2026 BTAA Music Education Conference

hosted by the University of Illinois

October 21-23, 2026

CONFERENCE SITE:

Big Ten Conference Center, 5440 Park Place, Rosemont, IL 60018

 

REGISTRATION is open! [CLICK HERE]

$100.00 per faculty member and FREE registration for graduate students

 

CONFERENCE HOTEL:

Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel and Conference Center (click here for direct link)

5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018

  • Room rates for Wednesday, October 21-Friday, October 23 are $149.00 per night for a standard 2-queen room.

  • The room block rate ends on September 24, 2026.

  • When making your reservation, there is a one-night room and tax deposit requirement.

  • Individuals are responsible for their own incidental charges.

  • There is a 48-hour cancellation policy for a refund on your deposit.

  • $20 discounted parking (valued at $35 per night)

  • Complimentary Wi-fi

  • Complimentary shuttle service to/from O'Hare airport (5am-10pm daily)

 

**Conference schedule coming soon!**

 

GRADUATE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS:

Graduate Research Presentations: Instead of a traditional poster session, BTAA will feature "research elevator talks.” We will form small roundtable groups and each presenter/group will have 5 minutes for sharing their elevator talk, followed by 5 minutes for discussion. Presentations may be: (a) reports of completed research; (b) research in progress; (c) literature reviews; (d) position papers on critical issues in music education; or (e) presentations of “promising” music education practices. Each presenter/group will be grouped with several others and will present their 5-minute talk in a roundtable format. Presenters should consider using printed handouts and/or a QR code that directs users to slides readable on smart phones or smaller devices. 

Proposal Procedures: 

Proposals must be no more than 500 words and submitted to Dr. Jess Mullen (jmullen2@illinois.edu) as an anonymized word document; please do not send a PDF. Do not include authors’ names on proposal documents or file names. The cover email should include the names and institutional affiliations of all presenters, a presentation title, and a brief 30-60 word description of the presentation for the conference program. Proposals are due by August 30; return decisions will be made by September 13.

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