By Ashlyn Armock, Arts Editor
The Michigan Music Conference, or MMC, happens annually at the beginning of each year. The 21st annual conference took place Jan. 22-24 and included over 200 educational sessions, 142 speakers and 32 performances from various Honors Choirs, All-State Bands, and Orchestras.
One of the many educational sessions offered at the conference – Photo by Xavier Memije
“The purpose of the Michigan Music Conference is to provide relevant professional development,” as stated in the MMC’s mission statement. “And vibrant musical experiences that support music education for educators and their students.”
While including group performances throughout, the conference also held sessions for in-service and pre-service teachers, professional development clinics, hands-on technology workshops and association membership and business meetings.
“I learned a lot about leadership and teaching,” Sophomore Anna O’Neill said when describing some of the sessions and clinics she went to. “Especially pedagogy for younger students and how to apply music curriculum across grade levels. I also got to see a couple conducting master classes, which are always great to observe.”
One of the many educational sessions offered at the conference – Photo by Anna O’Neill
According to MMC’s website “attendance includes approximately 9,000 teachers, administrators, students, speakers, and guests.” This year 13 Aquinas students, music performance and music education majors, were able to attend the conference, which was mostly due to the music department’s finally joining the National Association for Music Education, or NAfME.
“My favorite part of the conference was learning strategies to manage burnout in the classroom.” NAfME vice president Evie Spitzley said. “This has always been something I’ve worried about when going into teaching because it happens so often.”
Some of the Aquinas students that attended the conference: Anna O’Neill, Gracen Spiteri, Evie Spitzley, Xavier Memije, Aiden Tellez, Shawni Thelen – Photo by Anna O’Neill
Many of the participating students found MMC to be a good opportunity to network with local music educators as well as a good opportunity to specifically learn about being a music educator.
“When taking education classes, so much of what we learn simply isn’t useful or even applicable in a music class room,” Spitzley said. “When talking with other music education majors we’ve discussed how frustrating this is, and how it leaves most of us feeling unprepared for going into teaching. MMC was a great way to learn from actual music educators who’ve been in the field for years.”
Shawni Thelen, NAfME president, also found MMC to be essential for current and future educators alike. “MMC provides music educators with tools and experiences they may not receive in the classroom,” Thelen said. “The world of music is so broad, and this conference and many like it, funnel information down to a single weekend.”
One of the performances offered at the conference – Photo by Henry Vredevelt
The Saint 