479-575-6491 cms@uark.edu
Teach Music Logo

 7th Annual Teach M.E. Conference
(formerly NWA Teach Music Conference)

 

Featuring Sessions & Concert by
Silkroad Ensemble

Don’t miss the opportunity to

  • learn from experts in the field (check out this year’s presenters below)
  • gain valuable insights for teaching special needs students
  • earn 7 Arkansas teacher professional development hours
  • connect with other NWA music educators

all at no charge to our participants!

Who Should Attend

  • Music educators
  • Music education students
  • Community members interested in music education

Dates

April 12 – 13, 2024

Location

Epley Band Building (BAND), U of A Campus
Maps & Parking Information

Registration

This program is offered free of charge as a community outreach project of the Department of Music. Registration is required.

Information

Dr. Dan Abrahams    abrahams@uark.edu

Schedule

*Subject to change.

 

 

Friday, April 12

5:00 – 5:45 PM Check-in at Epley Band Building
6:00 – 7:00 PM Assessing Students with Differing Needs in Music Classrooms Part I (Dr. Alice Hammel)
7:15 – 8:15 PM Connection and Collaboration: Leaving Room for Failure and the Unknown (Kaoru Watanabe & Sandeep Das, Silkroad)
   
 

Saturday, April 13

8:30 – 9:45 AM Assessing Students with Differing Needs in Music Classrooms Part II (Dr. Alice Hammel)
9:45 – 10:00 AM Break
10:00 – 11:00 AM Supporting SEL Through Minecraft (Dr. Daniel Abrahams)
11:00 AM – noon Lunch On Your Own
12:15 – 1:15 PM Learning Music as a Way of Life (Kaoru Watanabe & Sandeep Das, Silkroad)
1:30 – 2:30 PM An Introduction to Japanese Music (Kaoru Watanabe, Silkroad)
  Teaching Students with Cognitive Differences in Instrumental Ensembles (Abigail Tanner)
2:45 – 3:45 PM Living in the Rhythm (Sandeep Das, Silkroad)
  Music, Society, & Identity (Prof. Nikola Radan)
7:30 PM Free Concert featuring Silkroad Ensemble (Faulkner Performing Arts Center)

Meet the Presenters

Dr. Daniel Abrahams

Biography
Daniel Abrahams is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. He holds a Ph.D. in music education from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He has presented research at state, national and international conferences, as well as contributed several book chapters in edited publications. Daniel’s research interests include the acquisition of learner agency and the integration of music and STEM education through Minecraft.

Sandeep Das
Silkroad Ensemble

 

Biography
A Guggenheim Fellow, Sandeep Das is one of the leading Tabla virtuosos in the world today. Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has built a prolific international reputation spanning over three decades. He has collaborated with top musicians, ensembles, and orchestras from all over the world, and his original compositions have been performed in 50+ countries. Das is the founder of Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), a nonprofit organization in India that has promoted global understanding through music performance and provided learning opportunities and scholarships for visually-impaired children with artistic potential since 2009. His most recent project, Transcending Borders One Note at a Time, launched in 2020 to widespread international acclaim, and seeks to harness the power of music to create positive social change.

Dr. Alice Hammel

Biography

Grammy Award nominated music educator, Dr. Alice Hammel, was the 2023 National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Lowell Mason Fellow, Virginia Music Educator Association Outstanding Educator (2018), and is the current President of the Virginia Music Educators Association. She is a widely known music educator, author, and clinician whose experience in music is extraordinarily diverse. She is a member of the faculty of James Madison University, and has many years of experience teaching instrumental and choral music in public and private schools. Dr. Hammel has put these varied experiences to great use while compiling a large body of scholarly work. She is a co-author for four texts: Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities: A Label-free Approach, Teaching Music to Students with Autism, Winding It Back: Teaching to Individual Differences in Music Classroom and Ensemble Settings, and Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities: A Practical Resource. Dr. Hammel is Past-President of the Council for Exceptional Children – Division for Visual and Performing Arts Education and was recently awarded their Past President Award for Excellence. She is a proponent of Music Will and the Modern Band movement.

Abigail Tanner

 

Biography
Abigail Tanner is a dedicated senior pursuing a major in Music Education at the University of Arkansas. Her particular emphasis lies in middle school band instruction, where she is dedicated to fostering musical growth among marginalized groups promoting inclusivity and excellence in music education. Under the tutelage of Dr. Nophachai Cholthitchanta, she has also honed her skills in clarinet performance, emerging as a finalist in the prestigious Artist Presentation Society competition.

Kaoru Watanabe
Silkroad Ensemble

 

Biography
Acclaimed composer and instrumentalist Kaoru Watanabe’s melodic, authentic and engaging music focuses on points of connection: the joints between Western jazz and Japanese theater and folk traditions and political action, the ancient and the all-too-contemporary. Born into a musical family, Watanabe began his training at a young age, eventually graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, then devoting a decade overseas performing with and ultimately leading the world-renowned Taiko drum performance group Kodo. His ten years in Japan profoundly influenced Watanabe’s practice. His signature skill of infusing Japanese culture to disparate styles has made him a much-in-demand collaborator, having worked with Wes Anderson, Yo-Yo Ma, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Laurie Anderson, Jason, and Alicia Hall Moran, Bando Tamasaburo, Eva Yerbabuena, and Zakir Hussain, among many others. Whether writing for solo performances, interdisciplinary ensembles, film, or symphony orchestras, he regularly explores social justice, history, and heritage issues.

Conference presented by University of Arkansas NAFME Chapter
under the direction of Dr. Daniel Abrahams.