Earlier this year Steven Greenall attended his first National Association of School Music Dealers convention in Palm Springs, California.
Here he reflects on what made the event memorable for him, how the event’s approach could affect a change in thinking and why Warwick Music Group are supporting a musical initiative…
“The National Association of School Music Dealers convention is a unique type of event that focuses on bringing together school music dealers, manufacturers, educators and interested parties to share ideas about the future of music education in the United States.
What stood out in particular for me when I attended the event is that there were no stands; no trade stands, no business meetings, just an open collaborative approach to the sessions. I found it hugely valuable and a real learning experience – it is my hope in fact that the forthcoming Music Industries Association event on 24thOctober 2019 in London will start a similar style of thinking amongst the UK industry, as arguably the music education situation is grave but equally the opportunity is immense.
One of the initiatives from the convention which caught my attention was the First Performance Day of National Celebration. I thought it was a great concept; set a week in the calendar in the first term where teachers and students put on their first concert – no matter how short a programme or worries about the level of the students.
I liked this because it gives the kids (and teacher!) a target to aim for just a few weeks into term, and also provides schools the opportunity to bring in the parents early on to hear the progress and see the fun their children are already having making music. In my experience there is nothing more enthusing for a child than to see their parents smiling and applauding their achievement; and vice-versa of course!
Warwick Music Group are therefore fully supporting the 2019 First Performance Day of National Celebration – so we are encouraging schools, teachers and students to set a date in the third week of November and have fun making music for themselves and their families.
As this is already an established programme, to help make your event a success there are a number of great resources available to you that have been created by the Music Achievement Council.
I wish everyone good luck – enjoy making music!”
More information on First Performance Day of National Celebration can be found by visiting the NAMM Foundation website or you can download the free toolkit of complementary resources here.
