Dear TMAA Members,
Happy New Year 2025! I appreciate your participation in our annual online meeting by reading this newsletter.
New Rubrics
This year, the TMAA Board appointed a highly qualified committee of active members to revise each division’s concert and sightreading rubrics and align the language on the UIL Forms 4 and 5 to the revised rubrics. In conjunction with our board members, these committee members (see below) completed this monumental task in May. The TMAA board adopted the new rubrics in July, and UIL approved them for implementation this spring.
Changing the adjudication rubrics may elicit some anxiety among our members and the music educators taking groups to UIL concert/sightreading (C/SR) evaluations this spring. Change can be challenging. We become accustomed to doing things a particular way, and then circumstances demand that we stretch outside our comfort zones and grow. One of my former supervisors often would remind us in her most charming East Texas drawl when a new directive came down the chain of command, “Nobody likes change except a baby with a dirty diaper.” While humorous, the statement’s wisdom hit the mark.
Growth requires us to acquire new knowledge, adjust our attitudes, and adapt our behaviors. In other words, it’s difficult, and it compels us to expend a great deal of energy. Some folks embrace—even celebrate—change. Growth can more easily be embraced if we know the reasons for the change. When asked to make changes without understanding the “why,” people invariably say things like, “This is just changing for change’s sake,” “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” or “Can’t you folks just leave well-enough alone?” Undoubtedly, many Texas music educators will echo these sentiments when the new rubrics are employed this spring.
The TMAA Board initiated rubric revisions for three reasons: 1) our existing rubrics did not accurately reflect the language that our teachers currently use in rehearsals. Instead, they contained outdated, wordy, or ambiguous terms to describe the musical components being evaluated; 2) our existing TMAA rubrics and the descriptors listed on the UIL Forms 4 and 5 did not correspond; and 3) our existing rubrics were not sufficiently differentiated for each division. I’ve given some specific examples of these reasons below.
Regarding #1, is the term “manual dexterity” ever used to address technical issues during a band or orchestra rehearsal? Regarding #2, compare the previous vocal rubric under tone (three descriptors) with the old Form 4 (six descriptors). Why don’t the number and content of the descriptors on the TMAA rubric match the UIL Form 4? Regarding #3, is “tonal support” really the best way to describe and evaluate tone qualities? The word “bow” doesn’t even exist on the old orchestra rubric. Why doesn’t the choral rubric address vowel shape or consistency? These concepts are fundamental for vocal tone production. The TMAA board couldn’t satisfactorily answer these questions either, so we convened a committee to revise both the rubrics and descriptors on Forms 4 and 5.
The new rubrics address differentiated pedagogical practices in the language currently used by music educators. Concerning differentiation, the orchestra rubrics now include bow weight, speed, and placement under Tone. The vocal rubrics address uniformity of tone and vowels. Related to the current language, consider this change on the band rubrics under Technique: old—Rhythmic approach is uniform throughout the ensemble; new—Students perform accurate rhythms, and Students perform with precise vertical alignment and consistent pulse. As you review your division’s new rubrics, you’ll notice many descriptors were rewritten in more concise, up-to-date, and user-friendly language.
In addition to these revisions, the committee decided that Musical Understanding—versus Musicianship—was a more appropriate heading for the rubric’s third category of musical components. Musicianship seems pejorative; students either possess it, or they don’t. How often have you heard a judge comment, “That wasn’t very musical”? What does that even mean? The committee thought that Musical Understanding, on the other hand, implied that students could cultivate their expressive abilities. Musical Understanding indicators list specific skills that judges can observe throughout a performance. Finally, the committee revised the adverbs that determine the numerical ratings. On the old rubric, we weren’t sure how to discriminate Seldom from Rarely. The new rubric utilizes Infrequently for a 4th division rating and Rarely for a 5th division rating; sometimes-infrequently-rarely emerged as a more logical progression for the rating scale’s right side.
I’m very proud of the committee’s work and the resultant products. In closing, I’d like to give you a brief historical synopsis of TMAA’s C/SR rubric development process. Thank you, Greg Countryman, for scouring the TMAA board meeting minutes so I could compile the summary listed below.
· 2004-08: the Band Division, under David Lambert’s vision and leadership as Concert Band Vice President, developed and used rubrics in workshops and adjudicating UIL C/SR contests. The rubrics were adjusted nearly every year.
· 2008-09: TMAA and UIL adopted rubrics for the concert band, orchestra, and vocal divisions, which were then used in adjudicating all UIL C/SR contests.
· 2016-17: Revised rubrics were adopted and implemented in all divisions for adjudicating UIL C/SR contests.
· 2018-19: TMAA rubrics were first printed on the back of Forms 4 and 5 for UIL C/SR contests to assist judges in giving ratings and directors in interpreting those ratings.
· 2019-20: TMAA band and orchestra rubrics were re-formatted to include the adverbs within each rating descriptor statement (consistently, usually, sometimes, etc.), which made the rubrics clearer and more user-friendly.
· 2020-21: Adjudication adverb discriminators were changed to Consistently-Usually-Sometimes-Rarely-Seldom in all divisions.
· 2024-25 (this year): New TMAA C/SR rubrics, along with updated descriptors on the UIL Forms 4 and 5, were developed in May 2024, adopted in July 2024, and will be implemented in all five divisions this spring. Musicianship has been renamed Musical Understanding. The adverb discriminators have been changed to Consistently-Usually-Sometimes-Infrequently-Rarely.
TMAA Board
I want to thank our outstanding TMAA board for their time, talents, and expertise in serving our members and Texas music students: Past-President Jeff Bradford; President-Elect Craig Needham; Concert Band Vice-President Mike Howard; Marching Band Vice-President Andy Sealy; Mariachi Vice-President Ruben Adame; Orchestra Vice-President Melissa Livings; Vocal Vice-President Kay Owens; and our industrious, detail-oriented, and organized Executive Secretary Greg Countryman. Additionally, I want to thank our ex-officio board members who volunteer their time to ensure TMAA’s continued success: UIL Director of Music Activities Brad Kent; UIL Assistant Music Director Gabe Musella; Area/State Marching Band Liaison Gerry Miller; and Region Executive Secretary Liaison Gerald Babbitt.
CSAPP
The Committee on Standards and Performance Practices diligently reviews all active and provisional membership applications twice a year at the TMEA and summer music conventions. I want to express our sincere gratitude for the time, effort, and expense they incur to perform this vital function for our organization: Brandon Brewer (Elected); Heather Orr (Elected); John Sikon (Elected); Lamar Smith (Elected); Cody Newman (Elected); Tiffany Lisko (Elected); Nicholas Likos (Elected); Marc Nichelson (Appointed Marching Band); Hector Bermea (Appointed Mariachi); Pete Hazzard (Appointed Band); and Bingiee Shiu (Appointed Orchestra). The CSAPP is chaired by President-Elect Craig Needham.
Rubric Revision Committee
Thank you to the following committee members for their hard work and insight in revising the TMAA C/SR rubrics and the UIL Forms 4 and 5 descriptors: Ryan Johnstone—Band, Rouse HS, Leander ISD; George Liverman—Band, Stockdick JH, Katy ISD; Kim Shuttlesworth—Band, Coppell HS, Coppell ISD; George Little—Band, Lufkin HS, Lufkin ISD; Karyn Myers—Vocal, Lake Ridge HS, Mansfield ISD; Kristin Lykos—Vocal, Seven Lakes JH; Gershom Garcia—Vocal, Coronado HS, Big Spring ISD; Derrick Brookins—Vocal, Braswell HS, Plano ISD; Amanda Su—Orchestra, Curtis MS, Allen ID; Christopher Frank—Orchestra, Poteet HS, Mesquite ISD; Bryanna Porter—Orchestra, Tays JH, Katy ISD; Todd Berridge—Orchestra, Permian HS, Ector County ISD; Ramon Nino—Mariachi, Northside HS, Fort Worth ISD.
I wish you much joy and fulfillment this spring as you continue to transform your students’ lives through the pursuit of musical excellence!
Sincerely Yours,
Jim Drew
TMAA President