Brandon University Student Music Educators’ Association 2010 Conference Reflection

The 4^th annual Da Capo Conference, held this past weekend (January 23, 2010) at the Brandon University School of Music, was extremely successful.  The 59 attendees included Brandon University music and music education students, Brandon University Professors, Westman band directors, representatives from the University of Manitoba, and a group of nine students from the University of Saskatchewan.  We were very pleased to see a growing numbers of students from outside our own institute attending the conference.  Our goal for the future of the Da Capo Conference is for it to become a place for student networking amongst surrounding universities.

The day was well spent attending diverse sessions prepared by the remarkable group of inspiring and knowledgeable presenters from Brandon and Winnipeg. Dr. Deborah Poff, President of Brandon University, delivered the keynote address about developing leadership qualities in yourself.  The morning sessions continued with a joint session by Kevin Doell and Taylor Schmidt on middle school band repertoire, Graham Dion on using technology in the music classroom, and Carolyn Gwyer on what she wished someone had told her about being a high school choir director.  The sessions were equally attended and all received extremely positive feedback.  In the next session Taylor Schmidt spoke on yearly planning and Kevin Doell shared some of his interview tips.  Debbie McLeod joined us from Winnipeg for a session on using the keyboard in the choir classroom.  One of the most well–received parts of the day was the “New-Teacher Round Table” where three new music educators to the field shared answers to some of the burning questions that us upcoming teachers had.  Those teachers included University of Manitoba Graduate Robert Chrol, and Brandon University Graduates Mindy Choy, and Karen Luptak.  Marla Fontaine, from Brandon Manitoba also joined us for the day, and presented two very interesting and well received sessions in the afternoon in regards to being a new teacher in an elementary classroom. Graydon Cramer, also from Brandon, Manitoba, along with his grade 8 jazz band from the Westside of Brandon, demonstrated a new philosophy and process for introducing the Bb blues scale! Jacquie Dawson from Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg, Manitoba presented on community building and shaping students lives through the band programs, with the help of her Principal Rick Martin over Skype! Other sessions that were equally as educational and interesting were Eric Platz on hand drumming, Wendy McCallum on conducting fundamentals, and Carolyn Gwyer once again about the tips and tricks of creating an unforgettable Broadway show!

The BUSMEA executive council worked very hard to implement as much organization and efficiency into the day as possible.  The equipment and technology subcommittee worked hard to make sure that each presenter was accommodated with all the necessary supplies. Attendees and presenters were well hydrated and fed throughout the day thanks to the hospitality committee, and the registration committee was responsible for ensuring every person had a collection of handouts from the day, as well as schedules, presenter bios, etc... We are proud to announce that we finished the event with a balanced budget.  The actual cost of the day was approximately fifty dollars less than we had projected.  This could not have been a possibility without the financial support of the MBA and the CMEA. We hope that the music education community in Canada continues to support Da Capo in the future.

One unfortunate event of the weekend ran slightly out of our hands – the weather!  The nine University of Saskatchewan students who drove to Brandon for the conference became snowed in, and could not leave until two full days later!  The BUSMEA council, along with faculty advisor Wendy McCallum, and the support of the Brandon University School of Music, and the Brandon University Residence Office ensured that these students were well taken care of for the remainder of their unexpected time in Brandon.

Next years’ Da Capo Conference will be held on Saturday, January 22^nd, 2011.  We have begun to plan presenters and brainstorm topics amongst the executive council, but we also encourage anyone to email us ideas and thoughts about what they would like to see at the conference! We can be easily contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . BUSMEA received positive feedback in terms of creating this opportunity for student music educators to extend their education beyond what is taught in our classes, and for educators to look back and reflect on their current teaching practices. We sincerely appreciate all of the support shown to us by the music education community in Manitoba.

-Chloé Plamondon

Some comments received on 2010 Conference Evaluation Forms were:

“This was another informative and fantastic conference! I will most definitely attend next years’ conference!”

“SOO many great thing, one long day, Great work BUSMEA!”

“Spread the word and expand the event!”

“I came from outside of Brandon, and I felt that the trip was worthwhile and rewarding because everything was well planned and communicated ahead of time.”

“I’m re-energized and motivated! Thank you.”

“This is such a professional conference. You should all be very proud of your hard work.  Great variety of presenters and topics, Great Work!”

“So nice to see that the conference is continuing and growing! You guys have put together a fabulous….FABULOUS conference! Excellent work and Congratulations.”