BartonPolot
is Assistant Professor of
Music Education and
Music Technology at the
University of Michigan
Michigan
Music Technology Conference 2001
Saturday 6 January
8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Forest Park H.S.
Crystal Falls
Thursday 18 January
8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Washtenaw Intermediate
School District
Ann Arbor | |   BARTON POLOT
  s music teachers, we all know that technology continues to have an impact on our lives. It impacts the way we teach music, the way we listen to music, the way we create music, sometimes even the way we perform. Music technology cuts across all disciplines in music education; its impact can be felt by teachers of instrumental, vocal and general music, and can be felt at all levels of instruction. Music technology includes us all.
The theme of the annual music technology conference in January 2001 is inclusion. Indeed, the plans for the conference include many exciting changes. This year's conference will include sessions for all music educators, including teachers of choral and general music. MSBOA, which has presented the conference since 1992, has agreed to share the event with the Michigan Music Educators Association (MMEA), the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA) and the Michigan chapter of the American String Teachers Association (MASTA). To signify this historic coalition and collaborative commitment, the conference has been renamed; it is now the Michigan Music Technology Conference. Additionally, the 2001 conference will be presented twice. As per usual it will be presented on Thursday 18 January in Ann Arbor, the day prior to the Midwestern Conference. The conference will also be presented on Saturday 6 January in Crystal Falls. Yes, Michigan's Upper Peninsula! This is a special one-time opportunity to include music educators for whom distance has precluded coming to Ann Arbor. The 2001 conference will have no keynote speaker. Rather, it will devote more time for hands on sessions covering an unprecedented diversity of topics. This conference also marks a first collaboration with Lentine's Music of Akron, OH. Lentine's maintains a powerful commitment to music education technology, conveyed this year by a major sponsorship that includes hands-on synthesizers, software and presentations.  Crystal Falls Conference, Saturday 6 January Forest Park High School will serve as host for the U.P. conference. The school will provide a large room for the opening general session, several rooms for breakout sessions. The conference will also have access to the school's modern computer lab. Parking is ample and free. Crystal Falls is central to the Upper Peninsula, approximately a four hour drive from the Maniac Bridge. Ann Arbor Conference, Thursday 18 January The Washtenaw Intermediate School District will again serve as host and co-sponsor in Ann Arbor. Previous attendees know these facilities to be an ideal setting for this high-tech event. Its conference rooms are versatile and are wired for audio, video, distance learning and connectivity. Its computer laboratory maintains 12 Pentium PCs and 12 Power Macintoshes for instruction and hands-on exploration. Parking is ample, on-site, and free.
In previous years attendance in Ann Arbor has surpassed two hundred. In order to maintain a smooth operation for what promises to be one the most popular conferences yet, we are limiting attendance at each conference to two hundred participants, and will provide lunch only for pre-registrants. You will want to pre-register. Expect to see a conference brochure in your mailbox shortly. In it you'll find a complete list of events and presenters, directions to both sites, and a pre-registration form. Additional information and registration forms are available from MSBOA and the Michigan MusicTech Web site. Please register early and tell your colleagues and friends. Registration, including lunch, costs just $35. The Michigan Music Technology Conference is Saturday, January 6, 2001, in Crystal Falls, and Thursday, January 18, 2001, in Ann Arbor. Both conferences are 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Do include the conference in your plans for January. |
