(New York, NY–June 14, 2019) Eighteen students from High Tech High School’s Music & Audio Tech Major performed a set of songs honoring the Motown era at New York University’s Frederick Loewe Theater, part of this year’s Association for Popular Music Education (APME) Conference, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech.
APME encourages and facilitates educational institutions to update their music curricula to include modern music concepts and 21st century skills. The vast majority of secondary and post-secondary music programs still focus exclusively on music 100-300 years old while not addressing technological and artistic changes required for success in the modern music industry.
Created to advocate for popular music education and its advancement as a discipline, APME provides educational opportunities for teachers and students, honors the rich history of popular music, and develops innovative ways to create, perform, and teach it. APME also serves to bring together all involved in the pursuit of teaching and making popular music at all levels, including higher education, public school modern band and contemporary music programs, music companies, manufacturers, and popular music organizations.
High Tech’s performance showcased Motown’s innovative production techniques and arrangements. Both the conference presenters and attendees received the students’ performance very well.
