The Early Childhood Music Education (ECME) Commission of the International Society for Music Education was founded by Katalin Forrai (Hungary), who served as our initial and organizing chair. The first ECME committee was approved by the ISME board of directors in 1980; papers were shared at the world conference in 1982 in Warsaw, Poland, and the first official ECME Pre-Conference Seminar was held in 1984 in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
ECME is guided by a team of early childhood music educators and researchers from many places around the world. We focus on music education research and practice with young children (defined as prenatal through age 8 years). Through our work with families, researchers, and practitioners invested in the co-creation of relevant teaching approaches, we consider music to be essential to young children’s holistic well-being and development as social, empathetic, thinking, and aware human beings. We advocate for all children’s right to equitable and accessible musical education.
As such, we welcome submissions to the upcoming pre-conference seminar that focus on ecological considerations within early childhood music education. Given the uncertainty of our collective time and place in world history, we believe that it is essential to contribute to the well-being of society through our work as early childhood music education researchers and practitioners. Our discipline focuses on human musical activity as the foundation of healthy development through social and emotional interaction with our youngest children. The work of our commission members as practitioners and researchers has contributed to the healthy functioning of communities world-wide, and our bi-annual conference has allowed us to make connections with each other that strengthen that work.
We look forward to welcoming new and returning commission members to our upcoming conference.

The Department of Music at University of Massachusetts Lowell is excited to welcome the Early Childhood Music Education Commission for its conference in 2026. We look forward to hosting an international cohort of delegates at our university, which is embedded in the beautiful Merrimack Valley northwest of Boston. The Department of Music is housed in the Moloney Performing Arts Center, which overlooks the Merrimack River and is home to over 300 undergraduate music majors and 30+ graduate students. UMass Lowell has one of the most distinguished music programs in the region, nationally recognized for its innovative offerings and successful alumni.
Our mission is to create a musical community that values and is rich with cultural, social, and intellectual diversity. We strive to develop in our students informed and inquiring minds that encourage our graduates to engage the fundamental issues of their art and to become effective cultural leaders in their communities. We work closely with businesses, performance venues, and public schools in the City of Lowell to provide our students with real-world experience and to maintain ties within the surrounding community. The City of Lowell was designated a gateway city in 2009, which acknowledged Lowell’s leading role in helping immigrants to settle in the US. Our students are immersed in Lowell’s diversity and rich cultural life, which develops in them respect for all people.
We look forward to introducing the ECME delegates to our city, university, and musical community.