Performance degree students should put all their energies into becoming great performers, and leave learning teaching skills to their music education counterparts – right?
Wrong, say Cornelia Watkins and Laurie Scott, authors of From the Stage to the Studio: how fine musicians become great teachers. In an exclusive article in our education-themed September issue, they argue that because virtually all musicians will teach at some point during their careers, performance degree programmes must offer students a range of viable career skills that include teaching.
'It is time for every university and conservatoire to re-evaluate what is offered to future music professionals,' they write. 'Retain all that is artistic and inspiring, of course, but nurture accomplished musicians who are also thinking musicians. Reject unproductive divisions and instead foster an inclusive culture where musicians work together for a reinvigorated profession and a sustainable future.'
It's a powerful manifesto, and the authors offer a whole range of ideas and strategies for institutions to achieve such a change.
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