The 12th annual Network of Music Career Development Officers conference was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 9 – 10, 2007 in NYC. NETMCDO is the only conference specifically dedicated to the creation and improvement of career services for musicians! NETMCDO is a networking group made up of university and conservatory administrators and faculty, as well as staff members of music service agencies and other music training institutions. The conference is an opportunity to exchange ideas and information on assisting musicians in developing careers.
Note: Changed Conference Location!
We’ve had a venue location change—and the chance to meet in and check out a renovated performance and rehearsal site. For the first time, we will be holding our NYC conference at the conveniently located Players Theatre in the heart of Greenwich Village, at 115 MacDougal St., easy access by subway lines ABCDEFV: W. 4th stop. A historical venue for theater and now also for music rehearsals and performance, the Players Theatre was recently purchased by the entrepreneurial percussionist Michael Sgouros, founding member of the Ethos Percussion Group. Michael will be on hand to welcome our group and talk about his new venture!
As many of you know, for the past 11 years, we’ve been fortunate to have Manhattan School of Music host our conference. New this year, as part of the school’s overall restructuring since Robert Sirota has become their President, their Office of Career Development and Alumni Affairs has now been separated into two distinct entities. Ar Adler’s role as Assistant Director of Career Development will allow her to devote her efforts exclusively to students’ and alumni’s career issues, and John Blanchard will now be concentrating his efforts and time almost exclusively toward alumni affairs. This will preclude John and Ar from playing the logistical roles they have performed in the past for the conference but they will attend as colleagues and participants.
Highlights of this year’s conference include a keynote by journalist/composer Greg Sandow, six practical music career presentation-demonstrations, a session on arts consultant Liz Lerman’s “Critical Response Process,” and discussions on the current cultural and technological changes affecting musicians, audiences, and music schools.
Our conference facilitator John Steinmetz, composer/bassoonist and arts education consultant, will help us frame our discussions and make the most of this opportunity to share and brainstorm with our colleagues.
We generally have 20 – 30 music schools and training programs represented at the conference, from universities and colleges, to training orchestras and conservatories. We’ve had a wide range of participants: faculty, staff, some who are brand new to the career services field, and general university career services staff seeking to enhance their offerings for music students. This variety makes for rich discussions and great information and idea sharing. So bring along a colleague from your institution to get even more out of the conference.
We will start promptly at 9 am and go until 5:15.
9am–9:30 | Registration and coffee |
9:30–10:30 | Introductory networking and discussing your goals |
10:45–12:00 | Keynote: Cultural and Technological Trends Affecting Musicians with Greg Sandow, arts journalist, commentator, composer. His blog on the future of classical music is widely read and influential, see www.artsjournal.com/sandow. Greg’s writings have appeared in the Village Voice, New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. |
12:00–1:15 | Lunch: (provided) |
1:30–2:00 | Using Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process (great tool for giving and getting feedback on anything from performances to press kits!)
To read a brief description, see www.sadu.org/Liz Lerman Critical Response.htm, but the real deal is Liz Lerman's short and excellent book http://www.danceexchange.org |
2–3:15 | First set: choice of three sessions (concurrent nuts and bolts sessions)
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3:30–4:45 | Second set: choice of three sessions
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4:45–5:15pm | Wrap-up and preparation for day 2 with John Steinmetz
Note: Many conference participants elect to go out to eat together after the first day, please consider joining us! |
Note: We will start promptly at 9 am and go until 5:00 pm. The schedule for day two is purposely not posted because we will be using the popular “Open Space” meeting format, designed to ensure that conference attendees get their priority interests and needs addressed.
The day will focus on this key question:
“How can we best prepare musicians for changes in Culture and Technology?”
Facilitator John Steinmetz, a veteran and favorite from past NETMCDO conferences, will help us explore this topic as it pertains to the future planning of our own programs, our institutions, our own careers, our field as a whole, and our very own NETMCDO organization. John Steinmetz has planned an interactive, illuminating and informative day. We will discuss the many aspects of music career services issues in both small breakout groups and large group discussions. This day is meant to address the issues that matter most to YOU, so bring your ideas, questions and concerns to share and explore.
About our facilitator: John Steinmetz, principal bassoonist for Los Angeles opera and a Southern California freelancer, also composes music, serves as education consultant for computer and record companies, and writes and speaks about the state of the arts and about technologies of learning and expression. His article “Resuscitating Art Music,” which has been widely distributed in the concert music field, is on the web at http://www.munb.com/artx2.html
We are meeting on these dates to make it convenient for people to also attend the Chamber Music America Conference, held in NYC, Jan. 11–14. Check out the CMA website at http://www.chamber-music.org. It’s inexpensive and a terrific resource from which to gain current information on performance, recording, funding and presenting issues in classical, jazz, and other musics. The cost of the CMA conference is very reasonable with discounted hotel available. You can register online for CMA at http://www.chamber-music.org. Or, call them at (212) 242-2022.
NETMCDO conference costs:
$150 per organization or school for the first participant; each additional participant for that institution is $50. This fee includes our meeting space rental, speakers’ fees, continental breakfasts, and lunch on Tuesday, January 9. Lunch on day two and dinners are on your own. Information on inexpensive NY hotel room rates is available in a separate attachment.
Any questions? Write/call:
Angela Beeching
abeeching@newenglandconservatory.edu
(617) 585-1117