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Welcome to the APME Memphis 2025 conference. Here, you’ll be able to register for the conference and update your Sched profile. The conference schedule will be available in late spring 2025. At that time, you can view the schedule and select the presentations you’d like to attend. If you have any questions, please visit our conference website or contact us at conference@popularmusiceducation.org We look forward to coming together as a community June 4–7, 2025. 
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Critiquing a Popular Music Ensemble: Professional and Educational Perspectives
Thursday June 5, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
SPAC - Traicoff Music Hall
This panel explores the multifaceted approaches to critiquing and developing popular music ensembles, drawing from professional and educational perspectives. Featuring distinguished panelists Boo Mitchell, Grammy-winning producer and owner of Royal Studios in Memphis, and Steven Potaczek, Assistant Professor of Commercial Music at Samford University, the discussion will highlight the intersection of artistry, technical precision, and pedagogy in ensemble performance. The St. George’s Independent School American Music Ensemble (SGIS AME), under the direction of Artist-in-Residence J. Thomas Link, will serve as a live lab ensemble. As the 2022 and 2023 back-to-back DownBeat Student Music Award winners in the Pop/Rock/Blues Ensemble category, SGIS AME specializes in American genres, performing a repertoire that includes classic Memphis soul and contemporary popular music. The ensemble will perform live excerpts, providing a platform for real-time critiques by the panelists. Boo Mitchell will bring insights from the professional recording and performance world, emphasizing artistic interpretation, arrangement, and authenticity. Steven Potaczek will focus on educational methods for fostering student creativity, ensemble cohesion, and technical growth in a school setting. Together, they will provide attendees with practical tools for evaluating and enhancing performance quality in both professional and academic contexts. This session offers a dynamic, hands-on exploration of how professional standards and educational objectives can inform and enrich the critique process, ultimately bridging the gap between industry expectations and classroom realities. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how to balance artistry with educational development, empowering musicians to excel across diverse performance environments.
Speakers
avatar for J. Thomas Link

J. Thomas Link

Artist-In-Residence, St. George's Independent School
J. Thomas Link holds a Master of Arts Degree in Jazz Composition and Improvisation. At the University of Memphis, he has taught Aesthetics and Analysis of Jazz and Commercial Music, Studio Recording Ensemble, University Jazz Ensemble III, Jazz Saxophone, and is a member of the U of... Read More →
ND
avatar for Steven A. Potaczek

Steven A. Potaczek

Founding Director & Associate Professor of Commercial Music Program, Samford University
Steven Potaczek is focused on helping musical artists and students discover and express their potential as creative careerists. As a music producer, he has worked with some of the top names in the industry (The Band Perry, The Barenaked Ladies, and Skillet to name a few), and has... Read More →
LB
Thursday June 5, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
SPAC - Traicoff Music Hall 3800 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38117
  Instrumental Pedagogies and Practices, Panel

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