Monday Notes

Happy Monday! It's a big week for NMMEA with choir, guitar, and orchestra auditions continuing, and the state Marching Contest happening this Saturday! Exciting times for music and students!

It has arrived...State Marching Band Contest week! Skip the lines and get tickets and merchandize below! Don't miss out...or be stuck in a line! Please share this information with your students and parents.

• Tickets
• Merchandize

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.

Make sure to review the following deadlines regarding auditions and registrations.

• October 23 (5:00 pm) - close of late registration period for Band and Jazz.
• October 26 (3:00 pm) - close of audition window for Choir, Guitar and Orchestra.
• October 30 - audition window opens for Band and Jazz.
• November 9 (3:00 pm) - close of audition window for Band and Jazz.

An advocacy challenge that your students and staff will enjoy? We have one!

• Teach a small group, or the entire class, “Happy Birthday” and then send them to serenade staff and administrators on their birthdays.
  

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

• Link

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!

Just a reminder to register for the upcoming professional conference! Don't miss out on the chance to learn, connect, and have some fun with your colleagues.

• Click here to register