Sociomusicology

11/27/10

The Effects of Music

In just a few more days a music conference will be held in Bergen, Norway, entitled The Effects of Music. I very much look forward to participating and giving my presentation entitled "Education Reform and the Music Doctorate: Current Issues in Europe and North America" at this event.

According to the conference announcement, “The goal for the seminar is to stimulate interdisciplinary innovative thinking concerning questions that are important in several academic music areas but that are seldom debated on an interdisciplinary level. Many different approaches will be presented, e.g. theoretic, historical, educational, therapeutic as well as artistic point of views. Through exploring different topics in music, such as interpretation, reception, educational use etc. the relations between different parts of music will be articulated and discussed. The seminar will consist of academic and artistic presentations and debates. The presentations will be in Norwegian the first day and in English the second day.”

Further above is an image of Norse explorer Leif Erikson, who visited America around 500 years before Columbus “discovered” it. Since 1964, the USA has officially recognized October 9 as Leif Erikson Day, since that on that day in 1825 the first large group of Norwegian immigrants arrived in New York.

11/23/10

Damascus

Damascus: possibly the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

Below are images of (1) nearby, the ancient city of Ma'loula (where probably the world's oldest churches -- founded by St. Paul -- are located and Aramaic is still spoken), (2) the new Damascus Opera House, (3) the spice market of Old Damascus, (4) the magnificent Umayyad Mosque, a sacred site which enshrines Hussayn (grandson of Mohammed) and unique relics that even include "John the Baptist's head", and (5) a meal with Syrian Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Nahel Al Halabi and concert pianist Dr. Chaden Yafi (leading young classical musicians affiliated with the opera and conservatory).

I taught a workshop today for trumpeters at the conservatory, following a meeting with the Director of the opera house, and then had a marvelous meal and visited various sites in Old Damascus. The architecture, design, spices and calligraphy were all certainly memorable, but the ecstatic singing and tearful prayers at these sacred sites were especially impressive.

11/21/10

Abu Dhabi

I am enjoying Abu Dhabi today. The call to prayer, heard many times per day all throughout the city, has a very musical sound to it, although not usually acknowledged as a form of music. Yesterday I taught a seminar in Norway, advising graduate students on research plans for their theses. The mosques of Abu Dhabi are certainly a contrast to the elegant old wooden buildings of Bergen, but both cities have impressive contemporary architecture as well, and the latest architecture of nearby Dubai is also truly astonishing. I visited this ultra-modern city today with my sister Christina (below). Later this week I will travel to Syria, where I look forward to visiting the Opera House of Damascus. Here are some photos I took yesterday and today at the world's tallest building and the eighth largest mosque, both here in United Arab Emirates. We also managed to visit the Emirates Palace on the same evening the Queen of England arrived, so security was unusually tight.

11/17/10

Give Peace a Chance

At the 30th annual John Lennon tribute, the Playing for Change Foundation (PFCF) is now announcing its Power to the People campaign to raise awareness and funding for peace-building music education programs.

More information:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/playing-for-change-foundation-and-theatre-within-advance-john-lennons-vision-for-peace-with-power-to-the-people-campaign-107595123.html

11/13/10

RIP Gorecki

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (December 6, 1933 – November 12, 2010)

10/31/10

Composers Discuss Music Education

Here are links to some very interesting videos of contemporary American composers discussing music education along with performances of a few of their pieces. Joseph Schwantner explains what he owes to the teacher who taught him as a child, while Joan Tower describes the gap between composer and classical performer that has been formed by misguided educational practices and proposes some practical solutions to this widespread problem.

Joseph Schwantner’s musical education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otL4D9DABg8&feature=related

Schwantner: Black Anemones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVraF6ciyx8

Joan Tower discusses issues in composition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXIFArjXT0M&feature=channel

(mentions education at 1:19)

Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm8EZj5skY8

10/15/10

Music Education and Global Responsibility

In a recent issue of the Finnish Journal of Music Education, Rauni Rasanen writes of how “Music with its words, melodies and rhythm has a very holistic effect on people. Still, if these methods can be used to build prejudices they are equally efficient when deconstructing them” (2010. p.22). Professor Rasanen reminds readers that in the contemporary world “international connections are not only natural, but also necessary” and that a reflective and compassionate awareness of “global responsibility” belongs in teacher education programs, including those in the field of music.

Historian Goldwin Smith is credited with first introducing the phrase “Above all nations is humanity,” which has since become a popular motto used in various ways by such institutions as Cornell University, University of Hawaii, University of Illinois, and University of Southern Mississippi. Few, it seems, would claim to be opposed to this idea. Nevertheless, music curricula rarely reflect a commitment to the spirit of this motto in terms of either careful representation of global heritage on the one hand, or proper restraint in terms of the promotion of nationalistic ideology on the other.

I am pleased to report that we have now obtained a contract to publish a book in 2012 entitled Patriotism and Nationalism in Music Education, which will directly examine the phenomenon of national identity construction in music education from a global perspective, with particular attention to how patriotic music has been used in various nations in the past, and how it might most appropriately fit within a curriculum that seeks to represent contemporary values and concerns among multicultural nations. Contributors include several of the most widely published young scholars in the field of music education. While there are many purely musical rationales (e.g. development of compositional and performance ability, enhanced aural skills and general musical knowledge, etc.) for including an array of genres such as patriotic or non-western music in any curriculum, this book will discuss the implications of how the power of music is also frequently used for ideological purposes that may lend support to those who advocate either war or peace.

Click HERE for a related book announcement.

Below is the opening material for the book I have developed with Alexandra Kertz-Welzel:

Hebert, D. G. & Kertz-Welzel, A. (Eds.) (in press/forthcoming, 2012). Patriotism and Nationalism in Music Education. [Contributors: Simon Keller, Jane Southcott, Kari Veblen, Ambigay Yudkoff, Carlos Abril, CheeHoo Lum, Eugene Dairianathan, Amy Beegle, Wai-Chung Ho, Marja Heimonen, David G. Hebert, Alexandra Kertz-Welzel].

Patriotism and Nationalism

in Music Education

Edited by

David G. Hebert and

Alexandra Kertz-Welzel

Abstract

Music has long served as an emblem of national identity in educational systems throughout the world. Patriotic songs are commonly considered healthy and essential ingredients of school curriculum, nurturing the respect, loyalty and “good citizenship” of students. But to what extent have music educators critically examined the potential benefits and costs of nationalism? Globalization in the contemporary world has revolutionized the nature of international relationships, such that patriotism may merit rethinking as an objective for music education. The fields of “peace studies” and “education for international understanding” may better reflect current values shared by the profession, values that often conflict with the nationalistic impulse. This is the first book to introduce an international dialogue on this important theme.

Contents

Introduction

David G. Hebert and Alexandra Kertz-Welzel

Preface: On Patriotism and Education

Simon Keller

1 Patriotism and Music Education: An International Overview

David G. Hebert

2 Lesson Learned? In Search for Patriotism and Nationalism in the German Music Education Curriculum

Alexandra Kertz-Welzel

3 Nationalism and School Music in Australia

Jane Southcott

4 National Identity in the Taiwanese System of Music Education