Brett Keith

Biography

Brett Keith currently serves as the Director of High School Choirs at the Altoona Area School District in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Previously he taught choral and general music for Grades 6 through 12 at the Northern Bedford County School District, Loysburg, PA. Prior to his tenure at Northern Bedford County, Mr. Keith taught instrumental, choral, and general music for grades 7 through 12 at Bishop Guilfoyle Academy, Altoona, PA. Mr. Keith is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, and has most recently served as the State President of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) and Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Arts Education Leadership Coalition (PAELC).

Mr. Keith’s has facilitated coursework in piano, music theory, guitar, and musical theatre performance and tech, in addition to teaching high school and middle school concert and chamber choirs, modern music making and approaches, and concert and marching band. In addition, he has delivered presentations on leadership and community in music education and has been invited to contribute to NAfME publications addressing small schools. As a PMEA State President, Mr. Keith has served on the NAfME Eastern Division Board.

As an educator and conductor, Mr. Keith is a frequent guest conductor for choral festivals and also for musicals in the region and at local high schools and also served as music director for the feature film and 2008 New York City equity staged reading of Ghosts: The Musical at the York Theatre Company. As an artist, Brett has performed as a solo vocalist with various performing ensembles and theatre companies. He has been a member of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and National Association for Music Education for his entire career as an educator, where he has served as Festival Coordinator, two separate terms on the PMEA State Board, the PMEA State Bi-law Review Committee, and is currently facilitating the PMEA Strategic Planning efforts. Mr. Keith has been recognized as a Grammy Music Educator Award Quarterfinalist for 3 consecutive years.

Responses to Questions

1. What do you see as the major challenges music education will face during your term and in what ways can you transform these into opportunities during your presidency?

I believe that many of the large challenges that music education will face in the coming years is the mere fact that our field is facing a pivotal moment of change where traditions, systems, and philosophies are being challenged, and for the mere fact of diversification and equitability which affects every individual. While this may be fearful for many, if we truly believe that music is inherently human, we must be sure that we are not continuing to build barriers that limit it’s access. I see this as an opportunity to listen, reflect, evaluate, and most importantly act. As a wholistic approach, it will be important to bring all stakeholders in music education, from students, our partners in higher education, educational and legislative leaders, and our colleagues to the table to have honest and transparent conversations regarding our shared visions but most importantly, how we can build an open and inclusive approach to making, learning, teaching, and experiencing music. While we may have different approaches and expertise, our vision must be unified, and based not just on conversation, but with the objective of action. All of this will concurrently facilitate while external factors and challenges will continue to be present.

2. What do you see as the major challenges the association will face during your term and in what ways can you transform these into opportunities during your presidency?

It is evident that our world is changing ever-increasingly faster as each day passes, and in so many ways becoming inundated with information, both fact and fiction, and often becoming more volatile. In this evolving environment, it will be an insurmountable challenge to maintain laser like focus on impacting all aspects of our field. Furthermore, with so many specialized organizations, including are the NAfME federated State associations, it will become increasingly challenges to maintain NAfME’s centralized, but diverse impact on all and harness the strength that is present globally. We can continue to forge a path by considering the association from a multifaceted perspective.

• • NAfME as an INNOVATIVE LEADER in promoting music education – Understand trends/direction in education and research, creating and fostering initiatives with agencies, programs, and lawmakers. Advocating for music education programs from all levels, but especially those facing pivotal decisions.
  • NAfME as an ASSET to all members – Create meaningful value and benefit, leading the recruitment and retention of membership focusing on ALL content areas and ALL grade-levels, from public to private educators, stressing the empowerment and engagement of all music educators and partners.
  • NAfME as OPPORTUNITY for all students – Continue to provide musical and educational opportunities including accessing non-traditional music students in relevant ways including, but not limited to business and administration, modern and cultural musical experiences, and neurodiverse pathways.
  • NAfME as a MODEL organization – Provide organizational review to maintain effectiveness and efficiency, as well as fiscal stability in a rapidly changing educational environment, to successfully support members, students, and growth in sustained leadership with focus on planning, vision alignment, and partnerships to strengthen and support our mission.

3. How do you plan to advance equity/DEIA in NAfME during your term of office?

First and foremost, when it comes to advancing equity/DEIA it must not just be spoken dialogue. While dialogue and listening, as well as reflection and analysis, are an important part of the process, it must all be in the driven toward action. Agency must be given to groups and to individuals. A large part of NAfME’s strength is its diversity, however, to harness that full power and potential, it is important to recognize that while our programming is a conduit to our philosophy, it is the people who it represents and who are represented that are what makes our work in music education so strong. It is critical to ensure that all voices are elevated and heard. While those voices are heard, it must be the resulting action and justice to make sure that there are accessible, equitable, and varied perspectives and representation in all that we DO.

Equity Statement

In belief, and as designated as necessary in federal law for a “well-rounded education,” Music Education is a critical part of our learning experience, as well our human experience. However, in reflective practice and experience, it is unfortunately true that many barriers exist in limiting the universal access that music represents.

Regardless of where a student lives and goes to school, their ability, socioeconomic status, racial or ethnic background, or even languages they speak, every student deserves access to music education. As students and music educators, we are often prohibited from executing this foundational belief, in both systemic, but also self-inflicted means. However, this does not debilitate our work of the progress to be made. We must continue to find ways in advocating and advancing guaranteed access to music education and funding. Consideration must be placed in supporting and developing inclusive curriculum and pedagogy, where all musical genres and cultures are honored and present. Diverse representation in leadership, programs, ensembles, and repertoire must be present so that individuals, cultures, and communities see reflective evidence of their own identity in the organizations in which they belong. Additionally, these places must be welcoming and provide safety in that same belonging.

While these beliefs are true, it is extremely important that systemic barriers be removed to achieve equitable access to and delivery of music education. Inequitable access to funding, audition barriers, narrowed perspectives, materials, and even access to qualified instructors for delivery must be remedied.

During my term as President of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, I created the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) representative position and named PMEA member Tonia Kaufman to lead a committee of individuals tasked in reviewing our organizations work, systems, and initiatives to begin to address and continue our work through tangible action. Additionally, PMEA member, Lance Jones was named to the also newly created Small School State Representative position. While these two roles and their committee are created to address the needs of our members and students, it is understood that our work is far from complete and will continue to develop as we move forward.

While much of this is what we believe, it is my personal belief that it is going to take every single person in our world of music education to fully see this into action. We are stronger when we are together. This work requires a commitment to professional development and to music educator recruiting and training to ensure that our workforce is demographically representative of the students that we teach. This is a global effort and requires our associations, school districts, colleges, and universities to be purposeful in elevating future leaders of diverse backgrounds to see this work develop fully. As our world continues to quickly evolve, so must our approaches.

Leadership Statement

Cultivating Leadership Through Community

I have had the humbling honor to serve as State President of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. While I am not here to talk about myself and my experiences, I share those experiences, and most importantly, the people that are associated with them have shaped who I am today. Whether directly, or indirectly, those persons have guided me, inspired me, elevated me, encouraged me, taught me, welcomed me, challenged me, and eventually celebrated me and pushed me to be a better human. as a person in whole. I would be hard pressed to not believe that each of us have had the same experience and are also shaping the same type of opportunities for our colleagues and our students.

Sine Nomine: Leading Without a Name

Sine Nomine (abbreviated s.n.) is a Latin expression, meaning “without a name.” It is most commonly used in the contexts of publishing and bibliographical listings such as library catalogs, to signify that the publisher (or distributor, etc.) of a listed work is unknown, or not printed or specified on the work.

In preparation for my time as PMEA President, and in my role as a music educator, Sine Nomine always comes to mind. Specifically, in regard to what that means in terms of leadership and especially in music education. It is important that we all create opportunities for transformational empowerment, to discover where leadership begins in us as individuals, where it takes us, and who it touches in our lifetime of work and connection. We must understand that leadership is not limited to roles with formal titles, but more so, it finds itself rooted in the opportunity in providing groups and individuals with empowerment and access to all the opportunities that music can and does provide.

Sine Nomine; the fact that in our daily lives, in the classroom, in rehearsal, with our colleagues, with our students, and as members of our organizations, we ALL may be “without name” however, we are NOT without a purposeful action to be makers of change, with music as our vehicle. We are ALL leaders and it is my challenge that every single one of us be elevated, and in turn, elevate others.

We can define a leader as: Someone who guides, inspires and influences others to work towards a shared vision. They can also set direction, encourage collaboration and empower their team members. Leaders often have traits like integrity, empathy, resilience and decisiveness. I challenge anyone to argue that a music educator does not define their experiences in the exact same words.

Cultivating Connection Through Empowerment, Growth, and Belonging

Over the past two years, my focus has been on cultivating leaders in any role and environment. It is my desire to build up and encourage individuals to share their good work and to open doors of connection and opportunity for everyone in our presence. It is a commitment to growth and the willingness to encourage others in that same growth. It is a vision to see potential and also see failures, but it is the decision to respond accordingly.

In community, we are well aware that our work and lives bring many individuals together with different skills, gifts, backgrounds, wants, needs, passions, and yes, personalities. However, as these communities morph, learn, connect and disagree, we work through our processes for an outcome—not necessarily one of our personal desires, but for an outcome that works in the best interest of the collective. Building community is not just about a “feeling,” but about the presence of belonging. It is an understanding of shared wealth, value and opportunity. It is a willingness to listen, to hear, and to share. Community is action. It is service—service to our cause and to each other.

Our Collective Legacy

With these tenets in mind, and in action, we only stand to be cognizant of the whole, but in an encouraging, yet expectant manner. When we fully practice the engagement of our collective powers, not only do we succeed in our dreams and goals, we build up and inspire others to shine

their individual lights to help others see their way. This is leadership fostered in our communities. It is not a directive, but a direction in which we move and grow.

The people I have encountered in my lifetime and through PMEA are the pieces that make me “me”—a work that is complete, yet still unfinished. Like all of us, our pieces combined in community lead us forward. We are the change-makers for the world, and that change continues through the individuals we touch. We may at times be “without name,” but we are never without purposeful action. I challenge each of us to be elevated, and in turn, to elevate others. To me, this is leadership.

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