Prepared for the Profession? Practitioner Perspectives on Preprofessional Performing Arts Education

(disponible en anglais seulement)

Raquel Jimenez

Raquel Jimenez PhD is the Co-Chair of the Arts & Learning Concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she also teaches courses at the intersections of art, culture, and educational practice. Her work explores how artists and arts organizations work together to meet the needs of a changing society.

ABSTRACT
Recent research suggests that artists often hold portfolio careers made up of multiple projects and income streams rather than full-time employment at a single employer. Accordingly, a growing number of preprofessional schools of art have begun offering courses in community art, a distinct realm of collaborative cultural practice. However, little is known about the degree to which preprofessional schools of art are effective in preparing graduates to succeed in a shifting professional landscape. To address this issue, this study investigates the community music practices and educational experiences of 120 professional musicians. Building on these practitioner perspectives, this study surfaces a contradiction at the heart of preprofessional music education and management: although community music education makes a serious contribution to musicians’ professional development, the training musicians receive deters them from taking community music seriously. This finding has implications for how arts managers in higher education settings position community music within broader curricula to better ensure that educational experiences are aligned with the occupational pathways that exist in the field.
KEYWORDS
Higher education; community music; arts careers; professional development