Sixty-Ninth National Conference (2026)

Sixty-Ninth National Conference (2026)
November 12 - November 14, 2026
Amway Grand Plaza
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Source: ICE Portal

Adaptive Advocacy: Collegiate Music Training at a Crossroads

Dear CMS Members,

The 2026 CMS Program Committee is excited to announce calls for participation in the 69th CMS National Conference held at the Grand Rapids Amway Grand Plaza hotel in Grand Rapids, MI, from November 12 - 14, 2026. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI), National Association for Collegiate Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI), and Pi Kappa Lambda (PKL). On behalf of the 2026 CMS National Conference Program Committee, I invite you to submit a proposal for participation. 

The 2026 CMS National Conference Theme: 

Adaptive Advocacy: Collegiate Music Training at a Crossroads

The world of collegiate music education is at a crossroads. Institutions of higher education face an array of challenges across technological, political, social, and economic paradigms, wherein creatives are poised to, together, imagine new models for sustainable music-making. The present moment asks each of us to envision what a vibrant future of music education, creation, performance, and scholarship might look like, in conversation with community-based action, coalition-building, advocacy, and innovative practice across all those realms. In line with the 2024-2025 Common Topic, we invite submissions that highlight current creative work in the following areas: 

• Performances and lecture recitals that imagine new ways of understanding the music of the past and the present, with forward-thinking considerations on music-making in the coming decade
• Professional activities that illustrate the capacity for artistic expression to intersect with social action through collaboration and coalition-building
• Creative research projects that explore innovations in the field of music education, performance, scholarship, and composition, through the lens of advocacy and social justice 
• Explorations of emergent technologies that pose both opportunities and potential challenges to music-makers and educators

The Program Committee invites participation from across all music disciplines, both those affiliated with performing arts institutions and companies and independent scholars, composers, performers, and educators. This year, the Committee is also excited to announce two special initiatives. For the first time, the 2026 conference will include a special call for student poster submissions, as well as featured presentations by CMS Regional Chapter Student Award recipients. More information about all proposal submission formats, as well as the full conference description, can be found by clicking on the “Calls for Program Participation” link. All proposals are due no later than 11:59pm Mountain Time on Monday, January 5, 2026.

Please join us in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a vibrant community filled with opportunities to engage with culture, art-making, stunning natural beauty, a world-class local craft food and beverage scene, and, of course, music. Situated in the heart of the Midwest, it is the perfect place to come together, share, learn from one another, and imagine the potentialities of this crossroads moment. We can’t wait to see you there!

Sincerely,

Jonathan Kuuskoski
2026 CMS National Conference Program Committee Chair