UPDATE: A VIRTUAL EVENT IS COMING TOGETHER FOR THE SAME DATES.
MONDAY AN UPDATED SCHEDULE WILL BE RELEASED ALONG WITH REGISTRATION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND PATIENCE!
Connect. Engage. Act. This is how we UNITE!
February 12-14, 2026
Monday, January 26, 2026. A note from the Board of Directors:
After many hours of discussion by the Executive Board and MMEA Board of Directors, the decision has been made to cancel the in-person 2026 Midwinter Convention and MMEA’s associated in-person student events in Minneapolis. MMEA cannot uphold its mission to develop, promote, and support equitable and comprehensive music learning and teaching when the health and safety of many in our communities are at risk. Please click the LINK for a message from MMEA’s Board President, Dr. Christopher Rochester.
Please know that this decision was very difficult. The safety of our students, presenters, performers, teachers, and exhibitors must be our first priority despite the large financial strain that will be put on the organization. MMEA is contractually obligated to all of the service contracts the MWC requires including the Hilton, Minneapolis Convention Center, Orchestra Hall, Dakota, and equipment rentals that make the in-person experience special.
MMEA believes that music is core to the human experience and in order to support our Minnesota communities, we are diligently working on a way to create an online format to host sessions and performances as well as exhibitors and sponsors. We will miss being together in person, but we still want to offer the opportunity for Minnesota’s dedicated music educators and students to be able to connect with the wider community.
Please know that there will be a lot of replanning happening in the coming week to assess exactly what MMEA can offer digitally, and how to best offer refunds for those that have already invested in registration for convention and other student programming. We ask that you please hold your questions regarding refunds for now, as our capacity to respond to emails right now is limited. We will have an avenue to refunds available soon.
Please stay tuned as we continue to work on ways to connect with our music community!
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding through this process. We will send further communication about an online event and refunds soon. We hope to see you there!
All the best,
MMEA Board of Directors and Staff
_________________________________________________________________________________________
From Nicole Thietje, MWC Chair: The Midwinter Convention is MMEA’s annual professional development convention. The state’s largest gathering of music educators features nationally-recognized headliners, a wide variety of performances and informances, sessions from area presenters, P.I.T. Stop Sessions for practical instrument tips, an Exhibit Hall, and tons of networking. Join us for three days of professional development delivered with joy and fun!
Music learning, teaching, and making in our state is diverse and vast. We belong to a vibrant and dynamic community of musicians and educators who create and cultivate musical spaces that are responsive to the needs of our students. Through the diversity of sound we find in our state we can celebrate our differences, support and foster ideas that seek to expand and include, and amplify unique and important musical voices.
We gather at the Midwinter Convention in support of our students, of each other, of our profession. We have a space to connect, share, and collaborate, where we can engage in a reciprocal process by which we learn from one another and affirm the work we seek to do. Then, we have the opportunity to turn these experiences and knowledge into action.
We are living in divisive times. Connection, engagement, and action are ways in which we can push against forces that seek to divide and separate us. We are empowered to work toward a music education that is just and accessible to all, that honors the varied and beautiful ways that we can make music. We are committed to an equitable musical future that reflects the diversity of thought, pedagogy, and practices that make Minnesota such a special musical community. This is how we UNITE!
To engage with these ideas requires a choice and your choice to be here matters. We encourage you to connect, to engage, and then to act.
We are MMEA.
See MMEA’s Past Resource Books!
2025 MWC Resource Book: Harmony in Community
2024 MWC Resource Book: Building Pathways Together