The 2012 Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference in New York on January 6 - 8 looks to be one of the best yet. FMC friends and family will be in the house to talk about all things jazz as part of the “JazzConnect: Building Jazz Culture - Local to Global” series of programming. This jazz-specific APAP activity includes both free and registration-required events; we’ve highlighted some of the best for you to make planning your days even easier!

On Thursday January 5, head over to the JazzTimes DIY Crash Course, presented by JazzTimes, for a day full of free! workshops and presentations directed at emerging and established artists, from students to professionals. The day includes “solo spots” — short TED-talk style presentations from people like FMC favorite and friend Vijay Iyer. And don’t miss out on the following workshops:

Music for Sale: New Models for Selling Your Music
Breaking through the Clutter: Social media for publicity, promotion and profit?
New Models for Jazz Performance and Touring: Going beyond the traditional club and festival circuit
The Jazz Artist as Small Business Owner and Manager

Friday’s opening session and Tuesday’s closing session of the special jazz track are also open to the public. Stop by on Friday the 6th at 9 am for “JazzConnect: Building Jazz Culture” and at 2 pm on the 10th for “JazzConnect: Taking Action,” which will frame the overall discussion and explore ways to build and support a cultural community through jazz, improving branding and advocacy. The additional five jazz-centric sessions are a part of the APAP conference and require registration.

If you are attending APAP as a paid attendee, make sure to hit up the other panels that FMC will be a part of. FMC’s Michael Bracy will be on the “JazzConnect: Buidling Jazz Culture - Local to Global” panel on Friday the 6th; Casey Rae-Hunter and Kristin Thomson will co-host a roundtable on “Media, Technology and Copyright Policy”; and Jean Cook will participate on the “JazzConnect: Platforms the Move Jazz Forward” panel. More info here.