From The President
Dear Erie County Music Educators,
Welcome back! As this is my fourth year writing one of these addresses, I’m longing for when I can just copy and paste the previous year’s address and change the dates. But since this will surely be another year of new challenges and adjustments, I have started fresh. Out of the challenges that we faced as a profession last year I have been continually impressed and inspired by the work of our membership to provide the best possible musical education for their students regardless of the obstacles.
I am also amazed at how we came together as a membership, offered our students virtual auditions and festivals that were praised at many different levels for being an example of persevering in the face of adversity. All of our accomplishments would not have been possible without true collaboration and synergy between the members, the Board, our Festival Administrator Martin Allen, and the integration of our new technology platforms that were rolled out at the seemingly perfect time.
As we work to address the challenges that face us this year, we can do so knowing that we will overcome any obstacles that present themselves. Please stay tuned to our website, attend a general membership meeting, and/or a choral or instrumental committee meeting in order share with your colleagues your experiences and perhaps gain insight into others’ situations.
If I can be of any assistance or answer a question please feel free to contact me at tmacon@ecmea.org.
Yours musically,
Todd Macon, President ECMEA
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Executive Board
President Term Expires:
Todd Macon, Frontier ’24
Vice President
Erin Ayer, Amherst ’24
Directors
Richard Riederer, Frontier ’24
Larry Dubill, Hamburg ’25
Sandy Freitag, Hamburg ’25
Heather Lovelace, Depew ’25
Mary Kay Ortolano, Frontier ’26
Craig Poissant, Grand Island ’26
Lynne Ruda, Lancaster ’26
Advisors
Advisors to the Board
John Fleischman, Orchard Park, ret.
John Maguda, Eden, ret.
Allan Ripley, Grand Island, ret.
Catherine Sutherland, Williamsville, ret.
William Larrabee, Alden (Past-President)
Administrative Advisors
Dr. Brian Graham, Grand Island
Mr. Brian Russ, East Aurora
ECMEA Offices
Executive Director
Chris Revett
Festival Administrator
Marty Allen
Choral Coordinator & Librarian
Ann Mosner, Maryvale, ret.
Standing Committees
BPO Board of Trustees Liaison
Allan Ripley, Grand Island, ret.
BPO/ECMEA Awards
Keith Ersing, West Seneca
Choral Committee
Erin Ayer, Amherst
Heather Lovelace, Depew
Classroom Music Showcase
James DesJardins, Frontier
Patricia Hills, Amherst
Ada Wolfanger, Amherst
Elementary Concert Coordinator &
ECMEA Webmaster
Paul Siekierski, Lake Shore
Festival Assignments
Dan DeAngelis, Lancaster
Government Relations
Lynne Ruda, Lancaster
Rich Riederer, Frontier
Instrumental Committee
Sandy Freitag, Hamburg
Lynne Ruda, Lancaster
Jazz, Instrumental
John Hasselback, West Seneca
Jazz, Vocal
Keith Ersing, West Seneca
Jill Neuhaus, Kenmore-Tonawanda
Public Relations / Merchandise
Heather Lovelace, Depew
Keri Lorenz, Williamsville
Social Media Coordinators
Heather Lovelace, Depew
Ann Mosner, Maryvale, ret.
Scholarships
Ann Mosner, Maryvale, ret.
Mary Kay Ortolano, Frontier
Technology Committee
Larry Dubill, Hamburg
Craig Poissant, Grand Island
Paul Siekierski, Lake Shore