WMEA News
2026 Wisconsin State Music Conference – Music Minds, Bigger Minds
New research in neuroscience is powerfully underscoring something that music teachers have known for many years: music deeply affects the minds and hearts of musicians. More than just a pleasant pastime, casual entertainment, or community-building ac- tivity (although it can be all of these), music actually shapes the way we think and feel and process our human experience. It is a lens to understand the world.
This is actually evolutionary. Prominent researchers Daniel Levitin, Nina Kraus and Anita Collins have shown the ways we are hard-wired from birth to make sense of the world through sound, and music in par- ticular. This research is already having an impact on early childhood music education, especially regarding language acquisition, literacy and early success in school.
But music does so much more for the mind than this, and music teachers can leverage this understanding in their classroom. As a language of its own, with its own pat- terns, structures, and cultural and historical context, music is a way to enhance critical thinking skills, “expert noticing,” analysis and interpretive skills, and the skills called out in the National Standards, not just for music but for all content areas. Wisconsin’s great gift to music education – the Com- prehensive Musicianship Through Perfor- mance (CMP) Model – has shown teachers for 50 years how to use the Knowledge
Outcome to make this work intentional in the classroom. Social emotional learning (SEL) is built into music education, but the Affective Outcome made it tangible and drawn powerfully from the music being studied (as opposed to an “extra” social/ emotional idea taught in the abstract).
Resilience, problem solving, risk-taking, patience – these are among the many social- emotional life skills that music education provides. By advocating for music educa- tion, we affirm its vital role in shaping social-emotional identities and enhancing cognitive growth, equipping all students – regardless of their abilities – with the tools they need for personal and interpersonal success.
Schedule Overview
Conference will kick off on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with the Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) pre-conference ses- sions and continues through Saturday, Oct. 31. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are packed with sessions, performances, exhibit hall time and special events. The WSMA State Honors Music Project con- certs on Thursday through Saturday will celebrate the many students, teachers and volunteers who make this opportunity pos- sible for Wisconsin’s musical youth.
2026 WMEA Awards
On Wednesday night, the conference will feature a fun social gathering at Monona Terrace, including live music, light snacks and beverages, and the chance to connect with friends and colleagues from across
the state. We will hear from national and international music education scholars and honor outstanding leaders in our state as WMEA President Randal Swiggum presents the 2026 WMEA Awards. Please join us for an unforgettable evening of community!
Aspiring Music Majors
We will be running a new opportunity for high school (HS) students this year con- nected to the Conference Exhibit Hall that will allow accompanied HS musicians to meet with higher education vendors as well as our music retail and manufacturing rep- resentatives. This will be done in lieu of the Aspiring Music Majors sessions – detailed information will be shared here.
Register for our 2026 Wisconsin State Music Conference and find honors concert and ticket information at:
wmeamusic.org/ conference.
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