I recently renewed a few memberships in some of the woodwind-related professional organizations. I like to stay current with as many of these as I can, because I enjoy receiving their publications and attending their conferences whenever possible. Most offer some other benefits like score and book lending libraries, eligibility for a group instrument insurance plan, member directories, and exclusive website content.
Membership is especially useful for woodwind folks in academia—students and professors alike—who are hoping to build their vitae. There are opportunities to publish articles, interviews, reviews, and such in the organizations’ publications, and to perform, present lectures and demonstrations, and participate in competitions and masterclasses at the conferences. Students can usually join the organizations and attend the conferences at significant discounts.
The groups I’m listing below are the major ones that North American woodwind players ought to seriously consider joining. There are others, mainly regional groups, of which I list as many as I’m aware elsewhere on this site (see flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone organizations).
National Flute Association
- Dues: $85/60 year; student $45/35 year. Cheaper prices are for “e-membership,” which provides a download of The Flutist Quarterly instead of a printed copy. The membership year begins August 1, so if you join later than that you get less than a year’s membership, but you do get back issues of the publication.
- Publication: The Flutist Quarterly, out, of course, four times per year.
- Conference: Annual, in a major US city. The next one is Aug. 12-15, 2010, in Anaheim, CA.
International Double Reed Society
- Dues: $50 year; student $35 year.
- Publication: The Double Reed, which comes out quarterly. It maintains around a 50%-50% balance of oboe and bassoon stuff.
- Conference: Annual, somewhere in North America most years. The next one is June 22-26, 2010, at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK).
International Clarinet Association
- Dues: $50 year; student $25 year. Memberships expire quarterly, so if you join mid-quarter you may get less than a year.
- Publication: The Clarinet Journal, which comes out quarterly.
- Conference: Annual “ClarinetFest,” which as far as I can tell generally takes place in the US. I can’t find a list of past conference locations. The next one is July 21-25, 2010, at the University of Texas at Austin.
North American Saxophone Alliance
- Dues: $35 year; student $25 year.
- Publication: Saxophone Symposium, unfortunately, has not been published in several years, though the formerly-biannual publication is still listed on the NASA website. NASA Update, a brief newsletter, comes out every two months.
- Conference: Biennial, with regional conferences occurring in the off-years. The next biennial conference is March 3-6, 2010, at the University of Georgia (go Dawgs).