Kathleen Lamkin
The 2007 CMS National Conference in Salt Lake City: Let the 50th Anniversary Celebrations Begin!
After years of discussion and planning with increasing intensity over the past months, the 50th Anniversary of The College Music Society is here! We will officially launch the celebration with the National Conference in Salt Lake City. On November 15–18 we will meet to hear stimulating presentations and new compositions, to enjoy lively and productive conversations, to network with colleagues in all music disciplines, and to celebrate together the extraordinary accomplishments of The College Music Society over the past fifty years. Already we have been reminded of the many significant events of our past through wonderfully written reflection pieces for the Newsletter from some of our impressive past presidents: Barbara English Maris, David Willoughby, Elliott Schwartz and Arthur Tollefson. Mary Anne Rees has provided us with historical highlights of CMS in its first decade as well as giving us special insights into Executive Director Robby Gunstream’s early years with CMS; her history of the Society is forthcoming. Reflecting on where the Society was fifty years ago and upon what principles it was founded, considering the innovative initiatives that have been put into action and developed, and observing the impact the Society has made in music in higher education, working together we can continue to lead for another fifty years and beyond.
Be sure to check the CMS website and past newsletters which are full of information about the opening celebrations of this significant time in the life of our professional society. Join in the air of excitement as we head for Salt Lake City in anticipation of collectively celebrating our fiftieth. You have already heard from Bernard Dobroski, 50th Anniversary Committee Chair, in the September Newsletter about the extensive number of activities and events that have been planned.
James Parakilas, Chair of the 2007 National Conference Program, and his committee have put together a magnificent program. Program presentations, which include papers, workshops, poster sessions, open forums, panels, lecturerecitals, and concerts, will emphasize the history of music in higher education over the past fifty years. The unique role of CMS in making interdisciplinary connections through the “Building Bridges” sessions will also be featured. In addition there will be a record number of opportunities to socialize with colleagues. The social festivities will begin Thursday evening with the Opening Conference Reception in the ballroom, which will follow the Festival of New Music, the rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Tabernacle and the Concert of Works by ATMI Performers. At the opening reception there will be a nice selection of food as well as no-host drinks, providing a great opportunity to converse with colleagues and new acquaintances. Likewise, the Annual Meeting of the Society on Saturday afternoon, which will spotlight some new technological means of enlivening discussion of topics of importance to CMS, will also conclude with a reception.
One of the best ways to interact socially with professional colleagues will be at the 50th Anniversary Banquet, an event not to be missed. Buses will depart from the hotel late Friday afternoon, November 16 to drive attendees into the nearby foothills to the rustic country setting of the elegant La Caille Restaurant. The evening promises to be delightful, informative and fun. Bernard Dobroski, haute cuisine connoisseur extraordinaire, has chosen special menus to please every taste. Before dinner the University of Utah Jazz Quartet will perform while the banquet program will feature Past Presidents’ performances, toasts to the Society and brief talks about the history of CMS from Harry Lincoln, founder of the Directory of Music Faculties in Colleges and Universities, and Barbara English Maris, the first woman president of the Society, whose vision for the Society and its governance are still being felt today. Of special significance for the Society, David Woods, Chair of the CMS Anniversary Campaign, will officially launch the campaign at the banquet. You will not want to miss the CMS team of John Buccheri and Anthony Rauche leading the Society in the first performance of the CMS Song, especially composed for this occasion. The College Music Society’s 50th Anniversary Banquet will be an occasion to remember for the next fifty years. Be sure to sign up.
Other historical sessions on the conference program will be the Trotter Lecture presented by Past President Robert Werner on Friday morning and the plenary panel of Past Presidents on Saturday morning. Also of great interest on Friday morning is the ATMI/CMS Plenary Address on Music Technology delivered by Gil Weinberg and the CMS/NASM sessions beginning Saturday morning and concluding Sunday noon. A special highlight of the conference will be a performance of William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and Coronation Te Deum by the University of Utah and Brigham Young University Schools of Music at the Mormon Tabernacle on Saturday evening. Chairs and Directors of Utah’s college and university music departments and music schools have been especially helpful in supporting The College Music Society National Conference in Salt Lake City, for which we are grateful.
The fiftieth anniversary comes only once in a society’s life and it is here! Don’t miss the opportunity to join your colleagues in Salt Lake City to reflect, create, share new ideas and techniques, celebrate the past and think creatively about the future of music in higher education in the 21st century. Come celebrate the accomplishments of The College Music Society. See you in Salt Lake City!