CMEA: California Music Educators Association

The deadline for applications for the 2027 CMEA State Band and Orchestra Festival is coming soon. The festival will be held April 30 at Sonoma State University - but applications are due at the end of this month. Don't miss this chance to have your students experience performing on a world-class stage and receive feedback from top-notch clinicians. Visit https://calmusiced.com/membership-services/state-festivals/ -id-2 for all the details.

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📢CASMEC needs you! 📢
💡You have knowledge to share and ideas to present - so present them at CASMEC.

⏳Applications for clinic sessions are due on June 1 -- So don't delay, submit that application today.

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🚨 Last Chance 🚨
Applications close May 6. Scholarships for graduating high school seniors with plans to go into music education. Application requires both teacher and student submissions.
🚨 Don't miss this opportunity 🚨

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🚨 Last chance! Don't miss it! 🚨 Today is the last day to register for the State Solo & Ensemble Festival at Cerritos College on May 16. 🎻🎺🎹

Information is available at: https://calmusiced.com/membership-services/state-festivals/ -id-4

CMEA Central Section CMEA Central Coast Section CMEA Southeastern Section CMEA Southwestern Section CMEA-SBS (CA Music Education Association, Southern Border Section

State Festivals – California Music Educators Association The 2028 CMEA State Choral Festival will be held in Northern California and will return to Southern California in spring of 2029. Application requirements will be published online and in subsequent issues of CMEA Magazine.

CMEA is at the PTA Conference going on in Fresno. If you're attending, stop by and say "hello." It's always great to share with parents ways they can stay informed about and be advocates for their local music programs.

Huge THANK YOU to CMEA Central Section for providing the people who make this all possible.

Yesterday was Stand Up for Arts Education Day in Sacramento. CMEA leaders joined with leaders from other arts education associations and NAMM to publicly advocate for continued and expanded support for arts and music education in California schools. There were student performances on the west steps of the capitol, a lunch time rally where Senator Susan Rubio was recognized for her support of arts and music in schools, and throughout the day teams of advocates met with legislators and their staffs to discuss the legislative priorities that CMEA and our partner music education associations have set for this year.

Advocacy isn't a one day thing. But this one day saw some pretty powerful advocacy!

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Congratulations to all the fantastic choirs that took the stage on Friday, April 24 for the CMEA State Choral Festival at the beautiful Green Music Center Sonoma State University Music Department. It was an incredible day of music making, sharing, and learning. Please join us in recognizing this year’s participating ensembles and directors:

🎵 Norris Middle School — The Nightingales, Ingrid Borja
🎵 San Jose Middle School — San Jose Middle School Choir, Margaret Starr
🎵 Norris Middle School — The Norris Knights Bel Canto Choir, Ingrid Borja
🎵 Bakersfield High School — Chamber Singers, Amanda Isaac
🎵 Monache High School — Chamber Choir, Joshua Sutherland
🎵 Los Gatos High School — Mixed Choir, Ma Ricel Riley
🎵 Bakersfield High School — Chorale, Amanda Isaac
🎵 Arcadia High School — Chanteurs, Connie Tu
🎵 Aragon High School — Chamber Singers, John Chen
🎵 Homestead High School — Chamber Choir, Jeff Morton
🎵 Los Gatos High School — Treble Choir, Ma Ricel Riley
🎵 Marin School of the Arts — Contemporary, Margaret Starr

Thank you to our host and clinician, Dr. Jenny Bent, and clinicians Dr. Paul Head and Dr. Daniel Afonso. The State Choral Festival application for 2027 is open and will be held in Southern California at the Coil School of the Arts at Riverside City Collegehttps://calmusiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Choral-state-festival.pdf

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Scholarship Opportunities for Future Music Educators. The Don Schmeer Band and Dr. Randi Carp Choral Music Education Scholarships are accepting applications NOW! Both student and teacher must complete the form to be eligible. Apply at www.calmusiced.com/CMEF

We are also accepting donations towards these scholarships from the same site.

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Call for Participants: Elementary Music Educators

Jennifer Gee (San Diego State University), in collaboration with colleagues at California State University, Chico, is conducting a national study on elementary music educators’ participation in professional conferences, perceived barriers to attendance, and programming priorities.

Elementary music educators are invited to complete a brief, anonymous survey to share their perspectives. The results will help inform more equitable and responsive professional learning opportunities in music education.

The survey takes only a few minutes to complete, and participation is entirely voluntary.

Survey link: https://sdsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cNrmMZB00bIjlXM

For questions, please contact Dr. Jennifer Gee at [email protected].

CMEA is so proud that two of our members were recognized by NFHS (National Federation of High Schools). Congratulations to Adam Green for receiving the NFHS Outstanding High School Music Educator Award for California. And Susan Willmering for her recognition as the NFHS Outstanding Middle School Music Educator Award for the Western Section, which includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.

You can read more about the awardees and this recognition at https://nfhs.org/stories/2025-26-nfhs-performing-arts-educator-award-recipients-announced

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