Abstracts Education

A New Score for Orchestra Education Programs: A Descriptive Analysis of the Cleveland Orchestra's Learning Through Music Teacher and Musician Workshops

by Christa Anne Flueck

Accompanied by a lack of public support, budgets of public schools are being reduced. A decrease in funds results in school officials cutting programs from the budget, such as music programs. In response, The Cleveland Orchestra developed a pilot partnership program to bring music back to the public schools. The program, Learning Through Music (LTM), utilizes music as an integrative tool for teaching other subjects, extends the skills of its participating teachers and musicians, and promotes a community partnership. This case study provides a descriptive analysis of the LTM professional development workshops for teachers and musicians.Research determined whether or not the skills of the participants were being developed and if the workshops have an impact on the teachers’ and musicians’ professional development. To answer these questions, several research methods were implemented: interviews, oral histories, document review, and observations. All collected data was coded for emerging themes. These themes are (1) the presentation of new ideas, theories, and practices; (2) the promotion of catalytic change; and (3) the opportunity to serve as a forum of reflection.The results indicated that both teachers and musicians were benefiting from the new ideas presented in the professional development workshops. These new ideas and practices could be transferred to other areas of teaching if two criteria were met. Some of the musicians needed another venue to apply the concepts, while the teachers needed to have a previous background in music. Fostering change was more difficult to measure since the program is only in its second year. However, the musicians did see the program as a catalyst for outreach and referred to an increase in job satisfaction. Finally, LTM does allow participants to reflect and share their experiences with other like participants.Several conclusions for the program can be drawn. The program is dependent upon the teachers’ musical background. Those teachers with prior knowledge in music are more apt to use the LTM curriculum with more frequency. On the other hand, teachers without any musical knowledge expressed that a comfort level needed to be reached before they could implement the LTM curriculum. A collaborative partnership between the teachers and musicians could be developed. Many teachers expressed that they would like to attend a workshop where the musicians were present. By working together, the teachers and musicians could use their strengths to help one another. Other recommendations are discussed and reported.