2024 MMC HEADLINERS
MASTA - Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers Association
David Pope
David Pope serves an Associate Professor of Music Education and Chair of Professional Studies at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Music. Prior to Baldwin Wallace, Dr. Pope taught middle and high orchestra in Tennessee, Florida, and Ohio. As an active adjudicator and clinician, he has conducted numerous all-state orchestras, regional honor orchestras, and served as a guest clinician for orchestra programs, university summer camps, and music education programs across the United States. Dr. Pope has presented string pedagogy clinics and his research at the European String Teachers Association’s (ESTA) International Congress, the American String Teacher Association’s (ASTA) National Conference, The Midwest Clinic, and numerous regional and state conferences. He currently serves as the Editor for the String Research Journal. Dr. Pope also recently served as a co-editor for volume 4 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra and as a co-author of Sound Orchestra. Dr. Pope has been recognized with the Ohio String Teachers Association’s Collegiate Educator of the Year Award (2022), Yale Symposium for Music in Schools’ Distinguished Music Educator Award (2015), ASTA’s Presidential Service Award (2021), and ASTA’s Emerging String Researcher Award (2020). He also received the Young Music Educator Award from the Tennessee Music Educators Association in 2009. Dr. Pope recently served as Chair for the ASTA National Conference (2020, 2021, 2023).
Sessions:
MASTA Headliner #1 - Busting Through the Intonation Barrier: Teaching Students How to Listen and Play in Tune - Friday, 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM
MASTA Headliner #2 - Using the Power of Warm-Up Exercises to Teach Technique - Friday, 4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
MASTA Headliner #3 - Selecting Repertoire to Foster Student Success and Excitement - Saturday, 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
MASTA Headliner #4 - Recruiting and Retaining Students into the Middle and High School Music Program - Saturday, 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM
MMEA - Michigan Music Education Association
Diane Lange
Diane Lange is Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Music Program Director of Field Experience at The University of Texas at Arlington where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Early Childhood and Elementary Music Education. She also teaches early childhood music at her private studio, The Musical Treehouse.
Dr. Lange has taught elementary music for ten years in both Michigan and Nevada. She received her Orff Levels and Master Class at Memphis State University and GIML Level I and II at Michigan State University. She is a certified faculty member where she teaches GIML Level I around the country.
Dr. Lange received her Bachelor of Music in Education and Master of Music from Central Michigan University and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. She has presented clinics and workshops at multiple state, national, and international conferences. She has published Together in Harmony: Combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory, Together Again in Harmony: Combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory, a chapter on combining Music Learning Theory and Orff Schulwerk that appeared in Music Learning Theory: Theory in Practice and several articles on combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory. Also, she is a co-author for Jump Right In: The Elementary Music Curriculum, Grades Kindergarten and 5. Dr. Lange has held executive board positions with the Gordon Institute for Music Learning, North Texas chapter of AOSA and Early Childhood Music and Movement Association.
Sessions:
MMEA Headliner #1 - Audiation Tips for K & 1 - Friday, 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
MMEA Headliner #2 - Integrating Recorder into Music Lessons - Friday, 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
MMEA Headliner #3 - Assessment in Elementary Music - Saturday, 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
MMEA Headliner #4 - Cross-Curricular Teaching: Literacy & Numeracy in the Music Classroom - Saturday, 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
MSBOA - Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association
Mickey Smith Jr.
Educator, Encourager, Musician. Those are just a few of ways that some would describe Mickey Smith Jr.
As a 7-time Teacher of the Year and recipient of the 2020 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Recipient, Mickey has inspired both children and adults alike through his unique motivational mixture of music and message. Mickey is not only an international keynote speaker and presenter, but he also continues to serve as a full-time teacher at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, FL. Through his love for music, Mickey blends the roles of educator and entertainer to create a dynamic experience that entertains, educates, and elevates everyone to excellence. Mickey is dedicated to helping educators discover their sound. No matter what the classroom challenge may be, he strives to encourage others to keep on going.
Sessions:
MSBOA Headliner #1: See the Sound - Friday, 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
MSBOA Headliner #2 - Friday, 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
MSVMA - Michigan School Vocal Music Association
Pearl Shangkuan
A sought-after conductor and clinician all across the United States and internationally, Dr. Pearl Shangkuan is a professor of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she directs choirs and teaches choral conducting and choral literature. She is also the chorus master (endowed Covenant Chair) of the Grammy-nominated Grand Rapids Symphony. Her performances and preparation of choruses consistently receive outstanding reviews for their combination of precision, artistry and passion. In addition to her Mosaic: the Pearl Shangkuan choral series for earthsongs, she serves as the music editor of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship choral series, published by GIA.
Her choirs have performed at national, division and state conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and other professional music conferences in the United States. Recent conducting engagements took her to Austria, South Africa, Hong Kong, and all across the United States. She has conducted honor choirs for several ACDA divisions and has been a headliner for various ACDA state conferences. She has led performances and given workshops all across the US and in Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines), as well as in Austria, Australia, and Canada.
Dr. Shangkuan has served as guest faculty in prominent professional programs in the US including the Chorus America national conference conducting masterclass and its A Capella Conducting Masterclass, the University of Michigan Choral Conducting Symposium, the Westminster Choir College Summer Session among many others. She has conducted all-state, honor choirs and festivals in numerous states.
She has served on the National Board of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) as the president of the Central Division (2007-09), and as Michigan ACDA state president (2003-05). Prior to her appointment at Calvin College, Dr. Shangkuan taught at Rutgers University and at the Westminster Conservatory of Music of Rider University in New Jersey.
Recipient of the Grand Rapids YWCA's Tribute! Award for outstanding professional women, she is also a past recipient of its Woman of Achievement award. Dr. Shangkuan has also served on the national board of the Choristers Guild and the board of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association and the New Jersey ACDA. She is a member of the ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), Chorus America, IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music), and is a member of the Phi Kappa Lambda and Mu Phi Epsilon Music Honor Societies.
A student of pre-eminent American choral conductor and New York Philharmonic chorusmaster Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, she received a Bachelor of Music in Church Music summa cum laude and Master of Music in Choral Conducting with distinction from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and a DMA in Choral Conducting from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Sessions:
MSVMA Headliner #1: Effective, Efficient and Enjoyable Choral Rehearsal Techniques for Quick Comprehension and Maximum Retention - Friday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
MSVMA Headliner #2: MSVMA Immersion Choir – Friday, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
MSVMA Headliner #3 - Instilling and Practicing Smart Singing - Saturday, 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM