Miami loves orange, and a particular kind of orange at that – so I discovered when, in the fall of 2014, I arrived in
Miami to start my PhD at UM Frost. Nine months later, I found myself in the thick of helping to
host the 2015 APME conference held at UM. We had orange shirts for that conference too – but with black writing for the logo. The choice to have white writing was a much better choice….less spooky lol.
That was my second APME, but it was the one that launched me deep into the organization. I served on the board, became vice president and subsequently president, until rotating off in 2021. I haven’t missed a single conference, and every year I have had the privilege to watch this ‘I think I can’ org do all the things. I have gained so many friendships and colleagues, I have had the opportunity to write articles and books through the connections I have made; it has given me a safe space to explore academia and simultaneously celebrate who I am as an artist. Additionally, it connected me with one of my fiercest friends and co-owner of a business we started because we met through connections at APME – so if you haven’t guessed, APME is near and dear to my heart.
When I was on the board and then president, we dreamed of a conference like the one I just experienced in Miami – one that had active music making by young people, industry sponsors, industry experts, artists, academics, pre-service teachers, current teachers, students: all coming together to celebrate whatever popular music is to them and to be celebrated for everything that they think it is. It was just so joy-filling to see all of it actually happening.
From the moment I arrived at the Thesis Hotel for the opening hang, I walked into a group of people I always look forward to seeing, but some I don’t see much in person outside of this conference, so it makes it all that much more fabulous. Hugs, laughter, joy at seeing people I didn’t expect to see….and the music! Then to arrive on the UM campus after being away for eight years (I finished my doctorate and then got hired at UM as the Director of Contemporary Voice before I chose to resign and move back to NYC in 2019) – my body knew where I was, but I wasn’t the same. I felt different, almost like I was a kid coming home, but one that had grown up, figured out who they were, and while they’d always been accepted, they finally felt like they weren’t just fitting in – they belonged. I always belonged at APME, but to have that collide with my past stomping grounds, well, it was something pretty special. Not to mention the café con leche – Miami does it like no other place I’ve been.
APME has always been about the people. The people that come and discover they are not alone in what they do, the people that don’t really know what it is, but somehow, they simply belong. It’s about the people who have never been to an academic conference but leave having a sincere sense of pride at connecting with so many people, for new and old friends and connections immeasurable. It’s a place to expand and be humbled, to laugh, to play, and to find and remember the fun and joy in what we all do. Raina Murnak (president), Candice D. Mattio (vice president), Stacey Swanson (director of operations), Rhian Bristol (intern), and the entire board brought all of that to visual, visceral life at this conference.
From the colorful chairs, to the matching board outfits, to the balloons, the rainbow fans, the blogarita, the music, the keynotes, and the thoughtfulness that this conference exuded, I just couldn’t stop smiling. This was what we had dreamed of when I was on the board, and to see the org growing and thriving and expanding in all the ways we imagined was pretty awesome.
At every conference, I always learn something new, bring something new back to my life and my students, and leave feeling inspired to keep going. I’m waxing poetic, but for me, APME is more than a conference. It’s a place to belong, a place to find yourself, a place to explore and be curious. A place to be accepted for who you are and what you do with no strings attached. A place to find in the darkness and remind you that the cracks are where the light gets in (shout-out to Leonard Cohen😊).
Songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, producer, author and educator, Kat Reinhert is an artist who defies categorization. She has released fifteen independently produced projects, worked alongside numerous artists and songwriters, written for Sesame Street and collaborated on podcast theme songs. As an author, she has published in multiple journals and books and edited and co-authored several books, most notably How to Release Music: A Guide for Educators, Mentors & Artists, Songwriting for Music Educators and Action Based Approaches in Popular Music Education. Reinhert is a Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music and the co-founder of Songwriting for Music Educators.