2026 MMEA Fall In-Service Conference

Music education has the power to build meaningful connections beyond the classroom. This session explores how intergenerational and community-based music-making experiences can foster empathy, belonging, and stronger school-community relationships. We’ll explore real examples such as performances at independent and assisted living communities to collaborations with local schools and the creation of a community performing ensemble for students, family members, and staff. Attendees will learn about the educational and social benefits of these experiences and leave with practical, adaptable ideas for implementing similar initiatives in their own programs.

You've been hired - great! Now your district has asked you to run sound for other concerts. What do you do? Perhaps you've been tasked with figuring out why the sound in the auditorium is never what you want it to be. This session will cover the basics of running a mixer, hooking everything up properly, and getting your wireless system to function the way it should!

Limited resources should not limit achievement. Whether serving in rural communities with limited enrollment and challenging instrumentation or urban programs managing large class sizes and frequent turnover – or anywhere in between, music teachers are tasked with achieving excellence amid various constraints. With experience building and maintaining successful band programs in both rural and urban areas in Texas, Finnels will share high-impact strategies and practical tools that help music programs grow, thrive, and succeed!

The United States Naval Academy Band was formed in November of 1852 by order of the Secretary of the Navy. The band’s primary mission is to provide musical support to the Superintendent, Commandant, and Brigade of Midshipmen. These dedicated professionals are known across the nation as “The Navy’s Oldest and Finest Band!” Our members have studied at prominent music schools and conservatories nationwide and have extensive experience in performance and teaching.At the Naval Academy, the USNA Band performs for parades, graduations, athletic events, retirements, funerals and other traditional military ceremonies. In the community, the band presents concerts, provides music for civic events, and presents instructional clinics and performances for K-12 and university students. The Naval Academy Band takes pride in representing the Naval Academy’s tradition of excellence. Performing at the highest professional standard for the Navy, the Naval Academy, and the citizens of this great country has been our mission since 1852.

You want AI to organize your library, help bring your ideas to life, assist you in planning, and help facilitate how best to teach particular skillsets. You don't want it to create your music for you, think for you or mentor you. In this session, we will visit a few AI tools and how to use them to augment what we already do without handing over our responsibility to think. AI can be a powerful assistant when used ethically. We can also teach our students to use it this way too!

Are you a new choral director or do you have beginner-choral students in need of vocal exercises that are simple yet effective, accessible yet expansive, and usable for elementary, middle and high school choruses? Wherever you may fall, a common question you may have is “Where Do We Start?!?” In this session, we answer that question with a series of warm-ups that address vocal onset, head voice activation, ear training, vowel unification, range extensions high and low, and tongue twisters for diction and articulation. Attendees will be provided with printed descriptions of warm-up exercises and titles of recorded music.

We all have felt the lasting effects of the COVID-19 lockdown, particularly the increase in disruptive and negative student behaviors in classrooms. Since the pandemic, music educators have reported both increased frequency and severity of disruptive behaviors while also feeling underprepared to address them effectively. As schools increasingly adopt Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), many music teachers are seeking practical ways to adapt these strategies to ensemble and general music settings. This session aligns with the Emerging Practices strand by exploring evidence-based approaches for implementing PBIS effectively in music classrooms. Participants will learn strategies to reduce disruptive behaviors, strengthen classroom management, and create positive, safe, and productive learning environments that support student engagement and musical growth.

This session will present an overview of the structure of the seven free response questions in the AP Music Theory Exam (Melodic Dictation, Harmonic Dictation, Part Writing and Soprano-Bass Counterpoint). Attendees will learn which concepts must be taught and strategies on applying these concepts to the individual questions on the exam. Data concerning common construction elements on these questions from prior AP exams will be shared with attendees.

No matter where or what you teach, you teach disabled students. We will define disability, learn how and why to presume compitence, and learn how to make the environment, materials, instruction, and communication truly accessible and inclusive for all students. You will actively use communition tools during the instruction, experience the effect of instuctional modifications, and get to try out adaptive materials to play instruments and interact with other participants. You will also have the opportunity to apply these strategies and tools to prepare for your classroom and your students.

Rehearsals often struggle to balance depth of learning with realities of limited time. This session explores microlearning as a learning design strategy that targets retention, transfer, and ensemble growth. Explore the cognitive science behind attention, knowledge transfer, and context switching, while evaluating the definition of a complete learning experience. Participants apply concepts through a guided activity that will give them a practical framework for implementing microlearning in their own classes.