Hal Leonard has just completed its first-ever virtual music education summit, focusing on looking forward to returning and rebuilding school music programs this fall. The event included two days of presentations from a diverse group of experts in the field discussing a wide range of student-centered topics, including social-emotional learning, equity, diversity, inclusion, special needs, community advocacy, and more. In addition, each day ended with a celebration of music teachers and inspirational messages from leaders across the music industry, including guest appearances by Chad Smith, drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and world-renowned composer and conductor Eric Whitacre.
The engagement throughout the event was energizing and positive, and the impact is best told through feedback from attendees:
- “This has been HANDS DOWN, the BEST professional development I’ve attended in my 20+ years of teaching music!”
- “It was so well thought out and organized. The presenters were all dynamic and relevant. It was exactly what I needed to jump start my school year. I can’t thank you enough!”
- “I needed to make sure that you heard how HEALING the past two days have been for me as an educator and as an individual. To hear others verbalize what has been in my mind and soul over the past 16 months was validating and emotional. For the individuals verbalizing this to be such well-respected professionals and musicians from all over the country was even more inspiring.”
“We knew that the music education community would need to come together to be energized and motivated to rebuild music programs this year,” said John Mlynczak, Hal Leonard’s VP of Music Education & Technology. “Our presenters hit this out of the park with their inspirational messages and practical advice on how to serve all students while navigating this school year. We sincerely hope we’ve helped music educators look forward to the year ahead—and to embrace the opportunity to rebuild music education stronger than ever.”
All presentation recordings are available for free by signing up at: https://www.halleonard.com/edusummit/. Music educators can also request a certificate of attendance after viewing the presentations.
About Hal Leonard
Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard is the world’s largest provider of music publications and music instruction materials. In its catalog of more than one million titles available in print and digitally, Hal Leonard represents many of the world’s best-known and most respected publishers, artists, songwriters, and arrangers. Their global headquarters is in Milwaukee, WI, and their distribution and printing facilities are in Winona, MN. In addition, they have offices in San Francisco, Boston, and Austin, TX, as well as abroad in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Italy, Switzerland, as well as in London and Bury St. Edmunds in the UK.
