The Lesbian and Gay Band Association (LGBA) is excited and honored to announce that we have been accepted to present a session at the 73rd annual Midwest Clinic, to be held in December 2019, in Chicago, Illinois.
The session will be titled “Alphabet Soup – LGBTQ+ – An Open and Honest Discussion on the Topic for the Music Teacher.”
The session proposal was submitted by LGBA Secretary David E. McBee, who will serve as moderator for the event. The discussion is modeled from a session presented by Anthony Oakley, artistic director/conductor for DC’s Different Drummer’s (DCDD) Capitol Pride Symphonic Band, at the 2018 Maryland Music Educators Association State Conference. Anthony will serve as the clinician and an invitation will be extended to a few more individuals to create a diverse and experienced panel.
Last year, LGBA hosted a booth at The Midwest Clinic. At that booth, representatives from LGBA participated in several discussions with middle and high school teachers about navigating the LGBTQ+ world and how they can be supportive of their students who come out to them. We are very excited to have the honor to present the session on this very important subject and provide a platform for more teachers to explore this topic.
We will provide more information as the session continues to develop.
The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference is the world’s largest instrumental music education conference, annually drawing approximately 17,000 attendees to Chicago from all 50 states and as many as forty countries. It is held every December in downtown Chicago.
David E. McBee is the current secretary for LGBA, a position that he has held since the 2011 Conference. Prior to that David served as LGBA secretary from 2003–2007. David plays trombone with DC’s Different Drummers and is a former officer of DCDD. Currently, he serves on the membership team and enjoys welcoming new members to the organization.
Professionally, David is a librarian with the federal government and has a Master in Library Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. He lives with his husband, George, in Washington, DC.
Anthony Oakley has just completed his fifth year as the conductor of the Capitol Pride Symphonic Band of DCDD. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Music Education and Conducting, both from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Tony has been a high school band and orchestra director and fine arts administrator for almost 20 years. Both he and his husband are natives of the Washington Metropolitan area and live just outside of the city.
