Future Conference Dates:
January 13-16, 2021
January 12-15, 2022
January 11-14, 2023
January 10-13, 2024
January 8-11, 2025
The FMEA Professional Development Conference is one of the largest music education professional development events in the United States. In addition to approximately 250 clinic sessions and concerts, it is host to 22 All-State Ensembles featuring Florida's top Band, Orchestra, Chorus, Guitar, and Elementary Orff students conducted by world-class conductors and teachers. It is attended by more than 10,000 people, including secondary music directors, elementary music teachers, music supervisors, college students, college music teachers, school administrators, K-12 students performing in the All-State ensembles, students and professional musicians performing with invited performing ensembles, exhibitors, and parents of performing students.
In order to keep registration fees low it is important to stay only at an official FMEA hotel. This allows the hotels to provide us greatly reduced prices for the ballrooms we use for all-state rehearsals. Please do not worry if hotels fill up quickly, as many rooms are cancelled and released back into the FMEA blocks after all-state audition results are released in November.
Hilton Tampa Downtown New Check Policy: If you are a tax exempt guest and require taxes to be removed from your room charges, our hotel requires one of the two options: (1) valid federal exemption form OR a (2) valid state exemption form accompanied with a completed attestation form to validate your state exemption entity. Company & certified checks are only accepted 14 days in advance/prior to arrival. NO form of checks will be accepted upon arrival at check-in. Personal, starter or travel checks are not accepted at our location
Hotel Availability as of 11/12/2019:
Marriott Water Street - 15 rooms available Wed, and 64 rooms avail. Thur & Friday nights
Embassy Downtown has one room available all nights and 8 Friday & Saturday nights
Sheraton Riverwalk has 10 rooms available all nights
Hilton Downtown - 10 rooms available on Wednesday, 33 on Thursday and 35 on Friday
Doubletree - 35 rooms available all nights with a few more on Wednesday and Friday nights
Hampton Inn Channelside - 10 rooms on all nights
Embassy Westshore - 7 rooms available all nights
Holiday Inn Westshore - 35+ rooms available per night
Sheraton Four Points - 90+ rooms available per night
Barrymore - almost sold out Thursday night but rooms available on Wed. & Fri.
Westin - Sold out on Thursday night but rooms available on Wed. & Fri.
In order to help keep attendees safe, there will be a heightened security presence throughout the Tampa Convention Center and various hotels. All entrances to TCC will be patrolled by uniformed officers. Please see this page for more information.
(Subject to Change)
| April 30: | Deadline for Session Proposals and Performance Applications |
| August 1: | Deadline for Product Showcase Applications |
| September 21: | Hotels begin taking reservations at 9:00 a.m. |
| September 21: | Pre-Registration Opens |
| November 9: | Hotel Room Cancellation Deadline 5:00p.m. |
| November 12: | Hotels will charge your credit card a non-refundable deposit for the first night of each room held. |
| December 8: | Pre-Registration Closes at midnight. Payment must be postmarked on or before December 5 if you are paying by check. Pre-registration is by credit card only after Dec. 5. |
| December 9: | You can enter students and chaperones on-line to make on-site registration easier, but you will need to stand in the ON-SITE registration line to print your badges and pay when you arrive at the conference. |
| December 15: | All school lodging checks are due, payable to the hotel where reservations were made for you and/or your students. |
The FMEA Professional Development Conference and All-State Ensembles are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
