Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great holiday season filled with wonderful performances, joy-filled times with family and friends, and opportunities to recharge your passion for kids and music.

It’s been a busy and productive time since the publication of the Fall eNewsletter.  Here are some highlights:

The full Board of Directors met in Toronto November 6-8 for our annual series of face-to-face meetings and Annual General Meeting. These were held in conjunction with the OMEA conference Con Brio. The meetings were very productive and Board members thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of the OMEA hosts. Thanks to co-chairs Kevin Merkley and Jane Wamsley and their conference committee - Con Brio was a brilliant success!

Along with the meetings, there were opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate OMEA’s 60th and CMEA/Acme’s 50th anniversaries. One of the highlights was the premiere performance of I Am Song, Je Suis Chanson, the winning entry for our 50th anniversary song competition. Members will be able to purchase copies from our website in the very near future. Composer Jean McKen has generously offered to donate the proceeds from the sale of this song to create a special fund to establish a scholarship for young musicians who show talent, motivation, and a need for financial support to further their studies in music. Thanks Jean!

At the AGM, the motion to adopt a plan for restructuring our organization (announced on the CMEA website and in the last eNewsletter) was approved. This should result in streamlining and improved efficiency within the organization. It will also enable us to better fulfill the mandate of the 2008 Strategic Plan.

We recently relaunched our new and improved website (cmea.ca). Thanks to MAL David Ennis for the time and expertise he put into making these improvements.  If you have not done so recently, be sure to visit cmea.ca soon – we have received many favorable comments on the new site!

This past fall we participated in two important events:  

The Promise of Music in Toronto on Wednesday, October 28, 2009, which was co-sponsored by the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Glenn Gould Foundation and the SOCAN Foundation. A highlight of the event was the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra under the electrifying leadership of maestro Gustavo Dudamel. This orchestra is part of Venezuela’s revolutionary music education program, El Sistema, founded by Dr. José Antonio Abreu. El Sistema has transformed the futures of millions of young people through the power of music and has produced one of the world’s foremost orchestras. For a quick glimpse to learn more about this amazing program go to www.promise-of-music.com/eng/videos.html

The Canadian National Arts & Learning Symposium (CNALS) in Toronto on Dec. 9. The purpose was to galvanize arts educators, arts education associations, and government agencies in Canada into a cohesive group to work as an important group of stakeholders and participants in the dialogue at UNESCO’s second conference on arts education in Seoul South Korea next May.

Secretary-Treasurer, Eric Favaro, very capably represented CMEA at both of these events. Thanks Eric!

Immediate Past President, Mary Dinn, is co-chairing the upcoming 2nd ISME North American Regional Seminar and Summit March 25-26, 2010 in Anaheim California. I will represent CMEA and our country in the discussions and present a keynote address. See cmea.ca blogs for details.

With great regret, the Board recently accepted Kevin Merkley’s resignation as one of four Members-at-Large. Kevin was a valued Board member and we miss his contributions greatly. At the same time, we thank him for his service to Canadian music education as a CMEA/Acme Board member for the past two and a half years and are confident that he will continue to serve in a variety of other capacities.

Following protocols specified in the Policy Manual, the elected Board agreed at the December meeting to appoint someone to fill the vacancy until the end of Kevin’s term (June 30, 2011). In 2011 an election will be held to fill the position. If you or any member you know is interested in serving please contact me at edwin.wasiak@uleth.ca for more details.

Take care out there everyone!

Sincerely,

Ed Wasiak, D.M.A.

President, Canadian Music Educators' Association/
L'Association canadienne des musiciens éducateurs (CMEA/ACME)

“Together We Are the CMEA/ACME - Promoting Excellence In Music Education”