Music Institutions Research Articles

Tertiary music students’ perspectives on activist-musicianship: Approaches, challenges, and perceived role of higher music education

While tertiary music programs traditionally focus on developing musicians’ craft, there is an increasing emphasis on the need to develop students’ ability to use their craft in socially engaged ways. This has led to an increase in community music, mobility programs, and performance outreach opportunities being embedded into tertiary music programs. There is also, however, potential for students to develop their craft more explicitly in service of social change through activist-musicianship, but little academic exploration into how this might be embedded into tertiary music programs. This article, through interviews and focus groups, investigates tertiary music students’ perspectives on music’s role in activism, their social values and aspirations, and perceived opportunities and challenges for musicians and tertiary music institutions. Music activism was seen to be possible through focusing on the musician as embodying the message or the music communicating the message, with repertoire choice and the degree of explicit messaging deemed important considerations regarding potential impact. Students highlighted a desire to plant seeds for change, to encourage audience members to become aware of and question unconscious biases and values, and to spark ongoing conversations. Within their programs, students expressed a desire for more autonomy in repertoire selection, for training on the inclusion of extra-musical features to support messaging, and for strong integration and alignment of academic and performance courses that could provide opportunities to practice activist-musicianship as part of their programs. Further to this, there are a range of ethical considerations educators need to be mindful of, which are outlined throughout this article. Insights shared highlight a need for further understanding of the activist-musician and how associated skill sets and opportunities might be embedded within existing tertiary music programs.

The Oxford Handbook of Music and Intellectual Culture in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Paul Watt

Reviewed by: The Oxford Handbook of Music and Intellectual Culture in the Nineteenth Century ed. by Paul Watt, Sarah Collins, and Michael Allis Rosemary Golding (bio) The Oxford Handbook of Music and Intellectual Culture in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Paul Watt, Sarah Collins, and Michael Allis; pp. xiii + 553. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2020, $150.00, $149.99 ebook, £110.00. Recent years have seen a flurry of interest in the history of writing and thinking about music in the nineteenth century, including the histories of musicology, musical institutions, musical criticism, and music education. This is a welcome further development of the predominant focus on texts and documents within studies of music in nineteenth-century Britain, the speciality of editors Paul Watt, Sarah Collins, and Michael Allis. The Oxford Handbook of Music and Intellectual Culture in the Nineteenth Century follows a broader trend over several decades to situate music in its cultural context, drawing fully on the rich archival and documentary material available. This volume is both a very welcome account of that recent work and a showcase of substantial original research covering an impressive range of topics. The handbook has become an important vehicle for research over the past decade, with significant publications in musicology and neighboring disciplines from Oxford, Cambridge, and Routledge. The handbook format is different in conception from an edited collection of essays, often leading to an uneven balance between comprehensive coverage and detailed study. The present handbook includes chapters ranging from new research to valuable summaries of existing literature, using both focused case studies and broader reviews. Contributions vary from summaries of developments in a range of geographical areas to focused studies of a single region, and from covering the whole nineteenth century to concentrating on a shorter time period, usually the end of the century. These differing approaches provide plenty of gems among the topics explored, but also lead to a less-comprehensive consideration of some themes than might be expected. The volume's introduction acknowledges the striking paucity of women scholars represented in its authorship. Women are also under-represented in the examples and case studies, a perennial problem in nineteenth-century history but one worth addressing [End Page 340] in key publications. The international spread of authors is laudable, but noticeably concentrated in the Global North. Scholars of the period urgently need to acknowledge the limitations of their research and the vast amount of the nineteenth-century world with which there is little or no scholarly engagement. There is no doubt that musicological scholarship will become richer with sustained and meaningful engagement with colleagues from South American, East Asian, and African nations, as well as from further recognition of the methodological and disciplinary histories that continue to shape our work. This volume goes some way toward that goal, but much remains to be done in connecting these ideas to present practices. Nevertheless it is cheering to see a wider range of scholarship coming into focus, drawing close links between intellectual, cultural, and musical history. Kevin C. Karnes's discussion of Saul M. Ginzburg and Pesach Marek's project on Russian-Jewish folk songs, for example, examines new meanings for historical writing. Another example is Allis's chapter on travel writing, which examines this newly expanded genre associated with the technological developments of the century. Simon McVeigh's chapter on the concert series links musical performance with key intellectual themes such as historiography and national identity. Throughout the volume, perspectives common in studies of Victorian music and its contexts are given a broader, more international framework that further enriches and enlivens the study of British music. Which chapters will be of particular interest to readers of Victorian Studies? Here the idiosyncrasies of the handbook format are apparent. Several chapters are particularly notable for their attention to Victorian Britain, offering both an overview of key themes and an introduction to the relevant literature, as well as detailed case studies. In part 1, "Texts and Practices," Allis's chapter on travel writing draws on a range of authors including Henry Inglis, Rudyard Kipling, and Charles Dickens; the majority of sources are English-language reports of travels and music in continental Europe...

Innovative Contributions to the Art of Established Word Games

Over the last 50-60 years, the art of interpretation on Pan flute has developed considerably, which is conditioned by technical improvement of the instrument, setting up pan flute classes at special musical institutions in the republic. In particular, however, this process has been marked by the artistic activity of some famous pan flute – Gheorghe Zamfir, Simion Stanciu, Boris Rudenco, Vasile Iovu and others – players who have taken the fame of this instrument away from the country's borders. The Article is dedicated to analysing the contributions made by renowned pan flute players in this respect from the point of view of their artistic activities and of interpretation techniques, which, at the time of their appearance, were innovative steps in the way of the universal contemporary affirmation of this instrument. The problem is addressed from the diacritical - evolution and cultural perspectives that refer to the Romanian space, European and universal space, one of the purposes of the article is to shaping and complete the international path of the pan flute, in the light of the innovations brought into the art of interpretation during the defined period.

The phenomenon of pianist-composer in Ukrainian musical culture

The phenomenon of pianist-composer in Ukrainian musical culture, considered in retrospect, is studied. Its consideration allows to fully understand the place and role of creative and instrumental performance of Ukrainian artists both in the history of musical culture of Ukraine and in terms of the development of musical culture in Europe.
 The purpose of the article. To make a systematic review of the phenomenon of pianist-composer in Ukrainian musical culture, in the XIX-XXI centuries, in terms of the contribution of Ukrainian musicians into the development of both the art of composition and performance (instrument — piano).
 The methodology. Interdisciplinary approach has been applied, within which there is an appeal to cultural, art, psychological, historical, etc., scientific principles; we used activity-structural method in the direction of research of creative personality (pianist-composer), method of cultural-historical analysis (activity and historical significance of creativity of pianist-composer in Ukrainian musical culture); applied intonation, genre-style and text-interpretation methods that contribute to the adequate assessment of the results of the creative process in the field of composition and performance; methods of biography and source studies used in the historical research aspect of assessing the importance of the personality of Ukrainian pianists-composers.
 The results. A retrospective review of the work and instrumental and performance activities (piano) of Ukrainian pianists-composers in terms of their importance for Ukrainian musical culture and for world, European musical activity.
 The scientific novelty. For the first time we made an attempt of a systematic diachronic analysis of the meaning of compositional and instrumental-performance activities (piano) of Ukrainian artists of the XIX–XXI centuries in terms of formation and further development of the domestic piano school with the simultaneous influence of the compositional activities of these individuals on the musical culture of Ukraine and the world.
 The practical significance. Systematized presentation of historical and cultural, musicological, etc., characteristics of the phenomenon of pianist-composer in Ukrainian musical culture, allows to apply its results in teaching at the level of specialized music institutions, in the segment of development of educational materials on this topic, to promote Ukrainian piano schools and compositional works of outstanding domestic artists, also in the direction of determining the projective trends in the development of domestic compositional and performing (piano) musical activities.

The Quality and Stature of Soviet and Post-Soviet Musical Education: An Analysis of Music Conserva-toires

This paper addresses the modernisation of musical traditions in Soviet and Post-Soviet states, by assessing the development of particular conservatoires as proxies for the dominant discursive and political paradigms of the era. While a prominent historical purpose for the establishment of these musical institutions was for the successful introduction of the Western style of education to the Soviet Union, the situation has seen a marked change since the fall of the USSR. Much of this transition is closely tied to concepts of social and legal sovereignty, with many conservatories struggling with the political and economic transformation in the post-Soviet era, due to cultural, religious and social policy. Three particular conservatoires are used to illustrate this hypothesis: the Moscow State Conservatoire (founded in 1866), Kazan Conservatoire (founded in 1945) and State conservatoire of Uzbekistan (founded in 1936).

Discuss the present situation of private music institutions in China, as well as their growth

Due to the obvious Chinese government's social, economic, and cultural development initiatives, music education in China has progressed tremendously. Arts and culture are being promoted. Parents urge their children to study music at a young age, including taking music lessons. As a result, the number of private music schools in China has significantly increased. Which private music schools are there in China? There are common sorts of operations that vary based on the environment of Chinese society and have built a private music institute with a distinctive history. As a result, this scholarly paper provides information on the history and growth of private music academies in China. Delivering the current state of a private school or music institution is one of the characteristics of each type of music school. This includes foreign-franchised institutions such as Yamaha and Gymboree, as well as Chinese-owned businesses. A type of music business that grows into a music community that sells musical instruments. Representing a music instructor and other music-related enterprises. This is the current state of the private music academy industry in China.

Strategies for Improving the Quality of Music Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools in the Context of Artificial Intelligence and Evaluation

With the advancement of society, we have entered the era of “artificial intelligence,” with a plethora of sophisticated electronic devices infiltrating every aspect of our daily lives. People may work and study more conveniently with these sophisticated devices, dramatically increasing efficiency and saving time. When it comes to music instruction, there's no shortage of smart technologies to be found. This includes everything from advanced electronic musical instruments to sophisticated instructional software and mobile music apps. It is becoming increasingly difficult for youngsters to accept the traditional music instruction mode as they are exposed to and enjoy high-tech advancements. Many parents put their children into music training institutions to improve their children's after-school lives. When the emergence of new intelligent music teaching is a good solution to this problem, for this reason, this study explores the strategy and evaluation of music teaching quality improvement in primary and secondary schools based on the background of artificial intelligence. Therefore, those students who have just started to receive music education no longer feel monotonous and boring, and the indulgence mode of teaching makes students enjoy the fun and sense of achievement brought by music more when learning music, which can make more children enter the concentration state faster in the music initiation stage.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL CULTURE AND EDUCATION IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE IN THE 2ND HALF OF THE 19TH – BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The article considers the development of musical and cultural life in the largest centres of Southern Ukraine in the late 19th – early 20th century: Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa. The author pays special attention to the specific features of the region determined by its geographical location and multi-ethnic population. In many provincial and district centres of Southern Ukraine, cultural life developed due in no small way to the involvement of musically gifted foreigners: Czech and German colonists and also the guests from the modern Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Italy etc. The author provides evidence that almost every department of the Imperial Russian Musical Society (IRMS) of the southern region of that historical period engaged foreign specialists. Moreover, many domestic music teachers received musical education in European conservatories (Leipzig, Warsaw, Brussels, Vienna and others). All of the aforesaid illustrates the implementation of European pedagogical and methodological principles in music education in Southern Ukraine. In many educational institutions (especially women’s institutions), foreigners made up the majority of teachers. Having analyzed the cultural life in Southern Ukraine in the 2nd half of the 19th – early 20th century, the author concludes that the increasing demand for a diverse and comprehensive cultural life in local communities back at that time determined the development of musical courses and educational institutions (both public and private), the IRMS local branches, performing schools and groups etc. General trends in the development of music, musical pedagogy and other areas of musical activity were rooted in Western European traditions. Thus, interethnic musical contacts carried out on the territory of Southern Ukraine and its cultural and economic centre – Odessa, contributed to the formation of a unique multi-dimensional culture of this region by the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century.

Methods and techniques of jazz­pop music arrangement for button accordion and piano accordion in swing style

The relevance. The article covers the topics of popularization of instrumental performance of button and piano accordionists in terms of genre improvement of the concert repertoire, based on the idea of expanding the stylistic boundaries of the programme, offering new methods and techniques of instrumental arrangement when training and performing pop and jazz music in the preferred genres and styles, adapting the musical content to one’s performance.
 The aim of the article. The study explores the relevance of button and piano accordionists’ concert programme originality, as well as the need to add light genre pieces. The article also substantiates the question of the expediency of arranging the music of those genres which can sound more natural and be conveniently performed on instruments.
 The novelty. The study gives recommendations on structuring a composition in the standard form to facilitate the perception and understanding of complex rhythmic schemes of accompaniment for playing the part with the left hand and partially with the right one.
 The methodology. Methodology on the performing repertoire in the final stage, that is, on demonstrating the results of developing the programme at professional and other stages. 
 For a detailed and practical approach to the work process, the swing style is proposed using the example of a vocal genre composition ‘Ain’t That a Kick In Head?’ by composer Jimmy Van Heusen to the lyrics of American author Sammy Cahn. There are also musical examples of working material for clarity of the practical process and consideration of key aspects of the issue of adaptation and arrangement of pieces in the content.
 The conclusions. The relevance of the problem of piano accordion and button accordion popularity among modern youth and beyond lies in many reasons. One of them, perhaps, is the general tendency of studying at music institutions to prepare performances rather for competitive events characterised by competitive spirit than for concerts, where the performance is aimed at the audience’s interest. The demonstration of video and audio materials and live performances of masters of this art in prestigious radio and television programmes is not widespread enough.

Marimbo Chimes And The Wizard’s Monster Band: Music In Theatrical Magic Shows

ABSTRACT Magic shows were one of many illusory spectacles popular in nineteenth-century Europe and North America, co-existing with melodrama, pantomime, and magic lantern displays. Yet there is little scholarship in any field documenting the function and significance of music in theatrical conjuring. This essay introduces a new field of research by surveying common practices in historical and modern magic shows. Historical evidence, drawn from broadsides, handbills, programmes, memoirs, reviews, and instructional guides to magic, supports three themes: (1) the relationship between conjuring, musical institutions, and related theatrical entertainments; (2) the phenomenon of magicians doubling as musical performers; and (3) the link between music, magic, and imperialist projects. Filmed performances of magic and empirical studies on illusion, cross-modal perception, and entrainment suggest a continuity of practice between nineteenth-century conjurers and modern magicians. A scene from the 2006 film The Illusionist links modern film-scoring techniques to musical conventions in nineteenth-century stage magic.

Factors influencing the career intentions of music performance students: An integrated model analysis

Academia now has not paid much attention to the career intentions of music performance students from integrated cognitive motivation theoretical perspective. This research sought insights into factors influencing the career intentions of music performance students by empirically combining social cognitive career theory and self-determination theory. Undergraduates from seven Chinese music institutions participated in the survey through self-managed online questionnaires. About 422 valid surveys were used for data analysis using Smart-PLS v3.3.3 to evaluate the measurement and structural models. The multiple regression analysis showed that the proposed model explained 58.3% of the career intentions variance. Self-efficacy, social support, and autonomous motivation positively affect career intentions. Autonomous motivation partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and career intentions. This research expands the existing literature on the Chinese music performance industry and helps to propose theoretically driven measures for effective intervention to attract and retain these students.

Application of some kinesiology methods in teaching wind instruments

Th e aim of the research. To study the impact of using various methods of educational kinesiology in the process of learning to play a wind instrument. Materials and methods. Analysis of the formation of the kinesiological direction in the context of its historical development. Adaptation of exercises, which are borrowed from educational kinesiology to the system of music education. Results. Th e emergence of musical kinesiology as a separate branch of kinesiology. Consideration of its positive impact on the process of learning to play a wind instrument and, as a result, an increase in the quality of training of musicians. Conclusion. Th e use of kinesiological methods helps to diversify classes in musical institutions and helps to increase interest in the profession of a performer. Confl ict of interest. The authors declare the absence of obvious and potential confl icts of interest associated with the publication of this article.

Digitalna prezentacija Beogradske filharmonije u periodu obustave koncertnih aktivnosti

The paper focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic impact on performing arts, notably the emergence of new presentation forms devised while concert activities were suspended, referring to the example of philharmonic orchestras. Owing to totalizing digitalization, which has shifted the entire production and reception of the performing and listening experience to the online sphere, the role of the audience also undergoes a shift from a collective to a virtual entity. The text, firstly, maps the emerging practices and explores their impact on changing the very sensory perception of new media content consumed in virtual reality. The focus of the paper is on redefinition of the PR department from communications towards the roll of the curator of the online presentations and the digital content and overall activities of the orchestra. The case study examines the example of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra by analysing its digital presentation and communication strategy between March and June 2020. The goal is to identify the contributions of new practices, whose combination with the traditional ones could result in long-term audience and public relations development and enhancement of musical performance presentation. By continuously producing new contents for different target groups, without a single concert held in this period, the Philharmonic successfully attracted new audience and turned a crisis into an opportunity for interaction with new users, thus generating growth on all platforms. The conclusion provides a predictive analysis of return to normality, after the digital transgression experiences. It is recognized that music institutions will strategically develop their digital concert halls as new entrepreneurial models. As competition in this sphere brings PR departments to the fore owing to the need to work with complex algorithms, the digital ethical dilemma will intensify as a burning issue in the context of demographic data collection.

Actual problems of teaching professional disciplines for students of performing specialties of music institutions of higher education

Actual problems of teaching professional disciplines for students of performing specialties of music institutions of higher education

О гармонии Клода Дебюсси. Некоторые аспекты тональности

The article is devoted to certain issues related to harmony in Claude Debussy’s music, as well as their coverage in work with students of higher musical institutions. The focus of our attention lies on the categories of tonality and functionality as the most important aspects of the composer’s harmonic style. The tonality of his music is presented, on the one hand, based on traditions manifesting the late romantic tendencies of extended tonality; on the other hand, taking into account, the individual original musical solutions presented by the composer in some particular compositions of his. The latter are demonstrated in the close combination of tonal “states,” the application of the principle of “directing” tonality, and introduction of the elements of chromatic tonality. Attention is paid to Debussy’s special harmonic techniques, which became constructive for his work – the “autonomous” interaction between two different seventh chords which possess a multi-vector tonal-functional orientation, as well as “harmonic montage.” The article comes up with the conclusion that Debussy’s harmonic system is comprised of the synthesis of many of its particular manifestations, which make it possible for us to examine its most important specific features in a new way.

Ethnomusicology of Ukraine at The Turn of XX–XXI Centuries (1991–2021):Centers, Pedagogy, Documentation

The restoration of Ukraine’s independence in 1991 created favorable conditions for the powerful development of domestic ethnomusicology. Ukrainian musical folklore research has a long tradition, but for a hundred years the research has been conducted in difficult historical and political realities. This did not contribute to the proper development of folk music research, especially in the Soviet period. The period 1991–2021 is quite interesting, although difficult and ambiguous. The revival of Ukrainian ethnomusicology began in the early 1990s. Unfortunately, not all initiatives have been continued. Many initiatives had to be stopped due to financial difficulties, political circumstances, lack of sufficient specialists and so on.
 This article was inspired by the need to summarize everything that has been done in Ukrainian musical folklore over the past 30 years, to consider the achievements of Ukrainian ethnomusicology in 1991–2021. Previously, there was no general research on this topic, because various Ukrainian scientists have written about certain aspects of ethnomusicological work and about different time periods in the history of musical folkloristics of the period of independence. The research will be published in two parts: in this issue of the yearbook the main Ukrainian ethnomusicological centers will be presented, the state of domestic ethno-pedagogy will be discussed, documentation (field and archival) of folk music will be considered. The next issue will analyze the scientific, publishing, conference, promotional activities of Ukrainian researchers of folk music.
 Kyiv and Lviv have been the main Ukrainian centers for the study of folk music since the early twentieth century. The same is true today: the basic Ukrainian ethnomusical centers are the Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology (IAFE) of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music of Ukraine and the Lysenko Lviv National Academy of Music. Research Scientific Laboratory of Music Ethnology and Departments of musical folklore were opened in both Academies in the early 1990s. Well-known scientists, doctors of science and PhD, and their junior colleagues work in these centers. Publishing activity is developing: encyclopedias, monographs, folklore collections, collections of articles, periodicals are published. Kyiv and Lviv higher music institutions publish the only in Ukraine purely ethnomusicological yearbooks of scientific articles and materials – «Problems of music ethnology» and «Ethnomusic». Regional ethnomusicological centers operate in many cities of Ukraine – Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Sumy, Rivne, Uzhgorod, etc.
 During the period of Independence, ethnomusicological education was actively developing. The two main areas are the education of ethnomusicologists-theorists and ethnomusicologists-practitioners, leaders of folklore ensembles. The first ones are prepared mainly by Kyiv and Lviv Music academies, where various specialized disciplines are taught. The second is taught in higher educational institutions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Rivne, Sumy.
 An important area of activity of almost all Ukrainian ethnomusicological centers in the period of Independence was the documentation of folk music: the collection of musical folklore, transcription and archiving. Folk music was most actively collected in the early 1990s, but over time this work has slowed down, in part because authentic tradition is dying out and living in the passive memory of performers. Today the largest archives of folk music are in IAFE and Kyiv and Lviv Music academies. Archival collections are actively digitized, some materials can be found on the Internet – both on special sites-archives of folk music, and YouTube channels, which usually refer to the different ethnomusical centers. The main prospect of Ukrainian archivists engaged in musical folklore is the creation of the Central Electronic Archive of Ukrainian Folklore

Chinese Composers in the West: Towards a New Style Identity (Case Study of the Opera “Dream of The Red Chamber” By Bright Sheng)

There is considered the issue of migration as a criterion of creativity of Chinese composers on the way to understanding a new stylistic identity. It is stated that in the case of Chinese composers who emigrated to America, the integration of their compositional experience into a different cultural space coincided with the period of renewal of Western musical language on the rowing waves of interest of European and American musical communities in Eastern cultural traditions. It is noted that the process of adaptation of Western listeners to the unusual musical language of Chinese composers was gradual. The figures of Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi, Zhou Long stand out, whose work is highly appreciated by modern musicians and listeners, which is confirmed by the concert programs of the world's leading music institutions. Among Chinese opera composers, the importance of Bright Sheng is emphasized, whose work combines the traditions of Western and Eastern cultures. Sheng managed to achieve a new stylistic identity, which allows us to call him a modern classic, in whose work classical values are disguised by cross-cultural combinations. The composer's experiences are conveyed through bilingual musical vocabulary, which reflects the result of Shen's cultural experience. The peculiarities of the opera "Dream of the Red Chamber" in terms of combining cultural symbols of east and west are analyzed. It is determined that oriental elements are manifested in the usage of additional traditional instruments (Peking Opera and Guqin percussion) while preserving their main function and rhythmic patterns, imitation of the sound of traditional Chinese wind instruments, introduction of quotations from folk songs, creation of variations on folk themes and more. Western traditions of opera writing are demonstrated through the appeal to the traditional number structure, the use of the method of monothematism and general tonal (but complicated by pentatonic constructions) harmonic writing.

Constructing the Public Concert Hall

AbstractIn the current discourse surrounding classical music institutions, issues of inclusion and diversity are regularly to the fore. There is pressure to prove the relevance of orchestras and ensembles to wider society, with outreach work in educational settings and in communities already an established part of their output. Using data gathered from a research project with the International Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust Scotland (IMPACT Scotland), which is responsible for planning a new concert hall in Edinburgh to be called the Dunard Centre, this article extends these debates by relocating them to a new arena: the buildings classical institutions inhabit. First, the public nature of the concert hall is explored by examining three ‘strategies for publicness’ identified in concert-hall projects: the urbanistic strategy, the living building strategy and the ‘art for all’ strategy. These will be discussed in relation to the extensive literature on public space. The second part of the article examines recent developments in musicology and arts policy which encourage more ‘democratic’ arts practice. These will be used as the basis for asking how the concert hall (and its primary tenant, the orchestra) might better achieve the publicness that is so often promised on their behalf.

Health education for musicians in the UK: a qualitative evaluation.

Musical training in higher education music institutions (e.g. conservatoires) has been associated with health-related issues among musicians. The Health Promotion in Schools of Music project in the USA and the Healthy Conservatoires project in the UK have therefore recommended health promotion at conservatoires. Few health education courses have been evaluated to date, however. A 5-month health education programme for first-year undergraduate students at a British conservatoire was introduced as part of the core curriculum in September 2016. The programme, which involved both lectures and seminars, was evaluated using quantitative and qualitative approaches. This article reports only the qualitative evaluation. Twenty semi-structured individual interviews were conducted either face-to-face or via Skype in April 2017. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Five themes were identified: (i) the programme as a catalyst for engagement with health; (ii) behavioural changes; (iii) barriers to engaging with the programme material and initiating changes; (iv) suggestions for improvement; and (v) misinformation. Generally, participants viewed the programme as relevant and informative, particularly appreciating the intimate nature of the seminars. They reported that the programme helped them take a broader perspective on musicianship and that they would welcome sessions that are more practical than theoretical. They also reported instances of change in their behaviours relating to both lifestyle and management of music practice. In conclusion, undergraduate music students viewed this health education programme positively. Their feedback illustrates the complex nature of health promotion in the conservatoire setting.

Musicians as "Makers in Society": A Conceptual Foundation for Contemporary Professional Higher Music Education.

This paper considers the purpose, values and principles underpinning higher music education (HME) as one of the performing arts in a context of turbulent global change. Recognising complex challenges and opportunities in this field, HME is addressed from dual perspectives: educating the next generations of professional musicians, and higher music institutions’ (HMEIs) engagement in society. The paper has a particular focus on the sector within HME that is dedicated to intensive practical craft training for performers, composers, programmers, producers, managers, and teachers. We argue that there is an urgent need for fresh orientating frameworks through which to navigate HME’s development. We examine concepts such as artistic citizenship, social responsibility and civic mission increasingly perceived to be relevant to the sector, and we explore their connexions to concepts of artistic excellence, imagination and creativity, and musical heritage. We identify apparent dichotomies of value within contemporary HME, including between intrinsic and instrumental purpose in the arts, cultural heritage, and new work, artistic imagination and entrepreneurship, and we argue that creative tensions between what have hitherto easily been perceived as opposing concepts or competing priorities need to be embraced. To support our argument we draw on the particular ethnomusicological concept of “musicking,” and we look toward a partnering of artistic and social values in order to enable HME to respond dynamically to societal need, and to continue to engage with the depth and integrity of established musical traditions and their craft. Based on this discussion we propose a conceptual foundation: the “musician as a maker in society,” in which developing vision as a musician in society, underpinned on the one hand by immersion in musical artistry and on the other hand sustained practical experience of connecting and engaging with communities, offers invaluable preparation for and transition into professional life. We propose that this idea, connecting societal and artistic vision and practise, is equally essential for HMEIs as it is for musicians, and sits at the heart of the roles they evolve within their local communities and wider society.