©2025 Ohio Music Education Association
FROM THE President's DESK
OMEA Membership Makes Teaching Music Better!
OMEA Membership Makes Teaching Music Better!
Brian Stevens, President
Brian Stevens,
President
As we begin a new school year, I am filled with immense pride and gratitude for our OMEA community. As I look back on my career, I can’t imagine “going it alone” without the opportunities, support, and community that OMEA has provided. I am a firm believer that OMEA membership makes teaching music better!
I am going to go on a little self-reflective journey here. I hope you will stay with me. As a matter of fact, let’s play a little game and count the number of times I use the phrase, “because of OMEA.” If you have similar experiences to mine, will you share them? Share them with your colleagues, with that new teacher in the next district or building, or with that friend who is not a member of OMEA. You see, we are in the midst of a state-wide membership drive. Not because of any event or occurrence, but because we believe in the benefits of OMEA Membership and we want to share that community, that support, and those opportunities with every music teacher and every music student in the state of Ohio, so here goes….
Because of OMEA, I learned a profound love of music-making as a student. I was fortunate to have teachers who participated in OMEA events, and I felt the strong sense of community that OMEA provided. I got to know students like me from other schools with the same passion for music. I made life-long friends.
Because of OMEA, I built relationships with veteran teachers when I was brand new to this profession, and learned how much I needed that sense of community as an educator. I will forever be thankful for those veterans who took me under their wing and provided so much guidance when it was most needed. OMEA is working to build a robust mentorship program. If you are a teacher in your first five years, I encourage you to check it out here. Do not go it alone!
Because of OMEA, I learned the meaning of true musical excellence and how crucial it is to quality music teaching. Participating in adjudicated events made clear the standard of excellence that was required to create positive, meaningful musical experiences for my students. I later learned that I could share that knowledge as an adjudicator. What I did not foresee was how much sitting behind that table caused me to reflect on my own teaching and how much I learned that could be shared with my own students. Our Adjudicated Events Committee continues to create experiences that serve the varied needs of every music program.
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Because of OMEA, I received some of the best professional development available. Every year, I came home from the OMEA Professional Development Conference renewed with new ideas, new connections, and a desire to be the best I could be for my students. Check out this year’s Conference here.
Because of OMEA, I became a music education advocate. I realized that advocacy begins at home and building quality music education experiences is the first step to gaining lasting support for music education; one parent, administrator, colleague, board member, superintendent, mayor, governor, congressman, senator at a time. The robust advocacy efforts of OMEA are ones in which we can all participate! We all have a voice in gaining widespread support for music education. Check it out here.
Because of OMEA, I was given the opportunity to develop my own leadership skills and to serve my profession. I was often told that I needed to learn to say “no.” I now realized that what was perceived as a fault, was actually an asset! I look back on the times that I was asked to serve; as an AE committee member, an All-State chair, a guest conductor, a site chair, an adjudicator, and now as a Trustee, and I am so glad that I said “yes!” All of these opportunities became a labor of love and have helped me build a career that allowed me to change the lives of countless students by sharing my love of music. I hope you will say, “yes,” too.
I hope you all have a wonderful start to your school year and I encourage each of you to share the many benefits of OMEA membership with those who could benefit from our wonderful music education community. I will say it again, OMEA MEMBERSHIP MAKES TEACHING MUSIC BETTER!