APME Los Angeles 2024: Full Schedule

Welcome to the APME Los Angeles 2024 conference. Here you’ll be able to register for the conference and update your Sched profile. A draft of the conference schedule will be available beginning March 1. At that time, you’ll be able to view the schedule and select what presentations you’d like to attend. If you have any questions, please visit our conference website or contact us at conference@popularmusiceducation.org We look forward to coming together as a community June 5–8 to consider the past, present, and future of popular music education.

10:45am PDT

Songwriting, A Meaningful Connection

This paper advocates for reintroducing songwriting into high school music education, addressing the decline in musical expression as students progress. Emphasizing student choice, creativity, and peer learning, the proposed lesson plan seeks to bridge cultural gaps in music education. By prioritizing inclusivity and empowering student agency, songwriting becomes a key element in creating a more responsive and engaging learning environment.

Speakers

Nick Filotei

Thursday June 6, 2024 10:45am - 11:15am PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Demonstration

11:30am PDT

Creating Connections through Narrative Songwriting

A popular music-inspired learning space is an ideal environment for connecting, creating, and empathizing through narrative songwriting. In this session, we will explore a group process of narrative songwriting that is inclusive of learners and musicians of all ages, experiences, and abilities.

Speakers

Melissa Ryan

Assistant Professor of Music Education, University of New Mexico

Thursday June 6, 2024 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Demonstration

12:00pm PDT

The Marching Band Alternative

What is a modern band equivalent to the traditional marching band? An inside look into a viable alternative to marching band for schools - the halftime rock band. Learn how to build it, sustain it, and how it will revolutionize your school’s music program.

Speakers

Steve Moreland

Director of Fine Arts, St. Michael's Prep

Steve Moreland is a native Texan and cutting edge music teacher who has reimagined modern music education in a high school setting. Winner of Yamaha’s 40 Under 40 Music Educators in the country and featured in articles ranging from The Associated Press to Fine Arts Education Podcasts... Read More →

Thursday June 6, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Demonstration

12:00pm PDT

Rhizomatic Learning in the Popular Music Classroom

The session will examine and discuss possibilities of rhizomatic learning in the K-12 classroom. The rhizome is a metaphor for educational practices that are non-hierarchical, and do not involve a pre-existing sequence or objectives. Rhizomatic learning allows learners of different backgrounds to follow multiple paths and react to evolving circumstances.

Speakers

Michael Ferraro

Music Technology Teacher, North Valley Arts Academies

Thursday June 6, 2024 12:00pm - Saturday June 8, 2024 4:00pm PDT
Online

K–12 Education, Virtual Pop 10

Secondary Type Technologies in Popular Music Education

2:00pm PDT

Artistic Intent: A Framework for K-12 Popular Music Analysis

Artistic Intent in Popular Music is a multi-disciplinary project combining language arts & film studies that provide students with tools to analyze and critique music media (videos and visual albums). Examples will demonstrate methods to facilitate discussion in response to works of artists with connections to a larger humanistic discourse.

Speakers

Jeremy Rowland

Instructor - Contemporary General Music Techniques, Northwestern University/VanderCook College of Music

Thursday June 6, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
The Music Complex G147

K–12 Education, Pop 10

Secondary Type Genre-Focused (e.g., hip hop, house, disco, metal)

2:00pm PDT

Inclusion in Pop Music Ensembles using 3 Strings Methodology

3 Strings is a successfully proven approach to music making. This system works with special needs or neurotypical learners. Grow your program or studio with this innovative approach to music. Regardless of age, 3 Strings delivers a method of music making that works seamlessly with all music and people.

Speakers

Ruth LeMay

President and Founder, 3 Strings, LLC

Ruth LeMay, is a disability advocate, protagonist, adaptive music professor (UWRF), K-12 urban music educator in Minneapolis Public Schools, national speaker/presenter and published in Soundboard magazine. Founder of the iconic notation system 3 Strings, Ruth is driven to provide... Read More →

Thursday June 6, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Pop 10

Secondary Type Community Music

2:00pm PDT

Teaching Musicianship with a Pop Music Twist

Despite renewed interest in a cappella singing in popular culture, there are relatively few opportunities for vocal students to participate in popular music in choir, especially while using the learning processes of real-world popular musicians.

Speakers

Saleel Menon

Thursday June 6, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Workshop

Secondary Type Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Voice Pedagogies and Practices

3:15pm PDT

IMPACT Music Classrooms and Curricula: Designing Modern Music Pedagogy, Curricular Resources, and Classrooms to be Inclusive, Modern, Prosocial, Accessible, Culturally-Responsive, and Therapeutic

In this workshop, participants will get to feel what it’s like in a Music Bridge classroom, using multiple modalities to create original music as individuals and as a group. We will share how we integrate polyvagal theory in classroom activities, facilitate student choice with project menus and curated playlists, and still gather outcomes data with content learning objectives that align with academic standards.

Speakers

Peter Stoltzman

Exec Director of Service, and Adjunct Faculty, Music Bridge, and University of Denver

I am here to connect with colleagues who are challenging the status quo, class, piano teachers, who will benefit from using my commercial piano, workbooks, and networking opportunities that can help grow my nonprofit’s knowledge and funding base.

Thursday June 6, 2024 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Workshop

3:15pm PDT

Orff Schulwerk and Popular Media

Explore the use of popular music, movement, and poetry through the Orff Schulwerk approach in your K–12 classroom.

Speakers

Martina Vasil

Associate Professor, Music Education, APME Immediate Past President, University of Kentucky

Martina Vasil is an Associate Professor of Music Education and Director of Graduate Studies for the University of Kentucky School of Music. She directs summer music education programming in Modern Band, Orff Schulwerk, and Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Dr. Vasil teaches undergraduate courses... Read More →

Thursday June 6, 2024 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Workshop

4:30pm PDT

Music Theory in Popular Music: Guidelines for K-12 Teachers

I want to teach my students about compound meter / I want my students to be able to hear a modulation / I want my students to recognize classical music samples and understand how they can build on a century-old melody Have you ever said this? Then this session is for you.

Speakers

Emily Langerholc

Ph.D. student / K–5 general music teacher, University of South Florida

Career music educator & young scholar, interested in popular music in the traditional classroom, musical imagery in families, and comparing differing musical learning environments.

Thursday June 6, 2024 4:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Demonstration

4:30pm PDT

Composing in the School Choir

Just as there is no one right way to compose, there is no one right way to teach composition. All that is needed to teach composition the choral classroom is teacher flexibility and willingness. Join me in this hands-on workshop as I share some ideas that have worked for my choirs.

Speakers

Ruth Debrot

Thursday June 6, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm PDT
The Music Complex 112

K–12 Education, Workshop

10:15am PDT

Incorporating Neurodivergent learners into Popular Music Ensembles

3 Strings is an alternative approach to making music. Regardless of age or cognitive ability 3 Strings delivers a method of music making that is remarkable and works seamlessly with all forms of music literacy, in any genre. Come immersed yourself in music making unlike anything experienced before!

Speakers

Ruth LeMay

President and Founder, 3 Strings, LLC

Friday June 7, 2024 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
The Music Complex G150

K–12 Education, Workshop

10:15am PDT

Teaching Popular Music through the Steel Band

Steelbands are an integral part of popular music in the islands from which they originate, Trinidad and Tobago. Such bands can perform a variety of music, including jazz, classical, and popular music. In this workshop participants will explore the possibilities of teaching popular music with steel pans.

Speakers

Rick Palese

Musician, Educator, Scholar, A&R Palese Collaborative, LLC

Rick Palese is a musician and educator based in Austin, TX. He has taught a variety of music learners representing elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Rick has been on the music education faculty at VanderCook College of Music and The Ohio State University. Most recently... Read More →

Brian Klenzendorf

MS Band Director and Fine Art Department Chair, St. Andrew's Episcopal School

I'm the MS Fine Arts Department Chair and Band Director at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, TX. I have over 20 years of middle and high school classroom experience teaching band, steel drums, and classical guitar.

Friday June 7, 2024 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Workshop

11:30am PDT

Backroom writing: uncovering the learning pathways of Australian songwriters and music producers

Australia’s new collaborative songwriters and music producers are constructing global careers as backroom writers in the industry, often direct from secondary school, and contributing to that nation’s growing music export return. What were their formative learning experiences en route to those careers? Accounts of ten Australian backroom writers are presented.

Speakers

Tina Broad

Principal, Tina Broad Consulting

I'm a longtime music education advocate, researcher and program manager. Based in Australia, I love to work and play at the intersections where contemporary (=popular) music, school education, and research meet.

Friday June 7, 2024 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
The Music Complex 112

K–12 Education, Research

11:30am PDT

Music Censorship and Appropriateness in the Elementary Music Classroom: Perceptions of Music Educators and Parents of Elementary-Aged Children

This study investigates the perceptions of elementary music educators and parents of elementary-aged children in Florida, USA regarding censorship and the appropriateness of music and topics discussed in elementary music classrooms.

Speakers

Sandra Adorno

Friday June 7, 2024 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Research

12:00pm PDT

Learning and Arranging a Song in 20 minutes using THE FOUR BUILDING BLOCKS

This approach of FOUR BUILDING BLOCKS gets students out of their sheet music and into making music. It also empowers all the students to know everything that is happening in the music and jump on any part when necessary. Everyone learns the groove, melody, bassline, and harmony. When we learn these four blocks in this specific order, students are equally responsible for the music and able to support one another. Once we learn this streamlined approach on one song in 20 minutes, teachers will be able to to transfer it on any song. This is an approach I've seen work over the past decade of teaching across different ages and skills.

Speakers

Corbin Jones

Sammy Miller

Friday June 7, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Demonstration

2:00pm PDT

Using Popular Music Repertoire & Learning Practices to Fortify the General Music Classroom

General music curriculum design has the potential to fortify a large ensemble-alternative approach to music making, capturing students that do not see themselves in ensemble courses. This demonstration illustrates the design of a general music curriculum that centers creativity using popular music repertoire and learning practices.

Speakers

Bri'Ann F Wright

Friday June 7, 2024 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Demonstration

2:30pm PDT

How are We Thinking About the History of Popular Music Education: Application of the Past and Current into the Future

As engagers of students in creating music as professional music educators, professors, composers, songwriters, and musicians, what are we inviting them to create? How do we invite students to present creative work, but importantly, how do we empower their voices to present their work into the world? Join us for a discussion about attendees’ experiences in music as K-12 students and currently as educators and teachers K-12 and university classrooms.

Speakers

Lisa A. Crawford

Friday June 7, 2024 2:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Demonstration

9:30am PDT

Empowering East Asian Students in North American School Music

Asians are the fastest growing ethnic minority group in North America. However, their perspectives are often excluded from social justice discourse in music education. This research presentation would provide comprehensive knowledge about the present realities of Asian music students in North America and potential ways to better support them.

Speakers

Jonathan Sang-Joon Lee

Saturday June 8, 2024 9:30am - 10:00am PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Research

12:00pm PDT

Approaching Appropriation in Music Education

This paper critically examines the intricate dynamics of cultural appropriation within popular music education, specifically addressing the challenges educators encounter when integrating genres like hip-hop into diverse classrooms. As the prominence of popular music grows in educational settings, navigating the delicate balance of appropriation becomes paramount, especially with genres deeply rooted in specific cultural experiences.

The discussion dissects cultural appropriation through various lenses, encompassing cultural exchange, dominance, exploitation, and transculturation. Emphasizing the necessity for educators to grasp the potential harm inflicted on the original culture, the paper advocates for an upfront and honest approach. Focused on hip-hop, it highlights challenges for educators lacking cultural backgrounds and suggests strategies such as acknowledging cultural indebtedness, tracing musical lineages, and reframing historical significance within the African American experience.

To counter the harm of mediocrity, educators are urged to delve beyond technical aspects, comprehending the socio-cultural complexities intrinsic to the music. The paper underscores the pivotal role of experts in facilitating discussions, enhancing the understanding of both educators and students regarding the culture being explored. Genuine study and exploration are presented as essential elements in creating culturally relevant and respectful classrooms.

While recognizing the discomfort linked to discussions on cultural appropriation, the paper contends that educators must confront these feelings to foster a genuine understanding of racial contexts. It concludes by urging educators to actively participate in critical discussions on race, culture, and appropriation, acknowledging their pivotal role in shaping perspectives and contributing to the dismantling of systemic inequalities.

Speakers

Nick Filotei

Saturday June 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Demonstration

Secondary Type Community Music

12:00pm PDT

SongMakers: a decade of music mentoring in Australian secondary schools

This presentation explores a decade of SongMakers, the national music mentoring scheme of Australia’s performing rights organisation, APRA AMCOS, which transforms secondary school classrooms into songwriting camps. High-profile songwriters and music producers collaborate with students to write and record music and get real about creative careers.

Speakers

Tina Broad

Principal, Tina Broad Consulting

Saturday June 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Research

12:00pm PDT

Student Agency In the Nontraditonal Music Classroom

In this research presentation, I will discuss the findings from a qualitative, phenomenological, multi-case study in which participants discussed curricular elements, personal preferences, and academic successes associated with involvement in nontraditional (modern band) music classes. Participants in this action research study were 9th-12th grade students at a small alternative high school in the Rocky Mountain region.

Speakers

Meghan Goodner

Director of Modern Bands, Whiting High School

Educating communities about non-traditional and modern band music-making!

Saturday June 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm PDT
The Music Complex 112

K–12 Education, Research

2:00pm PDT

Groove in the Music Classroom

We present a novel approach to teaching groove-based music to introductory-level instrumental ensembles and general music classes using original compositions that scaffold the learning of progressively more complex rhythms.

Speakers

Ethan Hein

Adjunct, New York University

Ethan Hein holds a PhD in Music Education from New York University. He is an adjunct professor of music at NYU and the New School, where he teaches songwriting, music theory and production. As a founding member of the NYU Music Experience Design Lab, Ethan has taken a leadership role... Read More →

Saturday June 8, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Virtual Pop 10

Secondary Type Instrumental Pedagogies and Practices

2:00pm PDT

Improvisation: Talking to Your Friends with Your Instrument

We'll start with call and response using the english language and then take those skills over to instruments. Everyone will participate as volunteers in the games with English. Anyone with instruments can participate with the second part of the games.

Speakers

Corbin Jones

Sammy Miller

Saturday June 8, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 101

K–12 Education, Workshop

2:00pm PDT

Polyphonix: Breaking the Mold of the Traditional Orchestra

It all starts with a dream. All too often, however, it is difficult to figure out the necessary small steps to make that dream a reality. This presentation will share the DREAMS, GOALS, & STEPS framework, which teachers can use to increase student motivation.

Speakers

Orion Burke

Steve Vutsinas

Saturday June 8, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Raubenheimer Music Faculty Building 106

K–12 Education, Pop 10

Secondary Type Genre-Focused (e.g., hip hop, house, disco, metal)

2:00pm PDT

Updating Music Technology Assessment Strategies

This presentation argues that, as educators, we should adapt current music technology assessment strategies to better reflect modern music technology concepts. There’s a variety and depth to our assessment standards for subjects like music performance or music composition, and this presentation argues for a similar variety and depth in our music tech standards because our current assessment standards for music technology are in some ways very limited. Appending our music tech assessment strategies is a concrete action that we can take to help educators looking to incorporate music tech as a subject within their classroom. In this talk, we will look at current assessment standards for music technology in the classroom, and offer examples of how we can add to our current systems.

Speakers

Cato Zane

Cato is a full-time audio engineer, music producer, and educator. She recently earned a master's in Music and Music Education at Teachers College. She teaches Music Technology and Audio courses at Beat Kitchen School, Platt College, San Diego, and Teachers College, Columbia University... Read More →

Saturday June 8, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
The Music Complex 112

K–12 Education, Pop 10

Secondary Type Technologies in Popular Music Education

3:45pm PDT

Opening the Door To More

This session will feature two successful methods to deliver contemporary music and techniques to your students within the structure of a typical secondary large ensemble: 1. Bonus Lessons - students receive lessons on guitar, piano, DJing, songwriting and more and 2. Contemporary Ensembles - student-run bands

Speakers

Eric Songer

Music Educator, Eastern Carver County School District

27 years is a long time to teach middle school music, but I love it. I was hired to direct concert bands, but the program is much more than that. Students write songs, produce, form their own bands, learn non-band instruments, rap, beatbox and more. Our students perform in rock bands... Read More →

Saturday June 8, 2024 3:45pm - 4:15pm PDT
The Music Complex G156

K–12 Education, Demonstration