More than 2,100 professionals and grad students in musicology and music theory will head to San Antonio next week to share their latest research results, discuss the future of the discipline, and meet up with old friends and colleagues.

Organizations: American Musicological Society and Society for Music Theory

Conference: 2018 Annual Meeting of AMS and SMT

Venue: Grand Hyatt Hotel

City: San Antonio

AMS/SMT 2018, the world’s largest meeting of music-related humanities educators, begins next Thursday with a plenary lecture by Dr. Dwandalyn Reece. The curator of music and performing arts at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will discuss “music and the meaning of things.” Also on the agenda:

Listening sessions. The meeting features three recitals and a lecture-recital on Friday and Saturday afternoons at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, a short walk from the conference venue. The concerts, which are free and open to the public, include a Brazilian music program featuring pianist Rafael dos Santos and guitarist Eduardo Lobo.

Give back to the profession. The meeting wouldn’t run smoothly without the help of 50 AMS and SMT member volunteers who assist in meeting room monitoring, registration desk assistance, and other jobs. Volunteers, who work anywhere from six to 10 hours, are provided complimentary registration and a stipend of $11 per hour.

Families welcome. The meeting offers a networking service to help attendees connect with each other to share child care needs, as well as financial support to those needing onsite child care. AMS will subsidize 50 percent of child care expenses incurred by registered attendees, up to a maximum amount of $200.

Head to Twitter (#AMSMT18) for other meeting details.

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