Dr. John Southall Honored with Florida Music Education Association Award

January 31, 2022 Robert Lane

Indian River State College’s (IRSC) Chair of the Performing & Visual Arts Department, Director of Bands, and Coordinator of Music Education Dr. John K. Southall, PhD, has been recognized by the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA), with the organization’s 2022 Conference Service Award.

Dr. John Southall

The FMEA Awards Program recognizes the efforts and accomplishments of exemplary music teachers, school and district administrators, businesses, and others who have made an outstanding contribution to music education. Their efforts help FMEA attain its mission to promote quality, comprehensive music education in all Florida schools.

The FMEA Awards Committee reinstated the Conference Service Award as a one-time special event for 2022. This award has only been given one other time in FMEA’s history, in 1995 to Claudia Davidsen. A nomination was brought to the Awards Committee to award Dr. Southall the Conference Service Award this year, not only for amazing service for so many years to the FMEA Professional Development Conference, but specifically for the work of taking FMEA’s entire conference virtual during the pandemic and accomplishing that feat in just a few short months’ time. The Conference Service Award is awarded only when exceptional service merits recognition to an individual who demonstrates outstanding and sustained leadership and service toward the annual FMEA Professional Development Conference and who carries the mission of FMEA forward in their service to the FMEA Professional Development Conference. The recipient must have demonstrated notable achievement in serving FMEA and continued commitment in promoting and leading the FMEA Professional Development Conference. This award is not awarded annually.

Dr. Southall is the Professional Development Conference Chairman and a Past President of FMEA. He also currently serves as the Music Director of the Port St. Lucie Community Band as well as on the advisory board for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Conference. Dr. Southall has served as Chairman of the FMEA Finance committee, an editorial board member for the Research Perspectives in Music Education Journal and is a contributing author for the Florida Music Director magazine.

Dr. Southall was recently honored with the Indian River State College Endowed Teaching Chair in Fine Arts Award, and in the past has been a recipient of the Midwest International Clinic Conference Medal of Honor. He was also selected as the FMEA Florida College Music Educator of the Year, the Broward County Arts Teacher of the Year (FL) and the Western High School Teacher of the Year (FL).

Dr. Southall has been an active music education advocate, conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and presenter across the United States for over 33 years. He received the PhD and the MME from Florida State University and the BME from Florida A&M University. He has served on the faculties of Florida State University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Nova Southeastern University and Broward Community College. He has served as the music curriculum specialist, K-12 (FL), and President of the Broward County Music Educators Association (FL). He has also served as the director of bands at Western, Piper and Ely high schools in Broward County, Florida, and is a member of FMEA, the Florida Bandmasters Association, the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the Florida College Music Educators Association, Phi Beta Mu, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Tau Beta Sigma.

“It is with great pride and admiration that I congratulate each of our music educators and music education allies from across the state of Florida on their FMEA awards recognition in our profession and beyond. We will continue to inspire others as we all build stronger communities of music excellence,” states FMEA President Dr. Shelby Chipman, PhD.