Monday Notes

We hope your October is going well and you are enjoying the cooler weather. October, although busy, is an exciting time of concerts, marching contests, auditions, programs and yes...even a fall break or two! Have a great week!

Please remember the following audition registration deadlines and make sure to enter students into Opus prior to the deadlines:

Band & Jazz - Early registration deadline

• October 16th at 5:00 pm

Band & Jazz - Late registration deadline

• October 23rd at 5:00 pm

The system automatically closes early registration at 5:00 pm on the 16th. Any registrations submitted after 5:00 pm will be at the late registration fee ($44.00).

As you know audition time is getting very close! Please reference this link to review the audition process as well as a tutorial video.

Please review the above link but also keep in mind these important reminders regarding playback tracks:

• Opus will not play backing tracks (jazz improvisation & choral piece). These will need to be played on an external device. This should simplify the process for you (balance and computing power).
• Choral/Vocal Jazz excerpt accompaniment tracks are voice specific (the auditioned part must be muted). See NMMEA website for specifics.
• Instrumental Jazz students will only use a backing track for Improvisation. Backing tracks will not be used for the Swing & Funk etudes.

Have a great senior planning on majoring in music education at a New Mexico university? Share the following link to the NMMEA scholarship!

• Link

We know how valuable your time is and no one really wants to do another survey, but please take a few minutes and complete this NFHS survey. NFHS is a great partner to NMMEA and their work helps music education advocacy nationally. The deadline to complete the survey is October 15th. Thank you!

• Survey

A bit more about the survey: This survey is for ALL K-12 Music educators. NFHS will be using results of this survey to create recruitment materials for potential/new teachers and to strengthen advocacy efforts for current teachers in the field. All responses will help create a more complete picture on the status of music education across the country

Have you signed up yet for the directors Trumpet Ensemble? Don't miss out on a great time and a chance to show students that you still know how to play! As you know, the 2025 conference will open with a special Directors' Trumpet Ensemble! This ensemble will rehearse early Wednesday afternoon, just before the opening concert.

To participate, you must be a full active member of NMMEA whose primary instrument is trumpet. We especially encourage our general music teachers who are trumpet players to join in this unique performance opportunity! If you're interested, submit your name here!

Don’t miss your chance to attend the inaugural State Marching Band Contest, co-hosted by NMMEA and NMMA! This exciting all-day event will showcase thirty-two bands in the prelims, with ten advancing to finals. Plan your day and check out the schedule here!

• Purchase tickets here!

A huge win for music education this week in the release a letter from the US Department of Education to school leadership! Thank you NAfME and our partner organizations for your endless advocacy for music education!

• Link to article