Shand, Patricia. "International Society of Music Education 2006: ‘Sentuhan’ Malaysia.” Canadian Music Educator, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Winter 2005), p. 17
Keywords
International Society for Music Education
music education
Canadian music educators
ISME commission seminars
ISME conference 2006
Summary
Shand discusses her meeting with Kari Veblen to prepare and plan the Canadian participation in the 2006 ISME conference. ISME 2006 will be held in Malaysia, and the theme is “Sentuhan”, or “contact”. Shand reminds readers of the specialist ISME commission seminars which will meet before the conference in a variety of locations across Asia. She lists two websites for further information.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF MUSIC EDUCATION 2006:
"SENTUHAN" MALAYSIA
PATRICIA SHAND
Reproduced with the permission of CMEA/Acme.
On International Music Day (Oct. 1, 2005), Kari Veblen and I met in Toronto to discuss our work as members of the board of directors of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). We had last been together in July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the ISME board met to plan the 2006 ISME conference. We began our meeting by sharing memories of our time in Malaysia – the remarkable sights and sounds, smells and tastes which we experienced, and the impressive planning work being done by the 2006 ISME conference committee members who hosted the board of directors during our meetings in Malaysia.
We moved on to discuss plans for Canadian participation in the 2006 conference. Throughout ISME’s 50-plus year history, Canadians have attended and presented papers and workshops at ISME conferences and ISME commission seminars, have written for ISME publications, and have assumed ISME leadership positions. We are confident that many of our Canadian colleagues will attend the 2006 conference and commission seminars, and will take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to explore southeast Asia before and after ISME. The main conference will be held in Kuala Lumpur from July 16 to 21.
The theme for ISME 2006 is “Sentuhan,” a Malaysian word meaning “contact.” Ramona Mohd. Tahir explains that her festival committee chose this welcoming focus because this conference would bring so many kinds of people together through music. She notes: “Sentuhan explains the crucial role that music plays in human life, the importance of music education, and Malaysia reaching out to "touch" the world in our uniquely Malaysian way.”
In addition to the large main conference, there are seven separate ISME commissions that explore different facets of our profession. These meetings are famous for intensity, but also small enough to get to know everyone over the course of a week. Imagine having lunch with music educators who share your interests from, say, Australia, the UK, Zimbabwe, China and Germany. All seven commissions will meet in a variety of locations in southeast Asia the week prior to the main conference:
Research Commission, July 9-14, Bali, Indonesia
Community Music Activity Commission, July 10-14, Singapore
Early Childhood Music Education Commission, July 9-14, Taipei, Taiwan, China
Commission for the Education of the Professional Musician, July 10-14, Hanoi, Vietnam
Commission on Music in Cultural, Educational, and Mass Media Policies, July12-15, Hong Kong, China
Music in Schools and Teacher Education Commission, July 10-14, Hong Kong, China
Special Education Commission, July 10-14, Serdong, Selangor, Malaysia
Check out these websites:
(for information about the ISME conference in Kuala Lumpur)
(for information about ISME membership and about commission seminars).