Humanity in Instrumental Music Education: Driving Toward the Future
Clinic Synopsis:
Music education faces challenges of access and relevance. We all bring the weight of the world into our classrooms. How can we adapt to provide space for healing and wellbeing in order to make our classrooms more student and humanity-centered? Drawing from mindfulness, SEL, UDL, and diversity, this interactive session will facilitate the personalization of concepts into practice to reaffirm humanity in instrumental music education through a focus on purpose, diversity, belonging, and wellbeing.
Matthew Arau
- Biographical Information
Dr. Matthew Arau, author of
Upbeat! Mindset, Mindfulness, and Leadership in Music Education and Beyond and
founder of Upbeat Global, is an Associate Professor of Music and the Chair of
the Music Education Department and Symphonic Band Conductor at the Lawrence
University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. In addition, Dr. Arau
serves as Leadership Editor for GIA Publishing, as a Conn-Selmer Education
Clinician, and is on the graduate conducting faculty of the American Band
College of Central Washington University and graduate music education faculty
at VanderCook College of Music. Dr. Arau has guest conducted and presented on
student leadership, mindfulness, growth mindset, rehearsal techniques, and
creating positive cultures in person in over 25 states and 4 continents in
person. He has presented at the International Midwest Band and Orchestra
Clinic, the Western International Band Clinic, the NAfME National Conference,
numerous State and Regional Music Education Association Conferences, and the
Conn-Selmer Institute. He has conducted honor bands in Australia, Greece,
Cyprus, and Malaysia, and All-State honor bands across the United States. Dr.
Arau draws on a deep reservoir of fifteen years of experience as a successful
middle school and high school band director in Loveland, Colorado, where he led
his bands at Walt Clark Middle School and Loveland High School to numerous
honor performances and championships and pioneered the Leadership Symposium.
Alice Hammel - Biographical Information
Dr. Alice Hammel, Virginia Music Educator Association Outstanding Educator (2018) and current President of the Virginia Music Educators Association, is a widely known music educator, author, and clinician whose experience in music is extraordinarily diverse. She is a member of the faculty of James Madison University, and has many years of experience teaching instrumental and choral music in public and private schools. Dr. Hammel has put these varied experiences to great use while compiling a large body of scholarly work. She is a co-author for four texts: Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Label-free Approach, Teaching Music to Students with Autism, Winding It Back: Teaching to Individual Differences in Music Classroom and Ensemble Settings, and Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Practical Resource. Dr. Hammel is Past-President of the Council for Exceptional Children – Division for Visual and Performing Arts Education.
Scott Edgar - Biographical Information
Dr. Scott N. Edgar (he/him) has dedicated his career to highlighting the potential music education and educators have to build life skills students will utilize long after they leave the classroom. As a notable authority on music education and Social Emotional Learning, Dr. Edgar has emerged as the leading researcher, best-selling author, and internationally sought-after clinician on the subject. He is the author of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music, The ABCs of My Feelings and Music (co-authored with his wife Stephanie), and editor of Portraits of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning (published through GIA Publications). Dr. Edgar prioritizes facilitating spaces where people can explore their identity, build a sense of belonging, and experience agency. He is grateful for the many experiences he has had at Bowling Green State University (B.M.E.), University of Dayton, (M.S.), and the University of Michigan (Ph.D.) to learn from his mentors. He is Associate Professor of Music, Chair of the Department of Music, and Director of Bands at Lake Forest College, and serves as Director of Practice and Research for The Center for Arts Education and Social Emotional Learning. Dr. Edgar is also a Music for All Educational Consultant, a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, and VH1 Save the Music Foundation Educational Consultant. Striving for work/life balance, he enjoys grilling, exercising, and spending time with his wife Steph, their son Nathan, and their cats Elsa and Wolfie.
Cameron Jenkins - Biographical Information
Cameron W. Jenkins is the founder of Full Potential Leadership, an international
communications platform that coaches innovative leaders in maximizing their strengths,
equipping their teams and reaching their full potential. Before entering the field of
music education, Cameron graduated from Alcorn State University with a 4.0 GPA. He holds a Master’s Degree from The University of Mississippi in Music Education. Cameron is a proud 2008 Coca-Cola Scholar and a
Life-Member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. In 2020, Cameron was named the 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year for the Gulfport School District. In the same year, Cameron was named the 2019-2020 Teacher of the
Year at Bayou View Middle School, a Title I and National Blue Ribbon School located in
Gulfport, Mississippi. In 2018, Cameron was named the Middle School Band Director of
the Year for the Gulf Coast Band Directors Association. Cameron is a member of the
American School Band Directors Association. Cameron is an interactive speaker, leadership consultant/clinician, professional development coach, and community leader. From small rural programs to The Midwest
Clinic, Cameron has inspired leaders from around the globe. In 2021, Cameron gained
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from the University of Pennsylvania. Cameron and his wife, Lu Jenkins, are church planters. In 2017, they founded Opportunity Church. A multi-ethnic church in Gulfport, Mississippi.
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