What defines a complete education? Even Plato had an opinion on this–he included philosophy, mathematics, poetry, astronomy, gymnastics, and notably: music. But what makes a complete music education?
This conference will explore the range of this question. What do we mean by a comprehensive music education in 2027? And how might it shape a young person, for a lifetime?
The first National Standards for Music (1994) enlarged the definition of music education: playing, singing, composing, improvising, and reading music were joined by listening, analyzing, interpreting, discussing, evaluating, and understanding music in relation to history and culture. Now a music education looked bigger and wider than simply playing concerts.
The last thirty years (and the 2014 National Core Arts Standards) have further expanded our understanding of all that a robust music education can do for a child. How to look at a 9 year old and imagine them as a 49 year old and how in particular their music education has shaped them. How they recognize patterns, connect ideas, embrace the unfamiliar, notice beauty, make meaning, and find personal relevance.
The COVID pandemic and the increasing emphasis on social emotional learning (SEL) also considerably expanded music education’s relevance, so outcomes like empathy, resilience, the patience to stick with slow, careful work, the importance of community and belonging–these all have also become integrated features of a sound music education.
A student who learns to see the world through the lens of music sees possibilities. Their perception is forever changed. Their whole self–mental, emotional, even spiritual—is shaped in profound and lasting ways.
The 2027 conference also coincides with the 50th anniversary of CMP (Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance), which began in Wisconsin and has been going strong since its inception. Although the conference will include the usual wealth of sessions focusing on all aspects of a comprehensive music education, its title, Shaping Sound Musicians, is a nod to CMP, as the title of the first book published about CMP. “Shaping Sound Musicians” has become a catchphrase for the values of a rich and comprehensive music education for all students.
