About FVA
About FVA
The Florida Vocal Association (FVA) is a component organization of the Florida Music Education Association. Its primary purpose is to promote and develop interest in choral and general music in Florida Secondary Schools.
The officers of FVA are as follows: president, president-elect, past president, middle school chairperson, middle school chairperson-elect, and the district chairpersons. There are currently 17 districts throughout the state.
The governing and executive powers of the association are vested in the Executive Board, which consists of the above-named officers. The board meets three times annually: July, January, and May. The Executive Board employs an executive director and a business manager.
- Active membership in the Florida Vocal Association shall be open to all persons actively engaged in the teaching of choral and/or general music in secondary schools of Florida.
- Affiliate membership is open to music faculty members or music administrative staff in a Florida junior college, community college, college or university and those who are responsible for music activities in a Florida school district in a supervisory, coordinating or similar capacity.
- Associate membership is open to all other persons who have an interest in music education.
- Additionally, there are Retired, Student, and Honorary membership categories as set forth in the FVA Constitution, Article IV.
- All FVA members except Retired, Honorary and Associate members must hold joint membership in the Florida Music Education Association and the National Association for Music Education.
The annual dues for each membership category in FVA, FMEA and NAfME shall be set by the Executive Boards of each organization, subject to the approval of their respective membership. Payment of dues entitles members to the following services:
- Membership in Florida Vocal Association
- Bulletins, minutes, and material sent out by the FVA
- Membership in National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
- Subscription to Music Educators Journal
- Membership in Florida Music Education Association
- Subscription to Florida Music Director
A Brief History of FVA

According to a brief resume by A. K. Dickinson of the Tourist and Convention Bureau of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the first Florida High School Music Festival was held in 1928 in the city of Tampa. The first festivals were sponsored annually and conducted by M. L. Price of the Price Music Company of Tampa. Later they were sponsored by the University of Tampa and Mr. Price.
In 1936, festivals came under the supervision of the Convention and Tourist Bureau of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Attendance in that year was 1500 students. In 1938, letterhead stationery bore the name of “Florida High School Music Festival Association, Inc.” It must have been the first year for corporation officers. From the inception of the Tampa Music Festival until the early 1930’s, the Festival was dominated by orchestras and vocal groups. With the decline of school orchestras and the rapid growth of the band movement, the trend of choral domination at the Festival was reversed by 1936. The band directors organized their own association in July, 1936, and it was only a matter of time before the bands withdrew from participating in the Tampa Festival. By 1940 the vocal and orchestral groups were still united in festival participation. In that year there were 70 schools and 2695 students in attendance. Plaques and medals were given to groups and students for the first time that year.
Because of his concern over the stability of the Festival, and the strength of the newly formed band association, Peter J. Gustat, much respected Florida pioneer music educator, suggested that the vocal teachers of the state organize. Thus, the Florida Vocal Association was born in April, 1937, at Tampa with Gustat serving as the first president. The FVA held its first vocal clinic at Stetson University in December, 1938. Harold Giffin and Christopher Honaas directed a clinic choir of twenty-eight students and twelve directors. In 1949 FVA affiliated with the Florida Music Education Association. The vocal association continued to hold the State Competition-Festival at Tampa until 1962, when for the first time the Festival was held in Daytona Beach. The organization, formed mainly for festival purposes in the beginning, expanded its activities to include the selection and operation of All-State choruses as a part of the FMEA Clinic-Conference.
During the 1966–67 school year, the Florida State Vocal Association (composed of most of the Black vocal teachers) was united with the FVA. The enlarged organization required that two centers be used for the State Festivals and membership soared to nearly 400.
In 1975 another activity, a summertime convention, was added and now FVA Summer Conference welcomes more than 250 directors to its reading sessions and workshops each July.
By 1999, fva.net was on the Internet. The site was operated at that time by Kevin Albright. In 2006, the site was redesigned by Jussi Doherty, who managed FVA’s online presence for over a decade.
Currently, FVA sponsors 6 All-State choruses, including an All-State Reading Chorus, unique in the country; and welcomes to rehearsals and the podium the finest of America’s choral conductors. The festivals of the past have been developed into Music Performance Assessments. Entries have grown from 4,101 in 1966 to over 17,000 from 7,000-plus students in more than 200 schools. Association membership is over 800 directors in public, charter, and private schools in Florida.
According to a brief resume by A. K. Dickinson of the Tourist and Convention Bureau of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the first Florida High School Music Festival was held in 1928 in the city of Tampa. The first festivals were sponsored annually and conducted by M. L. Price of the Price Music Company of Tampa. Later they were sponsored by the University of Tampa and Mr. Price.
In 1936, festivals came under the supervision of the Convention and Tourist Bureau of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Attendance in that year was 1500 students. In 1938, letterhead stationery bore the name of “Florida High School Music Festival Association, Inc.” It must have been the first year for corporation officers. From the inception of the Tampa Music Festival until the early 1930’s, the Festival was dominated by orchestras and vocal groups. With the decline of school orchestras and the rapid growth of the band movement, the trend of choral domination at the Festival was reversed by 1936. The band directors organized their own association in July, 1936, and it was only a matter of time before the bands withdrew from participating in the Tampa Festival. By 1940 the vocal and orchestral groups were still united in festival participation. In that year there were 70 schools and 2695 students in attendance. Plaques and medals were given to groups and students for the first time that year.

Because of his concern over the stability of the Festival, and the strength of the newly formed band association, Peter J. Gustat, much respected Florida pioneer music educator, suggested that the vocal teachers of the state organize. Thus, the Florida Vocal Association was born in April, 1937, at Tampa with Gustat serving as the first president. The FVA held its first vocal clinic at Stetson University in December, 1938. Harold Giffin and Christopher Honaas directed a clinic choir of twenty-eight students and twelve directors. In 1949 FVA affiliated with the Florida Music Education Association. The vocal association continued to hold the State Competition-Festival at Tampa until 1962, when for the first time the Festival was held in Daytona Beach. The organization, formed mainly for festival purposes in the beginning, expanded its activities to include the selection and operation of All-State choruses as a part of the FMEA Clinic-Conference.
During the 1966–67 school year, the Florida State Vocal Association (composed of most of the Black vocal teachers) was united with the FVA. The enlarged organization required that two centers be used for the State Festivals and membership soared to nearly 400.
In 1975 another activity, a summertime convention, was added and now FVA Summer Conference welcomes more than 250 directors to its reading sessions and workshops each July.
By 1999, fva.net was on the Internet. The site was operated at that time by Kevin Albright. In 2006, the site was redesigned by Jussi Doherty, who managed FVA’s online presence for over a decade.
Currently, FVA sponsors 6 All-State choruses, including an All-State Reading Chorus, unique in the country; and welcomes to rehearsals and the podium the finest of America’s choral conductors. The festivals of the past have been developed into Music Performance Assessments. Entries have grown from 4,101 in 1966 to over 17,000 from 7,000-plus students in more than 200 schools. Association membership is over 800 directors in public, charter, and private schools in Florida.
District Information
The association grew so rapidly that, even before World War II, the state festivals had become unwieldy. After the first postwar festival, it became necessary to divide the state into districts.
The sixty-seven counties are divided into seventeen districts. Geography and the number of choruses are determining factors in forming districts as outlined in the constitution.
The affairs of each district are conducted in accordance with FVA policies, by officers elected by the district membership. Each district chairperson is a member of the FVA Executive Board.
The purposes of district organization are to promote vocal activities and closer relationships between schools within smaller geographical areas which make such contacts possible. District meetings are held each year to plan activities, conduct other business and create a forum from which individuals in the district may address their concerns and relay them to the Executive Board with a unified voice.
- District 1:
Bay, Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, Washington - District 3: Bay (from 2023), Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla
- District 4: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gilchrist, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Union
- District 5: Citrus, Hernando, Marion, Pasco, Sumter
- District 6: Flagler, Lake, Seminole, Volusia
- District 7: Hillsborough
- District 8: Orange
- District 9: Pinellas
- District 10: Brevard
- District 11: DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee, Sarasota
- District 12: Highlands, Polk
- District 13: Glades, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, St. Lucie
- District 14: Palm Beach
- District 15: Broward
- District 16: Miami-Dade, Monroe
- District 18: Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Lee
- District 19: Osceola