NEW DIRECTIONS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Areas

Ensembles

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
9:30–10:00a	Check-in and continental breakfast—Auditorium
10:00–11:20a	Welcome and Overview—Auditorium Stuart Chapman Hill Michigan State University Keynote Q&A with John Kratus Michigan State University
11:30a–12:20p	Workshop—Auditorium Navigating the Spectrum: Open and Closed Parameters to Improvisation in the K-12 Instrumental Ensemble Classroom Jose Santana University of Iowa Improvisation is a crucial skill in many musical genres, yet it is often overlooked in K–12 instrumental classrooms (Azzara, 1999; Hickey, 1997; Priest, 2002; Tobar, 2021). This neglect is particularly notable considering that improvisation aligns with the “Creating” category of the revised National Music Standards developed by NAfME in 2014 (National Association for Music Education, 2014). Moreover, research suggests incorporating improvisation techniques into instrumental education enhances students' higher-order music thinking skills (Azzara, 1993). In her book Music Outside the Lines (2012), Hickey discusses composition assignments, suggesting they can be effectively organized along open assignments that give students more agency and freedom, and closed assignments that restrict materials and methods. Most assignments fall along a continuum, blending both open and closed elements. Building on the discussion of these parameters in composition, this workshop aims to explore how they can be effectively applied within the context of improvisation. Focusing on Hickey’s (2012) spectrum of open/closed assignment parameters as a framework, the workshop aims to enhance participants' improvisational skills by adjusting these parameters on various activities. This approach is designed to be adaptable for different levels of complexity, suitable for elementary, middle, and high school students. It is supported by research on audiation (Azzara, 1993, 1999) and creative thinking (Hickey, 2001, 2012; Priest, 2002). The activities encompass a variety of topics, including non-traditional music notation, characterization, functional harmony, soloing and accompaniment creation, melody and form, motivic development, listening skills, rhythmic independence, technique awareness, and role functions.	Workshop—Room 104A The Creative Apprenticeship: Mentorship Practices That Inspire Innovation Kim Barclift University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Preservice music teachers may enter the field eager to foster creativity, yet traditional student teaching and fieldwork models can unintentionally reinforce conformity over innovation. This workshop explores how music teacher educators can cultivate a “creative apprenticeship” model that empowers future teachers to take risks, experiment, and prioritize creativity in their emerging practice. Through the lens of mentorship, participants will examine strategies for co-constructing lesson plans that center student agency, creative expression, and exploratory learning. Emphasis will be placed on fostering a mentorship culture where creativity is a shared goal. The session includes practical tools such as guided video analysis, reflective journaling, and scaffolded self-assessment techniques that support preservice teachers in identifying and refining their creative pedagogical choices. Attendees will also explore how to build partnerships with cooperating teachers that encourage innovation during practicum experiences. Previous studies illustrate successful collaborations where creativity became a valued component of the teaching process (Abramo & Reynolds, 2015; Pellegrino et al., 2019; Pizza & Talbot, 2021; Yoo & Kang, 2021). Pedagogically, the workshop draws from apprenticeship and inquiry-based models, emphasizing the role of teacher educators as facilitators of reflective, creative growth. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to mentor preservice teachers in ways that prioritize creativity, adaptability, and pedagogical courage to cultivate the next generation of innovative music educators.
12:30–2:00p	Lunch (On your own)	For dining suggestions, visit this page.
2:00–3:20p	Paper session—Auditorium Is this creative enough?: Fostering creative disposition in music teacher education Andrew Bohn Arkansas State University Anne Martin University of New Mexico Scholars have noted how the large ensemble model typically hinders fostering creative student practices (Allsup, 2016; Wall, 2014). This is especially evident in the band paradigm, whose military roots and emphasis on performance may prevent creative opportunities for students (Allsup & Benedict, 2008). However, despite decades of advocating for disrupting traditional experiences via creative practices (e.g., Mendres, 1975), the approach to large ensemble music-making remains largely unchanged. Music education scholars have provided numerous resources to make the band classroom more creative (Clauhs, 2018; Fitzpatrick, 2014), yet it is unclear whether band teachers actually value creativity in their practice. This raises the question: How can music teacher educators (MTEs) encourage pre-service teachers to value creativity as a core component of their future classrooms? In this paper, we unpack the messiness of fostering creative disposition in pre-service instrumental music teachers. For instance, we highlight the challenges MTEs face balancing teaching creativity alongside other skills needed for employment, like responsive classroom management and rehearsal techniques. To do so, we examine relevant literature regarding creative pedagogical, instructional, and curricular practices for how they may manifest in the band classroom and encourage creative dispositions. We use our own experiences to explore how the school band paradigm hinders creative development and presents challenges in helping our students value creativity now. We aim to encourage MTEs to think beyond simply incorporating creativity-focused units in their curricula and examine the long-term dispositions they foster and how they might contribute to the further evolution of the band classroom. Constraints on Creativity: Preservice Music Teachers’ Experiences of Teaching Musical Creativity in School Band Settings Mike Vecchio University of Illinois The purpose of this session is to explore the constraints on musical creativity within instrumental ensembles through the lens of preservice instrumental music teachers’ experiences. Research on the inclusion of creative musical activities (CMAs) within in-service and preservice music education has found music educators value creativity but do not include CMAs within their curricula due to barriers involving a lack of instructional time (e.g., Schopp, 2006) and a lack of preparation to teach CMAs (e.g., Bernhard, 2012). There have also been calls for the inclusion of CMAs within instrumental music teacher education curricula (e.g., Bernhard & Stringham, 2016; Piazza & Talbot, 2021). A multiple case study will serve as the empirical backdrop for this session. The study included interviews and observations of three preservice instrumental music educators implementing creative musical activities within band fieldwork settings. Findings from this study include: Preservice teachers’ limited preparation to teach CMAs, mainly through informal settings (e.g., jam sessions) or jazz band; the lack of instructional time to include CMAs, with the hidden benefit of forcing teachers and students toward “constraint-based thinking” (e.g., Ulibarri et al., 2019); the importance of carefully planning CMAs to ensure successful experiences; and the perceived motivation of band students to have agentive experiences through CMAs. By interrogating past research and the current lens of preservice teachers’ experiences of teaching CMAs, this session aims to consider theoretical perspectives and practical implications for constraints on musical creativity in traditional band settings. Inspiring Early Career Music Teachers’ Pedagogical Creativity Jonathan Schaller SUNY Potsdam While creativity within music is an often-explored topic in music education, less explored is the idea of teaching music with creativity. Abramo and Reynolds (2015) termed the application of creativity to pedagogical skills and knowledge as pedagogical creativity. I explore the potential of pedagogical creativity in early career music teachers within a Master of Music Education program. The following questions guided my exploration: 1) How can teacher educators provide opportunities for music teachers to experience musical and pedagogical creativity? 2) How might music teachers’ pedagogical creativity appear through the inclusion of connective and creative principles in the development of musical experiences for students? I reflect on my experiences teaching two courses. In the first course, Collaging Musical Connections, students explored the artistic process of connecting by relating musical encounters to artistic, social, cultural, and historical contexts which enrich their everyday lived experiences to create an opportunity for generative musical activities in their classrooms. In the second course, Creativity and Problem Solving in Ensemble Settings, students engaged in musical inquiry, analysis, and deconstruction of musical problems, followed by creative projects to re-construct musical works in small ensembles. I sought to create a classroom environment that was conducive to creative thinking. I structured course content to move among experimentation and presentation and found ways to create openings for divergent thinking (Allsup, 2016). Teachers identified class activities as enacted examples of student-centered, constructivist, and/or problem-based teaching and learning. They shared how they will transform these activities to reinvigorate their pedagogy and curricula.	Paper session—Room 104A Know Better, Do Better: A Music Educator’s Account of Race and Dis/Ability Through the Lens of DisCrit Kimberly Gardner University of Iowa, Rock Island While recounting the practices and experiences of my first year as a music educator, I highlight how the social constructs of race and dis/ability are intertwined historically and ideologically, impacting the education of multiply marginalized students. Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) combines critical race theory and dis/ability studies in a framework that explores the interdependency of race and dis/ability through tenets that address whiteness as property, support resistance, and value multidimensional identities (Annamma et al., 2016). I discuss the tenets of DisCrit and describe how Annamma and Morrison (2018) operationalize these tenets, along with asset pedagogies, in DisCrit Classroom Ecology: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Solidarity. A DisCrit classroom ecology honors students and brings to the forefront the ideologies and pathologization of race and dis/ability in the education system. Classroom practices aligned with DisCrit create spaces for safe use of students’ gifts and voices. I argue that including the constructs of a DisCrit Classroom Ecology will open up opportunities for creative community building and acts of resistance that uplift multiply marginalized students. I suggest some possible changes for music education that can serve as immediate starting points and provide space for discussion, allowing participants to come together and propose other ways that music educators can create solidarity and challenge the hegemonic norms of current music education practices. Side Talk Randall Everett Allsup Teachers College, Columbia University Using the creative music classroom as a site of philosophical exploration, I work my way inductively and evocatively toward a theory (a method!) of democratic music instruction. What follows is an excerpt from my unfinished book Designing Democratic Instruction, an extension of Remixing the Classroom wherein I seek to illustrate, even operationalize, some of its provocations. In the 20-minute excerpt proposed for this conference I advance a notion I call ‘side talk’ – the entirely common, predictable, and unregulated way in which groups of students discuss and negotiate their lives, confusions, and beliefs in both formal and informal spaces. When instruction privileges story-telling, ‘side talk’ begins to shape not only the music being created, but the lives that get caught up in the process. I saw this occur in China some years ago when a group of American and Chinese students were implicated in a taboo topic. What gets allowed in? How much can we allow in? These questions are important because instruction is, in part, the exasperating art of time management and human potential. In a creative, open-ended music classroom however, time (traditionally measured in minutes and seconds) can never mark the boundaries of an educational encounter. While time may indeed delimit formal instruction, there is an infinity of movement going on that is adjacent to the educational encounter at hand. It is from this perspective that I turn to concepts like field, plane, assemblage, or text to strategically capture the widest potential enfolded in creative inquiry-based music learning.
3:30–4:00p	Break Refreshments provided in Auditorium lobby
4:00–5:20p	Workshop—Auditorium Unlocking Creativity in Early Childhood Music through Technology David Casali University of Massachusetts Amherst This presentation will showcase a curriculum I created for introducing 5 music technology concepts to early elementary students: Sampling/samplers, drum machines, instrumental roles, low-pass filters, and automation. I developed over 25 applications as part of this curriculum and many of them are ready to be shared with participants for use in their own classroom, and participants will get to experiment with these applications during the presentation. We will discuss how exploring these technology concepts enable students to work with genres of music that might be more relevant to them, and engage with music later in their school careers outside of the traditional large ensemble model. Finally, I will discuss practical takeaways, how these applications can be used outside of a full scale curriculum to create fun activities in one's classroom, and how these applications and lessons can set students up for success when using digital audio workstations in the future. View the whole curriculum..	Paper session—Room 104A Bridging Educational Models: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Music Education in Egypt and the United States Louba Hammad University of Minnesota This comparative qualitative study explores structural and pedagogical differences between music education systems in Egypt and the United States, focusing on how specialized, publicly funded institutions can support talented students, drawing on interviews with two professionals deeply familiar with both contexts—Dr. Mahmoud Mekhemar of the Cairo Conservatoire and Lamis Shams, an alumna of the same institution and current teaching assistant at Rutgers University, the study analyzes how Egypt’s government-supported conservatory model identifies and nurtures musical talent from childhood through structured curricula, specialized instruction, and accessible programs. In contrast, the U.S. public education system largely limits music instruction to ensemble-based classes such as band or choir, with few opportunities for sustained, individualized instrumental training. While private lessons exist, their high cost places them beyond the reach of many families, reinforcing inequities in access to high-quality music education. The study highlights the lack of a national, publicly funded framework in the U.S. for early and sustained development of musical talent. Using the Cairo Conservatoire and affiliated institutions as case studies, the research advocates for regionally based, specialized music schools in the U.S., particularly in underserved areas. These institutions could provide equitable access to rigorous music education, fostering technical skill, creativity, and artistic growth, while serving as community cultural centers. By analyzing educational philosophies, funding models, and institutional structures, the study offers practical insights into how international models might be thoughtfully adapted to the American context to better support gifted music students and enrich the nation’s artistic landscape. Cultivating Creativity through Community Music Activities: A Qualitative Case Study Danni Gilbert Ziyue Tan University of Minnesota–Twin Cities The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the responses of community members when engaged in various participatory musical activities, aiming to understand intersections of music and wellness. The experience was part of an exhibit within a state museum located in the capital city of a major metropolitan location. In this study, we aimed to explore how community members respond physically, emotionally, and socially when engaged in participatory musical activities. We used a purposive, intensity sampling strategy, welcoming participants with diverse characteristics or experiences. Participants in this study included 802 people who visited our exhibit’s four stations: instrument-making; community music-making; listening; and, cultural demonstration and participation. We collected data via video footage, photographs, researcher observation notes, participant written responses to exit tickets at each station, and participant responses to Feelings Scales. We then extracted codes based upon the data and generated resulting themes for each research question. The overall theme that emerged from analysis of results was that community musical experiences generate beneficial physical, emotional, and social responses for all. Additional subthemes included Intended active engagement; Experimental participation; Self-directed participation; Intuitive embodied engagement; Spontaneous social belonging; and, Support. Based upon results, we suggest that responses to participatory music activities engage participants on multiple levels—physiologically, emotionally, and socially—regardless of individual differences. This phenomenon likely stems from music's inherent beauty, which resonates with humanity's deep-seated inclination to pursue aesthetic experiences and foster connections through collective artistic expression.	Paper session—Room 104B Turning the Prism on Creative Music Teaching Ryan Shaw Michigan State University Creative music teaching, while conceptually distinct from musical creativity, shares some metaphorical connections with the act of musical improvisation. Just as jazz musicians use the chord changes and general melody of a tune as a jumping off point for constructing solos, skilled choir teachers use long-term and short-term rehearsal objectives as a basis for responsive and improvisatory pedagogy. Just as a rock guitarist attempts to captivate an audience with a solo—using repetition and familiarity alongside an unexpected diversion, establishing a calming groove before building energy—an elementary general music teacher chooses movement activities and songs to maintain engagement with kindergarten students. In this session, I describe the scholarship on creative teaching. I then meditate on the relationship of instructional structures and improvisation in specific music teaching contexts, such as traditional concert ensembles rehearsals, early childhood and elementary general music classes, and music teacher education courses like “Intro to Music Ed” classes. As Sawyer (2011) noted, “Experienced teachers do two apparently contradictory things: They use more structures, and yet they improvise more” (p. 1). This demands the question of what structures are at play in music teaching settings and how improvisation figures in. Finally, the goal of the remaining time will be to stimulate discussions about how to practice improvisatory music teaching. Fostering Creative Student Outcomes by Examining Teacher Instructional Decisions Jeremy B. Rowland Northwestern University Since the instructional decisions that teachers make in an ensemble rehearsal have the potential to either encourage or limit student responses, what characteristics define the series of decisions that best support students in generating creative ideas? Guided by Sawyer’s “Eight Stages of the Creative Process” as a psychological model, this paper presentation inspects two contrasting instrumental ensemble rehearsals to examine the different choices that teachers make as they work to support students in developing and testing divergent musical ideas. Using adaptations of Sawyer’s model that fit ensemble rehearsals, I consider how teachers’ limiting choices during instructional activities may pose barriers in students’ movement through the creative process. To expand the creative outcomes of students, I offer three strategies that directors can embed into traditional rehearsals as they support students in generating, testing, and modifying their creative ideas in musical contexts: (a) incorporating incubation periods, (b) encouraging divergent thinking, and (c) integrating interests of students into learning activities. Creativity in Authoritarian Times: A Call for Curious Dancing Lauren Kapalka Richerme Indiana University Contemporary American P–12 and collegiate educators increasingly find themselves working within an authoritarian environment, with political leaders forcibly restraining certain forms of artistic expression. Individuals may respond through creative artmaking that fights back, calling out and challenging imposed limits. Yet, reactionary tendencies can also confine creative endeavors. Inspired by Badiou’s (2007) claim that an artist should aim “to be of one’s time, through an unprecedented manner of not being in one’s time” (p. 21), in this philosophical inquiry I consider the intersections between creativity and social networks. Given that curiosity is central to creativity, I focus on Zurn’s (2019) three complementary models of curiosity: busybody, hunter, and dancer. Zurn (2019) explains the busybody as “wildly curious about everyone else's business” (p. 33). While such loose knowledge webs foster divergent social and creative connections, their randomness resists critical reflection. Alternatively, Zurn describes that for the hunter “curiosity is located in the focused, sustained energy of solitary quests” (p. 35). Through dedication to tight knowledge networks, Hunters explore a single goal, which may limit their socio-historical links. In contrast, Zurn explains the curious dancer as thriving on leaps, breaks, and boundary-pushing possibilities. Similarly, Lerman (2012) describes dance choreography as an act of “hiking the horizontal” between personally expressive creativity characterized by uselessness and “art so embedded in its culture that no one thinks to call it art” (p. xv). While all three models of curiosity have value, I argue why the dancer may have particular promise in this historical moment.
5:30–6:30p	Social hour and poster session—Lincoln Room Hors d'oeuvres provided; cash bar available See poster titles and descriptions.
6:30–7:30p	Keynote session—Lincoln Room Songwriter–Music Educators on their craft Mark Adams (University of Nebraska–Lincoln) and Eva George (Pennsylvania State University) share original songs and talk about their experiences as songwriters and music educators.
7:30–8:30p	Reception—Lincoln Room Enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar to close out the evening.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
8:00–9:00a	Continental breakfast and registration—Auditorium
9:00–10:20a	Workshop—Auditorium Critical Creativity in the Choir G. Preston Wilson, Jr. Fisk University This session explores the intersection of critical pedagogy and creative practice in the choral classroom, framing the ensemble as both an artistic and social space where identity, and imagination intersect. Traditional choral education often prioritizes technical excellence and historical canon, sometimes at the expense of cultural relevance, student agency, and creative exploration. This workshop challenges that norm by introducing the concept of critical creativity—a practice that invites singers to engage music-making as a form of dialogue, self-discovery, and collective expression. Drawing from the foundations of critical pedagogy and culturally responsive pedagogy, this session offers practical strategies for incorporating student-centered composition, improvisation, and collaborative interpretation into choral settings. Participants will explore how to expand repertoire choices to honor diverse musical heritages, facilitate courageous conversations, and cultivate a safe classroom environment where creativity is not just a tool for performance. Through interactive examples, and reflective prompts, attendees will leave with actionable tools to reimagine their choral spaces and rehearsal structures; as places where students are seen, heard, and empowered. This session is ideal for conductors, preservice and in-service music educators, and teaching artists committed to building more inclusive, imaginative, and socially engaged choral communities	Paper session—Room 104A Vertical Creativity: A Tale of Two Studies Eva George Pennsylvania State University My presentation discusses how we can improve a vertical bridge from elementary to high school for interdisciplinary creativity. As a professional songwriter and teacher, I taught creative language through songwriting skills starting in Kindergarten. I used songwriting as an assessment for all grades and will discuss further research needed regarding this topic. Also, using technology to create a sonic portfolio that follows students from K–12, much like a visual art portfolio, will be discussed. The research presentation stems from Spring 2025 studies regarding creativity. The first historical study in this presentation addressed how creativity became a “pillar” of the National Standards for Music Education (NAfME, 2014). From oral histories and literature reviews, findings included political, business and educational influences regarding creativity. The second qualitative study woven into this presentation is regarding teacher perspectives on creative activities in general music (Galea & Ramos, 2024). There is a lack of creative offerings in secondary schools with only 2% of schools offering electives for composition and songwriting (Elpus, 2022). However, 84% of respondents in a 2019 study (Kelly & Veronee) said they would enroll in composition if offered. I sought to find how K–5 general music classes teach creativity or songwriting. Findings included teacher’s creativity definitions, how teacher confidence supports creative activities, and how large group creativity teaching may require different training than teachers typically receive. This presentation provides a suggestion for pathways forward to promote creative activities in the K–12 music classroom through teacher training and songwriting pedagogy for all ages. Composing Vulnerability: Adopting a Rhetoric of Feel in Songwriting Praxis Juliet Hess Michigan State University Ben Lauren University of Miami In springs 2021 and 2022, the authors had the opportunity to co-teach a songwriting course at Michigan State University. The course was geared toward both music majors and non-majors and we had distinct but complementary approaches to creating music. Through the process of mentoring students to create their own songs, we were exposed to our very distinct approaches to songwriting. This presentation considers our different styles. To begin our presentation, Ben Lauren will emphasize the concept of musical feel as a rhetorical move songwriters can make. To illustrate feel as a practice, Ben will discuss his recent album-book Hold Me Down: Toward a Rhetoric of Feel, and describe how he utilizes feel in his songwriting praxis. To further expand feel as a musical concept, Juliet Hess will continue the conversation by first presenting her response to Hold Me Down, by noting the drastically different ways that we each approach songwriting and considering the distinctions to these two processes. While Ben constructs music through feel, Juliet has always been more calculated, rooted in her classical training. We conclude our presentation by sharing what occurred when Juliet adopted Ben’s approach to songwriting to write a song. We also engage throughout with the concept of vulnerability in songwriting and consider the distinctions between a rhetoric of feel approach and a more calculated approach in relation to vulnerability. Approximation Not Perfection: Creating Music and Community in a University Faculty/Staff Rock Band Amy Spears SUNY Fredonia The growing Modern Band movement has created promising contexts for music teaching and learning. Research describing related processes, perspectives, and products is increasing. However, most studies focus on experiences of students in PK–12 contexts. The few studies focusing on adult learners include music therapy rock bands for adults with disabilities and homeless adults (e.g., Knapp & Silva, 2019; Rathgeber, 2017), third-age learners in community groups (Laes, 2015), and baby-boomer rockers (O'Shea, 2012). Experiences of university faculty, staff, and administrators in such groups have yet to be explored. With recent politics and declining enrollment, university climates are tense. Job satisfaction among university faculty and staff declines as tenure lines are reduced and workload increases. However, workplace belonging correlates with engagement, retention, and satisfaction; and collaborative music-making fosters feelings of belonging. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological case study was to describe the lived experiences of faculty, staff, and administrators from one university collaborating to create music within an amateur rock band. Research questions included (a) what is the essence of the lived experience? and (b) in what ways did the composed contingent standards of excellence for learning contribute to their experience and feelings of belonging? We will describe the context for this experience and share findings. We will discuss this permutation for music teaching and learning and the potential it has for creativity, community, and connection. We will challenge participants to imagine how this (and other music-creating contexts) could facilitate satisfaction and belonging among faculty, staff, and administration at other universities.	Paper session—Room 104B The Case for Creativity: Reimagining Teaching and Assessing Composition in the Music Classroom Eric B. deWeber Indiana University Jacobs School of Music This paper introduces the addition of a composition unit in my own classroom, where I instruct future band and orchestra directors to play—and to teach—secondary woodwind instruments. The purpose of this unit is to help my students and myself engage creatively (Webster, 2019), exploring boundaries beyond a traditional music education course in a way that enhances the existing goals of the class. First, I examine foundational reasons for adapting instruction, inspired by Webster’s (2016) argument that music educators should engage their students in beneficial “compositional work as a partner to other musical experiences” (p. 94). Further, Hickey (1999) advises that teachers have the ability to evaluate composition, and she also argues that educators can create their own systems to assess musical growth (Hickey, 2003). Second, the paper includes a sample assignment, which requires students to improvise melodic ideas on their secondary instrument (using predetermined structures), write them out, perform them (alone and with peers), collaborate, revise, and perform again. To teach improvisation, I utilize my own experience using Azzara’s (1999) method, which serves “as the perfect connection to composition” (p. 24). Once students write out and perform their composition, they will engage in Webster’s (2016) concept of revision, which is “based on the notion that the first gestures of musical ideas are worthy of change” (p. 95). Finally, a revised composition will be performed and evaluated. To assess graded and non-graded components, I include sample rubrics (Hickey, 1999) adapted to reflect Deutsch’s (2016) guidelines for authentic assessment. Context matters: Creativity and culturally-minded pedagogies in the instrumental music classroom Andrew Bohn Arkansas State University "Creativity is a reaction to our surroundings”- Eric Ripert, Three Michelin-starred chef of Le Bernardin For decades, scholars have theorized definitions of creativity to account for various factors, including creative thinking (Guilford, 1950; Webster, 2002), agency (Torrance, 1987; Kondo & Wiggins, 2018), and utility (Sternberg & Lubart, 1999). Similarly, creativity research in music education also spans decades and is ripe with various definitions related to process, product, and performance (Richardson & Saffle, 1987; Running, 2008; Tan et al., 2019). Yet, what is often missing from creativity discourse is how the various cultural wealths (Yosso, 2005) students bring with them intersect with notions of creativity and emerge in nuanced, culturally-specific ways. Teachers are then left with one-size-fits-all approaches to creativity that may unintentionally reinforce uniformity rather than individuality. In this paper, I explore relevant literature surrounding culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies for how they may interact with creativity-based frameworks and manifest in the instrumental music classroom. Using Gray’s (2025) notion of culturally responsive creativity and Paris and Alim’s (2014) “loving critique” (p. 1) of culturally sustaining pedagogy, I explore how these ideas expand the possibilities regarding creativity in the instrumental music classroom and advocate for their continued place within curricula. Further, given the rise of assimilationist legislation seeking to dismantle diversity initiatives and erase cultural representation in education, intertwining creative practices with culturally-minded pedagogies can offer instrumental music teachers an opportunity to possibly subvert harmful policy while empowering students to express themselves in personalized and meaningful ways.
10:30–11:20a	Workshop—Auditorium Pathways to Cover Songs: Scaffolding Learner Agency Karen Salvador Michigan State University Creating cover songs with classroom instruments (a la Jimmy Kimmel and “The Roots”) is a popular option for encouraging creativity in elementary and secondary general music contexts. However, sometimes a project like this can feel overwhelming for students, who may respond by shutting down and/or passively following directions from a more confident or skilled classmate. By using hands-on activities in this workshop, we will explore ways teachers could build prerequisite skills, structure a cover song experience/assignment, and scaffold the process of creating cover songs in ways that support student collaboration and success. Specifically, we will try out a possible sequence of musical skill-building activities and ways to explicitly teach social skills that will build readiness for students to work together on a cover song. Then, we will examine ways to structure the activity that can provide parameters to support student creativity. Finally, we’ll talk about and experiment with the creative process of improving on an initial effort and how (and why) this could become part of a cover song project. Come ready to sing and play!	Panel—Room 104A Cultivating Creativity and Empathy through a Youth Opera Tim Kennedy, Sarah Watts, Anisa Adkins, Cole Denton and dawn pierce Pennsylvania State University Opera creation in K-12 schools presents rich and varied opportunities to develop children’s creativity and empathy skills through storytelling, writing, composing, acting, and thoughtful reflection. This practical panel highlights an elementary school opera project: a collaborative endeavor between teaching artists, who are also university graduate students, university faculty, second grade teachers, and students. Working directly with three second grade classes for five months, this team scaffolded the process for students to adapt the novel, Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo into a three act opera complete with original dialogue, music, costumes, sets, and props. Each class created an act based on their section of the book with three to four scenes and original songs. The project culminated in two community performances and allowed the children to build literacy, social emotional learning and collaborative skills all while expressing their authentic and creative self.
11:30a–1:00p	Lunch (On your own)	For dining suggestions, visit this page.
1:00–1:50p	Workshop—Auditorium Punch In, Prewrite, and Freestyle: Songwriting Approaches from Hip Hop Perspectives Nekaybaw Blunt, Eric Brown, Adam Kruse, Dylan Marcum, Jess Mullen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign While recent decades have seen a growth in songwriting, music production, and audio recording in school music settings, much of this work remains limited to the perspectives and practices of rock and pop singer-songwriters. To continue expanding the field’s conception of popular music to embracing contemporary practices, this workshop will demonstrate three different approaches to songwriting commonly practiced among Hip Hop artists, including punching in, prewriting, and freestyling. Presenters will discuss the need for conceptual expansions and evolutions in popular music education and then run a live, interactive songwriting and recording session to demonstrate multiple Hip Hop songwriting approaches. The session will conclude by considering applications of concepts from the session to P–12 classroom settings. By the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to (a) identify and describe different studio songwriting approaches used by Hip Hop artists and (b) describe potential applications of Hip Hop songwriting approaches in P–12 settings.	Workshop—Room 104A Learning to Improvise: Readiness and Harmonic Audiation David Potter University of Wisconsin–Superior In this workshop, we will explore a roadmap for teachers who are striving to help their students learn to audiate harmonically and express their own ideas through improvisation. Using the framework of music learning theory, participants will engage in carefully sourced lesson plans rooted in the sequential model (resting tone audiation, chord roots by rote and audiation, harmonic audiation, and improvising over harmonies, then chord roots), its application to major and minor tonality with tonic and dominant functions, the addition of subdominant functions, and supplemental materials, including harmonic tapestries and folk/popular music. Context will also be provided regarding the use of these tonalities, functions, and the terms “folk music” and “popular music.”
2:00–2:30p	Break and socializing Refreshments provided in Auditorium lobby
2:30–3:20p	Workshop—Auditorium Teaching the Digital Musician: DJ Technology in Pre-Service and K–12 Music Education Tyler Adel Paramus High School As music education continues to evolve, there is a growing call for programs that reflect students’ musical interests and provide creative, culturally relevant learning opportunities. Recent studies show that most music technology teachers are self-taught and lack formal training in modern digital practices, highlighting a pressing need for professional development and expanded training in pre-service teacher education programs (Dammers, 2010; Tobias, 2022; Williams & Randles, 2021). Drawing on current research in popular music education and music technologies (Ruthmann & Mantie, 2017), this session explores how contemporary tools can support creativity, musical identity, and inclusive participation—particularly for students not traditionally involved in ensemble-based programs. DJ controllers and digital audio workstations (DAWs) offer accessible and engaging entry points for students to create music through beat-making, remixing, and live performance. This session presents a practical, research-informed approach to designing and implementing a DJ lab within a K–12 school setting. Participants will gain strategies for building a DJ-based music technology program from the ground up, including curriculum design, equipment selection, and alignment with national standards. The session also addresses why this content should be meaningfully integrated into music teacher preparation, ensuring future educators are equipped to teach in diverse and technologically enriched classrooms.	Workshop—Room 104A Improv(e)ing Instruction: Expanding Curriculum Design through Improvisation Principles Saleel Adarkar Menon Rutgers University Hannah Huey-Jones Michigan State University In this interactive workshop, participants will engage with the principles of theatrical improvisation—“Yes, And,” “Support and Trust,” and “Embrace Mistakes”—to reframe teaching as a collaborative, responsive, and student-centered practice. Drawing on Holdhus et al. (2016), we will explore improvisation as a professional skill that rests on four key dimensions: communication, structure and design, repertoire, and context. Participants will experience how dialogic teaching environments foster authentic, in-the-moment responses to students’ needs, aligning with the “disciplined improvisation” that Sawyer (2011) describes as a synthesis of planning and real-time adaptation. We will use improvisation activities to challenge unidirectional models of instruction and promote relational, co-constructed learning (Corbalán et al., 2023). Teachers can use methods derived from theatrical improvisation to provide opportunities to recognize and act on teachable moments (Holdhus et al., 2016, p. 13), encourage student participation through multiple modalities, and shift classrooms toward more inclusive and reflexive pedagogies. We will draw connections to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), showing how improvisation invites multiple means of engagement and expression, while grappling with access and inclusivity issues commonplace in many classrooms. We will invite participants to actively reflect on how improvisational practices inform curricular decisions, assessment strategies, and classroom culture. By adapting examples from theatrical improvisation, educators will leave with practical tools to transform their teaching into a dynamic, inclusive, and more equitable creative practice.
3:30–4:00p	Closing remarks—Auditorium