wisconsin music educators association president
Well-Rounded With Music: How a State Music Conference is Created Lynn Seidl, WMEA President
Wh e n WME A members become involved in leader- ship, or attend the January conference planning session, many discoveries are made as to how our state music con- ference comes to
fruition. I am writing this article in order to shed some light on the makings of the conference. There is an enormous amount of work that occurs long before the open- ing of conference on Wednesday evening. It can be mind boggling to be a part of the process and realize just how much gets done in order to make the conference a success. It is the purpose of this article to let the readers know some of the steps to putting together the event to help you understand how things get done at the Wisconsin Center for Music Education.
The main conference sites include Monona Terrace, Monona Terrace Hilton, Overture Center, housing for honors performing groups, and Middleton and Waunakee High Schools, where the WSMA State Honors Music Project ensembles rehearse and/or perform. I will not spend much time detailing the honors project, as it is a part of conference, but not directly a WMEA activity. I will just mention that much work goes on for years preceding the performances to prepare for the honors project. Contracts with hotels for housing and meals are multi-year contracts, as is the use of Overture Center. Conductors for each of the seven performing groups are under contract several years before the year that they conduct. Coaches who help in the rehearsals and chaperone at the hotel are chosen and the audition materials are fine tuned in advance by an honors committee. Suffice it to say, it takes a great deal of work from staff at the center and educators who serve in various
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functions for the WSMA State Honors Music Project.
The Wisconsin State Music Conference theme is actually chosen about 18 months before the event takes place. This hap- pens early so the logo can be created and unveiled at the conference in the year preceding. It is the responsibility of the WMEA Board to brainstorm the theme and make a final decision. Kevin Thays, director of communications, works with a graphic designer to design the confer- ence logo.
When the conference is finished a variety of surveys are sent out. With these surveys, the next year’s conference planning has begun. We survey both the attendees and the exhibitors, and if you were a presider for a session or a performance group you will be given a survey to fill out. The feed- back is read very carefully and talked over by the staff and the WMEA Board. Your suggestions are taken very seriously and often are the impetus for a change that gets made to future conferences. Sometimes a suggestion is a good one, but for logistical or financial reasons, a change cannot be made. It is always great to read positive comments about session presenters and it can be disheartening to read negative com- ments, but your honesty is appreciated. Everyone who works to put the conference together wants to offer the best possible experience for the attendees.
The next step is gathering ideas for con- ference
sessions.The online form, which is due in mid December, includes session titles, presenters and a description of the session, is submitted to WMEA. The ses- sions are slotted into the areas that are listed in the next paragraph, and some sessions are marked as appropriate to be in several areas. Each session proposal is distributed to the committee in charge of that particular area. In addition, a list of session suggestions that were gleaned
September 2017
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