert, from time to time it may be a professional ensemble or military band. As is the case on Sunday evenings, Monday's activities are also rounded out by informal networking activities. Organizations such as the Percussion Arts Society, the American Choral Directors Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota, and other organizations sharing a common interest with the NCMEA often offer alumni and networking events during the conference.
Tuesday's half day schedule consists of several additional workshops, and a luncheon for incoming and outgoing state officers. No general sessions are held on Tuesday.
Throughout the convention, the exhibit hall is abuzz with vendors sharing cookie and fruit samples, major universities sharing information about the music degrees offered on their campus, instrument vendors demonstrating their products, etc. The exhibit hall provides a wealth of networking opportunities, as participants range from beginning collegiate members, to active music educators at both the K-12 and university level, to those in retirement.
Past guest speakers at the conference have included Tim Lautzenheizer.
Collegiate Membership
For many music education majors, participation in CMENC and the annual inservice conference is par for the course. Collegiate involvement flourished under the leadership of Bill McCloud, who served as advisor to the collegiate section of NCMEA until shortly before his death in 2002. The current collegiate state president is Jason Morton of East Carolina University. Past presidents include Niegel Sullivan, Charles Burts, Michael T. Sanders, Lem Hardy, Colbert Page Howell, Matthew Townsend, among others.