Froehlich One. (Johnson)
As I was reading Froehlich’s identification of the different ways we identify ourselves as musicians, I was reminded how differently people view music performance majors and music education majors. I have always felt that at Westminster and other music institutions there is a sort of discriminatory attitude against music education majors. It is assumed that they are not nearly the musicians that the performance majors are. Freohlich even points out that Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music do not even have music education programs. There is a grain of salt to this generalization. In general, music education majors are probably not the performers that the performance majors are. That does not mean, however, that they are not just as fine musicians. This way of thinking is inappropriate on the one hand, but almost necessary on another. The performance-only ideology gives no hope for the future and degrades the necessity of musicianship in music education. There is also no way to deny that standing in front of a class everyday is a sort of performance. At the same time, music educators are the seeds for the future of music in any form. This pressure may cause them to work for their musicianship and implant it in their students.
While looking for references to the teacher as musician, I ran across the story of Laurie Lekang. She, like any female growing up in the 1970’s, had limited occupational options. Her love of music ultimately drew her to study jazz performance at a state college. After graduation, she “fell” into a teaching job - one she did not leave for over thirty years. This shows just how thin the line that separates teacher and performer can be.
