3 Hoover City Schools’ music groups chosen for Alabama Music Educators Conference

Three groups from Hoover City Schools have been selected to perform Thursday and Friday at the 2025 Alabama Music Educators Association Conference at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

The Shades Mountain Singers, a group of fourth and fifth graders from Shades Mountain Elementary School, will perform Thursday, Jan. 23, while the Bumpus Middle School percussion ensemble and jazz band are performing Friday morning.

The Shades Mountain Singers are the only elementary choir chosen to perform at this year’s event.

“Our goal is to build a community where students not only learn foundational musical skills but also develop a lifelong love for music,” said Meredith DeVore, Shades Mountain’s music teacher and the group’s director. “This opportunity to perform at the AMEA Conference allows us to share our joy for music with educators from across the state.”

The Shades Mountain Singers regularly perform at school events such as the Holly Jolly Sing Along, Veterans Day program and spring concert, as well as community events like the Hoover City Tree Lighting and visits to the Hoover Senior Center. Their repertoire includes unison, two-part, and three-part harmony, with students often accompanying themselves on barred instruments, recorders and unpitched percussion.

The Bumpus percussion ensemble consists of the percussion students in the Bumpus Symphonic Band. They performed at the 2017 Music for All Southeastern Regional Concert Band Festival and perform regularly at the spring concert of the Bumpus band program. They will also perform this year at the 2025 Music for All Belmont University Regional Wind Band Festival.

Students in the Bumpus jazz band over the past five years have earned the majority of available spots in the Alabama Middle School All-State Jazz Band. The jazz band has received superior ratings at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame’s Student Jazz Band Festival, earning the Band of Distinction award twice. It also achieved first place in the middle school jazz division at the Smoky Mountain Music Festival and ranked among the top three middle school jazz ensembles at the National Jazz Festival for two consecutive years.

“Our students have worked hard, and being selected to perform at AMEA is a testament to their dedication and passion for music,” Assistant Band Director Benjamin Posey said. “We are thrilled for them to share their talent with other amazing educators.

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