David S. Albert started his musical career under the direction of Scott C. Callaway. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston MA and finished his Music Education Degree at East Carolina University. He conducted the High School Band in Elizabeth City, NC and was selected to start the Band Program and Chair the Arts Department of Leesville Road High School in Raleigh NC.
Bands under Mr. Albert’s baton have performed at State Conventions and many major cities including the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Il. Mr. Albert was a student of the “Tonight Show” drummer, Ed Shaughnessy. He served as President of the NCBA and is now Past President of NCMEA. He also served on the Music Standards Committee that wrote the standards for NBPTS. Mr. Albert retired from the North Carolina Public School System after 31 years of teaching.
Mr. Albert is an Endorsing Artist/Clinician for Ludwig/Musser, a division of Conn-Selmer. In addition, he often guest conducts Honor Bands, presents seminars in Student Leadership, and adjudicates festival events.
Mr. Albert is married to the former Margaret Cowan has two sons, Joseph Taylor and Christopher David and, one step-son, John Christian.
“In the near future, music education, and therefore NAfME, will face several challenges. First, as a professional association, we must continue to find opportunities for more students to be involved in traditional and non-traditional ensembles, including what I call, “millennium” ensembles. It is also critical that our profession continue to attract, mentor and retain quality music educators. A key part of developing a sustainable, high-quality music educator workforce is taking the lead on conversations about teacher pay and work load. As we lead this dialog, we must stress the benefits of STEAM, and encourage elected officials to go beyond STEM to educate the whole student.
One of the challenges facing NAfME today involves how to prepare the membership to teach and lead in a society of evolving music making, including aspects that may not have been invented yet. A second area I have felt strongly about for many years is working towards equality in access of well- balanced, sequential music education for all students. There is a range of inequality from state to state across the nation, within our Association Divisions and within each state. As a professional organization, we can lead the discussion with state and local governing agencies to work toward adding innovative classes, instructional supplies, hiring more staff and working with student services to improve equal access to music education. In my experience conducting clinics in the Southern Division states, I have witnessed clear inequalities that need to be addressed.
The response to these challenges is for NAfME to continue to provide resources in teaching other than the traditional band, orchestra, choir and general music classes. Other ensembles and unique music classes may attract a different type of student than these traditional ensembles currently do. To be clear, I would not suggest taking away support or encouragement for these ensembles, but augment them by reaching out to a new group of students currently not being served. We need inventive classes and creative, skilled music educators to help build a community of life-long musical involvement.
To help attract and retain teachers, NAfME should continue to build on Tri-M and Collegiate memberships to bring potential music educators into the association family, giving them the resources and professional support needed to enter the profession successfully. We also need to continue to be strong advocates for teacher mentoring at the local level.
Another way NAfME could help respond to these challenges is to allow more time in Division and National meetings for Divisions to meet with one another. Divisions would benefit by giving state presidents more time to network and collaborate. This additional time could also be included in the programming at the national meetings. I witnessed this need during my tenure on the Southern Division Board. My Division colleagues have commented to me that during the Division meetings, the time spent with other state presidents discussing conference organization, board structure and a host of other best practices, is extremely valuable. Fostering these relationships and sharing ideas creates a nurturing atmosphere that empowers us to truly serve as strong leaders of our profession.
Lastly, I would encourage NAfME to continue to maintain the wonderful working relationship on Capitol Hill. Many great accomplishments have been made recently. With the unpredictable political climate, maintaining relationships and collaborations is extremely important in ‘Orchestrating Success’.”
