At my alma mater, DePauw University, the hottest topic of
music school gossip was the new developing curriculum. The 21st Century
Musician Initiative, or 21CM, is the brainchild of Mark McCoy, the dean of the
DePauw School of Music since fall of 2011. This weekend, I got the chance to
talk to Dean McCoy about the goals and state of the program.
McCoy describes 21CM as “a holistic effort by the music
school to create the musician of the future instead of the musician of the
past.” The program seeks to make DePauw students into “more flexible and
entrepreneurial musicians” through increased performance opportunities, contact
with professionals in the field, and a revamped curriculum of brand new
courses. McCoy notes that it is hardly possible to be a “single-career
musician” anymore, and that everything a music student does through the 21CM
program will be geared toward giving them experience and expertise in a variety
of areas necessary for a classical musician in the 21st century.
The 21CM curriculum includes three required courses. State
of the Art, similar to Longy’s Future of Classical Music class, encourages
students to examine current events in classical music such as the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra lockout and the crisis at the Metropolitan Opera, and
challenges them to find ways to defend against this kind of predicament in
their own future careers. An entrepreneurship class focuses on the basics of
musical entrepreneurship and independent audience development. The third class,
a “practicum” course, gives students the opportunity to apply those skills in
an outside setting. All three courses are offered as electives this year to
test the structure, but next year they will become required for every DePauw
music student. McCoy also described a rotating set of electives, such as grant
writing, arts business and management, and psychographic research, which would
be different each semester to give students more choices about the areas of 21CM
about which they want to learn more.
Outside the classroom, other facets of 21CM give students
exposure to professionals and audiences. The Green Guest Artist Series, named
for donors Judson and Joyce Green, brings forward-thinking classical musicians
and ensembles to perform for and interact with students: McCoy mentioned the
trios Time for Three and Project, the a cappella choir Voces8, and the string
quartet Ethel as examples of “cutting-edge groups in classical music today.” In
addition to short-term visiting artists, DePauw invites an ensemble to be artists
in residence, hosting workshops and master classes throughout the year in
addition to concerts. On the audience side, student musicians are given
performance opportunities in Greencastle in places like a restaurant, a coffee
shop, the farmers’ market, and the senior center. Larger ensembles have started
touring internationally, including the chamber singers’ tour to Mexico last
year and the upcoming orchestra visit to Vienna, as well as domestically.
DePauw also gives music students opportunities to teach, both in conjunction
with Greencastle Middle School and through a preparatory program for private
lessons. All of these additions provide students with real-world experience to
help them become better 21st century musicians.
The positive response to 21CM from within the music school is
remarkable. “It’s going unbelievably,” said McCoy, “in that we actually got an
entire school of music faculty to agree to change the curriculum, which is very
rare.” Responses have been less positive from students and outside sources,
mainly because of misrepresentation in the media and some people’s difficulty
in understanding the goals and efforts of the school. However, the program has
been mentioned by reputable news sources such as Diane Rehm on NPR and Larry
King on CNN and in Robert Freeman’s new book The Crisis of Classical Music in America.
When asked about suggestions for other schools that want to
find ways of gearing their curriculum toward the future, McCoy replied, “I
think that all music schools in America are asking the same question. We’re
just trying to figure out what’s the best set of answers, and for us at DePauw
we felt that the best set of answers was to make this a no-sidelines effort: Everything
we do is about creating the 21st-century musician.” He wishes luck to any
school of music with similar goals, no matter what size changes they want to
make to their courses and programs, and hopes that the world of music education
will find the best way to address the changes happening in the business of
classical music.
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