Imagining the Future
Kathleen Lamkin
The 51st National Conference held in Atlanta in late September was an exceptional conclusion to the 50th anniversary celebrations of The College Music Society and was a most fitting and exciting event to officially move the Society into the years beyond fifty. The Anniversary Committee, chaired by Bernard Dobroski, guided the 50th celebrations through two dynamic bookend national conferences beginning in Salt Lake City in 2007. Meeting in Atlanta, the committee noted that the many anniversary initiatives and events, including national and regional conferences, special publications and the establishment of our first fundraising campaign, have been most successful.
It was wonderful to see so many CMS members at the forward thinking and invigorating conference in Atlanta. A record was set with over 600 registrations; dynamism was felt in all aspects of the conference. The Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel, site of the conference, buzzed with activity and lively discussion. Adding to the festive and interactive atmosphere, the registration and exhibit areas leading into the ballrooms were located on the open atrium level, which served as a central hub for meetings and interchange. Robert Weirich and his program committee organized an exceptional program titling the conference “A Changing Profession in a Changing World”. Professor Weirich challenged us with this program to “imagine the future”. Two pre-conferences, one on careers and entrepreneurship and the other on technology, were held on Wednesday prior to the official beginning of the conference. The beautiful Klaus Center of the Georgia Institute of Technology was the site of the informative technology pre-conference.
There were many conference highlights which focused our thinking on the future including three outstanding speakers, Robert Spano, Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Samuel A. Floyd Jr., author and Founding Director of the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College and Pauline Oliveros, composer, performer and humanitarian. Other highlights included the three Festival of New Music Concerts. The “Fifty for the 50th”, in which fifty composers’ works of fifty seconds in length were performed, was effectively presented. An exceptional event was the Atlanta Collegiate Concert Evening: Phoenix Rising: New Choral Music from the South where new compositions by southern composers were performed by eight college and university choral ensembles in the Atlanta area (Clark Atlanta College, Georgia Institute of Technology, Agnes Scott College, Clayton State University, Morehouse College, Georgia State University, Spelman College and the University of Georgia) in the beautiful Sisters Chapel at Spellman College. It was a special privilege to hear these exceptional choral groups perform this new music. For the grand finale Simon Carrington, CMS Board Member for Performance, led the combined ensembles in Vaughan Williams’ Antiphon “Let all the World in Every Corner Sing”. The closing celebratory occasion was the banquet at the elegant City Grill Restaurant with John Buccheri serving as master of ceremonies and Dennis Hanthorn, General Director of the Atlanta Opera, as featured speaker. As guests arrived, student musicians from Georgia State University performed jazz standards, while later in the evening other students sang opera selections. Each evening of the conference CMS members took advantage of the opportunity to attend magnificently artistic performances of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as they opened their concert season.
With the high number of participants at the national conferences in Salt Lake City and Atlanta, the Society can build on these well attended, invigorating meetings in the future. When professional colleagues come together in large numbers sharing common goals, the possibility of change is great. Help keep this momentum going by being a part of the 52nd national conference in Portland, Oregon next fall when we meet in the beautiful Northwest.
The most important initiative of the 50th anniversary was the establishment of “CMS Beyond Fifty”, the first College Music Society fundraising campaign focused on supporting engagement and outreach projects. David Woods, Chair of the campaign committee, informed the membership at the annual meeting of the Society in Atlanta that a quarter of the goal has been reached in the first year of the campaign. All members are encouraged to contribute to the campaign to support engagement and outreach projects through grants and awards.
The Robby D. Gunstream Education in Music Award, the first named award established by the anniversary campaign was announced in Atlanta at the annual meeting of the Society. This award recognizes “the most imaginative and effective program of interaction by a higher education music faculty member or music unit with local or area organizations such as schools, civic associations, faith communities, etc. that furthers education in music”. The 2008 award was granted to Project MUSIC (Music Uniting Students, Inspiring Communities), a service-learning project at the University of Delaware. Suzanne Burton, faculty advisor, and Kathryn Makos, the project’s service-learning scholar accepted the award on behalf of Project MUSIC. The project works in partnership with music students at the University of Delaware, professional musicians with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra and students at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. The goal is to educate elementary students about classical music, specifically orchestral music, and to give them opportunities to learn from and interact with performing musicians.
In January 2009, Cynthia Taggart will begin her term as President of The College Music Society. She will provide exceptional leadership and guidance; during this year as President-Elect, she has been developing her vision for the Society. Her energy and enthusiasm will serve as a catalyst to maximize the Society’s current programs and new initiatives. She has the experience and passion, especially with engagement and outreach, to lead the Society and the music higher education profession into a very bright future. Here’s to CMS beyond fifty and to “imagining the future”!