OMEA news and featured articles from our home page. To submit an item for this page, send email to [email protected].

More Than 100,000 Members Welcome New President and President-Elect Lynn Brinckmeyer for Two Year Terms Leading the World's Largest Arts Education Association

RESTON, VA (July 1, 2004) - MENC: The National Association for Music Education welcomes David E. Circle as its 59th elected president on July 1, 2004. Dr. Circle is the performing arts coordinating teacher for the Blue Valley (Kansas) School District. He received his B.M.E. from Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to moving to Blue Valley, he was director of fine arts in the Shawnee Mission (Kansas) School District. In addition to his administrative experience, Circle has taught at the elementary, junior high and high school levels, been assistant professor in the Burris Lab School at Ball State University, and been conductor of the Kansas City Youth Symphony. He is a past president of the Southwestern Division of MENC and the Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA), and was inducted into the KMEA Hall of Fame.

As president of MENC, Dr. Circle is focused on several exciting projects, including The National Anthem Project, and is also developing plans for MENC's Centennial in 2007. "More immediately, one of my primary visions is to bring an ever-growing organization together, in a more cohesive manner; to become a single focused unit that addresses the challenges of music education, focusing on teachers and students in the classroom," said Circle. He also said another focus of his term, which has the theme, "Music: The Heart of Education," will be the recruitment and retention of music teachers.

"When you put together leaders like Circle and Brinckmeyer, you get a dynamic, focused and energized team that will work hard to ensure MENC's mission of music for all remains at the forefront of education policy. Both educators bring years of experience in leadership positions in teaching and performance," says Dr. John Mahlmann, MENC executive director. "These skills will guide us in the right direction and ensure music remains at the heart of education."

Lynn Brinckmeyer's presidency will begin July 1, 2006. Brinckmeyer is currently the associate chair of the Eastern Washington University Department of Music. Brinckmeyer, who is the immediate past president for the Northwest Division of MENC, received the PTI Excellence in Teaching Award in 1998 and the CenturyTel Award for Outstanding Faculty in 2000. She directs the EWU Concert Choir and is founding director of the South Hill Children's Chorus in Spokane.

Looking forward to the leadership position at MENC, Dr. Brinkmeyer succinctly sums up the role of the music educator: "...sharing the music we love with the next generation of musicians."

For more information, call 1-800-336-3768, or visit http://www.menc.org/.

MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the world's largest arts education organization, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. More than 100,000 members represent all levels of teaching from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.

B.A. Needham
Public Relations Associate
MENC:The National Association for Music Education
1806 Robert Fulton Dr.
Reston, VA 20191
ph:(703)860-4000 ext. 326
fax:(703)860-9404
[email protected]
http://www.menc.org