The College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) report on Preparing the 21st Century Artist-‐Teacher is now available. The report is the result of two panel presentations at the 2014 Ithaca College Conference on Instrumental Music Education: Preparing the 21st Century Artist-‐Teacher. I was privileged to be invited to take part in this initiative and engage in dialogue with a wonderful group of people at the conference.
The panelists, whose answers to a series of questions make up the report, included:
- Frank Battisti, New England Conservatory
- Robert Duke, University of Texas-Austin
- Craig Kirchhoff, University of Minnesota
- Larry Livingston, University of Southern California
- Scott Shuler, Immediate Past President, NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, Connecticut State Department of Education
- Evan Tobias, Arizona State University
In preparation for the panel and report we were asked to answer the following questions:
1. In your view, what is the role of the college ensemble director in the preparation of the future public school instrumental music teacher?
2. If we ourselves have not been prepared to teach outside of the traditional band and orchestra model, what can we do to help prepare our music education majors to do so?
3a. What experiences and processes occurring now within the curriculum of the instrumental music director could be diminished or perhaps replaced in order to more fully enhance their students’ music education?
3b. What experiences and processes could be added to the curriculum of the instrumental music teacher in order to more fully enhance their students’ music education?
4. At every level, from major symphony orchestras to school bands, there are challenges to maintain cultural and social relevance. Discuss the balance you would seek between preserving our history and traditions on the one hand and becoming more culturally and socially relevant on the other.
5. What recommendations do you have to bring together all the stakeholders (collegiate and public school ensemble conductors, teacher educators, researchers, community members) toward the achievement of a musically educated society?
The report was generated with an intended audience of people who identify as “college band directors” and the CBDNA community, but may be of interest to anyone who interacts with ensembles in general. It is quite large but may be interesting to read across the included perspectives. At several points in the report I made a case for the importance of including music teacher education communities in such conversations and collaborating with music teacher educators on issues related to “preparing 21st century artist–teachers.” For instance, issues related to the aforementioned questions are addressed regularly in discussions that take place in music education departments, scholarly publications, and conferences such as the Symposium on Music Teacher Education, Colloquium for Teachers of Instrumental Music Methods, or New Directions in Music Education.
Here is Mark Fonder’s and Elizabeth Peterson’s description of the report:
In 2014, a group of distinguished teachers, musicians, and leaders was commissioned to respond to the following questions related to the preparation of future instrumental music teachers at the university level. What follows are a compilation of their responses. These responses (presented below in alphabetical order), along with discussions from session participants were part of the Ithaca College Conference on Instrumental Music Education: Preparing the 21st Century Artist-‐Teacher which was held June 29-‐July 1, 2014. This conference was sponsored by the CBDNA, the Paynter Foundation and Ithaca College.
You can also read Beth Peterson’s report of what took place during sessions and workshops at the 2014 Ithaca College Conference on Instrumental Music Education: Preparing the 21st Century Artist-‐Teacher. A special thank you is in order to Mark Fonder and Elizabeth Peterson who organized the panel initiative and compiled the report.
I don’t believe the report was published as “the” answers to preparing the 21st century artist–teacher, but rather a set of perspectives to spark additional conversations and discussions. Consider reading the report and engaging in similar dialogue or sharing your perspectives on these and other related questions.