School of Music Student-Generated Community Engagement Projects

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Date

2021-04-17

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Indiana University

Abstract

While contemporary professional musicians assert the need for more community engagement, few music performance majors participate in such work during their undergraduate and graduate studies. Case studies substantiate that pre-service learning enhances a musician’s preparation for community engagement work, capacity to absorb their overall experience, and ability to comprehend how their role as an artist can contribute to the betterment of society. Course outcomes of arts-based service-learning curricula centered around community engagement proves that there are benefits for both the students and community members. These courses can be used as a model for generating a music-based community engagement experiential learning course. Scholars provide advice for building a sense of community inside and beyond the walls of the classroom, and for creating innovative musical performances. Examining these case studies, curricula, and scholarship leaves room for research to discover what are current examples of professional music community engagement, what are the recommended procedures for effectively connecting with local residents through classical music performance, and what are the resultant benefits for the musicians, organizations, and audience members. The purpose of this study is to understand the best practices relating to engaging community members with classical music. Personal interviews of five professional musicians and four music organization administrators, all who have successfully produced numerous community engagement projects, revealed themes addressing the following overarching research questions: What variety of community engagement activities have interview participants undertaken? What do interview participants perceive as the qualities of successful community engagement? What personal and artistic skills are needed for successful community engagement, and how might music majors learn them? Collecting examples of successful music community engagement projects and analyzing responses to each interview question led to themes common across multiple participants. With regard to the first research question about the variety of music community engagement activities, themes included the importance of attracting new audiences to the orchestra’s concert hall, bringing music to people who do not have access or are unable to come to an orchestra’s concert hall, performing music in non-traditional concert spaces, and providing quality K-12 educational initiatives. The second research question, which addressed the qualities of successful music community engagement work, exposed themes of relating music engagement to local culture, choosing the right community partners, and measuring the outcome metrics of community engagement. Answers to the final study question revealed communication, flexibility, and dealing with perfectionism as personal and artistic skills needed for successful music community engagement. The resultant curriculum design provides students with a course aimed at facilitating awareness of what is possible in the field of music community engagement work, acquiring aptitude to initiate, develop, and measure effective community partnerships, and providing a supportive environment to experience designing and performing music community engagement projects. Students will work as team members forming objective project goals, growing personal and artistic skills, and crafting authentic relationships with their classmates and community participants. In this context, students will actively participate in a diverse exploration of community, create an innovative and collaborative project with community partners, and evaluate their overall experience and project outcomes.

Description

Thesis (DM) – Indiana University, Music, 2021

Keywords

music, community, engagement, collaboration, pre-service learning, service learning, experiential learning course, innovative, local culture, teaching artist, entry point, community engagement success, personal skills, artistic skills, non-traditional concert, music education, access to music, community partners, outcome metrics, qualitative, quantitative, communication, flexibility, dealing with perfectionism, outreach

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Thesis