Thank You for an Incredible CMEA Conference!

What an inspiring few days for Colorado music education!

Thank you to every Colorado music educator who attended, presented, performed, exhibited, and supported the CMEA Conference. Your energy, professionalism, and shared commitment to students made this year’s gathering truly exceptional. From packed sessions and inspiring performances to meaningful hallway conversations, the spirit of collaboration was unmistakable.

A special thank you to our Conference Planning Team, whose months (and months!) of preparation brought every detail together seamlessly. Your leadership, creativity, and dedication ensure that CMEA continues to provide high-quality professional learning and connection for educators across our state.

Because of you, the CMEA Conference remains a place where passion meets purpose—and where our statewide music education community grows stronger together.

We are grateful for each of you and proud to serve Colorado music educators. Thank you for making this year’s conference such a success.

Welcoming Our Newly Elected State Assembly District Council Representatives

Please join us in welcoming our newly elected State Assembly District Council Representatives for Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8.

These dedicated Colorado music educators have stepped forward to serve, represent, and advocate for their colleagues within their respective districts and across the state. Their leadership helps ensure that the voices of music educators remain strong, connected, and responsive to the needs of our diverse programs and communities.

We are grateful for their willingness to serve and look forward to the insight, collaboration, and energy they will bring to the CMEA leadership team. Thank you for investing your time and expertise in support of music education across Colorado.

Welcoming Our New President-Elect, Tim Libby

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Tim Libby as CMEA’s newly elected President-Elect.

Tim brings a deep commitment to Colorado music education, a collaborative spirit, and a clear passion for supporting educators across all disciplines. His leadership will help guide CMEA’s continued growth, strengthen our statewide connections, and ensure that our programs remain responsive, inclusive, and forward-thinking.



We are grateful for Tim’s willingness to serve and for the vision and energy he brings to this role. We look forward to the impact of his leadership as we continue advancing music education together across Colorado.

Powered by Partnership:

Thank You to Our 2026 Sponsors

The success of the 2026 CMEA Conference was made possible in large part by the generous support of our sponsors. Their partnership allowed us to expand programming, introduce new initiatives, and enhance the overall conference experience for Colorado music educators across all disciplines.

Because of our 2026 sponsors, CMEA was able to invest in meaningful additions that benefited the membership as a whole—creating stronger professional learning opportunities, more dynamic sessions and performances, and improved access to resources that support educators and students statewide. Their commitment goes beyond visibility; it directly impacts the quality, affordability, and reach of our work.

We are deeply grateful for the institutions, organizations, and businesses that partnered with CMEA in 2026. Your investment strengthens music education across Colorado.

As we look ahead, we are excited to launch the 2027 CMEA Sponsorship Campaign. With record sponsor participation in 2026, momentum is strong—and our vision for 2027 is even bigger. Increased sponsorship support will allow us to continue introducing innovative initiatives, expand access to high-quality programming, and provide outstanding conference experiences for our members.

We invite you to share the 2027 Sponsor Document with institutions, organizations, and businesses that could benefit from a meaningful collaboration with CMEA. Together, we can build partnerships that support educators, serve students, and advance music education across our state.

Thank you for helping us grow this important work.

Greetings from Tri-M

Tri-M Day 2026 is in the books and was a huge success. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the school directors who took an extra PD Day to bring your students to Tri-M Day. We had over 40 schools from across the state, with nearly 800 students.

Students chose their top 3 sessions from a list of 18. The sessions ranged from composing to dancing to conducting to wellness and creativity. They formed conga lines at their own free will for the 101^st Army Hot 7 Jazz Band.  Students were engaged throughout the day and could choose sessions that appealed to their interests.

A huge thanks to all of our clinicians: Kabin Thomas, Sarah Off, Dylan Fixmer, Krissie Weimer, Leila Heil, Michael Christiansen, Athena Brass, Enion Pelta-Tiller, Nichols Felder, Gary Lewis, Roy Bailey, Ellen Moeller, Rachell Waddell, Renee Gilliland, Andres Felipe Jaime, Andrew Dahlke, Jennifer Langlotz, Bob Phillips  Michael Hopkins and our Keynote the 101^st Army Hot 7 jazz band. Your willingness to share your expertise was incredible. As I asked participants to tell me their favorites of the day, you are all mentioned. The students loved every session. You made a difference in the lives of our future educators, composers, and music connoisseurs. You planted seeds that some did not realize could be planted. Thank you for a fantastic day!

This year, we piloted a new idea by having exhibitors set up shop at Tri-M Day. Thank you to Cu Boulder, Colorado Mesa University, Bravo Vail, Denver Percussion, S’Cool Fundraising, Luther Strings, Colorado Music Institute, and Phi Mu Alpha. The students loved visiting your booths. Thank you to Rick Shaw, CMEA exhibit chair, for making this happen.

In keeping with tradition, we ended our day in Song. This year, we brought back the Colorado Tri-M song, created over 10 years ago at a Tri-M session. Thanks to David Farrell, Associate Professor of Music at Metropolitan State University of Denver, for the composition. Our guest conductor was Michael Hopkins from the University of Michigan. We all held our breath as you stood up on two chairs to conduct our ensemble, but we loved every minute of it.

Thanks to the directors who helped with sectionals and with setting up and tearing down the performance stage. A special shout-out to the Standley Lake HS Tri-M chapter for your clean-up crew. You were amazing.

My heartfelt appreciation to the CMEA executive council. I could not do my job without your support. Your willingness to go the extra mile for our students does not go unnoticed. A special thank you to my husband, Keith Ewer, for your support and help with Tri-M Day. Thanks for your patience with the long hours of planning and being on call for whatever needs to be done.

In closing, I want to say how proud I am to have such great educators in Colorado who believe in Tri-M and embrace it by attending Tri-M Day. Thanks to those who sent me a special note on what your students liked and would like to see in the future. It helps in my planning. I appreciate every one of you. Please join us on January 27^th for Tri-M Day 2027. Did you not bring students this year? What are you waiting for? Your students will thank you.

Sincerely,

Michelle Ewer

Colorado Tri-M Chair

National Tri-M Advisory Board.