Ithaca College

Mary Arlin, Emerita Professor of Theory, History and Composition at the School of Music, was the invited Keynote Speaker for the 34th annual conference of the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society on March 1, 2013.

The College Music Society promotes music teaching and learning, musical creativity and expression, research and dialogue, and diversity and interdisciplinary interaction. A consortium of college, conservatory, university, and independent musicians and scholars interested in all disciplines of music, the Society provides leadership and serves as an agent of change by addressing concerns facing music in higher education.

At the conference, held at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, Arlin delivered her keynote speech titled "Tear Down the Walls."

"My starting point was a response to a paper I heard in 2011 at the National College Music Society Meeting," Arlin wrote in an email. "That was titled "Moving Between Silos: The Courage of Conversations Between Music Education and Music Theory." I advocated for interdepartmental conversation and cooperation among departments rather than between departments if colleges and universities are to produce musicians, regardless of their concentration, who can function as teachers in the classroom, concert hall, and community," she said.

Arlin was also asked to present at the luncheon address, where she recited "Opening New Doors," a speech in which she advocates both for using iPads for students in public school music classes and for incorporating composition as a teaching tool in the public schools, specially in the middle schools and high schools.