The Society's National Conference is held each fall in various locations within the United States and Canada.
National Conferences of The College Music Society provide a forum for the exchange of ideas on a wide variety of issues. Conference programs feature plenary sessions, presentations, panels, and performances in the areas of composition, ethnomusicology/world music, music education, music in general studies, musicology, performance, and theory, as well as new areas which emerge as the profession responds to change. The Society's program differs from those of discipline-specific organizations by virtue of its greater attention to the art of teaching and its disciplinary inclusiveness.
CMS National Conferences present higher education's broadest array of topics dealing with music. Engagement, composition, cultural diversity, ethnomusicology, gender issues, music education, musicology, classes for non-majors, pedagogy, performance, music theory, teacher training, the latest technologies, and world music are explored in a variety of formats, including open discussions. Another distinctive feature is the focus on the historic and current music of the region in which each meeting is held, as a celebration of the richness of American music. The conferences include the annual Robert M. Trotter Lecture and the CMS/ATMI Technology Lecture.
The CMS National Conference routinely attracts over 500 faculty, administrators, publishers, and music business personnel who share a common interest and dedication to the improvement of music and its relationship to the other academic disciplines of higher education.
Through papers, performances, lecture-recitals, panels, demonstrations, and workshop sessions, these conferences provide the opportunity to consider the philosophy and practice of music as an integral part of higher education. Through formal sessions, open forums, and dialogue with colleagues from around the country, the meetings provide the opportunity to share insights and perspectives on teaching, to hear new and unusual musics, to experience regional musics, to discuss American musical life and culture, and to consider future directions for the art of music.
