In this narrative based and practical session, Annie Ray shares transformative stories and classroom-tested strategies from her work at Annandale High School, one of the most diverse schools in the country. Through her work with the Crescendo Orchestra (a fully inclusive orchestra for students with significant disabilities) Annie challenges us to rethink what musical success looks like and offers actionable tools for creating a music classroom where all students can thrive.
Participants will explore how directors traditional classical training can unintentionally narrow our definitions of excellence and how we can expand our teaching practices to value process, connection, and growth over the performances on the stage. The session will emphasize musiking (Christopher Small’s concept of music as a verb) as a powerful tool for student engagement, community building, and self-expression, especially for students often excluded from conventional performance models.

For years in music programs, we have celebrated the polished performance on stage but the real magic happens in the in-between. It’s in the messy moments of rehearsal, the student who shows up early just to explore, the laughter shared over a missed note, and the quiet persistence of trying again.
In this dynamic session, Annie Ray invites you into a classroom where “play” is the foundation of progress, and success is measured not by perfection, but by participation. Drawing on the Montessori philosophy, Annie shares how the students built a program rooted in trust, curiosity, and student agency at one of the most diverse high schools in the country.

Through stories of students who have transformed their confidence, identity, and leadership through music, this session highlights how learning becomes most powerful when students are empowered to take ownership of the process and when we meet them exactly where they are.

What if our most vulnerable students weren’t pulled out of electives for interventions, but kept in them as part of the solution?
In this story-driven session, Annie Ray shares the blueprint behind the work done at Annandale High School, with a replicable model that reframes performing arts classrooms as catalysts for schoolwide transformation. Drawing on her work at the local, state, and national level Annie outlines how intentional relationship-building and creative, student-centered strategies led to measurable improvements in attendance, academic performance, and school climate.

Attendees will explore how this model applies the Suzuki Triangle (Teacher, Student, Parent) to reimagine wraparound supports and leave with tools they can use to advocate for the arts in their own schools and communities.