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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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Rehearsing Young Popular Music Ensembles
Saturday June 7, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
SPAC - Traicoff Music Hall
Middle school and young high school students love forming their own bands, and if students and teachers aren’t careful, all the energy and enthusiasm can be sucked out of the project before it even gets off the ground. In this session educators Scott Prescott and Eric Songer, along with their students, will discuss and demonstrate how to make these bands shine. Topics will include philosophy, scheduling, collaboration, problem solving, song selection, and booking gigs. These points will include a variety of ideas and specific examples of what has worked for us including how we schedule and specific song titles. This will also include a short discussion on how popular music ensembles can co-exist and actually thrive in a traditional music program. We will demonstrate rehearsal techniques, teamwork, student leadership, and stage presence. These demonstrations will include examples of both teacher-led models and student-led models. Attendees will get an authentic demonstration of what works and where the common pitfalls are in popular music ensembles at this age. The young rock stars will also give a short performance. Time will be allowed for attendees to ask the students questions and for us to learn from each other.
Speakers
avatar for Eric Songer

Eric Songer

Music Educator, Eastern Carver County School District
27 years is a long time to teach middle school music, but I love it. I was hired to direct concert bands, but the program is much more than that. Students write songs, produce, form their own bands, learn non-band instruments, rap, beatbox and more. Our students perform in rock bands... Read More →
SP
Saturday June 7, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
SPAC - Traicoff Music Hall 3800 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38117
  K-12 Education, Panel

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