I am very proud to announce that this past Saturday, I was elected to become the next President of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI) at the annual CMS/ATMI Conference in Portland, OR. This is truly an honor for me, as I hold the membership of this organization in the highest regard. Made up of the most well known and respected professors across the United States and Canada who focus on the effective integration of music technology in music instruction, ATMI membership is a veritable Who’s Who in the field. I start my term in January, and will work diligently to ensure that ATMI continues doing it’s incredible work for years to come. I have some very big shoes to fill. Dr. Scott Lipscomb of the University of Minnesota, has led ATMI for the past 8 years, and under his leadership ATMI’s relationship with the College Music Society (CMS) has strengthened tremendously. I look forward to a continued relationship with Scott and learning everything I can form him about the organization.

If you are not already a member of ATMI, I urge you to become one. Check out their website to see the benefits of membership, and start planning to attend the next annual conference next year in the great city of Minneapolis. I hope to see you there!

This morning I am heading to Portland, OR (one of my favorite cities) for the annual CMS/ATMI Conference. I am presenting two sessions on behalf of SoundTree, including one during the CMS Pre Conference which takes place tomorrow. ATMI - the Association for Technology in Music Instruction - is one of my favorite professional organizations, and I always look forward to catching up with my collegiate and university-level colleagues who teach music technology at some of the best programs in the country.

SoundTree is providing a hands-on music technology lab for the conference this year, and we have some terrific clinicians presenting a variety of sessions. All session materials will be located at a special landing page that we have created specifically for the conference, including podcasts of the sessions. My sessions include - Composition with Notation and Sequencing Software on a Budget and Designing, Building & Implementing Music Technology Courses at the University Level.

I will try to blog about some of the sessions later this week. If you are going to the conference, please be sure to stop by the 3 Sisters room in the Doubletree Hotel and say hello!

If you have not yet seen the video above, let me introduce you to music educator Gregg Breinberg and the students in the PS 22 Chorus. I first saw another of their videos featuring Coldplay’s Viva La Vida back in the spring and I was instantly struck by the passion that the children in the chorus were displaying while they sang. I must admit, I got choked up watching these kids sing in beautiful two part harmony, and immediately shared it with my friends on Facebook and Twitter. It was not surprising at all to know that the videos featuring the PS 22 Chorus were being viewed millions of times and attracting the attention of many celebrities, including the musicians who wrote the songs the students were signing. The energetic leader of the chorus, Gregg Breinberg, takes videos of his students performing his arrangements of current popular songs, and it seems that his growing audience can’t wait for more.

Over the summer, I decided to contact Gregg to see what my company, SoundTree, could do (if anything) to assist him in continuing his work. To my surprise he answered almost immediately, and we began to discuss how we could help. A few weeks later, through a wonderful partnership with VH1 Save The Music, we were able to donate a 16-station keyboard lab to his school, as well as fine tune his sound system, and provide him with a brand new Marshall AS100D amplifier for his guitar. I asked Gregg whether it would be possible for me to come and visit him, and possibly sit in on a rehearsal with the students. To my absolute delight, he invited me - and two weeks ago I had the honor of sitting in on an incredible music education experience. When I first arrived at PS 22 (which is in Staten Island), Gregg was out getting some lunch before his rehearsal. When he arrived in the office and introduced himself, I was immediately struck by his magnetic personality. It is no wonder why the kids do what they do for him. He is the quintessential “pied piper”. We walked down to the auditorium (the one featured in nearly all of their videos. My first reaction was - wow! I know this place. Gregg handed me a slice of pizza and a soda and we talked briefly before he had to go to the cafeteria to pick up the 5th graders from lunch so that they could start rehearsing. I congratulated him on all of his success and asked him a few questions about his teaching and new found fame. He has been teaching at PS 22 for over 10 years and has pretty much been doing exactly what he is now famous for for most of the time he’s been there. It wasn’t until Perez Hilton noticed one of his videos almost two years ago that he started getting noticed. While I was with Gregg, he received a call asking his students to perform at an awards ceremony the following week where the students would be singing for both Beyonce and Lady Gaga. While I would have fainted had such an offer ever been made to me, he seemed to take in stride (though he was obviously excited for the kids). We walked across the playground to the cafeteria to pick up his students. The minute he walked in the room the students swarmed to him calling him Mr. B. He led the line of students to the auditorium and immediately set to work. While it was only the 3rd week of school and this was a completely new chorus (not the same students as those featured in the more well known videos), they had already done a performance on the VH1 Divas concert and with the cast of Fame who came to PS 22 in early September.

Gregg started the rehearsal with a warm up exercise, and the minute I heard the kids sing, I could tell that Gregg is no one-hit wonder. He is a highly skilled music educator who knows exactly what he’s doing. The students were attentive and talented. After the warm up, they sang me the title song from Fame. I felt like the guest of honor. Then he began teaching him his arrangement of Halo - a song by Beyonce. He taught them both parts of the two part harmony, and within a few minutes, they sounded beautiful. Over the next 90 minutes, Gregg worked the students on a few songs and their attention was completely focused on what he was doing. Their trademark movements happened naturally. He did not tell them to move, they just did. Instead of telling them to sit still while they sing, he tells them to get into it. A simple change of classroom management philosophy produced heart-warming results. I sat with my jaw hanging for the entire rehearsal. It was a treat to be able to spend that much time watching them.

At the end of the rehearsal, he told them that he had some exciting news for them - they would be singing with Beyonce the following Friday. They burst into sheer joy - screaming, hugging, and crying. How incredible. I was thrilled to be there when he told them.

When I followed up with Gregg recently, he told me about the performance and that it went really well. Not surprisingly, he posted a video of the performance on YouTube. I watched with delight as these beautiful students sang for their idols. While some might not agree with his methods or philosophy, I am his biggest fan. I truly believe that he is the personification of making music fun for students - while ensuring a high quality performance. The reason that they have garnered so much fame, in my opinion, is because they not only sing well, they sing with their soul. They love music. Isn’t that what we should be doing? I will support Gregg and his chorus as much as I can for the coming years. I want to make sure that once the fame fades his mission continues in other schools and effects more students across the country. I told the PS 22 kids that lots of kids across America wanted to be in their shoes. One of the students looked at me and simply smiled when I said that. It was clear to me at that moment that while the students in the PS 22 chorus may not have as many material possessions and creature comforts as kids from wealthier suburban districts, they have something much more special.

I welcome your questions and comments.

I am proud to announce that a new publication from Oxford University Press titled “Critical Issues in Music Education: Contemporary Theory and Practice” has just been released. This text, intended for undergraduate and graduate music education majors, was a project at Teachers College, Columbia University under the leadership of my colleagues Harold Abeles and Lori Custodero. I had the honor of writing Chapter 11 of the text - focusing on Music Education Technology. My coauthors include fellow TC Faculty and alumni: Colleen Conway, Randall Everett Allsup, Roberta Lamb, Patricia St. John, and Cathy Benedict. The chapters include a broad perspective from a variety of voices on the many issues facing music education in the 21st Century. I am so proud to be a part of this book, and I hope that if you teach undergraduate or graduate music education students you consider including it in your syllabus.