Abstract
In 1906, the National Association for Music Education (then Music Supervisors’ National Conference) was planning to hold a national meeting in San Francisco, California. However, events intervened to prevent this happening:
“At 5:13 o’clock A.M. this 18th day of April 1906 San Francisco was visited with a most violent earthquake shock,” wrote the clerk of the U.S. District Court of San Francisco in the minute book to explain why the court was adjourned that day. This earthquake destroyed water lines, so when fires broke out, the city burned to the ground because there was no way to put out the flames.
Because of this disaster, the Music Supervisors National Conference met for the first time the following year in Keokuk, Iowa, a Mississippi River town chosen for its position on rail lines. A small group of 104 music supervisors participated in the 1907 event, and from there, as the NAfME website states, “the organization grew to include music educators at all levels from prekindergarten to university, college students preparing to become music teachers, high school music honor society members, music industry representatives, music supervisors, and parents and community members who support our cause.”
The organization has met regularly since that time, with occasional interruptions due to world wars and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. But as of fall 2022, we’re back again.
