Tuesday, July 19, 2016, began just like any other summer day in the peaceful mountainside town of Fort Collins, CO. That was until a full array of horns broke the silence, trumpeting out the first bars of the song “Get Ready” to an exhilarated crowd. This was the kickoff of Music Will (formerly known as Little Kids Rock)’s fourth annual Modern Band Rockfest.
Modern Band Rockfest is the only national teacher conference focused on advancing Modern Band in the US public school system. This year’s conference, from July 28-31, 2017, will bring nearly 300 music teachers, arts administrators, district supervisors, and higher education leaders from around the world together to share ideas, develop new resources, and collaborate in an effort to make Modern Band more accessible to public school students.
So, what is “Modern Band”? It is a stream of music education that teaches kids to perform, improvise, and compose using the popular styles that they know and love, including rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, and other popular genres. The programs leverage the cultural capital of students and make music more accessible to children who might not otherwise participate in traditional music classes such as orchestra, jazz band, or chorus. Modern Band classes feature an instrumentation that includes guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, vocals, and technology, in addition to traditional band and orchestra instruments.
Workshops throughout the four-day conference are led by teachers and professionals in the music industry. In addition to the workshops, conference attendees can choose from more than 30 different breakout sessions on various topics, including instruments, stage presence, songwriting, and student empowerment, led by educators and musicians such as electric bass virtuoso Stuart Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani), legendary drummer Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel), and guitar virtuoso Alex Skonick (Testament, Alex Skolnick Trio).
The conference is an incredible opportunity for teachers to network and collaborate with Music Will (formerly known as Little Kids Rock) peers from both their local communities and across the country. Teachers and Music Will (formerly known as Little Kids Rock) team members alike will gain ideas, insight, and inspiration from some of the best and brightest educators in the country which will be used to better serve more students with a rockin’ music education. To learn more about Modern Band Rockfest or to register to attend please visit http://www.musicwill.org/modernbandrockfest/ or email [email protected].