Music Conference in Norway

[Photo: Petr Šmerkl, Wikipedia.]

I look forward to another visit to Bergen, Norway in November for a conference entitled The Effects of Music.

Below are links to more information about this lovely country:

Norway Country Profile (BBC): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1023276.stm

Standard of Living, Norway: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article828724.ece

Living in Norway: http://www.studyinnorway.no/sn/Living-in-Norway

Culture Net Norway: http://www.kulturnett.no/index.jsp?&lang=en

Statistics Norway: http://www.ssb.no/english/

Norway Public Sector: http://www.norway.no/

Norway Country Profile (CIA): https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/no.html

MusicNet West (graduate music studies consortium): http://www.musicwest.no/

USM Faculty Jazz Combo

It is very nice to be performing music again in the USA with some excellent jazz musicians. Today I played trumpet and sang with the University of Southern Mississippi Faculty Jazz Combo, led by outstanding saxophonist Larry Panella. We performed a set of several jazz standards at an outdoor barbecue for the Homecoming Week events at the university. The student jazz combo also performed, and sounded superb!

Terence Blanchard

Renowned jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard is performing at University of Southern Mississippi in just a few more days!

More information:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7pbEB65Sq8

http://www.terenceblanchard.com/main.html

Music Psychotherapy Among Refugees

The doctoral defense of Sami Alanne will be held on October 23, 2010 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finand. His dissertation, entitled "Music Psychotherapy with Refugee Survivors of Torture: Interpretations of Three Clinical Case Studies," documents his own music therapy interventions with three immigrant men living in Finland who originally came to Europe from nations in Central Asia, the Middle East, and West Africa. This study combines qualitative observations with data from psychological tests and even factor analysis of events recorded from therapeutic sessions. Alanne originally began his dissertation under emeritus Professor Kai Karma. I worked intensely with Alanne at the Sibelius Academy as his main supervisor across the 2009-2010 academic year, but left Finland for a job in the USA as Alanne was sending out the completed document to reviewers for critique. He will graduate with Sibelius Academy's Lauri Vakeva as his Chair and renowned Norwegian music therapy expert Evan Ruud as the "opponent" reader. I anticipate that Alanne's study will be of great interest to music therapists in multicultural nations who seek to more effectively serve patients from immigrant backgrounds, particularly those who have been traumatized by warfare and other dehumanizing conditions.

Education Reform and the Music Doctorate

I look forward to presenting a paper for an upcoming conference entitled The Effects of Music, which is hosted by the Musicnet West academic consortium, in Bergen, Norway (November 29-30). Prior to that, I will be visiting Abu Dhabi, and plans are underway for me to give a lecture in Damascus.

Below is the abstract for the presentation in Norway:

Education Reform and the Music Doctorate: Current Issues in Europe and North America

Arising from analysis of policy documents, and illustrated with anecdotes from supervision of doctoral dissertations in both Europe and the USA, this paper proposes a theoretical model for conceptualization of recent changes to the music doctorate. Developments affecting music education doctoral studies in USA have previously been chronicled in a series of publications by David J. Teachout and recent contributions by Patrick M. Jones and Bennett Reimer, as well as various publications associated with the Carnegie Foundation’s extensive project “Re-envisioning the PhD”. The evolving European situation is described in key reports by Ester Tomasi, Joost Vanmaele, and others associated with the Polifonia Third Cycle Working Group and the European Association of Conservatoires, which emerged in response to the EU’s Bologna Process. While these kinds of documents offer a holistic view of the rapidly changing terrain of doctoral (third cycle) education, a rich understanding may also be obtained from qualitative accounts of what occurs at the level of individual students and their mentors, which is where narrative description can provide a helpful supplement. It is hoped that this paper will open some timely issues for consideration, including such topics as online mentoring, research quality assurance, and “artistic research” methodologies, as Norwegian institutions consider various ways to envision the future of music education doctoral programs.

The Freedom Singers: Their History and Legacy for Music Education

Congratulations to Dr. Deanna Frith Weber, who has recently submitted the final version of her dissertation for a doctorate degree in music education from Boston University. Her dissertation is entitled The Freedom Singers: Their History and Legacy for Music Education. Based on interpretation of both original interviews and archival data, this unique study profiles Albany, Georgia’s influential Freedom Singers of the Civil Rights era, and proposes ways that African-American music from this important movement may be effectively used by contemporary educators.

Dr. Weber is an accomplished vocalist and Assistant Professor of Music at Albany State University in Georgia. It was a pleasure to serve on Dr. Weber’s doctoral advisory committee along with Dr. Patti Tolbert of Georgia College and her supervisory professor Dr. Richard Bunbury, of Boston University. Congratulations, Dr. Weber!


Here is the abstract of Dr. Weber's dissertation study:

Abstract:
The original Freedom Singers of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were a group of four young African-Americans, formed in Georgia in 1962, who traveled throughout the United States serving as musical ambassadors for the southern civil rights movement. This is a study of their history, music, and influence. The late 1950s and 1960s was an era of tremendous social upheaval throughout the country; however, this study will focus on the political and musical events which took place in the Deep South, namely Albany, Georgia and the surrounding area. Its cultural landscape was significantly changed by the civil rights era, in which song played an integral part. These changes also had an effect on music education in K-12 classrooms, as school desegregation brought together African Americans and whites, who for the most part, had existed separately from one another, despite their close geographic proximity.

The story of the SNCC Freedom Singers unfolds through interviews with members of the original group, as well as other participants in the Albany Movement (a coalition of workers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and local citizens’ groups). Interviews were also conducted with people from the area whose lives were impacted by Movement activities. Pertinent source material from archives, library collections, and museums supports an authentic historical narrative. The study also focuses on implications for music education, regarding a variety of issues such as racism, tolerance, and respect for various peoples and cultures. In order to consider the extent to which the civil rights repertory, including freedom songs, is currently in use in music classrooms, particularly in areas of the Deep South, a qualitative survey questionnaire was sent to music teachers in public elementary and middle/junior high schools in five targeted counties in Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. Data was analyzed using frequency tables, and coded using a grounded theory approach. These findings illuminate possibilities for further research into such areas as cross-disciplinary learning, teacher training, and the continuing incorporation into the school music curriculum of the diverse array of cultural musics found in the United States.

Here is a link to Dr. Weber's website:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/deanna-weber/8/281/400

Challenges of Teaching Music Improvisation

Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Pignato, who has very recently completed his doctorate degree in music education at Boston University with a dissertation entitled An Analysis of Practical Challenges Posed by Teaching Improvisation: Case Studies in New York State Schools. This insightful study examines two cases of music teachers who have pioneered some innovative approaches to the use of improvisation in school music classrooms. Dr. Pignato is a highly-accomplished professional percussionist and composer who works as an Assistant Professor at State University of New York, Oneonta. It was a great pleasure to serve on his doctoral advisory committee along with Dr. Ron Kos and his supervisory professor Dr. Andrew Goodrich, both of Boston University. Congratulations, Dr. Pignato!


Here is the abstract of Dr. Pignato's dissertation study:

Abstract:

For much of the past century, music education researchers have espoused improvisation as an important tool for developing creativity, self-expression, and aesthetic understanding. Improvisation instruction in American school music programs, however, primarily occurs in two limited areas of activity: jazz performance ensembles and the teaching of select elementary music methods. Comprehensive integration of improvisation instruction in school music curricula beyond those domains or via other idioms rich in improvisation remains relatively uncommon. Researchers in music education have documented improvisation and its applications in elementary music methodologies. A large body of extant literature addresses jazz in school music programs, jazz pedagogical methods, and jazz ensemble student experience. Studies examining improvisation in American school music contexts in regard to other genres or teaching modalities, however, are sparse. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe selected New York State music educators, school music programs, and class settings that make improvisation a central part of their curricula in ways that transcend traditional jazz ensemble or elementary methodology offerings. The author employed a case study methodology to study the classrooms of two teachers over the course of one academic year. Data collection utilized ethnographic techniques including formal oral interviews, classroom observations, and informal conversations. Data analysis employed interpretive coding guided by a constant comparative approach.

Data analysis revealed challenges posed by teaching improvisation in the school music contexts studied including lack of curricular resources supporting improvisation instruction, conflicts with tradition and the expectations of colleagues, parents, students, and administrators, and standing apart from the prevailing practices of colleagues. Four themes emerged from participant narratives during the course of investigation: (a) significant epiphany experiences, (b) protracted personal transformations, (c) intentionality, and (d) concerted advocacy. Suggestions for music education include improving integration of exceptional teachers into prevailing practices in ways that foster a multiplicity of approaches to teaching music “of all periods, styles, forms, and cultures” (Choate, 1968, p. 139), minimizing extrinsic challenges to teaching improvisation in school music contexts, enhancing teacher intentionality, and encouraging advocacy efforts to foster acceptance, cooperation, and deeper understanding of the value of incorporating improvisation in school music programs.


Here is a link to Dr. Pignato's website:

http://www.joepignato.com/