MYC International Conference

Wow! August already.

It’s hard to believe that there are only a few more weeks of summer left. I hope you and your family were able to have a bit of holiday time. As I write this I am sitting in the sun in our backyard. The sky is a beautiful blue with fluffy clouds and the birds are singing. It certainly is nice to relax, breath and remember what a beautiful country I live in.

This summer I had the opportunity to see even more of our country. With plans of attending Music for Young Children’s International Teacher’s Conference in Halifax I made the decision to extend my vacation to include a trip to Newfoundland, a province I’ve always wanted to visit.

I arrived in St. John’s on Canada Day. Over the course of the next 10 days I managed to put 2,600 km on my rental car and there are still so many places I did not have a chance to see. Every corner of Newfoundland is beautiful and different from the next.

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I traveled to Gros Morne National Park, Trinity, Bonavista, St. John’s and many points in between. Everywhere I went I met kind, generous people both from Newfoundland and visitors from away. I fell in love with the music, the people and the ocean and made me sorry I had to leave.

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I flew from St. John’s to Halifax where I joined approximately 150 MYC® teachers from around the world at the MYC International Teacher’s Conference for 4 days of informative sessions, networking  and to celebrate 35 years of this extraordinary program. I attended a session with MYC founder Francis Balodis on Communication and Personality Differences, Dr. Lorna Wanzel talked to us about Learning Strategies for Success and how MYC has so many of these strategies already incorporated into the program, Laura Visser explained how she uses technology to enhance her teaching in the classroom and Registered Music Therapist Anna Plasket talked to us about her job using music to support and empower children with developmental difficulties. The Royal Conservatory of Music and Conservatory Canada also presented some of the changes to their exam programs.

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MYC teachers are amazing, fun-loving people. It’s what makes us good at our jobs. It is also what makes conferences so much fun! Like the night we stayed up far too late singing broadway and pop songs. Or the walking tour we took of Halifax. We went on a tall ship cruise of the Halifax harbour one evening and sang in the Public Gardens on our final afternoon. Visit this link for the television footage of our mini concert. For more links and media coverage visit the Music for Young Children Facebook page or Sharp Note Music’s Facebook page.

 

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At our closing banquet we had the privilege of hearing 6 MYC graduates perform.

1. Alyssa Lynch is entering her final year of the Bachelor of Music Therapy program at Acadia University;
2. Barbara MacPherson completed her B.Mus at Dalhousie University and is now the chef/owner of Turning Leaf Catering;
3. Courtney Clark became an MYC teacher 2 years ago;
4. Dunnery Bond won The Next Star, a children’s singing competition that aired nationally, in 2008. He recently completed a Bachelor of Music in Vocal performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. and continues to perform in the Halifax area;
5. Lucy Hayes-Davis is a Mezzo-Soprano who received her Masters degree at Westminster Choir College. She is now teaching Voice Lessons, Lyric Diction, Voice Pedagogy and Voice Clinics at Dalhousie University.
6. Geordie Brown is an award-winning singer, stage/film/tv actor, pianist, director and musical arranger from Halifax. He is also a Cathedral Musician and associate music director at St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Halifax.

All 6 musicians were fantastic and performed with a joy and love of music that was infectious.

It was certainly difficult to say goodbye to the east coast and all of the teachers, friends and family that made my trip so memorable. It is also very exciting to be home with new ideas and motivation. I can’t wait to start teaching again!