Conference Title:  “Enrichment through Integration”

Whether it’s taking a break, a day off or a vacation, we all need times of refreshment and “re-creation.” The IMTA Fall Conference can be such a time, as we step away from our regular teaching to be inspired and challenged by new thoughts and ideas.

Sometimes we teachers can get in a rut—teaching pretty much the way we were taught, using the same repertoire year after year. Without outside stimuli, it’s easy to dry up and lose our passion. The theme behind this year’s conference is Enrichment through Integration—incorporating elements from beyond standard private instruction to enhance our teaching. These elements can include improvisation, technology, collaborative music and other arts.

Philip Keveren, a nationally renowned composer, improviser and performer, will present 2 sessions on improvisation: “The Building Blocks of Improvisation” (how HE does it) and “Improvising in Classical and Jazz Styles” (how WE can do and teach it). How many of us were exposed to improvisation as students, yet now have students wanting to learn how to improvise? These timely sessions are not to be missed!

How in tune are we with the technology and social networking tools our students are using every day, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and Delicious (I kid you not)? And how might we leverage that technology to bolster our own studios? Lola McIntyre’s session, “IMTA 2.0: Attracting and Engaging Today’s Music Student,” will help point the way.

It’s not often the IMTA “Conference Artist” is a chamber ensemble, but this fall we will be privileged to hear the Oracle Trio in recital and masterclass, featuring our own Kate Boyd (Butler University) at the piano. Incorporating collaborative music into our studios not only introduces students to the joy of making music with others, but also gives them vital skills they will need to become versatile musicians.

Sharon Parr (University of Indianapolis) will further help us enrich our teaching by demonstrating how we can integrate other arts into our teaching of music literature. Her multi-media presentation, “Enriching Musical Understanding through Integrated Arts,” is sure to inspire!

Friday lunch will differ from the norm, as we enjoy our meal over roundtable discussions with presenters and other members. That afternoon will include a combined Independent Music Teachers and College Faculty forum, giving members in both fields opportunities to share challenges and to cross-pollinate ideas. Saturday’s recital will showcase our Hoosier Audition winners, including the composition category winners. Also featured that morning will be a performance of this year’s Commissioned Composition by Dana Collins of Taylor University, who has written a work for flute and piano.