{"id":26793,"date":"2023-07-21T14:32:32","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T18:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=26793"},"modified":"2023-07-24T13:39:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T17:39:03","slug":"music-educators-give-lessons-in-perspective-success-and-longevity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/music-educators-give-lessons-in-perspective-success-and-longevity\/","title":{"rendered":"Music educators give lessons in perspective, success and longevity"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of the \u201c50 over 50\u201d project led by Sue Samuels<\/a> \u201987, Furman\u2019s director of bands and music education coordinator, several students have been spending Summer 2023 getting to know 50 music educators over the age of 50 through transcripts of previous Zoom interviews.<\/p>\n

Samuels started the project in 2020 as she reflected on her own life as a music educator and considered how she could remain vital in the profession, she said. She decided to interview other music educators, \u201clooking for that secret sauce\u201d that kept them engaged \u2013 and that might also inspire current students dubious about a career in education.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Carlyle McDowell \u201925 talks with student colleagues during a Summer 2023 research project in the Daniel Music Building.<\/p><\/div>\n

The subjects, ranging in age from 50 to almost 90, may not be familiar to most, but \u201cthey\u2019re big names to us,\u201d said Samuels. \u201cThey\u2019re all considered outstanding in the world of music education,” she said. “These are all people who\u2019ve made a lifelong career and who are still active.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 50 interviewees \u2013 including Jay Bocook<\/a> \u201975, retired director of Furman\u2019s athletic bands and a member of the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame; and Les Hicken<\/a>, professor emeritus of music and Samuels\u2019 predecessor as director of bands at Furman \u2013 were asked how life experiences have shaped their perspective, success and longevity.<\/p>\n

The students have been reviewing the transcripts, helping edit them for readability to prepare for publication. Samuels also plans to assemble the over 50 hours of footage into several different mini-documentaries exploring different themes covered in the interviews, such as starting out in the profession and motivations for staying in it, teaching philosophies, mentoring and the lifelong learning process.<\/p>\n

Along with learning advanced research methods<\/a> in a high-impact learning experience typical of The Furman Advantage<\/a> \u2013 an educational framework that provides every student an individualized educational pathway and opportunities for high-impact learning experiences \u2013 Samuels said \u201cit\u2019s been pretty cool to see these students make the connection with 50 longtime music educators that they would have never had the opportunity to meet otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlyle McDowell \u201925 made a connection with Elizabeth Jackson, a music educator and conductor at Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. In her interview, Jackson recalled abandoning the choice of majoring in biology at the University of Minnesota after realizing she missed music in her life. Many of her current students may not be \u201csuperstars,\u201d Jackson noted, but they still love music as much as she did.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the kids that I feel a special connection with, because that was me,\u201d Jackson said in the interview. \u201cThey have every right to be a music teacher if they want to. If they love it, they can learn to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDowell, who wasn\u2019t sure of her educational path until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down her high school band, could instantly relate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt this huge lack in my life,\u201d remembered the student, who chose to major in music education<\/a>. \u201cAnd I realized that there\u2019s never going to be a time that I can live without music. After my senior year, I went to Summer Orientation here, and I thought, \u2018I gotta teach band.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

While pursuing a different major, Rebecca Wirth \u201926 was similarly inspired by the music educators, understanding that the \u201csecret sauce\u201d that has helped them persist in their passion can also boost her along whatever path she chooses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this research has acted as a vehicle to teach life lessons,\u201d said Wirth, who is considering a double major in history and music performance. \u201cListening to the interviews has given me perspective on what it means to be human \u2014 what it is to connect with other people, be vulnerable, face shame, overcome obstacles, grapple with uncertainty and do everything you do with love. I\u2019ve drawn a lot of inspiration from doing this project because of all these things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Led by Sue Samuels \u201987, Furman\u2019s director of bands and music education coordinator, several undergraduates have been spending Summer 2023 getting to know 50 of the most respected figures in the field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":26796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,61,30,55],"tags":[2182],"class_list":["post-26793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-the-furman-advantage","category-top-stories","category-undergraduate-research","tag-music-education"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}