Seeing and Hearing: Cultivation of Early Career Scholars

As the Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE) approaches our next symposium—scheduled for September 23 to 25, 2021—I have been reflecting on my own experiences at past symposia. While SMTE was founded in 1982, past chair Linda Thornton described the 2005 symposium as a “rebirth” (2019, p. 5) in how it marked the beginning of a new period of increased activity for the Society and interest in music teacher education through biennial symposia. It has been meaningful to me since becoming SMTE chair in 2020 to realize that I am the first chair to have begun my journey with SMTE since that rebirth, and in particular to have first participated in a Symposium as a graduate student. At least three other current SMTE Executive Board members and several facilitators of Areas of Strategic Planning and Action (ASPAs) also began their SMTE involvement as graduate students at symposia since 2005. I believe that the intentional cultivation of future scholars and leaders within this Society is an important feature that we must continue to foster as we embark on our ninth Symposium this September. I first attended an SMTE symposium in 2007, while I was a graduate student working toward my doctorate. Two parts of that experience stand out as memorable to me. The first was a moment when I was attending an ASPA working session for the first time. I was awed to be in a room with other researchers who shared my interests in a common topic, many of whom populated my reference list from my poster presentation earlier that same day. As others were sharing ideas about possible projects to pursue, one senior scholar who I only knew through citations casually turned to me and said, “Dave, you just presented a poster on this topic. What do you think?” Even more surprising was when everyone else paused to listen. Being included in that direct and unexpectedly collegial way had a lasting effect on me. The second memorable part