APME Miami 2026

APME Miami 2026

Welcome to the APME Miami 2026 Conference!
Here you can register and update your Sched profile. A draft schedule will be available March 1, when you’ll be able to explore sessions and build your agenda.

Questions? Visit our website or email [email protected].

Join us June 4–6 at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami, as we celebrate the rhythms, relationships, and revolutions shaping popular music education.

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

3:00pm EDT

Celebrating Popular Songs and Collaboration in the Ensemble Setting VirtualJonathan Allentoff Resisting the Employability Agenda VirtualJustin D. Fraser

5:00pm EDT

💃🏻🍸WELCOME SALSA RECEPTION Thesis Hotel Miami Coral Gables

8:00am EDT

☕️ CONFERENCE REGISTRATION, BADGES, & COFFEE!

8:30am EDT

🥐 Acoustic Café Featured Frost Performer! CORTADITO Hormel Music InnovationRoxana Amed

9:00am EDT

👋OPENING WELCOME Newman Recital HallRaina Murnak • Candice Mattio • Bryan Powell • Stacey Swanson

9:15am EDT

🔑KEYNOTE TBA! Newman Recital Hall

10:00am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ⏰ TRANSITION & 🏎️ CHAPTER SPEED SOCIAL Knight Center LobbyRhian Bristol

10:10am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

10:15am EDT

🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: HIVE HONORS Victor E. Clarke Recital HallStephen Gleason 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: OSCEOLA ROCKS PLF North 330Dr. Tom Zlabinger

10:20am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 ❤️ MLC Volpe 207Serona Elton • MLC Words & Music: Embedding Popular Music Education and Social and Emotional Learning Through Songwriting Volpe 203Aaron Helvig Preparing the Future-Ready Musician: Adaptability and Creative Growth in Undergraduate Popular Music Students Volpe 102Theo Metz Opening the Magic Door: Songwriting as a Pathway to Student Creativity Volpe 106Alena Holmes • Tamara Yasin

10:30am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio 🍎APME LIVE Orientation + ❤️ METRICS OF MUSIC Volpe 101Heather Fortune • Ruth Debrot

10:40am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

10:50am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Amplifying the Future: Powering Up a High School–University Popular Music Collaboration Volpe 106Amy Moss • Shauna Pickens • Phu Vu "AI"-nt It Grand? More Music-Making, Less Paper-Pushing Volpe 203Dr. Christopher Burns AI Music Tools in the Classroom: Effects on Student Perception and Self-Belief Volpe 207Tom Collins • Anish Ghosh

11:00am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

11:10am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

11:20am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Don't Get Sued, Get Educated: Smart Sampling Practices for Modern Music Students Volpe 106Meredith Allen • Jessica Muñiz Improving Guitar Sight-Reading with Movable Do Solfege Volpe 103Tim Fullerton 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: GADSEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE PLF North 330Shane Colquhoun, PhD. 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: UP IN THE AIR Victor E. Clarke Recital HallJesse Tyler Moore Going from “good job” to useful insights: Helping young pop musicians give better feedback and feedforward to their peers Volpe 203Patrick Olsen Helping Music Students Find Their Ikigai Volpe 203Cassandra Claude Increasing Student Engagement in Popular Music Ensembles Volpe 203Dr. Kevin Coyne Song Structure Simplified! Volpe 203Taylor Miranda

11:30am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio 🍎Pop Vocal Techniques with Garrett Michael Thomas Volpe 101Garrett Michael Thomas

11:40am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

11:50am EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Walking on the edge: is band rehearsal needed at all? Volpe 106Mario de Inocencio Ukulele in the Classroom: A Survey of Elementary General Music Teachers in North Carolina and Virginia Volpe 102Jacqueline Secoy • Raychl Smith Creativity in the Popular Music Classroom Context Volpe 103Stephen Cox

12:20pm EDT

🌮LUNCH + 📍CHAPTER MEET UPS! Various

12:30pm EDT

🍏THE LUNCH SET AMPE LIVE Student Clinic: Kathleen Juarez PLF North 330Amanda Pasler

1:15pm EDT

🍏THE LUNCH SET APME LIVE Student Clinic: Julian Abramo PLF North 330Heather Fortune

2:00pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio 🍎Ask An Artist Manager! Volpe 101Brian Wilkins ❤️ Immersive Productions, From Studio to Stage Music Engineering Classroom 130Brad Berridge • John Merchant • Focusrite Group Future Sounds: Soul Science Lab on Music, Culture, and Innovation Volpe 207Asante Amin • Chen Lo • Soul Science Lab • Gina Izzo • Joanna Massey Live Is the Lesson: What Live Performance Teaches Us About Building Artists, Artistry, and Audience Volpe 102Brian Wilkins Pop Theory in Practice: Teaching the Building Blocks of Modern Hits Volpe 203David Penn • Yael Penn Popular Music in Elementary Music Methods Courses Volpe 103Sandra S. Adorno • David Dockan • Melissa Ryan • Martina Vasil The Rhythms & Rituals of New Orleans Volpe 103Ashley Shabankareh • Emmett Price • Martin Shore 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: POLYPHONICS Victor E. Clarke Recital HallStephen Gleason 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: WITHIN PLF North 330Ruth Debrot

2:10pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

2:20pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

2:30pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

2:40pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

3:00pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ☕️CAFECITO BREAK + POP UP PERFORMANCE: JULIAN ABRAMO Hormel Music Innovation

3:10pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

3:20pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio

3:30pm EDT

♥️ SONY VME Experience MMS Mixing Studio ♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Voice Memo to Full Demo in Minutes Volpe 203Ben Camp • Suno Turning the Band Room Up to 11: Popular Music Pedagogy Inside the Concert Band Volpe 102Jennifer Greene Fusing Musical Cultures: Developing Intercultural Competencies Volpe 106Tamara Thies Demystifying Melody Creation! Volpe 103Taylor Miranda 🍎Social Media, Monetizing Your Music, Stage Presence, Recording Identity with Shane Calquhoun Volpe 101Shane Colquhoun, PhD. Bring the Power of Hip Hop into Your Classroom with Soul Science Lab: Presented by Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers Volpe 207Gina Izzo • Asante Amin • Chen Lo • Soul Science Lab • Joanna Massey 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: AVIATOR LATIN BAND Victor E. Clarke Recital HallRoxana Amed 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: PINE CREST SCHOOL (Boca Raton) PLF North 330Heather Fortune

4:00pm EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 MIDI in Music Education Training & Certification Program Volpe 102Brian Smithers The Metrics of Music: The New, Free Educator Resource Volpe 203Jeff Green Too Many Notes? I HIGHLY Doubt It! Volpe 103Daniel Strange A narrative investigation of one songwriter's journey to Nashville Volpe 106Stuart Chapman Hill

4:30pm EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 From Import to Score in Minutes: Fast Dorico Workflows for Cleaning Up MIDI and XML Files Volpe 106Kevin Wilt SUNO STUDENT PANEL Volpe 203Ben Camp Tradition Meets Today: Bad Bunny as a Springboard for Exploring the Musical Heritage of Puerto Rico Volpe 103Sandra S. Adorno Beyond the Stand: Lessons From a Podcast Exploring the “Both/And” of Popular Music Education Volpe 102Jeremy Bryant Rockin' the Public Domain: What I Learned about U.S. Popular Music after Launching a Sheet Music Company for Teachers Volpe 207Dr. Tom Zlabinger

5:00pm EDT

🍿Take Me To The River New Orleans Happy Hour Hormel Music InnovationMartin Shore 💃🏻🍸APME LIVE Happy Hour: HIVE HONORS & OSCEOLA ROCKS Titanic Brewery & Restaurant

8:00am EDT

🥐 Acoustic Café Featured Frost Performer! VINCENT CASAL Hormel Music Innovation ☕️CONFERENCE CHECK IN & COFFEE Hormel Music Innovation

8:30am EDT

🥐 Acoustic Café Featured Frost Performer! MIGEUL ESCOBAR & JACK KIMMEL Hormel Music Innovation

9:00am EDT

🔑KEYNOTE PANEL: TBA! Newman Recital Hall

9:45am EDT

🪩FEATURED PERFORMANCE POLYPHONICS Newman Recital Hall

10:15am EDT

🌴 FEATURED FROST PERFORMANCE: CAFÉ CON LECHE ENSEMBLE PLF North 330Roxana Amed • Rey Sanchez 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: HIVE ACOUSTIC Victor E. Clarke Recital HallIan Holljes

10:20am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Teaching the Modern Music Career: Influencers, Affiliates, and Beyond Volpe 203Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi • Meredith Allen • Splice Defanging the Canon Monster: Reducing the Friction of Building Quality Setlists Volpe 207Dr. Tom Zlabinger Private-Sector Popular Music Schools: Locations, Challenges, Opportunities Volpe 102Mario de Inocencio • Kayla Rush Part 1: Moving to the Pulse of EDM Music Volpe 103Topy Nguyen When Notation Runs Out: A Framework for Style When the Ink Stops Volpe 106Dr. William L. Lake, Jr.

10:30am EDT

🍎How To Practice, Developing Chops, Working On Band Sound with Heather Fortune Volpe 101Heather Fortune

10:50am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Revitalizing K–12 Popular Music: Lessons from Music Will’s Lab School Volpe 102Dr. Scott Burstein • Mary Claxton Reinforcing Music Theory Understanding with Popular Music in Choir Volpe 106Tina Beveridge Toward an Expanded Music Will Framework: A Collective Case Study of Music Will’s Influence on Music Teacher Identity in Early Childhood Music Education Volpe 203David Dockan • Bryan Powell • Macy Bell Part 2: Moving to the Pulse of Country Two-Step Volpe 103Martina Vasil • Topy Nguyen • Phu Vu Teaching and Learning Curriculum and Tools for Popular Music Education Volpe 207Lee Whitmore • MusicFirst

11:20am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Popping with Intention: Understanding the Role of Popular Music Within Your Institution Volpe 102Shane Colquhoun, PhD. Part 3: Moving to the Pulse of Salsa Music Volpe 103Martina Vasil 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: INTERLOCHEN Victor E. Clarke Recital HallKat Reinhert 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: MI ENSEMBLE PLF North 330Dr. Kristian Wahlström Using Breezin Thru Theory/Composing in your music classroom Volpe 106Jackie Martino Can You Hear the Difference? Music Education Students’ Perceptions of AI-Generated and Human-Made Music Volpe 203Alena Holmes Lessons from the first AI Songwriting course. Berklee students take on the future. Volpe 203Ben Camp Past as Palette: Historically Informed Covers as Pedagogical and Artistic Innovation Volpe 203Stephen Gleason • Raina Murnak

11:30am EDT

🍎Performing As Communication, Engaging the Audience with Ruth Debrot Volpe 101Ruth Debrot

11:50am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Incorporating Informal Music Learning Pedagogy that Encourage Music as Community Volpe 102Edward McClellan Tarnish the Shiny Object: evaluating the learning technology in the music classroom Volpe 106Kate Gargiulo • Emily Langerholc Beyond the Elective: Hip-Hop as Core Musicianship and Inclusive Practice for Neurodivergent and All Learners Volpe 103Andrew Wang

12:30pm EDT

🌮APME LIVE LUNCH EVENTS: SPONSORED BY SPLICE: DIGITAL MUSIC SHOWCASE VariousShane Colquhoun, PhD. • Heather Fortune • Ruth Debrot 🌮LUNCH + 🍹BLOGARITA PARTY! VariousKayla Rush

2:00pm EDT

🍎Songwriting Workshop Volpe 101Kat Reinhert From Hooks to Harmonies: Wind Instruments in Popular Music Learning Volpe 207Brittany Bauman Immersive Productions, From Stage to Studio Music Engineering Classroom 130Brad Berridge • John Merchant • Focusrite Group ❤️ FOCUSRITE GROUP: IMMERSIVE PRODUCTIONS, FROM STUDIO TO STAGE Music Engineering Classroom 130 Nu Deco Panel Volpe 103Daniel Strange Songwriting in the Round: A Tool for Connection Volpe 102Melissa Ryan Teaching Latin American Popular Music: Resources, Challenges, and a Case Study #benitobowl Volpe 106Marysol Quevedo 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: INDIGO LANE PLF North 330Dr. Scott Burstein 🎵APME LIVE CLINIC: REPOST Victor E. Clarke Recital HallBryan Powell Sampling as a Foundational Skill in Music Education Volpe 203Meredith Allen • Thomas Faulds • Jessica Muñiz • Shane Colquhoun, PhD.

3:00pm EDT

☕️CAFECITO BREAK + POP UP PERFORMANCE: HIVE ACOUSTIC Hormel Music Innovation

3:30pm EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Work Smarter, Sound Better: Bringing Industry-Standard Music Management into Your Classroom Volpe 203Allan Benedict Finding Performance Shangri-La: Developing Methodologies in performance practices for the developing artist Volpe 207Courtney Kaiser-Sandler Arranging for Voices, Horns & Strings Volpe 106Brad Rees Is Popular Music Education Too Creative? A Philosophical Argument for Balance Volpe 102Eli Yaroch The "Pop Music Pyramid” – Constructing Holistic, Tradition-Conscious yet Innovative Studies in Higher Education Volpe 103Dr. Kristian Wahlström

4:00pm EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 HERStory: an album concept celebrating female composers of various genres through a jazz singer’s lens Volpe 203Kate Reid Hip Hop Crate Digging as Method: Embodied Listening, Sampling, and Sonic Storytelling Volpe 102Dr. Jason Rawls Responding to the challenges of liquid modernity Volpe 106Joseph Michael Abramo Who Played That? College Music Education Students’ Accuracy in Detecting AI-Generated Piano Performance Volpe 103Tom Collins • Anish Ghosh • Stacey Swanson

4:30pm EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130

5:00pm EDT

🎉APME LIVE STUDENT FESTIVAL! Lakeside Patio Stage

8:00am EDT

🥐 Acoustic Café Featured Frost Performer! LIAM DEMARY Hormel Music Innovation ☕️CONFERENCE CHECK IN & COFFEE Hormel Music Innovation

8:30am EDT

🥐 Acoustic Café Featured Frost Performer! BRIANNA BRAUN Hormel Music Innovation

9:00am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Using SongHub to Collaborate & Register Song Rights Volpe 103Steve Stewart • Joe Berman • SongHub Beyond the Band Room: Assessing '21st Century Musician' Competencies in a University-Based Music Production Lab Volpe 106Dr. Helen Sapieka Teaching for Vulnerability in Popular Music Performance Volpe 102M. W. Degan From Waveform to Meaning: Teaching Music in the Age of AI Volpe 203Dylan Gorenberg Projects in Action: Real-World Release Strategies for Music Educators and Emerging Artists Volpe 207Kat Reinhert • Sarah Gulish 🎊Jam Session! PLF North 330Dr. Kristian Wahlström • Dr. Tom Zlabinger

9:30am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Authentic Drum Kit Pedagogy: New resources available for modern band teachers Volpe 103Virginia Davis • Gareth Dylan Smith

10:00am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Feed It Forward: Embedding Reflective Practice and Evaluation into Music Education Assessment Volpe 106Nicolas Sykes What Makes Songs Sound “Substantially Similar”? A Music-Generative AI Approach Volpe 102Joseph J. Avery • Tom Collins • Sam Courtney • Mike Schuster Building Urban Music Programs: What Colleges Aren’t Preparing You For Volpe 203Aaron Di Pilla The Neuroscience of Better Practice Volpe 103Tim Fullerton Segregated Sounds: Subalternity within Contemporary Salsa Dancing Volpe 207Nina Gumatay Diaz

10:30am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Orchestration for Pop Creators: Adding Dorico to the Arranger’s Toolkit Volpe 203Kevin Wilt Student-Led Ensembles in Middle and High School Volpe 102Eric Songer Amplifying Access: Rock Ensemble as a Catalyst for Inclusive Popular Music Education Volpe 106Jesse Tyler Moore Navigating The Fog: A Feminist Ethical Framework for AI Volpe 103Nick Filotei

11:00am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Relationships between Perceived Popularity, Desirability, Social Media Use, and Musical Role Choice with Adolescents Not Enrolled in Music Programs Volpe 203Dr. Christopher Burns • Patrick Cooper Repertoire/Genre Selection in Modern Band Classrooms Volpe 103David Dockan • Rachael Sanguinetti Self-Produced Songs: Technology, Agency, and the Shifting Pulse of Popular Music Volpe 207Kat Reinhert Strengthening Improvisation Practices in the Orchestra Classroom Volpe 106Jose Santana The Marginalized Voice of East Asian Immigrant Musicians Volpe 102Jonathan Sang-Joon Lee

11:30am EDT

♥️ FOCUSRITE/MARTIN AUDIO IMMERSIVE SOUND DEMO Music Engineering Classroom 130 Crafting Fan Personas: A 3-Step AI Prompting Model Volpe 102Arnaecia Alridge • Jessica Muñiz Informally Educated vs. Formally Educated Musicians in Music Institutions: A Sense of Belonging Volpe 203Rhian Bristol Loop Lottery: Creating Beats without Sound Volpe 106Kate Falconer 🎊Jam Session! PLF North 330Dr. Tom Zlabinger • Dr. Kristian Wahlström

12:00pm EDT

✨CLOSING SESSION Newman Recital HallDr. Christopher Burns • Raina Murnak • Candice Mattio • Bryan Powell • Stacey Swanson

APME Miami 2026

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