The Seattle Symphony Presents the First Conducting Clinic at the 48th Annual Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) State Conference

The Seattle Symphony is delighted to announce the participation of Douglas F. King Associate Conductor Sunny Xia at the 48th Annual WMEA State Conference on February 19, 2024. This is an exceptional opportunity for six music teachers working in different school districts across the state of Washington to learn from the expertise of professional conductor Sunny Xia. This marks the Seattle Symphony’s first time participating in the WMEA conference — a reflection of the Symphony’s commitment to musical education and the growing need for music education resources in the state.

The conducting clinic is designed to ensure a personalized and direct learning experience for the participating teachers, providing unparalleled education that may otherwise be inaccessible within their school districts. The clinic will be broken into two sessions, each featuring three different teachers and pieces for string orchestra selected from a list of diverse composers. The broader aim of the four-day conference is to unite music teachers from different school districts and foster learning, growth and skill enhancement. Workshops, concerts, keynote speeches and more are also on the schedule for the 2024 conference, centered around the theme “Finding Community: One Note at a Time.” 

“The Seattle Symphony is excited to be partnering with WMEA, Central Washington University and Anna’s Composer Database in creating a unique collaborative conducting clinic to support teachers in attendance of the 2024 WMEA State Conference in Yakima,” said Associate Conductor Sunny Xia. “Our aim is to create a cohort of six teachers that represent a wide range of diversity in conducting and teaching experience, location, background and grade levels. These six teachers will work with me in a one-on-one setting to address this multifaced discipline that is our craft, conducting. We will work together and share our discoveries with the audience to empower everyone to improve our conducting skills and create great performances with our students.” 

The Seattle Symphony is proud to be part of this extraordinary event, which aligns with the organization’s commitment to giving back to the community and making music accessible to all. The six selected conductors from various school districts include Lillian Hollyday (Bellevue), Corinne Smith (University Place), Joshua Parrill (Sunnyside), Ume Lindemeier (Moses Lake), Joseph To (Seattle) and Gabrielle Nickell (Sunnyside).