Sixty-Fifth National Conference (2022)

Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau

I am excited to welcome you to the 65th National Conference of The College Music Society (CMS), held in collaboration with the Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI), the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI), and Pi Kappa Lambda (PKL). Conveniently located a half hour south of Los Angeles, Long Beach offers beautiful scenery, major attractions including the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Museum of Latin American Art and the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum, excellent restaurants that serve food from a diverse array of cultures, and easy access to Catalina Island.

This year’s program features five showcase concerts, two of which will include performances of works by CMS composers by CSU-Long Beach faculty and students. It also includes over a hundred performances, research presentations, panels, workshops, demonstrations and e-posters on a wide variety of topics and genres. I am particularly eager to hear and learn about the many sessions on music in California. New to the program this year are:

• Three “Meet the Compositions” panels that allow for greater explorations of member-submitted works;
• The inaugural performance by the CMS Choir;
• Informal discussions on urgent issues that have emerged since the submission deadline.

The conference will also feature six inspiring and thought-provoking plenary sessions:

1. The Welcome Reception and Showcase Concert at CSU-Long Beach (Wednesday, 6-9pm): Network with old and new friends while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and beverages on a beautiful campus, then listen to a program that features works for large chamber ensembles by CMS composers, performed by faculty and students from CSU-LB’s Bob Cole Conservatory of Music.
2. The Welcome Breakfast and Opening Plenary (Thursday, 8-9:40am): Long Beach is the traditional homeland of the Tongva people, and the home of Cambodia Town, the largest concentration of Cambodians of any city outside of Cambodia. In the opening plenary, Tongva singer-songwriter, poet and jeweler Kelly Caballero and Cambodian American filmmaker and musician praCh Ly will discuss the histories of their communities through music.
3. Presentation by the CMS Presidential Task Force for Leading Change (Friday, 11-11:50am): In a presentation entitled “Imagining a Bold Future for Music in Higher Education Centered on Equity, Relevance, and Creativity,” Task Force members Mary Javian and other members of the Task Force will provide an update on their bold inter-institutional project that tests and implements strategies for leading systemic change in music in higher education.
4. The CMS/ATMI Music Technology Lecture, featuring Jeff Rona (Friday, 2:40-3:45pm): Rona is a leading composer of film, television and video game music, and a key figure in the development of musical software and new instrument design. To open this session, CMS composer Michael Wittgraf performs his work, Should I Dance?, for live electronics, toy instruments and Nintendo Wii remote controls.
5. The Robert M. Trotter Lecture (Saturday, 1:30-2:25pm): Inspired by politically-oriented African American musicians, composer-pianist Jon Jang and composer-saxophonist Francis Wang have been using music for fight for justice for forty years. In 1987, they co-founded Asian Improv aRts (AIR) to produce, present and document artistic works that represent the Asian American experience. AIR has helped to launch the careers of numerous Asian American musicians, including Miya Masaoka, Jen Shyu and Vijay Iyer. In this lecture-recital, Jang and Wong will look back on their careers and strategies for leading change.
6. The Closing Plenary (Saturday, 4-4:45pm): The East Los Angeles-based son-jarocho ensemble Los Cambalache has been entertaining and educating audiences throughout California and beyond. In this lecture-recital, they will discuss how they use music to heal and build community.

Online registration is open through August 11, so sign up today! This is one of very few annual conferences that bring all segments of music programs in higher education together to have meaningful conversations, and I look forward to seeing you there.

Eric Hung
Program Chair, 2022 CMS National Conference

Conference Sponsors