DONT eae NTE ia) SCHOOL MUSIC NEWS BU rei PAST n Ue Ceca 79th Annual NYSSMA® Winter Conference Issue Cee eae een ceca) Coo Cie eee ea co) 2014 Alltate Conductors and Composer-in-Residence Biographies Sree ounce) Get scents SET ET]On CLM NYSSMA® Conference: A Place to Grow and Learn Grace Demerath - NAIMENYSSMA® Collegiate President 2014-45, Ithaca College It seems like another school year has only just be: fun, yet the NYSSMA® Winter Conference Is quickly ap- proaching! The NYSSMA® Winter Conference gives music ‘educators in New York a wockend to meet, learn, and reenergize themselves. Those who have attended the conference can tell you that not only have they gained a great deal from the clinics, but also from the interactions and connec tions that they have made with their colleagues while at the conference. Its essential for us to have a meeting such as the NYSSMA® Winter Conference In order to continue our own growth and help support our fellow educators, as wall as our own students. How can we be continuously pushing our students for grow if we are not expecting ourselves to do the same? Whether you are going to the conference looking for answers to specific Issues you may be having, looking ‘or inspiration, to make connections, or to meet witn col Jeagues, you are sure to gain a great dealin a very short amount of time. Expand your horizons While most of us go to conferences such as this with a set plan in our mind, to attend certain types of clinics, ‘or meet certain people; there is a great deal that we can ‘in from expanding aur own horizons and experiencing ‘things that may be out of our comfort zone. ‘As a college student, | have the luxury of being able to attend a wide array of clinics guilt tree. Because | do ot have ajob in any specific fleld and | am not sure what rn future job may entail, | use these conferences as an ‘opportunity to expand my knowledge in areas with which | am both familiar and unfamiliar. It often seems that many educators at the NYS- SMA® Winter Conference and similar conferences feel pressured to go only to the clinics that apply to their cur- rent teaching situation. Of course we all want to learn as, much as we can to help our students; however, by limiting ‘our awn experiences we could actually be limiting that of ‘ur students, | encourage you all to go to at least one clinic that Is outside of your comfort zone, or that will detail an area. that you are not very familiar with. This is something that | do myself at every conference that | attend, and | have been surprised as to how much | have been able to take ‘away ftom a session that | may have not expected to ap- ply to my own teaching. Learning and growing \We citen think about our profession of music educe- ‘lon in a way that is far too compertmental. Yes, we may have diferent specialties, but in the end we are all music ‘teachers, and we can al earn something from one another. So take out your highlighters and begin choosing what clinics to attend, but be sure to pick at least one Clinic that is a litle out of your comfort zone. If you at: tend a clinic out of your specialty area with an open mind, {1am sure that you will be surprised by hiow much you wil take away from it. | hope to see you all in Rochester for ‘a truly wonderful weekend that is sure to inspire and re ‘energize us all November 201¢/ SCHOOL MUSICNENS 56