2022 Colorado Music Educators Association Conference
Thursday, January 27, 2022
CMEA Opening Session, Keynote, and Honor Awards Ceremony
CMEA President Kevin Beaber and CMEA President-elect Cynthia Eversole welcome all to the 2022 conference and annual meeting of the membership. Enjoy a keynote address presented by Omar Thomas, and celebrate the accomplishments of our CMEA Honor Award Recipients from 2021 and 2022.
Denver School of the Arts - Treble Choir
Presider - Heather Schenck
Concert Host - Shannon Schell, VMC District 1 Representative
The ABC’s of Songwriting Activism: Art + Blues + Compassion = Change
Do you want to create more opportunities for the intersection of activism and active music-making in your classroom? Songwriting can be tricky, but provides rewarding musical experiences and a platform for student agency and activism. Come learn how the blues genre and visual art combine to provide a perfect initial journey for student activist songwriting that is accessible and successful. Participants will leave our session ready to build a blues unit where students own the entire songwriting process. Not only will they write and sing the lyrics, but they will also play recorder, ukulele, and barred instruments, while exploring important music concepts like form, theory, harmony, and music history. We will also discuss songwriting tips and tricks, plus quality resources for introducing a blues unit to your students. Bring a recorder and ukulele to join in our songwriting!
Looking to dive deeper into the content of the session? Check out these supporting materials:
Formation: Getting the Best Sound and Voice from Your Choir!
Claire Hudkins
Western Oregon University, Director of Vocal Studies & NTT Assistant Professor of MusicRegardless of whether we are singing Mozart, Whitacre, or even Adele, the formation of our ensemble has both positive and negative effects on an ensemble’s sound, vocal quality, vocal health and much more. In this session, we will explore the positive effects of ensemble formation on a variety of different areas including intonation, diction, balance, blend, authenticity, and vocal health from the point of view of ensemble director and private voice instructor. We will also discuss many different ways formation can be used both in the rehearsal and performance enhancing your ensemble’s overall sound, vocal health, and musical experience!
The Silent Canon - Repertoire by Composers of African Descent
Anthony Trecek-King
The Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Resident Conductor with the Handel and Haydn Society, Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral ActivitiesA workshop on Singing Spirituals - History and Performance Practice
Teaching Guitar: Classical Technique, Modern Approach
Would you like to build a school guitar class with the scholastic integrity and ensemble chops of a great band or orchestra program? This clinic will focus on ways to explore culturally diverse repertoire from a foundation of music literacy and classical technique. Music educators who teach guitar but aren’t yet confident players and those who have recently been assigned or would like to begin a guitar class will find this session particularly helpful. The clinician will demonstrate and discuss effective ways to teach medium to large groups of students how to play guitar with ergonomic technique and to avoid the negative habits that often befall beginning students. He will also explore tactics for getting students to read music and play as an ensemble from the very beginning of their guitar-playing experience. Ultimately, we want students to have an engaging and enriching experience on this most accessible instrument.
Looking to dive deeper into the content of the session? Check out these supporting materials:
Friday, January 28, 2022
The Silent Canon - Repertoire by Composers of African Descent (Part 2)
Anthony Trecek-King
The Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Resident Conductor with the Handel and Haydn Society, Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral ActivitiesA workshop on Singing Spirituals - History and Performance Practice
Start with Hello - Working with Administrators to Create Vibrant School Music Programs
Are you happy with your school music program? Is it moving toward your vision of success? None of us creates great programs alone. This clinic will give you strategies to communicate and involve your school administration, techniques help grow your program, and pathways to improve school culture in your building.
2-Part Choral: Not Just for Kids
Many middle and high school directors have discovered the effectiveness of singing in just two well-conceived voice parts, but finding texts and topics that are suitable for teen singers can be a challenge. Come sing along as Andy Beck leads us through a complimentary packet of 2-part treble choral repertoire recommended for all ages!
Presider: Marla Sitton, Vocal Council District 7 Representative
Social Justice Music Education
As the country reckons with injustice, educators, especially arts educators, possess one of the greatest tools to help young people understand and take action towards social justice. Based on two years of pedagogical research on the intersection of social justice and arts education, join Creative Generation for a hands-on session to integrate the National Core Arts Standards for music with the Teaching for Justice’s social justice education standards. The workshop will culminate with music educators crafting their own conception of an integrated music education/social justice lesson plan.
Looking to dive deeper into the content of the session? Check out these supporting materials:
Additional Resources
The Big Sing
Anthony Trecek-King
The Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Resident Conductor with the Handel and Haydn Society, Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Activities
Melanie Trecek-King
Massasoit Community College, Associate Professor of Biology and Science Educator and Communicator, Thinking is PowerDenver School of the Arts - Middle School Concert Band
Presider - Enrique Lasansky, Denver School of the Arts Director of Orchestras
Concert Host - Marti Bott, IMC District 6 Representative
Axes of tone on brass instruments
Dr. Stanley Curtis, trumpet professor at Colorado State University, will discuss six different ways, or "axes," that tone can be changed on brass instruments. Curtis will discuss each axis in theory and then show how to change each one. Volunteers from the audience, young and old, who play a brass instrument, will be welcomed. The audience will be encouraged to weigh in on each demonstration. Strategies for optimizing tone in a band class will be discussed.
Looking to dive deeper into the content of the session? Check out these supporting materials: