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SUMMARY:“Changing attitudes and teaching strategies in music education c
 lassrooms to bring out the best in our students and teachers” - Dr. Yaro
 slav Senyshyn\,  Simon Fraser University\, Canada
DTSTART:20131113T170000Z
DTEND:20131113T183000Z
UID:TALK46553@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lucian Stephenson
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*\n\nThere is much talk and theorizing these days abo
 ut narrative techniques and prescriptive approaches to love\, equity and r
 espect in music education as though these were new and novel methodologies
 . This presentation as a voice(s) inside a secondary school seeks to addre
 ss this issue indirectly through the experience of a teacher (myself) who 
 has been given a classroom full of ‘problematic’ grade eleven students
 . These students\, for all practical purposes\, are no longer cared for by
  their respective school system and they\, in turn\, have also given up on
  that system as well. They are all segregated on the basis of their poor r
 eading skills and lack of self- discipline into a classroom that no one wa
 nts to teach. The highly unwanted job is given to a neophyte teacher\, the
  author of this paper too many years ago\, who ultimately had little choic
 e in the matter. This teacher is highly unsuccessful in the beginning beca
 use he develops an intense dislike for these students in order to cope wit
 h their outward and self- destructive tendencies. Through ancient history\
 , the opera\, ‘provocative’ literature and a special fieldtrip the tea
 cher discovers that he has more to learn from his students than they could
  ever learn from him. \n\nThe second narrative defends the teaching of pop
 ular music in the classroom through the issue of steel drum teaching and r
 espect for the music it can generate. Without espousing an ‘anything goe
 s’ philosophy the author believes nevertheless that there is a prevalent
  prejudice amongst music educators that discourages popular music as a mod
 e of proper‚ music instruction either in performance or other modes of m
 usic education. This active form of elitism which discriminates against po
 pular music can be traced back to at least 2500 years ago in western cultu
 re\, is motivated by a belief in the superiority of one’s own musical ta
 stes\, an intolerance of other people’s predilection for popular music a
 nd an ignorance of its historical evolution. The suppression of popular mu
 sic is a form of tyranny that victimizes its adherents and practitioners i
 nto a position of inferiority and helplessness. Patronizing it without an 
 authentic understanding of its potential in music education can be just as
  damaging to its followers as the active suppression of it. Two personal n
 arratives will demystify these notions of elitism and tyranny of popular m
 usic and reveal a strategy of teaching that allows for both popular music 
 and the opera as an authentic inclusion in all curriculums of music educat
 ion.\n\n*Bio*\n\nYaroslav Senyshyn was a prize pupil of the late and great
  teacher Antonina Yaroshevich Manko\, who also taught Larysa Kuzmenko a Co
 mposer-in-Residence with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Yaroshevich’s m
 usical education stemmed from the great pedagogue\, Felix Blumenfeld\, who
  in turn was Vladimir Horowitz’s teacher at the fabled Kiev Conservatory
 \, Ukraine. Senyshyn also studied Damjana Bratuz\, Howard Munn\, Clifford 
 von Kuster\, Katharina Wolpe\, and Pierre Souverain. Senyshyn is an expone
 nt of the grand tradition of piano playing. Georgetown University Radio Fe
 atured Senyshyn in a documentary program about Canadian pianists\, includi
 ng Glenn Gould\, Louis Lortie and Anton Kuerti. Senyshyn is described as a
  pianist of “enormous power” and “sophistication” (Washington Post
 ) and for his “originality” and “creativity” (New York Times). \n\
 nIn addition to his concert activities\, Senyshyn is Professor of Aestheti
 c and Moral Philosophy at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Education
 . He publishes extensively in international journals such as the Philosoph
 y of Music Education Review\, Musica-Realta\, Interchange\, Journal of Edu
 cational Thought\, Educational Leadership\, Canadian Journal of Education\
 , and other publications. His book The Artist in Crisis was written to ins
 pire all musical performers and artists alike who are in danger of quittin
 g their musical art. Senyshyn often performs with his wife\, Susan O’Nei
 ll-Senyshyn\, the internationally acclaimed scholar and virtuoso flautist.
  Their collaborations include concerts in aid of providing education for t
 he homeless.  Yaroslav Senyshyn is a Steinway Artist.\n\nContact Pam Burna
 rd (pab61@cam.ac.uk) if you are intending to come\n\n
LOCATION:Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road\, Cambridge\, CB2 8PQ\, DMB
 \, Room 2S8
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