Cultivating Excellence!

Appreciate - Inspire - Support - Guide

From the President

Casey Cropp

Hello CMEA Membership –

I love this time of year! The weather is beginning to stabilize, finalizing end-of-year details that bring out a healthy and welcome sense of accomplishment, looking forward to some downtime, evaluating all that has transpired throughout this year - maybe even beginning the early planning stages for the coming year… For those of us who no longer get to be around students and ensembles daily, I will always miss that part of teaching more than anything!

CMEA Leadership are in the first stages of ensuring we are ready for you all in January. It is already time to request performance and clinic applications for CMEA 2025!! The theme of our upcoming conference is “Cultivating Excellence! Appreciate – Inspire – Support – Guide!!”  I hope you will consider submitting your ensemble recordings for performance in January. Over the past 44 years of attending CMEA, I’ve encountered conference attendees who wished they had submitted their ensemble! Or that groups selected to perform didn’t reflect the type of ensembles they had daily. Well, now is your opportunity! Why not?? What’s the worst that can happen? Anyone can find an excuse not to try… everyone has the opportunity to take a chance. I advise each of you that if you think you might be interested in applying to perform, reach out to someone who has performed before and get their feedback and suggestions on what they experienced. It might be exactly what your program needs to take a step forward or what you need to keep you sharp!

One more opportunity shared with me from NAfME is a request that I am attaching to give students a platform to demonstrate some of their compositional talents. Please take note of the following:

On behalf of Deb Confredo, Lisa Crawford is collecting compositions we might share with attendees for various events at the Assembly June 9-13 (in Washington D.C. at the NAfME National Assembly)!

Lisa requests that you invite music educators to submit their students' creative works. These may be digital songs or compositions of any genre. We welcome MP3s and MP4s and hope music educators might appreciate the opportunity to highlight some of their students' projects!

Lisa's email address is lisacrawfordmusic@gmail.com. Music educators may contact her with music files before May 10, giving her time to organize submitted projects.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Dr. Lisa Crawford

NAfME Composition Council, Chair

--Finish strong CMEA!!!--

Casey

From the Executive Director

William Kohut

I sincerely hope everyone is having a wonderful spring and a strong finish to the 2023-2024 school year. It is hard to believe that we are in the month of May, and schools will finish this school year in a few weeks. 

It is time to focus on plans for CMEA in 2024-2025, and plans are beginning to take shape for our next Conference. Below is essential information regarding submitting a proposal to present at the 2025 conference, submitting a recording to be considered as a 2025 Honor Performing Ensemble at the annual conference, or nominating someone for a CMEA Honor Award. Information, timelines, and the links for these submissions are now available.

Early bird registration for the 2025 conference opens on August 1, 2024. Register early to secure the lowest registration rates. 

Interested in Presenting at the 2025 CMEA Conference?

The Colorado Music Educators Association is accepting proposals for workshops, clinics, and professional development sessions for the 2025 Clinic/Conference, for CMEA Honor Performing Groups, and for CMEA Honor Award recipients. See the complete timeline below.

CONFERENCE DATES: Wednesday, January 29; Thursday, January 30; Friday, January 31; Saturday, February 1, 2025

CONFERENCE LOCATION: Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Call for Proposals for Conference Presentations

• The proposal form opens Wednesday, May 1, 2024
• The form closes Monday, June 3, 2024
• Proposals are considered at the State Assembly meeting on June 8, 2024
• Proposals will be finalized by June 21, 2024
• Presenters will be notified by Margie Camp of acceptance by July 1, 2024

To submit a SESSION PROPOSAL

CLICK HERE

Call for submissions for Conference Honor Performing Groups

• The submission form opens Wednesday, May 1, 2024
• The form closes Monday, June 3, 2024
• Groups selected on June 8, 2024
• CMEA President notifies those groups selected by June 17, 2024

To submit an

HONOR PERFORMING GROUP

CLICK HERE

Interested in nominating someone for a CMEA Honor Award?

Nomination form links will be released on August 1, 2024.

CMEA Honor Award Nominations

• The submission form opens on Thursday, August 1, 2024
• The form closes on Friday, October 4, 2024
• Selection Committee meets by October 25, 2024
• Award Recipients notified by CMEA Past-President by Thursday, October 31, 2024

Have a wonderful month of May and do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Tri-M News

Michelle Ewer, chair

Greetings from Tri-M,

Happy May, and the final stretch to summer vacation. I hope the end of the year is going smoothly, and you can start checking things off your list. The Tri-M Recognition of Excellence Award is a wonderful way to celebrate your members who do so much for your organization. When filling out the form, you choose how you want it worded and what the student is being rewarded for. National Tri-M will send you a very professional certificate to hand out to your students. The link is www.nafme.org/Tri-M. Scroll down for the application.  The deadline for submissions is May 10^th, so do not wait too long to complete this. You must be a registered chapter through NAFME to be eligible for this award.

Is your chapter “Chapter of the Year” Material? There is only one way to find out, and that is to apply. The format and questions have changed a bit this year to gather the information needed. The link is www.nafme.org/Tri-M  Click on the For Educators Tab. I encourage you to apply. I know there are fantastic things happening in Colorado. You must be a registered chapter through NAFME to be eligible for this award.

While I can’t give out full details yet, please know that there are some fantastic things in the works for Tri-M Day 2025. It will be held on Wednesday, January 29^th, at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. All directors who bring students to Tri-M Day must be registered to attend the convention as well. Peter Boonshaft will be our Keynote speaker. It is going to be an exciting, rewarding day. Start planning now to attend.

Do you know of someone who would be a great presenter at Tri-M Day? Perhaps you have an idea to share. The application window for CMEA opens May 1^st at www.cmeaonline.org. Please consider filling out a submission. We are always looking for new ideas to add to our day.

How will you end your year with Tri-M? A concert at a Nursing Home? A Solo Festival? An adopt a street or park campaign?  The possibilities are endless. Whatever you choose, let the chapter lead. You have a ton on your plate already. Have them be involved in the planning. Your students are creative and love being in Tri-M. Let them help guide the end-of-the-year activities.

In closing, let me say how much I enjoy being your Tri-M Chair. I love to see how many directors embrace Tri-M and take the extra step to attend Tri-M Day. I realize it is not feasible for some, and I understand the expense and logistics of the day. Please know that you and your students are always welcome, and I look forward to getting started with Tri-M Day 2025 soon. Enjoy your well-deserved break, and thank you for allowing your students to experience Tri-M.

Sincerely,

Michelle Ewer

Colorado Tri-M Chair

National Tri-M Advisory Board

New Process to Order Music Awards

The Colorado Music Educators Association is proud to partner with Western Awards and Recognition for the purchase of All-State Medals and Perpetual Plaques, CHSSA Large Festival Plaques, CMEA Conference Honor Performing Group Medals and Patches, and Solo and Ensemble Medals. Click on the link below to obtain an order form and either email or mail this Western Awards and Recognition. Western Awards and Recognition can also be reached at (303)-699-5691 or through email at westernawards@comcast.net .

Click HERE to download the awards order form.

Support our 2024 CMEA Exhibitors

Click HERE to see the exhibitor listings