The Future of Music Education is Bright

Yesterday I had the distinct honor of speaking with both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Connecticut about all things MusicFirst, music technology, and the impact that generative AI will have on the field. The incredibly bright and engaged students were not only fully engaged in the conversation, but expressed their insights, opinions and feelings about the role of technology in music instruction and where they see the future of our profession. They are the students of two of my favorite music educators in the field, Dr. Cara Bernard and Dr. Joseph Abramo. Between the two classes I spoke with, I had the opportunity to interview five of these students: Luke Olsen, Pio Castellano, Caroline Shadman, Matthew Calorossi, and Claire Gordon (pictured above). They will appear in an upcoming episode of my podcast, Profiles in teaching With Technology on December 19th. I sat down with these bright students and asked them a series of questions about their musical journeys, their thoughts about technology, and their vision for the future. It was an amazing discussion and I cannot wait for you all to hear what they had to say.

This was the first time I welcomed students to the podcast and it was truly inspiring to speak with them. They all come from very different backgrounds and music programs, and their answers to the questions I posed really impressed me. If you are not already subscribed to the podcast, I urge you to do so and mark your calendars for the launch of their episode. Hats off to Cara & Joe, and I know that wherever these students end up teaching, the students, communities and school districts will be very lucky to have them on their staff. The future of music education is BRIGHT!