Nova Scotia Music Educators' Association (NSMEA)

Conference Reflections

Our MEA Conference was always there to help fill the last spot in the concert program with a new song or idea. Seasoned music teachers know that the fall season involves many performing expectations.

Young teachers in their first year in the music classroom may realize with some anxiety that they are expected to put on a dazzling display of musical achievement early in December. 

There is also the issue of which of the four Meghans you teach is in grade 3 and to try once and for all to get it right when writing down the name of Cody or Colby or was that Cordell?  Also, by the time Christmas concert rolls around you have done an entire set of report cards and a parent teacher interview session. (Oh, the horrors of meeting Meghan’s parents face to face and not being able to remember which Meghan she is, or even if you remember her at all!)

Choosing repertoire is difficult when you are not sure if that is the class that can actually sing, or if a choreographed scarf number might work better for this year. I have always said to my students that they were in the “sweet spot” with regards to concert performances. If they did well, parents would comment on how well the children did. If they did poorly, the commentary would turn to the incompetence of the music teacher in being able to teach them. Nonetheless, planning for Christmas concert must be done and our Music Educators' Association Conference was a valuable part of finding material to use in that highlight event of the school year.

Our conference had much more lasting effects than concert program repertoire. It was a time to attend sessions that provided teaching strategies and lesson plan ideas. It was a lifeline for me as a young, first-year music teacher holding a curriculum guide in one hand and trying to sift and sort through a bookcase of music resources that were left behind by the previous teacher. I well remember the day I had the epiphany that I didn’t need to use every song in every book on that shelf and that I could pick and choose only the best ones to use with my students. Then all I had to do was to go through all of those books and choose the best songs. It was a daunting task and there was no one else in the building to ask or to use as a sounding board when making decisions for my music classes.

from seasoned teachers with many years of teaching experience. Those who were ahead could reach back and encourage those who were struggling. Advice was given for everything and anything;  from handling the administration to handling the students, repertoire that always worked and what to avoid, how to deal with that one child who always….. and how to deal with parents. Unsure of where to send your alto xylophone for repair? Someone would happily supply that information. What kind of paint stays on the floor when creating a circle in the classroom? What to do about a horrible carpet? What kind of chairs, or no chairs at all? 

Someone was always there to give support, opinions and advice. Finally we were in a room full of other professionals who understood the day-to-day challenges of multiple classes, seeing large numbers of students every day, lesson plannning for 5 different grade levels with few planning periods (if any) in the day, opening the door to usher out one class while greeting the next, and trying to be just as pleasant and enthusiastic for class #7 as we were at the beginning of the day. The bottom line was that conference provided the support of our community, our musical family, our “peeps”.

New teachers often ask the same kinds of questions I did as a beginning teacher. They also have a lot more things to juggle and balance in today’s teaching climate so it is a good chance for those of us who are older to also ask questions and be supported by the younger generation!

Our MEA Conference in the early days was a three-day event. Things began on Thursday evening and ended on Saturday at noon. Conference planners made sure we had reading sessions (Thursday evening), meaningful session options all day Friday, concerts or social events to attend in the evening on Friday, and one final session and some shopping time on Saturday before winding things up at noon. It was almost a vacation to be away in a hotel for two nights and to spend the days with others who were, or at least, understood, that mysterious person called a “music teacher.” Thursday evening was a special part of the conference as we would meet and greet friends and colleagues. First year teachers would catch up with classmates that they had not seen since graduating in the spring. More seasoned teachers enjoyed meeting friends and colleagues from many years of conferences. Another part of Thursday evenings at conference included reading sessions for choral, band and string players. This was a chance to sing through samples of music that might make it into my own music programs, choirs and concerts. Even if the music were not suitable for our own teaching situations, it was a highlight to be able to experience the sound of singing in a room full of musicians. It was a joy to sing SATB songs with all parts being covered and sung well and SSA songs with soaring descants that actually soared when not dependent on our (my) alto vocal offerings.

Thursday evening also provided the opportunity to get started on the shopping. In the early years conference offered an entire gym of vendors: publishers, music stores and vendors of all things music teachers would hope and dream of owning. I remember at least three or four music publishers with tables loaded down with printed music for every imaginable choral configuration. There would be a similar number of vendors for band music as well. It was a challenge to sift through all that music in the allotted “shopping times” or during breaks in the conference session schedule. These days (2020) there are fewer publishers even creating printed music and online offerings are so prevalent that the big publishers don’t make their way to visit Nova Scotia for a one-day conference. It is a loss for all of us on both sides of that equation.

In addition to printed music, teachers could purchase classroom instruments, risers, music novelties, band and orchestra instruments, method books, and all manner of music materials. If you were fortunate, you had money in hand from a benevolent administrator, or, better yet, you had your own music program budget. If you stayed through to Saturday there were often great deals to be had from vendors who didn’t want to pack up the materials they had brought and would offer discounts on those items. More than one xylophone has gone home at a discounted price as a result of those Saturday sales.

NSMEA conferences gave me a forum for presenting my music to “my people” first and gaining the experience and confidence to take it further afield. Conference was (and is) an important part of my music career as a teacher and as a composer.

In the early days, music teachers were one of only a few associations who chose to spread conference activities over three days. These days, our music conference has been reduced to a one-day event. For those with busy schedules this is probably easier to manage. However, we are missing out on a lot of fun things that we were able to experience when we were part of a three-day event. I remain grateful for all the things I was able to learn as a student, as a young teacher and as a seasoned teacher through the opportunities provided by my NSMEA.