Curriculum Diversity
After a busy summer, I was able to take some time this weekend to enjoy reading Anne Lanzilotti's insightful series on Building Curriculum Diversity, published by New Music Box this past July.
The most lucid moment in my reading was in Part Three of the series, where Lanzilotti shares a portion of an interview with violinist Jennifer Koh:
It is our responsibility as artists to advocate for artists and composers who happen to be women or people of color. I feel that we as artists and as an industry need to model and advocate for our entire community. And frankly, diversifying programming is the only way that classical music will survive. If our programming does not reflect the diversity of our society, then we are not serving our community and by extension, we are actively making ourselves irrelevant to society.
With classes starting at many institutions around the country these past few weeks, this is an especially good time to consider the diversity issues raised in these thoughtful essays. As many of us are preparing the storyline by which we will pass down the history of music to our current students, the resources offered would be immediately useful for anyone compiling musical examples. At a deeper level, the three essays also helped me to articulate things I already believed more clearly, gave me plenty of new artists to investigate, and left me with several sources that I would like to read and learn more from.
10 Reasons to Let Students Major in Music
I really enjoyed this Forbes article by Liz Ryan on the advantages high school students gain when majoring in music. Choosing a university and a degree program can be very tricky for parents and students, and often my meetings with high school visitors at the University of Tennessee surround some of the questions that are addressed.
In addition to Ryan's compelling list of reasons supporting a degree in music, I would also add two additional points (at least):
11. My music students become very good at managing their time and multiple responsibilities. With performances, exams, and other personal deadlines, the students learn how to keep all of the plates spinning and how to deliver in public arenas while doing so.
12. Music students also learn to work with a wide variety of colleagues in close, collaborative environments, something we see in the professional world daily. Some of these colleagues are friends, and some...are not. Part of being a professional is learning how to work and communicate with a wide variety of individuals.
I found this article to summarize many of the important advocacy points for high school students who might be feeling pulled to a life in the arts after high school.