Thank you for your interest in submitting a session proposal. We strive to promote professional insight that will be most beneficial to the music educators in Florida.
The 2023 Professional Development them is Re-Energizing the Music Education Classroom and Teacher. It is preferable, but not exclusive, that your proposal(s) have a connection to the conference theme for an overall uniformity of vision. All session proposal submissions should be consistent with current educational trends, promote curricular experiences that lead to a better cultural understanding, and allow educators to create, perform, and respond to music that in turn instills lifelong values for learning and participation.
Please take a minute to review this important information before proceeding.
Policies
You are only permitted to submit a total of three (3) session proposals.
The deadline for submissions is midnight the evening of Wednesday, March 1, 2023, for session proposals.
Previous canceled sessions: If you were invited to present last year but were unable to do so due to extenuating circumstances, you are welcome to submit your proposal again this year. It will not be automatically reconsidered. It will need to go through the same review process as all other proposals.
Conference Registration and Attendance:
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All presenters must register for the conference, even if you live or teach outside of Florida. Pre-registration will be from June through September. On-site registration will be available at a higher cost. Conference exhibitors are exempt from this requirement.
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By submitting a proposal, you agree to attend in person and present your session for any proposals that are selected. Please do not submit proposals if you are not sure that you will be available to travel to Orlando October 11-13, 2023. Cancellations for reasons other than unavoidable emergencies may affect the committee's decision to accept future proposals.
FOA/NAfME Membership:
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All presenters and conductors who live or teach in Florida must be current members of FOA, FMEA & NAfME.
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Presenters living outside of Florida must be members of NAfME.
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FOA and/or NAfME membership must be current to submit a proposal and then, must also be current when registering for the conference.
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Conference exhibitors are exempt from this requirement.
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You may join or renew your FOA Membership here or visit NAfME.org if you reside outside of Florida.
Instruments and Equipment:
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FOA will provide a microphone, sound system, and LCD projector. You must plan on providing everything else you will need for your presentation.
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Instruments, computers, computer adaptors, music stands, and anything else needed is the responsibility of the presenter and will not be provided by FOA.
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Internet is not provided, but Wi-Fi access is available for purchase at the rate of $40.95 per 24 hours.
Presenters are responsible for all expenses, including but not limited to travel, hotel, meals, conference registration, and materials.
Selection Process: Each proposal will be reviewed by the FOA Conference Planning Committee. Notification of acceptance will be made by the end of March for session presenters. All decisions are final.
Due to the large number of submissions received, the committee is not able to provide feedback for proposals that are not accepted.
The FOA Conference Planning Committee, President, Executive Director, and Executive Committee have the discretion to invite additional presenters, speakers, and performers in addition to those who submit proposals.
Indemnity Clause: FOA reserves the right to change the conference/workshop content, timing, speakers, or venue without notice. The event may be postponed or canceled due to acts of terrorism, war, extreme weather conditions, industrial action, fewer than expected delegates, pandemic, or any event beyond the control of FOA. If such a situation arises, FOA will endeavor to reschedule the event; however, FOA cannot be held responsible for any cost, damage, or expenses that may be incurred but the registrant because of the event being postponed or canceled. Some registrants consider travel insurance to cover the of the registration, travel, and expense of these types of situations. FOA is not responsible for any registrant's personal injury (i.e., physical, psychological, or emotional stress) or property damages while attending an FOA conference or event. Conference registrants assume all risks inherent in attending an FOA conference for which the registration covers, whether before, during, or after the conference.
Photographic Release: By submitting a proposal to present, you grant permission for FOA to use all photographic imagery and video footage taken of you and your students at this event and activities pertaining to this event, without payment or any other consideration. You understand that such materials may be published electronically or in print or used in presentation or exhibitions.
Code of Conduct: FOA provides a positive environment of respect and civility for all attendees, including members, students, parents, speakers, clinicians, exhibitors, sponsors, staff, volunteers, and guests. All attendees are asked to follow all applicable laws and conference policies and refrain from physical and verbal harassment, bullying, disorderly conduct, or any actions or behaviors that create unsafe conditions or interfere with presentations or performances. Harassment, bullying, and sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any conference venue, including clinics, workshops, concerts rehearsals, social events, online, and social media. Violations should be reported to conference security or conference staff in a timely manner. Violators and their registered students may be expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the FOA executive committee.
Health Disclaimer: By attending, you acknowledge and fully understand the nature and extent of the risk related to the COVID-19 virus and other contagious diseases and agree to attend this event at your own risk. You expressly acknowledge that COVID-19 is highly contagious, and infection can result in death, the risk of infection and transmission are higher in indoor facilities, there are no safety precautions that eliminate the risk of contracting COVID-19, and individuals with various underlying medical conditions and/or who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may experience worse outcomes.
Required Materials
Please have all the following information ready to copy-and-paste and files are ready to upload into the online proposal web pages. If it takes too long to complete any page of the application, you session may time-out and you will need to start over.
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Title of your session in Proper Title Case, with no extraneous or necessary punctuation.
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A description of your session in 1,000 characters or less, as you want it to appear in the conference program and schedule. Please check for proper spelling and grammar.
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A short statement on how the session relates to the theme of the conference.
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Your brief biographical sketch in 1,000 characters or less, as you want it to appear in the conference schedule. To encourage attendees to choose to attend your session, your bio should focus on your experience and accomplishments that demonstrate your credibility for presenting on the specific topic of the session(s) you are proposing.
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A professional headshot of yourself to appear in the conference schedule. It must be in JPG or JPEG format with the file extension ".jpg" or "jpeg."
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Names and email addresses of at least two (2) professional references who can speak to your qualifications for presenting on the topic of your session proposal. References will be automatically emailed from our system with a link to submit feedback.
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Contact these references first to ask their permission and double-check that you have their correct email address.
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It is your responsibility to follow up with each reference to make sure they received the email from FOA and completed the feedback process. You may track the progress of your references by logging back into the session proposal page before the deadline and submit additional references if necessary, so that at least two (2) respond for each clinician before the deadline listed above.
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Demonstration Ensembles: If you are planning on using live performers, please have the following ready:
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Professional Photograph of the ensemble
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A Letter of Permission from the performing students' school principal or administrator giving permission for the students to travel to Orlando and perform at the conference. It must be signed and scanned as a PDF file with the ".pdf" file extension.
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Number of students in the ensemble.
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If you are not the students' director, you will need to add their director as a clinician, including their name, address, cellphone, workplace, email address, biographical sketch, and a professional head-shot photo.
