In light of the latest COVID restrictions, the ASME Conference Organising Committee have made the difficult decision to move the 2021 Conference to a fully virtual, online experience. This is the safest approach for the well-being of all delegates, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors. The Conference will still be held over three days, incorporating a comprehensive program that will appeal to all attendees. By offering the Conference in a virtual format this will broaden the learning opportunities and reach within the industry.

Delegates will be able to partake in an interactive and engaging experience through the dynamic Conference Platform. The platform offers exhibition features and includes plentiful opportunities for sponsorship exposure, all while delegates connect from the comfort and safety of their home or office.

The Conference Platform will be accessible for 6 months post Conference. Delegates can access ALL presentations including the live stream of keynotes and Young Composers Concert (which will also be available on the Platform after as recordings). 

Gary E. McPherson is the Ormond Professor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He has served as National President of the Australian Society for Music Education and President of the International Society for Music Education (of which he is an Honorary Life Member). His research interests are broad and his approach interdisciplinary. With over 250 publications, including editing or co-authoring 12 books for Oxford University Press his research examines the acquisition and development of musical competence, and motivation to engage and participate in music from novice to expert levels. With a particular interest in the acquisition of visual, aural and creative performance skills, he has attempted to understand more precisely how music students become sufficiently motivated and self-regulated to achieve at the highest level. 

Dr. Julie Scott is Professor of Practice and Co-Chair of Music Education at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary and choral music education. She earned a Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, as well as a Master of Music in Music Education and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from SMU.

Prior to teaching at the college level, Dr. Scott taught elementary music and choir in Texas schools for 18 years and held the position as Elementary Music Coordinator in Richardson Independent School District for two years. In addition, she served as director of the 100-voice Lewisville 5^th Grade Honor Choir for seven years. During the years she worked in public schools, four of her elementary groups—two choirs, an Orff ensemble, and a recorder ensemble—were invited to perform for the Texas Music Educators Clinic/Convention.

Dr. Scott has taught summer Orff Schulwerk Teacher Education Courses to adults at seven universities and one school district over the past 30 years and has presented over 200 conference sessions and workshops at venues which include: the Texas Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Education, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, state Music Educators Associations, Orff chapters, and school districts throughout the US. In addition, she has presented at international music conferences and teaching venues in Australia, Germany, Scotland, Greece, China, Italy, and Thailand. Dr. Scott is a past president of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and Founder/Director of SMU Music Educators Workshops.

Dr. Scott’s research interests include singing in Orff Schulwerk, vocal modeling, and children’s pitch-matching ability. She authored a book chapter titled “Musical Engagement Through Classroom Instruments,” which was published in 2018 in Engaging Musical Practices (Suzanne L. Burton and Alison M. Reynolds, editors). Dr. Scott has published articles in Reverberations, The Orff Echo, General Music Today, and Southwestern Musician.