Meeting Danieley faculty affiliate Ryan Johnson at the Durham station, the group toured the downtown area, spoke with local leader Nicole Thompson (President and CEO of ), visited art galleries and a bookstore, and sampled local cuisine.

“As car-centered Americans, riding a train isn’t necessarily the first thing that pops into our minds, so Ryan and I wanted to show students they could easily access most major cities in North Carolina in a safe, affordable, and more environmentally conscious way,” Buckmaster said.  “Durham in particular is a fascinating city to explore, with a complex history and community-centered urban development plan, so it was really a sort of mini-Study USA experience for us.”

�þ��� learned about the history of Durham, including Black Wall Street, a thriving business and residential area where the first African-American-owned bank in the United States was founded.

Thompson spoke on the history and politics of the urban development in the downtown area, including the influence of nearby Duke University and how community leaders are continuing to grow in a community-centered way.

�þ��� also learned about the impact of public transportation in North Carolina, including Elon College’s own train station (demolished in 1961), which was one of the main contributors to Elon’s early history and development. They pondered the meaning of the historical plaque outside Belk Library and the real impact of automobile emissions on the environment.  After the day-long excursion, students traveled back to Elon the way many alumni during Elon’s first seven decades did — by taking a ride on the train.

The Danieley Center’s monthly Immersion Excursions are a new initiative aimed at deepening living and learning in this residential neighborhood.  The excursions are designed by faculty to align with the neighborhood’s learning outcomes and Elon’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.  �þ��� self-select and apply for each excursion, and all expenses are covered by the Danieley Neighborhood.

A previous excursion took students to the Greensboro Folk Festival, and future planned excursions include a trip to a Raleigh comedy club and to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro.

The panel was comprised of experts from Italy and the United States in music and jazz education, and examined issues in international education policy and funding in a session titled “Musica e Contributi Pubblici.“

Buckmaster performed alongside university professors and professional musicians from across the United States in the prestigious ensemble. The performance, held at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo, was a featured concert at the major international conference in the field. With a diverse program of musical works including the tour-de-force Musique á Curitiba by Jean Michel Defaye featuring acclaimed international soloist Jacques Mauger, the performance received a standing ovation from the audience.

In addition to the performance, Buckmaster attended the conference as a member of the International Trombone Association Journal Staff. For the fourth time, he was invited to cover the conference to publish a feature article on the events. He has previously written articles for the ITA Journal for the 2008, 2013, and 2014 festivals.

Buckmaster presented a session titled “Practicing Professional Dispositions” to �þ��� music education majors, and he also rehearsed the APSU Wind Ensemble trombone section. e then served as music adjudicator for the 2014 Mid-South Marching Invitational, which featured 39 performances from 20 high school marching bands.

This year our program, “A Musical Journey Through History,” highlights musical eras from Medieval through the present with narration and musical performances. Our students have combined their talents and technology to create this exciting program that showcases our music department.

The Elon Music Ambassadors will be giving a preview performance before heading out on a four-day performance tour of high schools in Virginia. You can hear the Elon Music Ambassadors in concert on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m. in Yeager Recital Hall.

Admission is free.

Buckmaster begins his service in this capacity immediately, and will assume the chair in November 2011 as a voting Board Member of NCMEA. 

NCMEA is one of 11 state affiliates of the Southern Division of MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

Buckmaster’s presentation, entitled Transformative Collaborations: One-on-One Undergraduate Educational Experiences, explored the connections and commonalities among �þ��� research mentoring, applied music lesson �þ���, and supervising of student teachers in their educational internship.

Fay’s presentation, “The effects of learning jazz improvisation on student performance in second language acquisition,” drew acclaim from conference attendees as graduate-level research.