The Young Songwriters Symposium is an annual workshop that has been a part of the Hillsborough County elementary music program since 2004.
Each year, starting in September, teachers begin to plan and choose students to participate in the Symposium. Teachers whose students are chosen participate in professional development before the students have their first meeting, and then students meet with their peers and the teachers to begin composing their own song.
In a few short sessions over the course of a couple months, students begin with a blank sheet of paper and end up with a fully produced song. The coordinators take them through a variety of strategies to find a single idea that could be developed into a song and from there, students work with their own music teachers developing lyrics, melody, and harmony to bring the song elements together to its final creation.
The students then get to experience working with a small band composed of highly talented teachers arranging the song into the style and form that fits the student’s idea. They then take their songs to a recording studio to create a professional recording of their work. As a culmination of the Symposium, students perform their song live in concert for family and friends to hear their work!
In 2008 the Young Songwriter's Symposium was awarded the Innovative Program Award from the Florida Music Educator's Association.
