By Nancy Mann Jackson
The College Music Society (CMS) held its first annual meeting in 1958 at Harvard University, with the 2007-08 academic year marking the organization’s 50th year of service to music and higher education. In celebration, CMS held a number of special events throughout the year, including a 50th Anniversary National Conference in Salt Lake City last November.
The College Music Society is a consortium of college, conservatory, university and independent musicians and scholars that promotes music teaching and learning, musical creativity and expression, research and dialogue, and diversity and interdisciplinary interaction. For five decades, its National Conference has brought member musicians and music scholars together to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas relating to this field of study. According to the CMS website, the National Conference incorporates “addresses, concerts, lecture-recitals, panels, performances and workshop sessions [to] provide the opportunity to consider the philosophy and practice of music as an integral part of higher education.”
Commemorative Events
While last November’s meeting provided all the opportunities to which attendees are accustomed, it also offered a number of unique programs in commemoration of the organization’s milestone anniversary. According to Robby Gunstream, Executive Director of CMS, the special anniversary programs were among the most popular at this year’s event. Some of these included a panel of the organization’s past presidents, an anniversary banquet and a number of special presentations and exhibits.
The setting of the Society’s 50th Anniversary Banquet, held on the second evening of the National Conference, was La Caille, a 17th-Century chateau on an idyllic 22-acre estate complete with vineyard, fountains, peacocks and swans. Gunstream says attendees enjoyed visiting the charming chateau located in the foothills of Salt Lake City and savoring contemporary French cuisine while celebrating CMS’s accomplishments over the years and the progress of music as a discipline.
In addition to celebrating at the banquet, attendees had plenty of opportunities to learn more about their organization during other National Conference events. One presentation, “50 Years of College Music Teaching,” gave attendees a glimpse at how teaching has evolved and how the Society has fostered change. Another presentation, entitled “Significant Events in College Teaching,” focused on particular events such as the Contemporary Music Project, the Tanglewood Symposium and the Society’s Music in General Studies program that have fostered change in the music teaching field.
A special exhibit developed by CMS leadership that detailed the organization’s history was also on display at the conference. It included such items as programs from past conferences, Symposia and other iconography. The organization consulted with the music business and industry community to develop this special exhibit, which will travel to additional national and regional conferences. The project included developing exhibit materials from 50 years ago to help document the development of music in higher education, as well as an oral history video that relates the history of the Society.
Finally, organizers understood that no music conference would be complete without opportunities for musical performance, and it was agreed that the 50th Anniversary conference deserved truly unique performances. As a result, organizers arranged for music students from universities in the Salt Lake City area to perform in the Mormon Tabernacle, providing attendees with the opportunity to experience the superb acoustics of the hall while enjoying a Festival of New Music that presented the works of CMS member composers.
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Planning to Celebrate
Naturally, creating an anniversary celebration with so many special components isn’t an easy task. And in fact, the CMS 50th Anniversary National Conference took several years of brainstorming and planning to put together. According to the organization’s website, the CMS Board of Directors began discussing the anniversary at its twice-yearly meetings in 2005. Based on these discussions, Board members developed a detailed plan for celebrating the 50th Anniversary.
And while the National Conference was certainly the linchpin of the celebration, it was designed to be just one of several celebratory events and activities. Along with the special events at last year’s conference, Board members planned special regional chapter conferences to be held in Spring 2008, professional development events to be held in Summer 2008 and a series of special articles to appear throughout the year in the Society’s publications.
Gunstream says that these activities aimed to “enable the organization to: 1) examine in detail the past 50 or more years of music teaching and learning in higher education; 2) explore the organization’s own contribution to the development of this field; and 3) engage those that have been an integral part of the history of CMS and those that have contributed to music in higher education.”
With such a detailed plan and clearly stated goals, the Society was able to better plan an anniversary conference that would attract attendees and offer plenty of moments to remember.
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Enjoying the Results
According to Gunstream, the tireless planning involved in CMS’s 50th Anniversary event paid off. The organization routinely attracts about 350 faculty, administrators, publishers and music business personnel to its Annual Meeting. However, last year’s 50th Anniversary event drew 544 attendees. Because the organization didn’t promote the meeting outside its own mailing list, website and newsletter, it’s safe to say that the special commemorative events served to attract substantially more attendees than the average conference.
In addition to record-setting attendance, the CMS National Conference last November also enjoyed a generous showing of exhibitors, with 43 exhibiting companies. “Our exhibit space is fairly low-key,” Gunstream says. “We offer table-tops, not booths, as well as a common book table and advertising space in the program book. [In addition,] some of our exhibitors are very generous to sponsor tote bags, receptions and special events.”
Show you what a solid theme and good planning can accomplish.
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