NC Music Educator Conference Edition 2022

Main is a member of the American Choral Directors
Association, the Missouri Choral Directors Association, the
National Association for Music Education and the American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He currently
serves on the National Association for Music Education’s Council
on Music Composition.
Conference Performance Choirs
about teaching beginner choir students and preparing them for
high school choir.
In her years at Enka, Almquist’s students have been regularly
chosen for the North Carolina Middle School Honors Chorus,
the North Carolina Middle School All-State Chorus and the
Buncombe County Schools All-County Chorus. Under her
direction, the choirs also consistently earn excellent and superior
ratings at the North Carolina MPA in performance and sight
reading.
Elementary
Dawn Wilson, Chair
Almquist grew up in Mississippi, Kentucky, Texas, and
North Carolina, and currently lives in Leicester, just outside of
Asheville. She is a member of NAfME and NCMEA. She also
teaches private piano and voice lessons.
Enka Middle School Eighth Grade Advanced Choir
The Enka Middle School Eighth Grade Advanced Choir has
been in place since before Amy Almquist arrived 24 years ago.
This group has performed at the local nursing home, feeder
elementary schools and intermediate school, the Biltmore House,
Chattanooga Lookouts game, Grove Park Inn, and various other
smaller venues.
The work ethic in this choir is outstanding because they love
a challenge. These students eagerly tackle difficult music, not
giving up until they have achieved their goal. Students from this
choir are regularly chosen for NCMEA Honors Chorus, NCMEA
All-State Chorus, and Buncombe County Schools All-County
Chorus. This group is also consistently awarded excellent and
superior ratings at MPA every year.
Enka Middle School was founded in 1986 and serves grades
seven and eight with an enrollment of just over six hundred
students. It is a comprehensive middle school that emphasizes
academic excellence, student engagement and school safety.
It is a great school with wonderful students, a dedicated and
hard-working faculty/staff, and a supportive community. With
continuous improvement as the goal, paying attention to details
will result in all students reaching their full potential as they
prepare for their future in education and beyond.
Amy Almquist
Amy Almquist graduated from Mars Hill College in 1997 with
two bachelor degrees in music performance and music education.
In 2005, she finished a third degree in middle grades language
arts, also from Mars Hill College. She has been the director of
choirs at Enka Middle School for 24 years, and is passionate
Harris Road Eighth Grade Mixed Chorus
The Eighth Grade Mixed Chorus performance history during
Rachel Juliano’s time at Harris Road is MPA superior ratings in
2018, 2019, and 2022
Harris Road Middle School opened its doors in 2002, with 780
students, 56 certified staff members, and 35 support staff. Due to
population growth in the area, Harris Road experienced a major
increase in the number of students enrolled. In 2016, Harris
Road was named a Global Ready School. In 2017, it was named a
Model School.
Rachel Juliano
Rachel Juliano graduated from Lock Haven University of
Pennsylvania in 2013, and started working for Cabarrus County
Schools. She started her teaching career at Concord High School.
In 2017, she moved to Harris Road Middle School where she
currently teaches. While at Harris Road, her ensembles
have accumulated eight MPA superior ratings.
They have also traveled and received superiors at
Carowinds Festival of Music and Music in the
Parks Festivals.
Our Professional Development Conference, Redefining
Success, has been planned with you, the elementary music
teacher, in mind. Are you in a larger city with plenty of
materials? In a rural district with few resources and little space?
Lucky enough to have lots of space and materials? On a cart? Have
less than 5 years experience? More than 15 years? Do you talk with
other music teachers often? Are you isolated and feel alone?
Our sessions will appeal to everyone, as we continue to work on
connections – with other music teachers, with students, and with
curriculum. The elementary board worked hard to provide you
with a variety of beneficial and enjoyable sessions, no matter your
teaching location, situation, or experience.
Saturday will include instruments, dance, and some clarification
on utilizing African music in our classrooms. Will Ulrich
(Wauwatosa School District, WI) will present Ukulele Strum
and Hum: Introducing Ukulele to the Young Musician in the
morning, and World Drumming Basics in the afternoon. Although
both of these sessions are titled as introductory, he will go through
next steps and share more advanced ideas as well.
Anzhelika Surratt (Phoenix Academy) will present Russian
Folk Songs from her home country; be ready for lots of energy
and dancing! Dr. Georgiary Bledsoe (GIA Publishing) will address
America is Not Europe: Making Space for Africentric Music.
Composer Andy Beck (Alfred Music) will present some of his
pieces with Just Add Kids.
Sunday will begin with Dr. Ran Whitley (Macie Publishing),
ESL in the Recorder Classroom; learn strategies for reaching
all students, and how to simplify instruction and ensure student
success. We will go from playing recorder to moving with Katie
Grace Miller’s (Lorenz Corporation) Magical Movement in the
Music Classroom. Marla Butke (Music is Elementary) will help us
incorporate more SEL with Uniting Dalcroze Eurhythmics with
Social Emotional Learning.
of songs from sweet ballads, to silly and fun, adding some holiday
pieces in there as well.
Monday is packed with sessions. Dr. Katy Strand (Appalachian
State) and Mazie Sullivan will begin our day with More Musical
Adventures in SEL with Children’s Literature, followed by Dr.
Ran Whitley with Recorders Around the World: Incorporating
Cultural Diversity in the Classroom Through Orff. Katie Grace
Miller will present Awesome Books with Musical Hooks, using a
variety of instrumentation, and then an important topic for all of
us, Care of the Music Educator: Redefining Vocal Success in the
Classroom by Dr. Rebecca Loar from UNC Pembroke.
If you haven’t already done so, visit the exhibits and stop by the
clinician sponsor booths on Monday, as they close at 5 p.m. After
lunch, please attend the Elementary Section Business Meeting.
Come be a part of the decision-making process, volunteer to be a
part of our outreach throughout the year, and help elect new officers
for the board. Do you know an outstanding teacher who is also
organized and willing to run as chair-elect? Could it be you? Send
your nomination to elementary_section@ncmea.net before Nov 1.
Katie Grace Miller will present her last session Monday
afternoon, Beginners at the Bars, followed by Miranda Walker’s
(Level Cross Elementary) Show Me What You Know. This session
will include how to incorporate projects for upper elementary
students to showcase their knowledge, including small group work.
We will round out the afternoon with the dynamic duo, Dr. Zadda
Bazzy (Onslow County) and Janae Copeland (W-S/Forsyth County)
presenting More Bang for Your Book: Literature in the 3 – 5
Music Classroom. Don’t miss keynote speaker Dr. Peter Boonshaft
at the end of the day, with his inspiring words for music educators!
Tuesday finishes the conference strong: Creative Movement
Through the Laban Efforts by Kelly Poquette (Alamance Virtual
School) and Empowering Students Through Music Composition
by Joseph Girgenti and Douglas Rowe (Union County Schools).
The Elementary Honors Chorus will perform live this year, so
please do not miss that noon concert! Even if you do not teach
chorus, come and be inspired! Sunday afternoon will bring us
Places, Please! Reader’s Theatre in the Music Classroom by Dr.
Karen Thomas (Winston-Salem State University), a session with
Honors Chorus Clinician, Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins, giving us teaching
strategies and choral conducting techniques. Andy Beck will lead us
in a reading session New 2 Part Choral Repertoire with a variety
It’s been a busy summer and a great (normal!) start to the new
school year. I look forward to seeing all of you at Conference. Bring
a colleague (or three!) and we’ll have a fun weekend with friends
singing, dancing, playing, and learning new teaching techniques. In
the meantime, please reach out with any questions you may have;
that’s what NCMEA is for. If you have ideas for mini-conference in
the spring, or the 2023 conference, let us know that, too!
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