CMS Think-Tank Summit 2026 – Call for Innovation Presentations

CALL FOR INNOVATION PRESENTATIONS

The College Music Society (CMS) invites proposals for the 2026 CMS Think-Tank Summit, scheduled for January 16–18 at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. The Summit theme, “Ideas into Action: Reimagining Music Schools for 2026 and Beyond,” will invite participants to join their CMS colleagues to discuss how educators and administrators can focus on advancing career-focused curricula, fostering innovation, and supporting diverse pathways for today’s music students. Conversations will be centered around the four pillars of Belonging, Creativity, Technology, and Advocacy:

Belonging

  • How can we sustain cultures of belonging regardless of upbringing and background?
  • Does all music matter, and if so, how do we represent this value in our curricula? 
  • How can we reimagine our programming to serve music for all?


Creativity

  • How can we continue to amplify creativity in all that we do?
  • What does it mean to balance technique with intention?
  • How can we empower our students to sustain multifaceted careers in a rapidly changing creative and economic landscape?


Technology

  • What is the role of technology and AI in the creative process?
  • How can we prepare our students for the coming era of AI?
  • What lessons from the pandemic ought we better integrate moving forward?


Advocacy

  • How can we collectively advocate for the value of the arts in society? 
  • What does it mean to empower and encourage our students and community to engage in citizen artistry and socially inspired art?
  • How can we make the case for music in higher education to government and society?


Innovation Presentations allow presenters to highlight and share new initiatives, programs, or curricula within their institutions and/or academic programs through a 15-minute presentation followed by a 5-minute Q&A session with Summit participants. 

Presentations should center on one of the four Summit pillars: 

  • Belonging (including community, partnerships, curriculum, etc…)
  • Creativity (including assessment, methodology, messaging, auditions, etc…)
  • Technology 
  • Advocacy


CONSIDERATIONS 

  • All individuals who are selected to present on the Summit program are expected to register for and attend the full Summit. If the proposal is accepted, proposers will be asked to communicate with all participants in the presentation to ensure their registration by Wednesday, October 1. At its discretion, the Program Committee may exempt specific individuals, such as non-music professionals, from the membership requirement. It is the responsibility of the individual who submits the proposal to, upon acceptance, make Summit planners aware of any non-music professionals involved in their presentation and to request this exemption.
  • The College Music Society does not fund travel expenses of accepted presenters. 
  • Proposers must submit their own work and may not submit proposals on behalf of their students or others.
  • Proposals of a commercial nature that promote products and services will not be considered.


 

ELIGIBILITY

  • The Primary proposer must be a current member of The College Music Society. Presenters interested in submitting a proposal should confirm their membership status in advance of the submission deadline. Please note that the processing for membership applications and/or renewals is 1–2 business days. 
  • It is not necessary for the co-facilitator(s) to be a current member of CMS at the time of submission; however, if invited to join the program, they must join the organization. 
  • CMS members may submit multiple submissions in response to this Call, the Call for Innovation Presentations, and the Call for Sound Bites.
  • Not a member of CMS yet? Sign-up for a $20 CMS Trial Membership here. 


 

PREPARATION OF MATERIALS

The College Music Society’s Summit submission process is powered by Submittable. To submit a proposal, please (1) log in to the CMS members-only website using your username and password and then (2) click the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of this Call. You will be directed to Submittable to complete your proposal. If you don’t already have a Submittable account, you will be prompted to establish one. (Click here for help using Submittable and to view a list of Frequently Asked Questions.) 

A complete proposal includes:

  1. The proposal’s title.
  2. Which pillar does your presentation most closely represent? (Belonging, Creativity, Technology and AI, Advocacy)
  3. An abstract of 250 words or less. The Program Committee chooses presentations based primarily on the abstract as submitted, so it is important to write an abstract that the Committee will understand and can evaluate fairly. The purpose of the abstract is to convey to the reader what will be said in the presentation. Do not merely describe the subject or list the topics to be covered. Rather, state the main point of the presentation, outline the subsidiary points, and summarize the evidence offered, so that someone who has not heard the presentation can know in brief what it will say and can evaluate its contribution to our knowledge and understanding of music. The abstract, like the presentation itself, should be clear to an audience of musicians and music educators of all kinds, not just to those with a narrow specialty. While it may be necessary to set the context or lay out the problem to be addressed, this should be kept to a minimum. 
  4. You may add up to 3 supporting materials to your proposal (optional). These might include printed music examples, photos, statistics, or relevant data. Please do not include lengthy documents, dissertations, CVs, resumes, or PowerPoint presentations. Neither file names nor uploaded materials should identify the proposer or any collaborators.
  5. A biography of the proposer and each co-facilitator, if applicable (250-word maximum per person). Co-facilitators can be added at a later date, if needed.
  6. Contact details for all personnel involved in the presentation, including an email address, mailing address, and phone number for each person, as well as an institutional affiliation, if applicable. 


 

TIMELINE

Proposals must be submitted by 11:59 pm Mountain Time on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

Proposers will be notified of their status by Tuesday, August 12, 2025.


 

QUESTIONS?

Questions regarding this Call should be directed to: 

Brian Kai Chin, 2024-2025 CMS President and 2026 Summit Host 


 

Questions concerning Summit operations should be directed to:

Hannah Pearson, CMS Managing Director

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.
Submit