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By EMILY REED | Special to the Reporter

BIRMINGHAM – Students with the Oak Mountain High School band recently performed at the Alabama Music Educators Association Conference in Birmingham.

The AMEA is the largest community of professional music educators in the state, according to the conference’s website and was a three-day event held between Jan. 20 and 22.

Membership to AMEA is open to all public, private and post-secondary music educators as well as private teachers.

OMHS Band Director Kevin Ownby posted on his Facebook page that he was proud of the students of the OMHS wind ensemble.

“It was such a pleasure to stand on stage at AMEA with them and guide them through the music making process,” Ownby wrote. “They were willing to keep working hard through every challenge we faced preparing for this concert.”

Ownby also said the group poured their hearts into putting on a special show to take advantage of the memorable opportunity.

“This is truly a special group of kids who were willing to open up their hearts and share their emotions with a room full of people,” he said. “I hope the concert touched you the way it did me. This group represented our community in a way in which we should all be proud.”

The AMEA works with local administrators and elected officials in Montgomery and beyond, to ensure access to the best possible school music programs and advance music education as a profession.

Bands are only allowed to apply to be part of the conference every four years, making it a special moment when they are selected.

The AMEA website says the organization supports quality music instruction in Alabama from early childhood through college, and it works to foster a better understanding of music’s important role in development of the whole child.