Musician Vol. 69 No. 3

TMEA BACK THEN
• Then TMEA President W.J. Julian,
in a column titled “The President’s
Letter,” expressed his sincere thanks to
all who made the TMEA Convention,
which was held at the Hyatt Regency
in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 18th
through April 20th (1975). The event was
hailed as a success in all areas, including
financially, as Julian commented. What
was interesting in his message was that
he indicated that the TMEA Board had
met to discuss the possibility of having
the All-State ensembles as a part of the
TMEA Convention. Evidently, the All-
State Ensembles were somehow affiliated
with the TEA (Tennessee Education
Association) Annual Convention. Julian
had a conversation with then TEA
Executive Secretary Dr. Don Sahli who
indicated that TMEA should keep their
god relationship with TMEA by perhaps
having both conferences at the same time
so that TEA and TMEA could benefit
from the all-state ensembles. It was not
indicated in Julian’s letter as to how TEA
was benefitting from having the all-state
ensembles as a part of their convention.
Another interesting note in Julian’s letter
was that the same committee would
soon meet with the Tennessee State
Commissioner of Education Sam Ingram
in regards to the status of the State Music
Supervisor. Julian goes on in his letter to
indicate how unhappy TMEA was with the
lack of leadership being provided for music
education. Julian’s letter furthermore
admonishes the State Music Supervisor
for not attending a single TMEA Board
meeting “in years,” and “has not made
any contribution to the cause of musical
education in this state.” The State Music
Supervisor at the time was Robert Daniel.
• F. Michael Combs submitted a report
on his recent research on the music of
West Africa during the summer of 1973.
Combs received a sponsored research
grant from the Graduate School of the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His
article included information on the cultural
experience, as well as information about
his experiences in tribal settings, learning
music from rote and also included pictures
of the various instruments encountered
during his research.
• John Nelson was named as interim
music advisor for the Nashville Symphony
during the 1975-1976 season. This
appointment was made following the
death of Nashville Symphony Conductor
Thor Johnson on January 16th. Nelson
was among several finalists for the position
of music director and conductor. The
Nashville Symphony would ultimately
choose Michael Charry, who would serve
in the role as music director and conductor
of the Nashville Symphony until 1982.
• The Honorable Ray Blanton, former
Governor of the State of Tennessee, issued
a proclamation in support of MENC’s
nationwide observance of the first “Music
in our Schools Day,” which took place on
March 13th, 1975.
• An article titled “Importance of Music
Education in the Elementary School” was
written by Ethel B. Brooks who served
a principal at Aley Elementary School in
the Memphis City Schools. Her article
cited several anecdotes of the importance
of music education in the formative years
of students, and she particularly endorsed
Orff Music with a certificated music
teacher. Her article is just as relevant today
as it was then.
• The Tennessee Bandmasters Association,
under then president L. Howard Nicar
announced that its second annual
convention would be held at the Hyatt
Regency in Knoxville on July 13th through
July 15th, 1975. Annual membership dues
were $2.00.
THE TENNESSEE MUSICIAN (MARCH 1975)
Volume 27, No. 4 – 23 pgs.
W.J. Julian, TMEA President
Lawrence P. Cooney, Editor
48 | TENNESSEE MUSICIAN | 2017 | Volume 69, No. 3