The overarching goal of the program is to support New England Conservatory's mission to prepare every undergraduate, regardless of major, as a complete "artist/teacher/scholar" who is experienced with presenting, teaching, and studying the impact of music in a variety of settings. The artist/teacher/scholar framework represents a significant departure from traditional approaches to music education in that it provides opportunities for music majors in performance, music history, and music theory--those in the NEC community who do not intend to major in music education as undergraduates--to obtain the curricular background and practical experience they need to be more effective performers, teachers, and advocates for music in public education. The framework is unique in that it will accomplish this by integrating concepts of artistry and scholarship into significant teaching and guided internship experiences at NEC. The framework guided the development and evaluation of (a) a set of core introductory music-in-education courses open to all undergraduates; (b) a wide range of internships in public schools and cultural institutions; (c) an artist/teacher/scholar visiting lecture series focused on the role of the arts and artists in public education; and (d) an interdisciplinary faculty/student mentoring program.

The implementation of this program at a conservatory provides a model for music education for all colleges and conservatories of music wishing to transform the music education curriculum from a relatively marginalized, narrow specialization to an institution-wide program integrating professional performance training with significant experiences in teaching and scholarship for a broader range of students. The music-in-education guided internship program will serve as a model for innovative entry-level state teacher certification programs and provide a point of departure for a new master's degree level music education program.

This project also instigated profound institutional changes at New England Conservatory now in progress. The new Research Center for Learning Through Music; a new music-in-education concentration, a fellowship program for graduate students; a faculty professional development program (also funded by the Surdna Foundation); a national conference; and a new publication, the Journal for Learning Through Music (also funded by the Spencer Foundation). All of these changes represent significant areas of institutionalization that have resulted from the initial stages of this project.

ONLINE REFERENCE: 

Larry Scripp
Project Director

New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
Tel: 617-585-1364
Fax: 617-585-1365

E-mail: larry.scripp@necmusic.edu
URL: http://
www.nec-musicined.org/
scripp.html