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Teaching Popular Music Conference

February 28, 2026

 

This conference is intended to be an opportunity for music teachers with an interest in popular music education to gather in community, to share what they know, and to learn together. Our definition of music teacher is broad and inclusive—ensemble conductors, general music teachers, private lessons instructors, community-based educators, college/university faculty, and more are all welcome and encouraged to join us. We also define popular music in ways that are broad and inclusive: pop, rock, country, rap, jazz, video game music, and more; acoustic, electric, and electronic; recorded and live; original and covers; hobby, indie, and commercial; and so on.

Thanks to a grant provided by the Dee Endowment for the Enhancement of Teaching, there is no registration fee for conference participants. 

Teachers who attend the full day of conference sessions will be eligible to earn 1 Credit from the University of Utah for purposes of teacher license renewal and/or salary advancement. While conference registration is free, note that teachers who wish to earn university credit will pay a $50 fee to our Continuing Education office. We will reach out to everyone on the conference registration list the week of February 23rd with additional instructions for those who would like to earn university credit.

Contact Dr. Jonathan Dillon (j.dillon@utah.edu), Assistant Professor of Music Education