2026 MMEA Fall In-Service Conference

Start the school year with repertoire that builds both musicianship and community. This reading session highlights accessible and engaging SAB and SATB selections designed to foster connection, confidence, and artistic growth in developing choirs. Participants will explore music that is pedagogically sound, culturally responsive, and immediately usable in middle school, high school, community, and collegiate settings. Whether rebuilding an ensemble, strengthening vocal independence, or cultivating a sense of belonging, these selections provide meaningful opportunities for singers to grow musically and personally. Discover repertoire that is accessible enough for success and beautiful enough to inspire singers throughout the year.

This session helps early career and veteran music educators strengthen their impact on school culture and community engagement. Participants will explore building a structured band program that fosters collaboration, positive relationships, and alignment with school goals.Attendees will learn to design performances that reflect their school community and support students in feeling connected, valued, and safe, especially post-COVID.Key topics include social-emotional learning, expectations, discipline, parent engagement, classroom setup, and rehearsal routines. The session also highlights aligning program goals with the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and School Performance Plan (SPP) to boost recruitment, retention, and long-term success.

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!

The Maryland Blueprint for Education is expanding access to early childhood education, bringing more PK3 and PK4 students into elementary music programs. This session explores developmentally appropriate practices for teaching our youngest learners, focusing on child development, foundational music skills, and meaningful engagement. Participants will examine key curricular goals and practical strategies that can be immediately applied in the music classroom. Attendees will leave with ideas and resources to support musical growth and create successful learning experiences for PK3 and PK4 students.

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!

Music teachers face mounting pressures including packed rehearsal schedules, performance demands, and the emotional demands of working with young musicians. This interactive session explores how AI tools, including Large Language Models (LLM’s) like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc. can serve as accessible wellness partners to support your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.Participants will leave with practical strategies for daily AI interactions, guidance on crafting effective prompts, and real-world examples ranging from exercise planning to sleep and diet tracking. Bring your laptop or tablet to this session for hands-on practice!

AI is already in your students' world — is it in your teaching toolkit? This hands-on session demystifies artificial intelligence for music educators at every level. Explore how AI agents like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini can streamline lesson planning, generate differentiated materials, and provide personalized student feedback. Discover music-specific applications supporting composition, ear training, notation, and performance assessment. Learn effective prompting strategies that deliver classroom-ready results, and develop a principled framework for deciding when and how AI belongs in your program. Walk away with a curated toolkit and the confidence to use it.