NAMM/SCSBOA Wrap Up
This week I am in Anaheim California attending both the NAMM Show and the SCSBOA Conference (Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association) on behalf of MusicFirst. You don’t have to twist my arm very hard to convince me to spend a few days in January out here in beautiful SoCal. I have been coming out to the NAMM Show for years and this is the first show since before Covid that feels like the old days. Lots of musical instrument manufacturers are back and its good to know that my friend John Mlynczak, the new President and CEO of NAMM, is at the helm. NAMM is a great place to see the latest products from music companies from around the world, but the best part is meeting up with the many friends I have made over the years in this industry, including my dear friends Barbara Freedman, Jenny Amaya, Mike Lawson, Shawna Longo, Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, Marcia Neel, David Smolover, Steven Raft, Rick Ghinelli, and many, many more.
The NAMM Show has lots of sessions geared towards music educators and I have had the privilege of presenting here numerous times. This year I didn’t present any sessions at NAMM, but it was really nice to sit in on sessions, including Barbara Freedman’s Audio Basics for Music Educators session, which is always a hit.
Barbara is a MASTER presenter and provides music educators with really great information delivered in her trademark style. If you’ve never seen her present, you should. She’s also a really fun person to hang out with :)
The NAMM Show Exhibit Hall is always a wild scene - with famous musicians just strolling around from booth to booth demonstrating and trying out all of the latest products. Stevie Wonder is always here and it is such a trip to just see him casually walking around the show floor. Here are some snaps of what it’s like here.
In addition to attending the NAMM Show, I had the pleasure of delivering a session at the SCSBOA Conference, held just a few hotels down the street. I presented a session titled Music Education at the Crossroads: The Impact of AI & Technology as part of the Music Administrators track. It was a small but mighty group of VAPA Coordinators from across California. I was on the docket along with the inimitable Dr. Tim and Dr. Shelly Jagow - some of the greatest minds in our field. I was joined by my amazing MusicFirst colleagues Walt Straiton and Matt Ferry. Always great to see them and spend some quality time together.
I’ll be heading home first thing tomorrow morning and then making the trip back out to the West Coast next week to attend the CASMEC Conference in Sacramento. Looking forward to seeing some of my good friends from NorCal there next weekend! Until next time!
