BETHLEHEM, Pa. — To kick off the start of Musikfest, ArtsQuest invited music industry experts and educators from around the country and right here in our backyard for the first-ever Musikfest Music Industry and Education Conference.
“There’s a gap right now in music education where teachers and performers aren’t quite aware about how to break into the industry, what the business looks like,” said Marissa Guarriello, director of programming for music at ArtsQuest.
She says the goal of this two-day event is try and fill that gap.
The conference brings together presentations, workshops and networking opportunities to share new ideas and make new connections.
“When we decided to fit this with Musikfest, it was so that everyone could come and hear about the practice and the ideas during the day, and then essentially they can walk out the doors and see it all happening in real life at 5:00,” Guarriello said.
“What I talked about today was trying to find ways to better support the kids that you have but also get more kids involved,” said Kevin Longwill, music industry teacher with Abington School District outside of Philadelphia.
He says the event has already given him some new ideas to take into the next school year.
“There have been some fantastic conversations going on so far: finding ways to include and incorporate entrepreneurial skills, finding ways to reach new kids, finding ways to align with other facets and tenets of the industry, and everyone having this communal mission to explore and expand together was just amazing,” Longwill said.
ArtsQuest hopes to continue this conference every year and expand it.
