Board Meeting in Montreal

I eagerly look forward to participating in a Board meeting of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) in Montreal, Canada, during summer 2025.

This will be an opportunity to discuss and collectively make decisions regarding ISME and its array of activities, while also making detailed plans regarding its upcoming world conference to be held in Montreal in summer 2026.

There are very interesting people on the ISME Board, from several different countries worldwide, and with expertise in diverse subfields of music education. We also have excellent leadership from the President, President-Elect, Past-President, and CEO, and the dedicated support of friendly and competent staff with the ISME executive office. This will also be my first time to Montreal, which seems to be an amazing city with a great history.  

ISME is commited to democratic governance, and members are welcome to share any issues or concerns they would like to see raised for discussion at the meeting. We hope for ISME to satisfy all members for its role in supporting music education worldwide. 

Public domain image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mtl_from_mont_royal_(cropped).jpg

 

Postdoc from Japan

It is an honor to announce that we will be hosting a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)-funded researcher during part of 2025-2026.

Yuki Morijiri (Associate Professor, Tokyo Gakugei University) has proposed research that will develop cross-cultural insights into Music Performance Anxiety, and other important topics, in collaboration with the GAME research group in Bergen, Norway.

Several years ago I lived in Japan, where I worked for Nichibunken, Yamanashi Gakuin University, and Tokyo Gakugei University, and ultimately produced some publications in the field of Japanese Studies. Japan has seen many changes across the years, and remains a globally prominent center for innovation in such fields as musical instruments and music technology. 

We are very pleased to have this opportunity to host an accomplished researcher from a country that is so important in the fields of music and education.

Public domain image source: https://snl.no/Japans_historie_etter_1945

 

Music Postdocs in Uganda

 

We are very happy to announce that James Isabirye (Kyambogo University) and Milton Wabyona (Makerere University) are being awarded postdoctoral fellowships, funded by the Norwegian government, through the CABUTE project.

It will be a pleasure to offer some mentoring as these accomplished scholars proceed toward completion of their research on music teaching and learning in Uganda. 

Their proposed studies promise to bring new insights to the field of music education, with both local and international applications. 

New PhD-Level Courses 2025

It is a pleasure to announce some PhD-level courses that will be offered in online format in 2025.

 

Doctoral students and postdoctoral junior faculty members (e.g. Assistant Professors, Lecturers, etc.) affiliated with any university are welcome to participate in these two courses:

 

• RESEARCH METHODS IN HIGHER EDUCATION (20 May – 3 June)

https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/research-methods-in-higher-education-sotl-module/

 

• RESEARCH SUPERVISION IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT (21 May – 4 June)

https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/research-supervision-in-an-international-context-module/

  

Doctoral students affiliated with any university can participate in this course as well (and in special cases, it may also be open to advanced Master students):  

 

• NON-WESTERN EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND POLICY (3-13 November)  

https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/courses/2025/phd911/

 

We also look forward to the upcoming PhD course Creative Innovations in Higher Education at Bergen Summer Research School: https://www.uib.no/en/rs/bsrs/173600/creative-innovations-higher-education

 

Ecomusicality

Through the exciting collaboration enabled by the Global Competence Partnership project, it was a pleasure to produce an article recently with Koji Matsunobu that endorses the notion of Ecomusicality as a basis for environmentally-conscious ways of teaching music.

 

Our co-authored work is now being published in the oldest arts-related scholarly journal Arts Education Policy Review.

 

Our article extends on several of Matsunobu’s notable publications in this field, and some aspects are related to an article I published a few years ago in the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education.

 

Here is the complete bibliographic reference and a link:

 

Matsunobu, K., & Hebert, D. G. (2025). Advancing sustainability in music education through eco-musicality. Arts Education Policy Review, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2025.2466440

 

PhD Course Admissions

It is exciting to see that we had 45 applicants for the PhD course Creative Innovations in Higher Education at the 2025 Bergen Summer Research School.

The applications came from all around the world: so many strong doctoral students across an array of academic fields. Unfortunately, we can only accept about 20 and there is a limited number of scholarships to support course fees, as well as airfare and/or lodging costs.   

I understand the applicants will soon be contacted about the results and offers, and I eagerly look forward to seeing who will join us for this unique summer school experience.

 

New PhD Dissertation on Cantonese Opera

It was a pleasure to serve recently as External Examiner for the PhD defense of Dr. Kimmie Sin-Yee Ma with the Education University of Hong Kong.

Kimmie Sin-Yee Ma’s dissertation is on the teaching and learning of Pai-he, the instrumental accompaniment for Cantonese opera, a form of traditional Chinese cultural heritage that is especially associated with Hong Kong. 

Prof. Bo-wah Leung was the main supervisor for this study, and Koji Matsunobu was another supervisor. Through the Global Competence Partnership project, I participated as External Examiner along with Chee Hoo Lum.   

At the doctoral defense, all reviewers indicated the study has many strengths and makes important new insights into this field. In addition to offering robust empirical research on how this unique music is professionally taught, Dr. Ma also developed a theoretical model for how her findings can be applied in diverse educational settings. The findings promise to be relevant for the transmission and institutionalization of traditional music heritage not only in Hong Kong, but also in other settings worldwide, especially in relation to opera traditions.  

The final version of Dr. Ma’s dissertation will soon be made publicly available, and if possible I will provide a link here to it.

One image shown here is from a recent Cantonese opera performance I attended in Hong Kong and the other is from Dr. Ma’s defense.