Press Release - 60th National Biennial In Service Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 19-23, 2006
MENC: The National Association for Music Education to Hold 60th National Biennial In Service Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 19-23, 2006
Conference of World™s Largest Arts Education Association to Include Discussion on the State of Music Education, a Performance by the Oak Ridge Boys with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a Special Session with Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Orrin Hatch, and More
RESTON, VA (April 4, 2006) “ The 60th National Biennial In-Service Conference of MENC: The National Association for Music Education will take place April 19-23 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This gathering of members of the world™s largest arts education association will include educational sessions, special guests, hands-on technology labs, industry workshops, exhibits, school performing groups, and performances by world-renowned musicians. Thousands of music educators from across the country and around the world are expected to attend.
Featured performances include the Spirit of America Concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (conducted by Craig Jessop) and Orchestra at Temple Square (conducted by Mack Wilberg), featuring The Oak Ridge Boys, the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, and Expressions of Silence (Montana School for the Deaf and Blind). Other performances include the Utah Symphony, conducted by Keith Lockhart; the U.S. Army Band Pershing™s Own, conducted by Colonel Thomas Rotondi Jr.; the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans; and the Boston Brass vs. the U.S. Army Brass in special performance. Tickets for these performances and for the Sunday, April 23 Gospel Brunch are available to the general public based on availability. (Visit the MENC Registration Desk in Hall B of the Salt Palace Convention Center.)
On Thursday, April 20, Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), a strong advocate of the arts and chairman of the Education Commission of the States and the National Governors Association, will address music educators during a general session held at the conference. Also at this session, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will receive the American Eagle Award from the National Music Council. Joan Schmidt, president of the National School Boards Association, and composer J. Eric Schmidt are the featured speakers at the Saturday, April 22 general session.
Our theme for the 60<sup>th</sup> National Conference is MUSIC: The Heart In Education, says MENC President David E. Circle. This theme exemplifies music educators™ passion for music and their dedication to students. It symbolizes the unique and indispensable role music education has in our schools™ curriculum. The Salt Lake City conference has been designed and planned so that teachers can be inspired by outstanding performances, enlightened by new instructional techniques learned in educational sessions and workshops, and uplifted by interactions with colleagues from all across the country.
MENC™s Exhibit Hall will include impressive and informative music product displays and the National Anthem Project Road Show. The conference will also feature Music in Early Childhood Day, collegiate sessions and events, and the popular original student composition contest, featuring performances by the student winners.
MENC™s biennial conferences provide music educators with an opportunity to network with colleagues from across the nation and to learn about the latest innovations in the field of music education. More details about the 60th National Biennial In-Service Conference can be found at www.menc.org/conferences.
For more information, call MENC at 1-800-336-3768.
MENC, the world™s largest arts education organization, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. More than 120,000 members represent all levels of teaching from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC™s activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.
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