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composers

Orchestral hybridity and convergence: FUSE@PSO & potential for music education

Here’s another example of how professional orchestras are engaging in some of the ideas expressed in my article Toward convergence: Adapting music education to contemporary society and participatory culture: The FUSE@PSO (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) initiative currently involves Steve Hackman’s arrangement of music by Brahms, Radiohead, and others in the form of mashups (as discussed in this article by Elizabeth Bloom in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). While in this case Hackman is creating mashups for an orchestra to perform, I suggest that in music education… Read More »Orchestral hybridity and convergence: FUSE@PSO & potential for music education

Flipping the misogynist script: Gender, agency, Hip Hop, and music education

Tobias, E. S. (2014). Flipping the misogynist script: Gender, agency, Hip Hop, and music education. Action, Criticism and Theory for Music Education, 13(2), 49-84. In my article Flipping the misogynist script: Gender, agency, Hip Hop, and music education I make a case for including Hip Hop in music programs through a critical media literacy framework and providing students diverse opportunities to address socio-cultural and musical issues through related musical engagement. In particular I address issues of gender and agency as… Read More »Flipping the misogynist script: Gender, agency, Hip Hop, and music education

Music Education + New Music + NewMusicBox = NewMusicBox Education Week!

As a longtime reader of the online multimedia publication NewMusicBox (from New Music USA), I’m thrilled to contribute to their special focus on Education:  How We Learn Now: Education Week (Sept 23- 27). My article, Inviting Possibilities for New Music and Music Education addresses three key themes: Contemporary pedagogy: shifting from a lecture, direct instruction, teacher-centered approach to one that is more project-based and student-centered Participatory culture: drawing on some of the themes I addressed in my MEJ article Toward… Read More »Music Education + New Music + NewMusicBox = NewMusicBox Education Week!

Eric Whitacre, participatory culture, and remixing the virtual choir

Music educators can embrace participatory culture and related musical engagement right now by providing students with the opportunity to remix Eric Whitacre’s composition Fly to Paradise, the fourth virtual choir piece. To assist in the remixing process Whitacre’s team made individual tracks of the final master available. Remixes can be listened to on a dedicated Soundcloud group. The process of remixing this music and all of the related discovery, performing, creating, responding, and connecting that occurs could be productive in… Read More »Eric Whitacre, participatory culture, and remixing the virtual choir

Multimedia, Intermedia, Music, Media Arts, and evolving curricula: Robert Black’s Possessed Project

Throughout the years I’ve found Bang on A Can to be an inspiration for music education. Whether their flexible ensemble structures, their hyphenated musicianship in terms of many members being both composers and performers, their people’s commissioning fund and a broad range of other initiatives, music educators could learn a lot from Bang on a Can’s forward thinking. Most recently the Bang on a Can All-Stars founding member and bassist Robert Black is launching a project entitled Possessed that combines… Read More »Multimedia, Intermedia, Music, Media Arts, and evolving curricula: Robert Black’s Possessed Project