Music education isn’t just a nice-to-have part of our curriculum. It’s essential.
And music educators know that, whether students take their musical training into a career in the arts, or use it in pursuit of some other academic or career pathway, the elements of music education will serve them well throughout their lives.
Helping those educators find innovative ways to engage with students is what the New Brunswick chapter of the Canadian Music Educators Association—The New Brunswick Music Educators Association (NBMEA)— had in mind when they hosted their Atlantic Regional Conference at Fredericton High School on Saturday, Oct. 28.
The conference began on Friday night with a registration/welcome event, followed on Saturday by workshops and lectures from leading music educators. The many workshops included offerings such as 24 Ways to Improve Every Class or Rehearsal Through Inspired Teaching, Demystifying Drum Rolls & Warmups for Percussionists, and Fostering an Awareness of Non-Performance Career Options in Music.
“I want them to get inspiration [and] a chance to connect with other music teachers,” said FHS Music Teacher and New Brunswick Music Educators Association President Craig Woodcock. “A lot of us… don’t have another music teacher in the school. I’m lucky that I do but a lot of people are the only music teacher around, so it’s nice to make those connections.”
The conference is also important, Woodcock said, as a way to re-inspire music teachers after the difficult pandemic period.
“It’s wonderful to have a day where people give up their time to come here and learn some of these things and to boost each other up,” he said.
Boosting knowledge and spirits was the order of the day on the Saturday, as presenters engaged fellow music educators in fun, energetic activities to demonstrate how to engage students in music learning.
Kiera Galway, Mount Allison University’s Assistant Professor of Music Education and Choral Conducting, had them up and dancing in her Engaging K-12 Choral Activities presentation.
“I really try to incorporate movement and props and different things [to promote] different ways of engaging with choral singing,” said Galway. “I hope they leave a little more energized, a little more excited about group singing than when they came in.”
Other presenters employed percussion instruments as group teaching tools.
Fredericton High School music teacher Illyana Vermeersch is looking to reinvigorate her music lessons by connecting “with other music teachers and getting some more new ideas and regaining the passion that you put into the music when you started off as a beginning teacher.”
And Oromocto High School music teacher Dan Steeves is “hoping to get some practical applications for my classroom. Sometimes I find these types of conferences are good to readjust your thinking and your perspective and remind you why you do what you do.”
A reminder
Reminding music educators why they do what they do—and how to do it more effectively—was keynote speaker Peter Boonshaft’s primary goal.
Boonshaft, Professor Emeritus of Music at New York’s Hofstra University, said his presentations “add on to what they’re already doing or [offer] different ways to try to approach the same thing because we’re all just trying to add to our ‘bag of tricks’.”
One bit of advice, out of many offered by Boonshaft, resonated with educators: Tact, Praise and Kindness is the shortest distance from where you are to where you want to be.
“[The keynote speaker] was really inspirational for me listening to the stories of the impact he had on his students and the impact they had on him,” said Steeves. “It reminds me of some of the students I’ve had over the years.”
Said Vermeersch, “We know that we want to inspire. We’re in that business of hope which is a big thing. It’s indescribable. But you know at the end of the day if something has gone well and you’re really humbled by it, that hits home.”
“Now that we’re out of COVID, we’re starting to see that music education is starting to flourish again,” said Woodcock. “It’s a very hopeful sign for the future.”
Scenes from the New Brunswick Music Educators Association’s Atlantic Regional Conference at Fredericton High School on Saturday, Oct. 28.