Event Details

When:
July 31-August 1, 2025

Where:
St. Pius X Catholic Church
1280 NW Saltzman Rd, Portland, OR 97229

Hotel Information: 

Hotel recommendations will be released the week of February 10, 2025, for the Portland location. 

Please note that registrants will be responsible for transportation from their chosen accommodations and to the event itself.

Pricing
The first 40 registrants in each city will receive a free gift!

Early Bird Pricing (through April 2, 2025)

NPM members: $100
non-NPM members: $125*

*Includes a 6-month NPM membership from the date of the event 

Regular Pricing (after April 2, 2025)

NPM members: $125
non-NPM members: $150*

*Includes a 6-month NPM membership from the date of the event 

Registration
Registration for NPM On the Road opens on February 10, 2025. The registration link will be posted here and on all other cities at that time. 

On the Road – Portland: Schedule of Events
As of January 30, 2025: Schedule is subject to change in the coming weeks, but should follow the structure as a whole: 

July 31 – Day 1: 
3:00 pm      Registration

4:15 pm      Welcome
4:30 pm      Keynote, Part 1
5:45 pm      Evening Prayer
6:30 pm      Concert, followed by reception

August 1 – Day 2: 
8:00 am   Morning Prayer

8:30 am   Breakfast (included)
9:00 am   Welcome
9:15 am   Keynote, Part 2
10:15 am   Break
10:30 am   Workshops
12:00 pm  Lunch (included) 
1:00 pm    Reading Session
2:30 pm   Workshops
4:00 pm   Closing Mass with recommitment/blessing

The Extra Beats

NPM has two optional excursions available for event registrants only. Each of these events take place before NPM On the Road begins, making it a great opportunity to sight see and enjoy the city with NPM colleagues and friends. 

Spots for both Extra Beats are very limited, so make sure to sign up early! 

NOTE: Registrants will be responsible for transportation to and from each Extra Beat location. The additional fee to register for an Extra Beat covers facilities, donations, and other miscellaneous expenses.

July 31 (morning): A Tour of OCP 

July 31 (morning):
Choral Practicum Workshop
(Sponsored by the Church Music Institute) 

Keynote: Every Brain Needs Music

Whenever a person engages with music, countless neurons are firing―when a piano student practices a scale, a jazz saxophonist riffs on a melody, someone sobs to a sad song, or a wedding guest gets down on the dance floor. Playing an instrument requires all of the resources of the nervous system, including cognitive, sensory, and motor functions. Something as seemingly simple as listening to a tune involves mental faculties most of us don’t even realize we have. This presentation is a multi-media lecture and concert that demonstrates how our brains and music work in harmony. It considers music in all the ways we encounter it―teaching, learning, practicing, listening, composing, improvising, and performing―showing how the brain functions and even changes in the process. Learn new perspectives on learning to play, teaching, how to practice and perform, the ways we react to music, and why the brain benefits from musical experiences.

Dr. Larry S. Sherman is the Assistant Chief and a Professor in the Division of Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research Center and in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). He is also the President of the Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. He serves on numerous U.S. national and international scientific panels and has over 100 publications related focused mainly on the roles of the extracellular matrix in regulating neural progenitor cell differentiation and remyelination in models of demyelinating diseases. He is a sought-after international public speaker, giving talks on numerous subjects related to neuroscience. He is the co-author of the popular book Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music, published by Columbia University Press, which he wrote with Portland musician and music professor Dennis Plies. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Portland Monthly Magazine recognized Dr. Sherman as one of the most innovative people in the State of Oregon. In 2012, he was recognized by the OHSU School of Medicine Faculty Senate and the OHSU foundation for Outstanding Teaching, and was awarded the Mary Omberg Award for outstanding support of science education in Oregon and Southwest Washington. He was presented with an outstanding researcher award by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2020. 

Workshops

The Complete Singer: 10 Skills to Transform Your Voice
(Dr. Maria Manzo)

Let the Children Come to Me: Children’s Choirs and Children in Adult Choirs
(Charlotte Kroeker)
(Sponsored by the Church Music Institute) 

Leading the Ensemble – Voices and Instruments
(Presenters TBA)

OCIA (Order of Christian Initial for Adults): Ritual Music for the Sacraments of Initiation
(Michael Prendergast) 

Introducing Bilingual Music
(Estela García-López and Rudy López)

Digital Resources for Pastoral Musicians
(Koren Ruiz)

Concert: Celebrating the Music of the Church, from Chant to Contemporary

Join Ken Canedo and friends for a concert celebrating the Catholic Church and his rich tapestry of musical history: from Gregorian chant to post-Vatican II folk, to fifty years of hymnody and the contemporary music also sung today, this concert will celebrate the many ways we sing God’s praises in song. 

How to Register​
Registration for NPM On the Road opens on February 10, 2025. The registration link will be posted here and on all other cities at that time. 

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