[To go back to read Day 1, click here.]
Thursday, July 24 was the first official day of the conference, aside from the optional Innovation Summit the day prior. In the morning, I went to the exhibit hall to the make sure my Marketplace Table was arranged and ready for the day.
This is my first time exhibiting my hardcopy books at a national-level conference. A Marketplace Table was the perfect choice for me, rather than a full-fledged exhibit booth. I arranged display copies of my books to browse, and invited teachers to place their orders online to be shipped to their home with a conference discount of 20% off. I gave out free pencils and stickers. Throughout the conference, it was fun meeting new teacher friends and sharing about my creative work!
[PSSS…The conference discount is still going on through the end of today, Monday, July 27, 2025! Visit keysatplay.com to take advantage of the discount now!]
After setting up my table, I headed to the grand ballroom to hear the Conference Welcome followed by a keynote address by Sarah Hoover titled: “Musicians as Health Workers? Developing a New Creative Workforce in Community and Clinical Health.”
Following that, the conference schedule offered a variety of sessions to choose from (sometimes as many as ten or eleven at a time!). Some sessions were 25 minutes in length, while others were 50. Some sessions were related to specific tracks, such as Creative Music Making, New Professionals, or Research.
The sessions I attended included: “Neuropedagogy–Where Neuroscience and Pedagogy Meet,” presented by Barbara Lister-Sink; “Music, Awe, and Transcendent Experiences,” by Vanessa Cornett; and “Writing Skills for Creative Expression: Practical Tips for Pianists’ Career Development” by Carla Salas-Ruiz. I picked up new perspectives or interesting nuggets from every session I attended.
I grabbed a quick lunch with Amy Chaplin and Janna Williamson at Chick-fil-A.
After lunch, I spent some time in the exhibit hall. Amy and I said hello to our MLT colleagues at the Music Moves for Piano booth. I was pleased to hear that a new FREE introductory course about Music Moves for Piano’s Keyboard Games books is now available. To check it out, click here.
We also ran into Juan Cabeza, composer of two sets of progressive etudes called “Diversions” I recommend, among other collections published by Piano Safari. It was a pleasure to meet him!
The afternoon brought the PEDx sessions — an NCKP tradition where speakers are invited to give a short, inspiring talk. Karen Walwyn’s talk was “Florence B. Price: An American Hero”, sharing about Price’s life and compositions. I especially enjoyed seeing Walwyn’s photos of Price’s home and personal effects. Patricio Molina presented “Uncovering Dominican Treasures: A Journey Through Piano Music of the Dominican Republic” about his project exploring and recording little-known Dominican piano music. Tracy Cowden presented “Prescribing Music: Unlocking Wellbeing Through the Power of Sound”, sharing about En-Corps — a program allowing military veterans to form a musical community through playing together as a concert band. All three talks were certainly inspiring!
Next, I attended a showcase session (presentations by exhibitors) given by Randall Faber of the Faber Piano Adventures. The topic was considering the role of the piano method as it relates to piano literature. He discussed the transition students must make and gave an overview of the related resources available from the Fabers.
After spending a bit of time at my Marketplace Table, I joined friends Amy Chaplin, Christina Whitlock (of the Beyond Measure podcast), and Laura Harding for dinner at the hotel restaurant, Harry Carey’s. We enjoyed many laughs over delicious food.
After dinner, I hurried to a social meet-up organized by a committee I am a member of for the Frances Clark Center, namely, the Committee for Young Musicians (Birth to Age 9). Our gathering was titled: “Connecting the Dots: An Interactive Resource Share.” Each committee member led attendees through ten minutes of interactive activities, such aural/movement activities or folk dances. It was neat to experience the variety of influences we each carry, including Dalcroze, Orff, Suzuki, Gordon’s Music Learning Theory, etc.. Pictured below are the members from our committee who were present at the conference this year: Audrey Faith-Slaker, Janet Tschida (chair of the committee), Katie Ostrosky, Paul Myatt, and me.
The evening concert was a jazz concert, organized and featuring Jeremy Siskind and three of his jazz colleagues: Andy Milne, Edward Simon, and Miki Yamanaka. The concert opened with a duet improvisation of “All the Things You Are” by Kern and Hammerstein, with the four artists trading roles at the two concert grands. The rest of the concert featured music of Billy Strayhorn, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and finally each of the four performers. Siskind provided verbal program notes on the history and style of each jazz composer. I loved everything about this concert!
That evening, a group of us enjoyed drinks at Holy Mackerel in the hotel. It was a nice way to end the day! Pictured is Christina Whitlock, Laura Harding, me, Amy Chaplin, Krysta Hawkley, and Jaclyn Mrozek. Other friends came by, including Jason Sifford, James Kessler, and Eric Branner of Fons.
Stay tuned for Day 3. Click to read about Day 3.
