National Association for Music Education

NAfME logo

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education and as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States. Founded in 1907 as the Music Supervisors National Conference (MSNC), the organization was known from 1934 to 1998 as the Music Educators National Conference (origin of the MENC acronym). From 1998 to 2011 it was known as "MENC: The National Association for Music Education." On September 1, 2011, the organization changed its acronym from MENC to NAfME,^[1] and in March 2012, Professor Glenn Nierman was elected President-Elect of NAfME.^[2] On March 8, 2012, the organization's name legally became National Association for Music Education. The acronym "NAfME" is used. With more than 130,000 members, NAfME headquarters are located in Reston, Virginia.

State affiliates

NAfME functions regionally through more than fifty state (or state-level) affiliates. These federated state associations include: organizations representing each of the fifty U.S. states; the District of Columbia; and a single affiliate for Europe.^[3]

Leadership

As of May 11, 2016 NAfME staff members are led by Mike Blakeslee. Previous to that, staff was led by Michael A. Butera from 2010-2016, and by John J. Mahlmann who retired in early 2010. There are also leaders for the All-Eastern Division.

History

Frances Clarke (1860-1958) founded the Music Supervisors National Conference in 1907. While a small number of women served as President of the Music Supervisors National Conference (and the following renamed versions of the organization over the next century) in the early 20th century, there were only two female Presidents between 1952 and 1992, which "[p]ossibly reflects discrimination." After 1990, however, leadership roles for women in the organization opened up. From 1990 to 2010, there were five female Presidents of this organization.^[4] Women music educators "outnumber men two-to-one" in teaching general music, choir, private lessons, and keyboard instruction.^[4] More men tend to be hired as for band education, administration and jazz jobs, and more men work in colleges and universities.^[4] According to Dr. Sandra Wieland Howe, there is still a "glass ceiling" for women in music education careers, as there is "stigma" associated with women in leadership positions and "men outnumber women as administrators."^[4]

Notable women Presidents

• Frances Clarke (1860-1958) was a music supervisor in the Milwaukee Public School system. She founded the Music Supervisors National Conference in 1907. It was an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States. In 2011, it was renamed the National Association for Music Education and it had more than 130,000 members.^[1]
• Mabelle Glenn (1881-1969) was a music supervisor in Bloomington, Indiana and a director of music in Kansas City, Missouri. She wrote music appreciation books and music textbooks. She was President of the Music Supervisors National Conference from 1928-1930.^[4]
• Lilla Pitts (1884-1970) graduated from Northwestern University. She was a faculty member of the teacher's college at Florida State University. She served as President of the Music Educators National Conference (the new name for the Music Supervisors National Conference) from 1942-1944.^[4]
• Marguerite Hood (1903-1992) graduated from the University of Southern California. She was a supervisor of music for Montana, a faculty member at the University of Montana, the University of Southern California and the University of Michigan. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 1950-1952. She was the first woman to be appointed as chair of the Music Educators Journal.^[4]
• Frances Andrews (1908-1976) received her Masters and Doctorate from Pennsylvania State University, where she was a faculty member from 1943 to 1973. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 1970-1972.^[4]
• Mary Hoffman (1926-1997) graduated with a bachelor's degree in science from Lebanon Valley College and a Masters from Columbia Teachers College. She was a music supervisor in Milwaukee and Philadelphia. She gave graduate courses at Columbia Teachers College, Temple University and the University of Illinois. She wrote and contributed to textbooks. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 1980-1982.^[4]
• Dorothy Straub (born 1941) graduated with Bachelors and master's degrees in music education from Indiana University. She was the music coordinator for Fairfield Public Schools in Connecticut. She was a violinist in two orchestras. She was given awards from the American String Teachers Association and the National School Orchestra Association. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 1992-1994.^[4]
• Carolynn Lindeman (born 1940) graduated from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, the Mozarteum Academy, San Francisco State University and Stanford University, where she received her Doctor of Musical Arts. She was a professor at San Francisco State University from 1973 to 2005. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 1996-1998. She edited the "Strategies for Teaching" series. She "[a]cknoledge[d] discrimination in academia."^[4]
• June Hinckley (1943-2007) graduated with a PhD from Florida State University. She was a music and fine arts supervisor in Brevard County in Florida. She wrote articles on music education. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 1998-2000.^[4]
• Lynn Brinckmeyer received her PhD from the University of Kansas. She was an Associate Professor and Director of Choral Music Education at Texas State University. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 2006-2008.^[4]
• Barbara Geer graduated from the University of North Carolina. She was a music consultant for a school system in North Carolina. She was President of the Music Educators National Conference from 2008-2010.^[4]

See also

• American Choral Directors Association
• Music Teachers National Association

References

External links

• NAfME: The National Association for Music Education
• Affiliated organizations
  • American Composers Forum
  • American String Teachers Association (ASTA)
  • Conductors Guild
  • Percussive Arts Society (PAS)
  • Sigma Alpha Iota
• MENC Historical Center - archives at the Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland
• NAMM Oral History Interview with John Mahlmann January 15, 2010