Barton Polot
is Professor of Music and director of music technology at Schoolcraft College
Michigan
Music Technology Conference 2006
A PRE-CONFERENCE OF THE MICHIGAN MUSIC CONFERENCE Thursday 19 January
9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
DeVos Place
Grand Rapids | | 
 BARTON POLOT
he year 2006 is a significant landmark for the Michigan Music Technology Conference. The conference is joining the new Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids. The Music Technology Conference has been an annual event since 1992 and, since 1994, has been an unofficial pre-conference to the Midwestern Conference for music educators. Since 1996 it has been hosted by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District in Ann Arbor.  That was then.
The first annual Michigan Music Conference (MMC) welcomes the fifteenth annual Michigan Music Technology Conference as a bona fide pre-conference. Both conferences are being held at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. The MusicTech committee is excited about the new arrangements and looks to share its excitement with you. If you have been an attendee of past Music Technology Conferences, you'll find the 2006 conference differs in several ways. - The Technology Conference brochure and registration material are incorporated within the MMC brochure. You will find the brochure and secure online registration at the MMC Website.
- The Technology Conference starts and ends an hour later than in previous years — it is 9:00 to 5:00 — so as to accommodate the longer commute of many attendees.
- The pre-registration fee for the Technology Conference has been increased to $45. After December 20, 2005, the fee is $60. Lunch is provided for all registrants.
- The Technology Conference is now hosted by DeVos, a major conference center with hotel, restaurant and parking facilities under one roof. And because the Music Tech Conference is in the same venue as MMC, the two conferences are able to share many important resources. More on that later.
Unchanged from previous years is the commitment to the newest technology for teachers and students of music. Attendees can count on a busy and varied slate of sessions, ranging from the introductory to the exploratory to the cutting edge. The conference will be providing many hands-on sessions with computers (PC and Mac) and electronic instruments.  The keynote speaker for the 2006 conference is David B. Williams, a national leader in music technology for almost two decades. Dr. Williams is Professor of Music and Arts Technology at Illinois State University. His versatile work broadly covers multimedia and Internet applications, music and arts technology education, the development of software applications for music education, and the management of information and instructional technology resources. With Peter Webster, he is co-author of the seminal text, Experiencing Music Technology (Thomson/Schirmer, 3rd edition).
Dr. Williams' keynote topic — "Creativity Rules: Music Technology Delivers!" — will focus on today's incredible array of music composition and recording techniques. He will also lead two breakout sessions, one of which will feature directed hands-on creativity using GarageBand (Macintosh) and Acid (Windows). Dr. Williams encourages attendees to bring their own laptops. In a major advance from previous years, the MusicTech committee has also played a significant role in scheduling technology sessions for MMC. For the first time, the Friday and Saturday schedules feature music technology sessions almost continuously, including access to the Mac and PC labs. Technology exhibits from national vendors will be accessible Thursday through Saturday. You will want to come to Grand Rapids. These ambitious plans would not be possible without generous industry support. The Music Technology Conference is quite pleased to continue its collaboration with Lentine's Music of Akron, Ohio. Lentine's, which maintains a powerful commitment to music education technology, has been principle sponsor of the conference since 2001. The conference also continues its association with SoundTree. A leader in providing music technology services for educators, SoundTree has been a long-time and generous supporter. This year the conference welcomes M-Audio as a major sponsor. M-Audio, a part of Avid, provides some of the most innovative technology for teachers and students. Several other vendors are providing software and hardware support, including MakeMusic, Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard. The Michigan Music Technology Conference is the nation's longest-running state conference on music technology education. For 2006 the conference presents its most formidable program ever...in an exciting new venue. Please register early and tell your colleagues and friends. The conference is Thursday, January 19, from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. This MMC pre-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 Lentine's Music, SoundTree and M-Audio. |
