The 97th annual national conference for the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT) was recently attended by Union’s Department of Music staff, Mmes. Sanette Brink, Zelda van Rooyen and Karmin van der Walt.
2019 marked the first time in almost 40 years that this prestigious event was hosted in Port Elizabeth.
According to Lestie Hughes, who chairs the Port Elizabeth branch of SASMT, the conference – a musical event of note, based on music education but structured to provide enjoyment to all lovers of music – has not taken place in the Bay since the 1980s.
The theme for this year’s event, which was held from 14 to 16 March in the auditorium on the Nelson Mandela University’s South Campus, was ‘Let the music speak’. The conference’s programme included musical performances by the staff and learners of 10 Bay schools and some of NMU’s finest musicians as well as ‘hands-on’ choral and orchestra workshops.
Presentations and panel discussions on relevant topics such as music technology and the effective incorporation of contemporary music into the school curriculum were discussed and much-enjoyed by the Union conference-goers.