The Florida Music Education Association (FMEA) is a non-profit umbrella association of music education groups in the State of Florida that sets standards for the state in music education, provides continuing education and training opportunities to music educators in the state, provides a job bank for music educators, promotes the interests of music education with state and federal legislators, and showcases the top talents in high school and college jazz, concert band, classical and choral performance in their annual FMEA All-State honor bands and orchestras at their annual meeting in Tampa in January of each year.
Board of directors
Board members of the FMEA include:
- A president
- A president-elect
- A past president
- A legal council
- A conference chair
- A member-at-large.
Umbrella Organization
The FMEA Board of Directors also includes the presidents of the major music education organizations in the state, including:
- Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA)
- Florida Collegiate Music Educators Association (FCMEA)
- Florida Orchestra Association
- Florida Elementary Music Educators Association (FEMEA)
- Florida Vocal Association (FVA)
- Florida Music Supervision Association (FMSA)
- National Association for Music Education Collegiate (NAfME Collegiate)
Mission
The FMEA describes its mission as the promotion of "quality, comprehensive music education for all Florida Students as a part of their complete education."
White Papers
The FMEA puts out multi-year strategic planning and review white papers to help their members educate millions of children from elementary school to post-graduate work, and to continue to promote the importance of music education in the schools in Florida.
Music Demonstration Schools
The FMEA works with the Florida Department of Education to showcase schools who do exemplary work in educating students in music.
Summer Institute
The organization hosts a summer institute at the University of South Florida annually for continuing education of Florida music educators.
Annual Meeting
The FMEA hosts an annual meeting at the Tampa Convention Center each January that includes continuing education seminars, a trade show, organizational meetings, and rehearsals and performances of the Florida All-State bands and orchestras.
Trade Show
The annual trade show at the FMEA Tampa meeting is one of the largest in the state, bringing music publishing, equipment manufacturers, software companies, group travel companies, fundraising organizations, and major college and university recruiting programs to their members, the members of the organizations of FMEA, and the students attending the event for performances.
All-State & Honor Bands
Each year the FMEA is the host organization that sponsors the Florida All-State bands, orchestras, and choirs. Audition music is selected and sent to schools all over the state. Students prepare and then audition, usually at the beginning of the academic school year in their county, by making a blind-audition recording. The recordings are distributed to expert faculty who review the recordings and score them. The top students in the state are then selected to perform at the FMEA's annual convention in Tampa.
- Florida All-State Symphonic Band - High school students in 11th and 12th grade from concert bands around the state are selected to perform in this ensemble of 90-110 players of brass, woodwind, and percussive instruments.
- Florida All-State Concert Band - High school students in 9th and 10th grade from concert bands from around the state are selected to perform in this ensemble of 90-110 players of brass, woodwind, and percussive instruments.
- Florida All-State Middle School Concert Band - Middle school students from concert bands from around the state are selected to perform in this ensemble of 90-120 players of brass, woodwind, and percussive instruments.
- Florida All-State Orchestra - Students who play stringed instruments and classical brass and woodwind instruments from around the state are selected to perform in this ensemble of 60-70 students
- Florida All-State Jazz Band - 17-18 jazz students from around the State of Florida are selected to play in a big band.
- Florida All-State Guitar Ensemble - 40-45 guitar students from around the State of Florida are selected to perform a variety of classical guitar repertoire.
Sponsors
The FMEA is subsidized by member dues and by sponsorship from the Florida Music Industry Council
External links
- Florida Music Education