Barton Polot
is Professor of Music and director of music technology at Schoolcraft College
Michigan
Music Technology Conference 2004
Thursday 22 January
8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Washtenaw Intermediate
School District
Ann Arbor | | 
 BARTON POLOT
 IDI, the protocol that enables musical instruments to communicate digitally, recently celebrated its twentieth birthday. MIDI was born in 1983, a long-ago era when personal computer technology was epitomized by the Apple ][ and the Commodore PET. Whereas the past two decades have witnessed astounding development in the world of personal computing, MIDI has remained relatively unchanged. Reliable. Ubiquitous. Wonderfully useful. But unchanged.
Currently, the music industry, software developers and electronic musicians are harnessing the full power of modern technology, within which MIDI plays an ever decreasing role. What, then, are today's musicians doing with today's technology? And how do today's new applications impact music education?  Ken Johnson, keynote speaker for the 2004 Michigan Music Technology Conference, is in a position to know. Johnson is Midwest account manager for SoundTree, the music technology education division of Korg USA. For more than fifteen years, Johnson has been helping music educators integrate technology into curricula. In addition to having worked for software publishers Opcode and Cakewalk, Johnson is Director Emeritus of the Technology Institute for Music Educators.
The theme of the 2004 Michigan Music Technology Conference is Beyond MIDI. We are quite pleased to continue our collaboration with Lentine's Music of Akron, Ohio. Lentine's maintains a powerful commitment to music education technology. Not only will they be providing computers, synthesizers and clinicians to the Michigan Music Technology Conference on January 22, Lentine's will also be sponsoring and maintaining MSBOA's Hands-on Room at the 2004 Michigan Music Education In-Service Conference January 23-24.  The Washtenaw Intermediate School District will again serve as host and co-sponsor. 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 has surpassed two hundred. In order to maintain a smooth operation, we are again limiting attendance 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, and a pre-registration form. Please register early and tell your colleagues and friends. Registration, including lunch, costs just $35. The Michigan Music Technology Conference is Thursday, January 22, 2004, from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The conference is presented by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) in cooperation with the Michigan Music Educators Association (MMEA) and the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA). It is sponsored by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) and Lentine's Music, with the support of SoundTree. |
