2027 CMEA Conference

Information

From the CMEA Executive Director

Spring has arrived. A season of warmth, longer days, and renewal. As the light stretches into the evening, it offers a natural moment for us as music educators to pause, reflect, and refresh our practice.

With just a few months left in the 2025–2026 school year, consider how you might use this time to try something new in your classroom or rehearsal space. What did you bring back from the CMEA Conference or other professional development experiences? Spring is an ideal time to pilot a new rehearsal strategy, assessment tool, composition project, or technology resource while the ideas are still fresh and your students are still engaged.

As performance season winds down, it’s also worth looking closely at what this year’s performances have taught you. How might you use judges’ comments from festivals and contests to guide your planning for next year? Did a clinician offer insights about tone, style, classroom management, or ensemble culture that you can begin integrating now, while the experience is recent for both you and your students?

In just a short time, this school year will draw to a close. Taking even a little time now to reflect, experiment, and renew your teaching will help you end the year with purpose and enter the next one with fresh energy, clarity, and direction.



Have a wonderful month of April.

Greetings Everyone!

The CMEA Board is pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for our annual conference, to be held January 27-30, 2027, at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. 

As a CMEA community, our annual conference provides us an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on our work, celebrate one another, and celebrate the impact of music in our lives and the lives of our students. I invite you to propose a session to share your ideas and innovations or a performance submission to share the musical accomplishments of your students.

The theme for our 2027 conference, “Thrive and Flourish,” represents a spirit of vigorous growth and well-being. You will see this theme reinforced throughout our conference next January. While the individual terms thrive and flourish have a synonymous core, they also have subtle nuances. Thrive emphasizes development, growth and success, even in the face of challenges, but can also have the more functional meaning of achieving personal or professional goals. Flourish suggests thriving in a harmonious and supportive environment and often implies positive energy or being at a peak of excellence. Flourishing can also represent achieving a state of high-level well-being.

Our conference subtitle is “Growth through music and well-being.” The concepts of growth and well-being can be viewed through distinct categories that focus on the many aspects of mental, physical, emotional and social states of being. Following are a few examples of these many aspects:

·     A mindset of learning and resilience

·     Health and vitality

·     Connection with community

·     Purpose with meaning

I hope that this theme not only provides pathways for sharing impactful ideas and experiences at our 2027 conference, but also serves as a reminder of the importance of continued attention to learning, vitality, connection and meaning in our daily teaching lives. I encourage you each to take some time in the near future to consider the various aspects of this theme and give some thought to how we can all develop practices that help us to “Thrive and Flourish” each and every day!



Wishing you all the best as you close out another productive school year!

2027 CMEA Conference

“Thrive and Flourish”

Timeline and Important Dates

The CMEA Board of Directors has established key dates to help Colorado music educators plan ahead for the 2027 Conference.

Please review the timelines below for conference participation, honor groups, awards, and registration.

Conference Presentation Proposals

• Opens: Friday, May 1, 2026
• Closes: Monday, June 1, 2026
• State Assembly Review: June 6, 2026
• Finalized: June 19, 2026
• Notifications sent by July 1, 2026

Conference Honor Performing Groups

• Opens: Friday, May 1, 2026
• Closes: Tuesday, May 26, 2026
• Groups Selected: June 5, 2026
• Notifications sent by June 22, 2026

CMEA Honor Award Nominations

• Opens: Monday, August 3, 2026
• Closes: Friday, October 2, 2026
• Committee Review by: October 23, 2026
• Recipients Notified by: Friday, November 6, 2026

Conference Registration & Hotel Reservations

• Early Bird Registration Opens: Monday, August 3, 2026
• The Broadmoor Hotel Reservations Open: Monday, August 3, 2026

Plan ahead and take advantage of these opportunities to share your work, showcase your students, and connect with colleagues across Colorado.

The CMEA Board announces

Sponsorship deadlines for the

2027 CMEA Conference

“Thrive and Flourish”

Support music education across Colorado while gaining meaningful visibility at the 2027 CMEA Conference.

After a highly successful launch in 2026, CMEA is continuing its sponsorship program to expand innovative programming and keep the conference accessible for all music educators. With more than 1,400 attendees, sponsors connect directly with a statewide community of educators, leaders, and decision-makers.

If you or someone you know has a connection to a business or organization that values music education, we invite you to help us build that partnership.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Connect. Support. Inspire.

• Estimated Reach:
• 1,400 music educators
• 2,000 student performers
• 7,500 concert attendees
• 240 exhibitors

• Sponsorship Deadline (commitment): June 1, 2026

• Payment Deadlines:
• Diamond, Legacy, Maestro, Crescendo: July 30, 2026
• All other levels + College Avenue: October 15, 2026

Sponsorships directly support high-quality professional learning, performances, and opportunities for Colorado music educators and students.

Contact:

Submit your sponsorship commitment or questions to:

executivedirectorCMEA@cmeaonline.org

(303) 349-4057

2027 College Avenue

Connect directly with the next generation of musicians and music educators at College Avenue during the 2027 CMEA Conference, Thrive & Flourish.

College Avenue provides colleges, universities, and music organizations with a high-visibility opportunity to engage with students, directors, and future educators from across Colorado—all in one central, high-traffic location.

Why Participate in College Avenue?

• Build relationships with prospective students
• Share program offerings, auditions, and scholarships
• Connect with Colorado music educators statewide
• Increase visibility for your institution or organization

Important Dates

• Commitment Deadline: June 1, 2026
• Payment Deadline: October 15, 2026

Join a vibrant, connected music education community and position your program where meaningful conversations happen.

Contact:

Submit your sponsorship commitment or questions to:

executivedirectorCMEA@cmeaonline.org

(303) 349-4057