Join us for the 2025 Professional Day for Arts Educators

$40 per attendee includes lunch.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Colin Walters – Darien Public Schools

“Unearthing Joy: Empowering Students in the Arts”

8:30am: Registration / Coffee Service (included in registration fee)

9:00am – 10:30am: Keynote Speech: “Unearthing Joy: Empowering Students in the Arts” – Colin Walters

10:30am – 11:45am: Breakout Session 1

• Ingredients of Creativity – Stephen Cox (For all Arts Educators)
• Speed, Direction, and the Control of Time: Using Pulse, Tempo Nuance, and Harmonic Compression to Enhance Your Choral Interpretation – Kevin Isaacs
• Good Time/Good Feel – the similarities, differences, and ways of teaching/assessing both – Jimmy Greene & Jamie Begian
• A.I. In Music Education – Alan Smith
• Exploring Intercultural Music Making in Our Classrooms – Oshadhee Satarasinghe
• Teaching Beginning Horn – Marjorie Callaghan
• More Music, Less Stress: Recruitment, Retention & Smart Budgeting to build a Healthy Program – Music and Arts
• Maximizing Lighting for HS Theatre – Oliver Wason
• Directing for Musical Theater – Anthony Depoto
• Music and Arts String Repair
• Honoring Identity: The Art of Layered Self-Portraiture Inspired by Bisa Butler – Corina Alvarezdelugo
• Choice Without the Chaos: Managing a TAB Studio Day-to-Day – Kim King
• Paint, Breathe, Repeat: Making Meaning in Uncertain Moments – Aimee Jette

12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch – Campus Center Ballroom (included in registration fee)

1:00pm – 2:15pm: Breakout Session 2

• Learn to Jam and teach your students lifelong musicianship skills – Austin Scelzo
• Creative Music Making Crash Course – Stephen Cox

• Salsa Music as a Culturally Responsive Tool for Engaging Students and Families! – Jon Garcia
• Early Notes, Big Impact: A Roundtable for Beginning Band Success – Colin Walters
• A.I. In Music Education – Alan Smith
• Experiencing Art and Poetry through Creative Musical Movement – Oshadhee Satarasinghe
• Preparations for BFA Acting & Musical Theater Auditions Cowan, Howard, McDaniel
• Teaching Beginning Low brass – Fernando Jimenez
• Elevating the Secondary Ensemble Experience: Strategies for Nurturing Communities of Continuous Learning Louise Carrozza / Rebekah Rosen
• Music and Arts Band Repair
• String Recruitment and Retention Discussion / Roundtable – Jane Minnis and Malcolm Karlan
• Tiny Books, Big Ideas: Visual Storytelling Through Artist Books – Corina Alvarezdelugo
• Making Learning Visible in a TAB Studio Kim King
• The Art of Holding it Together: Emotional Wisdom for Art Teachers – Aimee Jette
• Curating for High School Art Exhibits and Community Connections through Galleries – Sarah Anderson Locke

2:30pm – 3:30pm Reading / Curriculum Sessions / Discussion

• String Orchestra with Fernando Jimenez
• Symphonic Band with Matt Doiron
• Jazz Ensemble with Jamie Begian
• Choir with Jeremy Wiggins
• General Music roundtable with Oshadhee Satarasinghe
• Visual Art Roundtable with Sabrina Marques
• High School Theater roundtable with Justin Cowan