Teaching Music History Conference 2024

7-9 June 2024, hosted by the Joyce and Henry Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University and accessible via livestream.

The Joyce and Henry Schwob School of Music is excited to welcome you to Columbus, Georgia this summer for the 2024 Teaching Music History Conference. This conference promises to be a site for the exploration of issues related to teaching music history at any academic level and for the discovery of new and more inclusive pedagogical methods. Attendance is open to all including college faculty, independent teachers, K-12 teachers, and students. This year, the conference will feature a special workshop which will explore methods for teaching the blues through Ma Rainey.  

Program

Registration

Register through AMS by June 9, 2024. Early bird registration processed by Friday, 10 May 2024 will receive a $10 discount off all registration rates. Registration rates apply to both in-person and remote attendees. Rates are also dependent upon employment status and what you plan to attend:

Local Arrangements

All conference-related activities except the opening reception and the Many Musics of America Workshop will take place in the Saunders Center for Music Studies, RiverPark Campus, Room 1719, at 900 Broadway, Columbus, GA 31901. The conference will be livestreamed for registrants who cannot attend in-person.

“Teaching American Musics in the K-12 Classroom” Workshop

On Saturday morning, June 8, there will be a special workshop entitled “Teaching American Musics in the K-12 Classroom” sponsored by the American Musicological Society’s Many Musics of America Project which is partially funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities. This workshop will explore methods for teaching the blues through the music of the early-blues recording artist — and Columbus, GA native— Ma Rainey. Currently, we are planning a visit to The Ma Rainey House, followed by a trip to the Columbus Museum. At the Columbus Museum, participants will embark on a tour of an exhibit on blues and folk music, including Ma Rainey, in the Chattahoochee Valley created by the Schwob School of Music Public Musicology Certificate program, and will be facilitated by two of the students involved with creating the exhibit. Participants will then move to the Wright Room, where the workshop will be facilitated.

This workshop will provide unique opportunities for educators working in both K-12 and higher-education spaces to share their ideas and perspectives. Participating educators may be eligible to receive continuing education certification.

K-12 Educators Grants on Teaching American Music

The American Musicological Society is excited to announce its new program, K-12 Educators Grants on Teaching American Music. The program provides grants of $500 to K-12 educators and music educators who have a special interest in American music to attend special events as part of the 2024 Teaching Music History Conference in Columbus, GA. Grantees will also receive complimentary registration for the conference, which will take place 7-9 June, 2024.

These grants provide support for educator participation in AMS programming that engages with historical pedagogy and American musical traditions. Grants may be used to pay travel expenses or to offset lost worktime. Grant recipients will participate in relevant activities at the Teaching Music History Conference in Columbus as part of a cohort of fifteen. 

Grantees will be expected to attend featured lectures and programs at the Teaching Music History Conference and the Teaching American Musics in the K-12 Classroom workshop. Grantees will also participate in a 45-minute networking cohort session on each of the first 2 days of the conference designed to help grantees network and connect to current conversations in musicology and music education.

Application is open to educators working in K-12 education and/or music education and to students who plan to pursue a career in K-12 education and/or music education. Applicants must be legal residents of the United States. Applicants need not be a member of the American Musicological Society.

The deadline to apply is 1 April 2024, 11:59pm ET. Selected applicants will be notified by 15 April 2024.

Lodging

On-Campus Housing:

Participants can stay in the on-campus Rankin Housing, a historic building at 10th Street and Broadway (the same intersection as the Saunders Center for Music Studies, the location of the conference). Accommodations in Rankin are either 1 or 2 bedroom suites, with a bathroom and kitchen. Please note that there are no walk-in showers, only tubs. All linens (sheets, blanket, pillow, bath + hand towels) are included.

You must register for the on-campus housing by 27 May; registration is through the conference registration site. The cost for on-campus housing is described below:

Off-Campus Housing:

We have arranged a block of rooms at the Hampton Inn Columbus Downtown in Columbus, GA 31901, approximately 1/2 mile from the main conference location. The discounted group rate for both single and double rooms is $169 per night plus taxes. When making a reservation, use this link for the discounted rate. You must book by 5 May to receive the group rate at the Hampton Inn.

Wireless Access

Wireless access is available on the CSU campus through the Columbus State wireless network. Usernames and passwords will be available daily at the conference site.

Transportation

Columbus State University is 90 miles southwest of Atlanta and is drivable from the Atlanta Airport in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Rental cars are available at the airport.

By Plane: All major airlines serve the metropolitan area at the Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Transportation from the Atlanta Airport to Downtown Columbus can be booked through Groome Transportation for $60 each way. You can also fly into Columbus (CSG), served only by Delta. There are also rental cars available at the Columbus Airport.

Parking: There is free parking in the RiverCenter Front Avenue Garage across from the Saunders Center of Music Studies. More information can be found here.

Dining

Dining is available throughout downtown Columbus. Many options can be found here. A restaurant list will be provided.

The Opening Reception will take place on Friday night, June 7, at the Corn Center for the Visual Arts, 921 Front Avenue, Columbus, GA 31901 (walking distance from the Saunders Center of Music Studies, the main location of conference programming). There is also a conference dinner on Saturday night, June 8 (included in the registration fee), at the Bo Bartlett Center, 921 Front Avenue, Columbus, GA 31901 (second floor of the Corn Center for the Visual Arts).

---