This study explores the experiences of young string players in a music collective called Face the Music. The organization consists of musicians aged 10 to 18, and is dedicated to the preparation and performance of music by living classical composers. I begin with the assertion that contemporary classical music, hereinafter referred to as contemporary music, is often misinterpreted and underappreciated by the general public, and even musicians themselves. There is minimal research exploring what contemporary classical music education is or could be, especially regarding non-professional musicians and/or adolescents. From this starting point, I explore the experiences of 18 members, six coaches, and one parent. Data includes focus group interviews with young string players in quartet settings, individual interviews with coaches, field notes, and a variety of musical artifacts. Face the Music musicians were highly flexible and versatile musicians; they identified as performers, composers, and improvisers—and possibly rebels of some kind. In addition to these subjectivities, their most prominent characteristic was revealed in their “polytonal roles,” a concept I explicate. Findings suggest complex relationships between their emotions and contemporary music. Several disparate benefits, especially social benefits, were manifested through the idea of community. Coaches at Face the Music perceived their roles as pushing the boundaries of traditional classical music training and promoting living composers. The unsureness and uncertainty from the young string players also reflect the ambiguous nature of contemporary music. Findings suggest that there is a space for music educators to re-conceptualize contemporary classical music education for young musicians.

Application of the culturally responsive teaching (CRT) initiative to practice may be challenging because each school community is unique. The individualized nature of CRT renders that research on successful CRT practices is only mildly, if at all, applicable to practicing teachers. As a result of these barriers, little is known about the process of becoming culturally responsive. The purpose of this study was to document my process in seeking to become a culturally responsive music educator. Critical Race Theory shaped this study. The emphasis on white culture in public high school choir curricula does not reflect the diverse populations in music classrooms today. Many of these classrooms are led by white teachers like myself, requiring that we interrogate our race and how often it affects the learning environment in our classrooms. Autoethnographic methods were used in this study. Three sources of data were gathered: my journal, lesson plans, and other teaching artifacts including student work. The data were then condensed into three stories: a) the story of me; b) the story of my teaching; c) the story of my students. Self-reflection, self-assessment, and self-analysis took place through questioning which included: a) “How does my whiteness affect my teaching?” b) “How often were suggestions from scholarship used?” c) “How did my attempts at culturally responsive teaching affect my students?” Through this work, I found that developing awareness of my whiteness, my biases, and assumptions, and how they influence my instructional choices was the most important step towards CRT. I often observed myself in a self-imposed binary: either I was ‘successful’ or ‘a failure’ at being culturally responsive. My disposition about CRT has changed because now I understand that teaching responsively is not a binary but a continuum. Each day I may exist in a different place on the continuum. Therefore, I will always be becoming culturally responsive. An individual’s process of becoming culturally responsive can only be learned through autoethnographic techniques. Additional autoethnographies conducted by teachers who are attempting to become culturally responsive may assist in finding trends.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Includes phonotape in pocket. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This study examines five highly trained musicians who made the life-changing decision to leave their occupations and pursue professions in completely new fields. Portraitures were created to illustrate how these individuals went on to forge successful careers even though their new positions required vastly different skillsets. Through qualitative analysis, it was discovered that numerous skills appear to be transferable from long-term musical training to various career paths. By examining people who have excelled in both domains, common traits were uncovered and grouped into four categories: Cognitive, Expressive, Socio-Behavioral, and Skills Particular to the Craft.The purpose of this research was to identify the skills that musicians can carry over into new professions. Those who may be considering alternative fields of work as well as employers in non-musical arenas may discover that musicians can be desirable candidates for hire because of their numerous transferable skills. Understanding the training process of musicians may also help gather insights for improving curricula which conservatories can employ to prepare graduates for careers. Retrospective feedback from alumni provided this study with a backdrop as to whether coursework offered at their schools aligned with modern industry conditions. After conducting interviews, findings from this study revealed that highly trained musicians do possess many skills that can transfer into new domains, though hard skills should be acquired in the new field. However, the foundation on which a musician's skillset is built provides a formidable bedrock on which a variety of successful careers can be cultivated.

The diversity present within K-12 classrooms in the United States presents teachers with students from many backgrounds and musical traditions. Traditional undergraduate music education programs which prioritize the Western canon provide little opportunity for students to address diversity, both in pedagogy and in content. Prospective music teachers in the choral or general music areas experience vocal education that focuses primarily on the classical bel canto vocal technique. This education fails to prepare teachers to teach students from diverse backgrounds and musical traditions. Because music plays an important role in adolescents’ identity formation, teachers who are unprepared to recognize and teach diverse vocal styles may unknowingly alienate or silence their students. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how two groups of music students, in early adolescence, and from a diverse urban public school, perceive the singing and the music teaching in their general music classrooms. By discovering their perspectives, I hoped to shed light on the ways in which music teaching influenced their musical, vocal, and cultural identities, particularly during the malleable time of adolescence. Over the course of three months, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 students and two teachers as well as twice-weekly classroom observations. Three research questions informed the data collection process: (1) How do students in a diverse urban public school describe their own singing and musical background? (2) How do they describe the vocal (and music) teaching in their general music class? (3) How do they describe an effective or ideal music teacher? The interview data and field notes from the observations were coded, organized, and analyzed into the following categories: (1) Music and Self Expression; (2) Music and Family; (3) Culturally Congruent and Incongruent Teaching; (4) Student Vocal Profiles; (5) If They Could Teach the Music Class, How Would They Teach? The overarching conclusion from this study is that the congruence or incongruence of a teacher’s musical epistemology — “the norms, logic, values, and way of knowing” music (Domínguez, 2017, p. 233) — along with the musical epistemologies of her students was the primary factor for student exclusion or empowerment in the classroom.

Composing is widely recognized by both researchers in music education and the NAfME (National Association for Music Education) as an important element in music education. However, composing as a primary activity has still not yet been established as an important aspect of secondary music education, particularly in the large ensemble setting. This study shows the efforts and outcomes of high school instrumental students as they created a notated musical composition for either a concert band or orchestra. What processes and approaches enabled these secondary instrumental students to compose for a large ensemble? What are the characteristics of the completed compositions composed by these secondary instrumental students? What impact did this experience have on the student composers who participated in this activity? In order to answer these research questions, qualitative instrumental case studies were conducted with eight high school instrumentalists, who participated in 7 workshop processes for composers to compose notated composition for either band or orchestra over a 3-month period. Using both expository method and discovery method, I taught and witnessed the processes of these eight students as they explored and discovered their compositions for band or orchestra, which were performed at the final recital. The result revealed that given an appropriate environment and tools, high school instrumental musicians can compose successfully for a large ensemble such as orchestra or band. Although these students had limited background in music theory, they were able to discover ways to create their desired effect by exploring and navigating sounds using the notation software, their primary instrument, and secondary instruments such as a piano. The experience fostered their curiosity for other instruments in the ensemble and nurtured their desire to learn more about them. This research opportunity gave all students a positive musical experience.

In this study I investigate alternative seating practices (ASP) within a public school orchestra. Traditionally, orchestras have employed hierarchical seating structures through the use of chair challenges and seating auditions in efforts to motivate students to practice. However, minimal research is available on the outcomes of hierarchical seating structures within an orchestra. Acknowledging that teachers are at the forefront of our curricular decisions for the orchestra, I explored these challenges from an autobiographical point of view, also sharing the experiences of my students who participated in the orchestra program for three years during the time in which ASP was first integrated. Twenty-five student participants volunteered to partake in this study and parents and administrators were interviewed, to share their perspectives of ASP. Data collection includes; individual and group interviews, letters/essays/journals, and archival collection. Participants were 10th-grade orchestra students in a public school setting 20 miles outside of a major U.S. city. ASP demonstrates how it can act as a practice of social justice within a community of practice. Students reported that ASP influenced their awareness of self and others and through their perceived experiences; they were able to transfer their awareness to the outside world. Students attributed their musical success to their unique musical-making experience formed through motivation, peer modeling and discovery of others’ musical capacity. This study asserts that using ASP in an orchestra can satisfy measures of musical performance and promote an equitable classroom in which students can form socially just principles to use as members of society.

The purpose of this study is to explore and identify flow characteristics in experienced middle school and high school band directors in the context of their teaching. The research was conducted using a qualitative multi-case study through the use of non-participant observations, field notes, and interviews with observational video with stimulated recall to identify the characteristics of flow in a total of five experienced middle school or high school band directors. It was apparent from the findings that every experienced middle school and high school band director experienced flow characteristics at different times while instructing their bands; conditions that facilitated and inhibited characteristics of flow as well as qualities that sustained characteristics of flow also were observed. This research may contribute to improved professional development and preparation of band directors; it may help them to recognize and achieve flow and develop good teaching practices, thereby enabling their students to reach their learning potential.