Abstract
I have had the pleasure of serving as the academic editor for the Journal of General Music Education for nearly 8 years. When I took over this position, I had the honor of being guided by Dr. Shelly Cooper who had led the journal (at the time called General Music Today) into a wonderful space of practitioner-focused articles and columns.
In the time I have been an academic editor, I have collaborated with amazing teachers, researchers, musicians, therapists, and educators from a multitude of disciplines. I have had the experience of leading, sharing, and building ideas that have helped shift the perspective on the field of general music, typically considered a small, niche area of music education, to an understanding that general music is actually our music—the music of lifelong learning.
As an academic editor, I am so proud of the work we have done together. We grew our vision and mission for the journal to include the Musical Idea Series, which I implemented to support publications under one broader topic; I led the change of the journal’s title from GMT to JGME; I advocated for the expansion of our editorial committee, doubling it in size to also include not only music educators in higher education but also those of us in the K-12 classrooms every day. I also made sure to include a diverse range of perspectives and ideas and have championed the philosophy of revision versus rejection. My greatest honor during these past few years has been sending acceptance letters to new or first-time authors and supporting their journeys into publication.
With all of these rewarding years of editing, publishing, and supporting new and seasoned authors, I know it is time for someone else to take their vision for this journal and general music education and expand it for the next generations.
I am thrilled to announce that the next academic editor for the Journal of General Music Education is Kendra Kay Friar. Kendra (or KK, as we affectionately call her) is an innovative, exceptional, award-winning music educator. In addition to serving on the JGME editorial committee for many years, she has published numerous articles, including her Musical Idea Series on Scott Joplin. I could continue for pages and pages on her accolades and honors, but most importantly, she brings a passion and vision for general music education, and I hope you will join me in congratulating her.
In addition, several of our esteemed editorial committee members and columnists have completed their terms and contributions to the journal. I want to sincerely thank Brittney May Nixon, Carol MacDowell, Richard Lawton, and Megan Sheridan for their editorial feedback and comments as members of the editorial committee. I would also like to thank Chiao-Wei Liu for her insightful column on social justice (one of the most reprinted columns from our journal) and Ellary Draper for her insightful column on special education, with several articles focused on music therapy.
While we have several talented and dedicated individuals who will continue their service on our editorial committee and as columnists, I am delighted to welcome four new members to the JGME editorial committee: Martina Vasil, Rachel Grimsby, Karen Thomas, and Rachael Sanguinetti. I am excited to have them join our team and look forward to their vision and editorial contributions.
I want to sincerely thank everyone at NAfME, particularly, the incomparable Ella Wilcox, whose dedication to our field has touched the lives of so many people. The growth of JGME would also not be possible without the support of all our readers, teachers, and musicians, who provide ideas and implement them in the classroom.
Thank you for the opportunity to lead this journal. I look forward to seeing where General Music Education and the Journal of General Music Education go next.
Warmly,