This letter was sent to ACB Members on:  September 17, 2021

Hello Fellow ACB members!

My name is Amy J. Steiner and I, along with an incredible team in Buffalo, NY hosted the 40^th Annual ACB Convention, “Forte in Buffalo”. Don’t worry, this isn’t a “please host a convention” letter!!!! This is a “hey we could use your expertise/help with a convention” letter. The ACB Board of Directors got super creative and developed an entirely new system on how conventions will be handled for years to come. In 2019, an ACB Convention Committee was established and has been working behind the scenes for quite some time to streamline the process for hosting a convention and make it easier and less intimidating for any band to host one!!!!!

Part of my job on the ACB Convention Committee entails recruiting ACB members across the globe to “pitch in” and help the host band(s). COVID has brought us one HUGE positive, and that is the gift of Zoom. We are now able to meet with our music colleagues regularly, and plan without the burden of travel. This is an excellent opportunity for any ACB member to get their feet wet and gain understanding of what it takes to host a convention, without the task of running one on your own!

 This is what we have done: We have broken down the roles and responsibilities of running a convention and put them into categories, which we call our Resource Pool:

 ACB Resource Pool (per convention)

• 1 Project Manager (Filled)
•  1 ACB Conductor Liaison (Filled)
• 1 ACB Production Coordinator (Filled)
• 1 ACB Permissions Coordinator
• 1 ACB Communications Coordinator
• 1 ACB Convention Assistance Coordinator
•  General Volunteer Pool for specific tasks

The roles and responsibilities for each job description can be found at this link: https://www.acbands.org/conventionresourcepool. Currently, we are looking to fill each position by December of 2021 to help run the 2023 Convention. This job would carry through ONE convention, not forever. In January, we will begin scouting for another group for the 2024 Convention, but if you know you might be interested in helping in 2024, you can let us know now. As you can see in the chart above, we do have a few spots filled already for 2023.

Now, it’s your turn. How can you give back to ACB? How can you connect with musicians around the globe in a more meaningful way? As I stated previously, COVID has brought us one HUGE positive, and that is the gift of Zoom. We are able to meet with our music colleagues regularly, and plan without the burden of travel. This is your opportunity to meet new colleagues, and make new friends..I know firsthand how grateful I am to have gotten involved with ACB. I have made connections worldwide and consider so many ACB members as friends. I now feel comfortable asking for help with conducting, picking out repertoire, inviting guest conductors, musicians, composers to our concerts, etc. ALL because
I got more involved with ACB.

 If you are a musician, music director or sit on the Board with your band, please consider helping….if you don’t have the time, that’s okay….I am POSITIVE you can recommend ONE person in your band to help. We all have at least one person in our group that would love this opportunity!!!!!!

 Please email me with any questions, or just pick up the phone and give me a shout!!!!!! Let us know you’re interested in helping out by filling out the survey found at https://www.acbands.org/conventionresourcepoolsurvey

 Together in Music,

Amy J. Steiner
Music Director, Conductor, Buffalo Niagara Concert Band
Recording Secretary, Association of Concert Bands
ACB Convention Committee Member
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 716-983-3085