• What is the official name of our national professional association as of September 1, 2011?
National Association for Music Education.
• What is the history of this name?
Our original name, Music Supervisors National Conference (assumed when we were founded in 1907), later became Music Educators National Conference, with the familiar acronym “MENC.” In 1998, our National Executive Board adopted the name National Association for Music Education, and the association became known as “MENC: The National Association for Music Education.”
• Why drop the “MENC” now?
We have a leadership role among all arts organizations in shaping the education of our children and the place of music in the world of education and culture. To do this in a world moving ever more quickly, we must have an easily-recognizable and instantly-understood brand. When working with Congress, raising funds, recruiting new teachers, or partnering with celebrities to make our case, we can’t afford to repeatedly explain that a “conference” is an association or why “MENC” doesn’t match “National Association for Music Education.”
• Why National Association for Music Education and not some other name?
“National Association for Music Education” says exactly what we are and what we do: an organization for music education for everyone in our nation, an association that supports music teachers and the profession of music education
• What is the new acronym?
When appropriate, we’ll use the acronym “NAfME.” The inclusion of the lower case “f” is different from how many organizations use acronyms. There are some practical reasons. A number of other organizations have the initials “N-A-M-E”. For the critical issue of our website identity, the address “name.org” is already taken, and we wanted our website address to match our acronym. Perhaps most important, inclusion of the “f” emphasizes that we are “FOR” music education. And it’s just a little different!
• What is the inspiration for the new logo?
Our new logo is designed to further our brand and strengthen our identity. The wordmark “National Association for Music Education” is rendered in a bold, contemporary typeface, Dax, illustrating our movement into a new era of leading music education advocacy and advancement. The words are evenly weighted, reflecting the equal importance of both what we are, a national association, and what we are for, music education. The NAfME four-square icon (the “shield”) nods to our celebrated past and the “MENC” square logo used for nearly 30 years, but the new use of color and the more modern design unmistakably connote a new era. Musical insiders will recognize the lower case “f” in the icon as the musical “forte” symbol. This reference emphasizes, again, our position “for” music education and our loud, strong voice in support of our mission.
• Where can I find out more about the name transition?
Please contact Elizabeth Lasko, NAfME, at ElizabethL@nafme.org.