SMTE announces a call for site suggestions for the 2021 Symposium on Music Teacher Education. As described in our statement on Procedures and Values for Symposium Site Selection, in the coming months the SMTE Board will be considering options and selecting a site for next Symposium in September 2021. We anticipate by that time that there will be a return to a largely in-person conference format, and we are planning accordingly. The Board welcomes suggestions from SMTE members who can offer connections to local resources and institutional supports. The SMTE Symposium does not happen without the strong support of a local music teacher education program. Historically, SMTE owes a great debt to the University of North Carolina Greensboro, the University of St. Thomas, and their faculty and administrations for contributing time, facilities, and financial resources so that we could hold successful Symposia in Greensboro and Minneapolis since 2005. While the Symposium does not need to be held on a college or university campus, a small organization like ours whose events are planned entirely by volunteers depends on those local supports. We are open to considering any locations for the 2021 venue, and we will evaluate all suggestions according to the above-mentioned policy statement.
If you would like to suggest a site and volunteer the support of your institution, please contact SMTE Chair David Rickels at david.rickels@colorado.edu by September 15, 2020. We recognize that the current challenges presented by COVID-19, institutional budget restrictions, and other factors may make it difficult for any institution to commit to an event that is more than a year away. With that recognition, we are not asking for formal proposals or commitments at this time. Instead, if you have a site to suggest and would like to volunteer your institution’s potential for support, we will begin a conversation involving you and the Symposium Chair to discuss what information and details the Board will need to consider in order to make a decision about your site suggestion.
Thank you in advance for contributing to the planning process for the 2021 Symposium!