In many cases, decisions are being made to cut programs and give up because it’s difficult to see how we can continue to teach performing arts in our current situations.
My former student and Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, Brett Mitchell, and I discuss the future of Music Education and how music educators can support students during these challenging times (without it being a physical, mental, and emotional drain on us as educators!)
There is nothing normal about our current situation, even for those teachers who are teaching in person. There’s no way to recreate the kinds of ensemble situations we’ve had in the past during a pandemic, and the frustrations and disappointments that come with the loss of these important opportunities feel insurmountable.
How do we keep our students engaged when everything is SO hard so they’ll still be around to take our classes when we can return to “normal” rehearsal situations?
Who better to take a situation that seems impossible and create a new and more innovative way to make music than the very people who have been trained to improvise within a given structure when soloing with a jazz band or scatting over the blues?
The future of music education is up to the music educators of today!
It won’t be easy, but WE CAN DO THIS. We MUST do this.
Join Brett and me as we talk about the challenges and opportunities we face and how as a community we can help kids become the best version of themselves through the magic of music education. <3