This past week held one of the most exciting and valuable music educators conference. This conference is held for all music educators across the province. This is an annual music educator conference and this year was our return to our in-person gatherings. The last few years have been online. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. I love it! Online Music Conference Online was great because it was always easy to hear and see the presenter. There were moments where they would even hand out presentations and take us directly to resources. There are upwards of 11 sessions happening at one time encompassing all aspects of music from singing to jazz band. If there was a session that wasn’t quite applicable, you could always exit the session and rejoin another one without missing a beat. The downside to being online is the abscence of the ensemble and shared experiences with colleagues. One of the highlights is reconnecting with other music professionals and friends. The community that develops from these shared experiences lasts for a long time and also creates a sense of accountability and collaboration. In Person Music Conference The in-person sessions are amazing! There are several to choose from each hour. I attended sessions about song-writing, music production, ukulele in an Orff setting and using pop music in a music lesson. We also had a keynote speaker who presented on the inspirations that Indigenous peoples drew from and tied it into music education. It was WAY cool! The conference also provides its participants other opportunties. In addition to lunch, there are many music stores and connections set in the main area. From instrument dealers to sheet music publishers, there are also opportunities to travel and participate in student performance festivals. There was also a number of secondary education institutes with booths for info and recruitment. The Highlight of the Music Conference Something special that happened this year will be completely unforgettable. Normally there are high school students that busk in the hallways and such. This year, however, there was a conference-wide performance from the Canadian Brass! I think this was my favorite part, by far. Did I also mention that they are hilarious?? The next few blogs will explain a little bit more about my experiences! I can’t wait to share some of the things that I learned from this music educator conference!
