THE CHILDREN’S MUSIC NETWORK’S
17th ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Reflections from the CMN 2007 National Conference in Albany, NY:

I hope everyone had as sweet a time as I did.  One of the best parts was meeting people in person whose names have appeared on the list-serve.  Your offerings have sustained me the past two years since I first went to a Gathering, and now I can see your faces in my mind as well.  A special shout out to all the great people who organized the event and made it run so seamlessly. Amazing vision and effort actualized into a transformative event.   Anna and Candy—great job on the Silent Auction.  Presenters, as Dr. Jean says, kiss your brain. The hotel staff was terrific—nice, accommodating, helpfully printing out Southwest boarding passes at a very advanced hour.  The keynote was exhilarating, and Sarah Pirtle's celebration an honor to bear witness to.  Attendees were open, caring, generous, sharing....and funny.
– Brigid Finucane, Chicago IL

From beginning to end, the weekend was filled with wonderful moments.  How could you not love an event that opens with mass speed-introductions and a snowball fight with bath poufs?  There wasn't a single meal that didn't involve a spontaneous song –there was even one where one of the waiters joined in!  We learned new songs and clever new ideas, and every song presented at the multiple Round Robins was wonderful. 

I think, though, that the best part of the conference was the people there.  CMN is all about connection, and we had that to such an amazing degree.  The true magic of our gatherings (or conferences, call them what you will) is that we can all go there knowing we can be ourselves, sing our songs, and connect with each other.  No one gets laughed at, no one gets left out, and everyone has a place.  We all get to sing and be silly and be serious, laugh and cry and dance.  And through it all, we're all there for each other.  I hadn't realized how much I missed that. 

And so I'd like to thank all of you.  Thank you for the songs, the laughter, the tears and the hugs.  Thank you for making a place where I know I belong.
– Laura DeCesare, Malden MA (See also the CMN blog from Laura about the conference)

What a wonderful trip.  Albany is beautiful and the conference was full of love and song!!  Can't EVER go wrong with that, now can you?? 

I wanted to thank everyone for doing so much work and making it such a wonderful place to be.  As a first time goer, I felt very welcomed!! Thank you!! I know how much goes into such adventures and it's amazing how smooth everything went.  I thought the Holiday Inn did a great job as well, and I especially loved it when the waiter started singing ... how fun was that!!

Great job Terri, Ruth, Mara, Caroline and all the many, many, many others... Marvelous -- Bravo, bravo...
– Juliette McDonald, Cupertino CA

I myself have been teaching in a dazed trance the past few days, while instead of sleeping, I’ve been spending most of my nights re-singing the many wonderful songs I absorbed over the weekend.  As a newcomer, I can only say, thank you, thank you, thank you for the welcoming, hospitality and generosity of spirit so many of you shared with me.

My only regret was having to leave earlier on Sunday morning than planned, without getting to say goodbye in proper fashion. But my last memory of our table serenading the service staff and being serenaded right back by a robust waiter, remained with me all the way home.  The energy of the gathering was a combination of mess hall singing at camp that shook the rafters, singing in church, cheerleading at a football game, singing and dancing in the chorus line on Broadway and singing with my grandchildren all at the same time. What an inspiring, talented, gifted, warm, kind and fun group you all are.
– Gari Stein, Ann Arbor MI

Just to add my voice to the chorus (ooooh didn't totally intend to do that pun but it does work I guess) of rave reviews of the weekend.  I have noticed that somehow, somewhere on Sunday, at every gathering I've been to, I always find myself sobbing for one reason or another.  It usually seems to be that I am suddenly flooded with a sense of hope, and I haven't even noticed that my internal supply of hope had been depleted, but it's like the tears of managing the "day to day" have to come out and make way for the new flood of hope and assurance.

I loved the workshops, I loved singing with Kim and Reggie and hearing their stories and their harmony, I loved all the wonderful and inspiring songs in the Round Robin, I loved joining everyone in honoring Sarah.  I was so moved by her son Ryan (wondering whether my children will ever have anything so nice to say about me!)…And of course, there is nothing that compares to seeing old friends, turning previous acquaintances into friends and making so many new friends.  Music is so very healing, so though we may not all be on the same page in terms of certain details of the hows and the whys and the wheres and the how muches, when we sing together, all of that gets transcended by the simple combinations of our voices.

And bright and early Monday morning, I was back at work of course.  Today, I was teaching my third graders a dance, and we were sitting to sing it first and get the hand motions before adding the feet.  Before we launched into it, one of the girls asked if it was okay to sing along if they knew the words.  I assured them that they are always welcome to sing along, and one of the boys piped up with "My grampa told me that singing together makes sunny weather".  Corny, but awfully true!  We created a lot of beautiful weather up there in Albany last weekend.  Thank you all for that!
– Joanie Calem, Columbus OH

 What can I say about the conference that hasn't been said already?   It was an amazing weekend!  The singing, the spirit, the community, the warmth, the friendliness, the excitement...I could go on and on!
 
As others have said, it was wonderful to finally get to know people I had "met" through the list serve and from playing music on their CDs in my classes and to see those whom I had met last year at a gathering in Amherst.
 
Several of the songs that I learned at the conference have already been added to the repertoire of my students, and I have been inspired to add signing to our classroom language.  The rainbow song, that we newcomers sang and signed, has been translated into Hebrew by a friend of mine to add another dimension to an already great song!
 
Kim and Reggie Harris were amazing and the tribute to Sarah Pirtle was an experience I will never forget.  The workshops that I attended were fantastic and I learned many many things that I will be able to use every day!  So much talent was presented at the Round Robins and the Emcee was great!
 
Thanks to everyone for making me feel at home and…a part of the planning of this wonderful event!
– Micki Groper, Albany NY