Corey Riley

The New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA) is pleased to announce application procedures for participation in the annual NYSBDA Symposium in Syracuse, New York, from March 4-6, 2022. The theme of the 2022 Symposium is Rebuilding. If you are interested in presenting your own clinic or having your group present a performance clinic, on this topic or any other, please follow these application procedures:

In an effort to help teachers, students, and families make the decision whether or not to apply for the 2022 NYSBDA Symposium Honor Band, we are sharing our COVID Protocols for the ensembles: 
 

• Students will be housed in double rooms. Every effort will be made to house students from the same school together.
• Covid vaccinations are required unless medically exempt. If medically exempt, a negative covid test within 72 hours is required . (Proof of medical exemption is also required)
• There will be a minimum of three feet between each musician.
• Percussion and rhythm section musicians will be masked at all times. Bell covers will be required for all wind players.
• Masks must be worn by wind players when not playing. Musician masks are acceptable.
• Brass players must provide some form of condensation container (puppy pad, towel, etc.). Brass players will be responsible for the disposal of these containers.
• Masks will be worn at all times when indoors, except when eating.
• If a student is not feeling well, they will be quarantined immediately and evaluated by on-site medical personnel.
• These protocols are subject to change based on CDC and state guidelines.

Featuring:

• Summer Conference Wrap-Up
• 2022 Honor Band Information and Application
• Membership Form

Highlights include:

• Summer Conference Preview
• Summer Directors Band
• Symposium 2021 Recap
• Call For Clinicians
• Welcome to the Board
• Membership Form

NYSBDA Summer Directors Band

NYS Virtual Summer Music Conference 2021

August 15-17, 2021

Virtual- Performance Video- August 17th 8:30 p.m.

This summer the NYSSMA Summer Conference is Virtual. You are invited to participate in the NYSBDA Virtual Directors Band! 

Please follow this link to NYSBDA Virtual Directors Band information.  Complete the registration google form with your information. IF you are planning on submitting more than one part, please enter in the secondary instrument line. 

Parts are also available following the link above, as are directions for recording and submissions. Due date is July 10 by 5 p.m. 

Percussion- no parts will be doubled, so please be specific with the part you wish to play. First come first served! I will be reaching out if additional parts need to be covered.

All participants are encouraged to be current NYSBDA members who are registered for the New York State Summer Music Conference.

Questions? Contact NYSBDA 3rd VP Jackie Kovacs at vp3@nysbda.org

March 5-7

It is not too late to register for the 2021 NYSBDA Virtual Symposium. You can register at any point, and after you register you will receive the appropriate links to attend the sessions.

Videos and handouts from the 2021 NYSBDA Virtual Symposium will be made available to active members after the conference.

Virtual Symposium Schedule

January 2021 Bandstand Highlights: 

• Call for Summer Conference
• 2021 Honor Band Experience
• What to Expect at the Virtual Symposium
• Symposium Schedule
• Composer Spotlight
• Gimkit: The Crockpot of Virtual Learning
• Region 1 Workshop Review
• Symposium Registration 
• Membership Form 

 

 

This has been a year of profound and enduring challenges for so many of us. And yet, we have come up with so many new ways to continue doing what we love with our students. In this spirit, the 40^th annual NYSBDA Symposium will take place virtually on March 5-7, 2021 (Friday-Sunday), and it will be FREE to anyone. While this format necessitates several new approaches, many of your favorite Symposium traditions will continue, including our Honor Bands, clinics from our colleagues, and a truly fabulous Keynote speaker. This year’s Symposium will focus especially on issues of equity and inclusion, topics that have become all the more relevant in our new, COVID-altered world.

Friday begins at 4pm with Armand Hall from the ROCmusic Collective and Leah McGray from SUNY Geneseo discussing how to authentically represent diverse cultures and perspectives in our ensembles. Miles DeCastro returns at 5pm to offer an unusually up-close look at some common instrument repairs. After a dinner break, we have the first of two Performance Showcases at 8pm. These will feature one recorded piece each from several different ensembles from around the state. We would like to include groups at every level, size, type, and circumstance, so that we can all show each other how we were able to perform amidst the challenges of the pandemic. So if your band has been able to perform in any way at all, please submit your best piece for consideration. The application is at https://forms.gle/NZ6wgJvHFLQeKUpM7, and is due on February 1. In keeping with tradition, this and the Saturday Performance Showcase will both be followed by a Happy Hour.

Saturday is the most extensive day of the Symposium. At 9am, NYSSMA Manual chair Kathryn Struzik will lead a panel discussion about what to expect from the Virtual Evaluation Festivals coming this spring. At 10am, Frances Flancbaum and Jenna Stango will walk us through their rural music programs and the challenges and successes of bringing them to life. This session will be particularly valuable for those of us in any sort of community who are looking to rebuild our programs after the shock of COVID. Our Middle School Honor Band conductor, Cheldon Williams, will then help us find artistry in our teaching. After lunch, the Honors Jazz Band conductor, Steve Wilson, will join his manager, Laura Hartmann, in discussing how to involve guest artists with band programs at any level. This will be followed by our general membership meeting at 2pm, which is not to be missed!

This year’s keynote speaker is Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, and that organization’s first ever African-American principal player. He is also an international soloist and a vocal advocate for justice. He and I will engage in a wide-ranging conversation about race and equity in classical music, his strategies for staying active as a musician during COVID, and more, with time for questions. This will be followed by a discussion with NYSBDA’s Equity and Inclusion Committee, led by committee chair Sarah Wolff.

Saturday evening will focus again on performance. The Honor Band concert at 5pm will feature all three of our usual groups (High School Concert Band, Honors Jazz Band, Middle School Honor Band) in pre-recorded, virtual band performances. These are being rehearsed and assembled starting this month, with help and input from their conductors, the NYSBDA board, and a great many volunteers who are leading virtual sectionals, not to mention the Honor Band students who are adapting their considerable talents to this new format. After a dinner break, we will feature another Performance Showcase, followed again by a Happy Hour.

Sunday will be a day to relax and focus on our physical and mental health through movement. The day will begin at 9:30am with Erin Tapia leading a health and wellness session for band directors that will include discussion, breathing, and stretching. Make sure you dress comfortably! Our final session will feature High School Honor Band conductor Bradley Genevro helping us translate our artistic interpretations of music into movement. As a coda for our newest members, we will end the Symposium with a Young Teachers’ Forum, an extra chance to reflect and connect.

We look forward to seeing you in a glowing Zoom box at the Symposium!

Andy Pease

NYSBDA First Vice President

Show us what your band is doing to perform in these challenging circumstances. Any and all formats are welcome, from bands at all levels: elementary, middle, high school, collegiate, community, and professional. Concert, marching, and jazz bands are all encouraged to apply, as well as any non-conventional ensembles that you’ve come up with. Submissions will be gathered and presented as part of a Pandemic Performance Showcase during the NYSBDA Virtual Symposium, March 5-7, 2020. Contact NYSBDA 1st VP Andy Pease with any questions – vp1@nysbda.org

DUE February 1, 2021 at 5pm.