Sixty-Eighth National Conference (2025)

Sixty-Eighth National Conference (2025)
October 30 - November 1, 2025
The Davenport Grand Hotel
Spokane, Washington

Creative Ecosystems: Music, Research, Practice, and Impact

Dear CMS Members,

The 2025 CMS Program Committee is excited to announce calls for participation for the 68th CMS National Conference held at The Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane, WA from October 30 – November 1, 2025. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI). On behalf of the 2025 CMS National Conference Program Committee, I invite you to submit a proposal for participation. All proposals are due no later than 11:59pm Mountain Time on Friday, January 3, 2025.

The 2025 CMS National Conference Theme: “Creative Ecosystems: Music, Research, Practice, and Impact”

The 2025 CMS National Conference aims to explore the interplay between music, research, practice, and their collective impact in the 21st century. In the spirit of the 2024-2025 Common Topic–Grow. Create. Lead.–, we invite submissions that highlight current practices, innovations, and contributions in the following key areas:

• Musical initiatives that actively contribute to the social and economic growth of our local communities through collaborations with academic institutions, performing arts organizations, and industry partners; 
• Interdisciplinary strategies that foster collaborative arts initiatives between other academic disciplines in higher education, the music industry, and community partners; 
• Digital tools that recognize the evolving role of technology (including AI) in music through teaching, learning, and creative activities in higher education; and/or 
• Global perspectives on music and student belonging by exploring music’s capacity to foster a more vibrant and inclusive cultural landscape within higher education to affirm unique voices. 

The Program Committee encourages colleagues from across our profession – from independent musicians and scholars to students, and members from all areas of the music industry and academia – to submit proposals and join us for this conference. More details about specific proposal submission formats, as well as the full conference description, can be found by clicking on the “Calls for Program Participation” link in the upper left-hand corner of this page.

Spokane, Washington is the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer! Located near the Cascade Mountain Range and Columbia Basin, CMS conference attendees will experience the stunning natural landscapes of Riverfront Park and the Spokane Falls, drop into the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, or listen to the Spokane Symphony. Exciting work is being done within the Cascadia Corridor to support the musical infrastructure of musicians in this particular “creative ecosystem.” The 2025 National Conference will be an opportunity for the CMS membership to come together and explore the intersections between collaborative arts initiatives at our home institutions, the music industry, and community partnerships.

Please share this invitation with your colleagues and students. I invite you to submit a proposal and join us in Spokane, WA in the Fall of 2025.

With appreciation,

Nicole Molumby
2025 CMS National Conference Program Committee Chair