2021 Symposium Update

The SMTE Executive Board recently completed a planning retreat focused on the 2021 Symposium on Music Teacher Education. At this time, we wish to share the following updates with our members.

  • We are committed to holding a Symposium in the early fall of 2021 (September or early October), following the typical calendar rotation our Society has established for this event.

  • The Call for Proposals will be announced in January 2021, with proposals due in late spring 2021.

  • We anticipate holding an in-person 2021 Symposium, but we will continue to monitor conditions to enable a safe gathering. We are also considering hybrid virtual options that can be a part of an in-person event.

  • We are currently working on several location options for an in-person event, including some suggested by SMTE members in response to our call for site suggestions. There are challenges associated with booking a physical conference venue for fall 2021, as some conference facilities have paused their booking processes due to the pandemic or created highly restrictive policies and contractual requirements that may limit our ability to move forward with confirming a venue. We are continuing to work through these challenges as we explore options, and we remain committed to evaluating possible sites according to our statement on Procedures and Values for Symposium Site Selection.

  • If we are unable to confirm a venue within the next few months, we will shift to planning a virtual/online Symposium event for the same early fall 2021 timeframe.

  • By early December 2020, we are committed to announcing the dates for the 2021 Symposium, along with either:

  1. The location and venue for the physical Symposium gathering, OR

  2. A description of the format for a virtual 2021 Symposium.

Thank you for your patience while we adapt our professional meeting plans to the current environment. We appreciate your continued support, and we look forward to the time when we can again gather to share current research and practices in music teacher education while enjoying the revitalizing energy that comes from these gatherings.