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.
The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate student experiences in a bluegrass ensemble, Appalachian traditions, and the impact of ensemble participation on the students’ collegiate careers. As undergraduate music programs work to create more culturally relevant spaces, the question arises: What culture are we moving toward? While pop music may appeal to the masses, more localized forms of music also deserve attention. “In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky,” one university set out to study and play the music of the locals, both past and present. The University of Pikeville maintains traditional wind band and choral ensembles, but the school also embraces its history. Dr. John Eric Rutherford, whose family hails from Paintsville, KY, and Logan, WV, has worked to raise Appalachian cultural awareness with the practice of bluegrass music among his undergraduate students. The University of Pikeville is located along the Country Music Highway (U.S. 23) in southeastern Kentucky. Many of its students are first-generation college attendees with family roots within a 100-mile radius. The UPike Bluegrass Ensemble is student-driven, with song selection and arrangements determined by the students themselves. Some students are just learning to play “bluegrass” instruments while others have developed skills before attending college. Their set list consists of old bluegrass standards and new favorites, as well as covers of rock, pop, and folk songs arranged in a bluegrass style. Suggestions for implementing bluegrass, country, folk, and traditional old-time music ensembles are offered.
Popular music education has long been vaunted for its capacity to reach marginalized populations within schools. By providing access to popular music education, school districts can more effectively engage students of diverse backgrounds by providing music activities that are more culturally and personally relevant. However, the inclusion of popular music as part of a school district’s offerings does not ensure equitability in terms of access nor in terms of support. In some rural areas, it is common for students to opt into vocational training during the school day that removes them from their primary school campuses and substantially limits their options for enrolling in music courses. Often, these students come from the most impoverished families, thus, access to music classes is defined in part by socioeconomic status. In this presentation, I explore and reflect upon this aspect of teaching and learning music in a rural, largely impoverished district. In my particular teaching context, a guitar class was offered as an alternative to the traditional large music ensembles, but due to district scheduling policy, this site for popular music education was often used as a “dumping ground” for students who needed to earn a music credit, including many who attended off-campus vocational training. Although the district’s inclusion of popular music provides an important outlet for the students who utilize it, I argue that the policies of the district and other districts in the area re-entrench the physical separation and cultural differences of student populations, largely along lines of class.
This research explores the impact of including Louisiana music in schools. Among the participants in the study were the students and parents of an ensemble sponsored by the school that performs Cajun and Zydeco music. The impact that experiences in these ensembles had on participants’ cultural identity and musicianship was a primary interest. This study investigated the impact of this experience on the participants' family, cultural identity, knowledge of culture, language, and passion for Louisiana music. Impacts experience had on the musicality of participants in the areas of creativity and collaboration were also investigated. Furthermore, a comparison was made between the participants' experience with the Cajun and Zydeco ensemble and their school band programs. It is evident from students' responses that different methods of instruction were used, as well as different opportunities for students to explore music creatively.
Talented and Gifted Music Educator, Vermilion Parish School System
Gregg Griffin, Jr. has been a music educator for nearly 20 years. He graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education and earned a Master's degree in Music Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette... Read More →
Saturday June 7, 2025 9:30am - 10:00am CDT SPAC - Traicoff Music Hall3800 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38117
