Making concerts more student-centered doesn’t mean losing control as a music educator. Empower students to own their development while inviting the audience to witness this growth. When students lead, audiences recognize the broader benefits of music education. By consistently showcasing these advantages, community members are more likely to remember them during discussions about music programs in schools. Let’s keep highlighting the wonderful benefits of music!
by Erin Zaffini
As general music teachers, we spend countless hours helping students grow as musicians, collaborators, and performers. Also true—many of us are responsible for school-wide performances with our general music students. The process of getting ready for these concerts is no easy task. There’s so much going into it. For many of us, these concerts are the perfect opportunity for audience members to see our students’ musical growth and development. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this. This is how most concerts and other performances have been done for as long as I can remember.
And yet, in a time when it seems we need to advocate for our programs, our jobs, and the value of music education in general….we need to do more. We must do more to outwardly showcase the many other benefits of music education—to parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, and the community. We need to be better at showcasing the things that we see every day in our classes, the wonderful, non-musical gains that our students are experiencing as a result of their time in general music. We need to toot our own horns more.
For our general music classes, this can be as simple as reframing our already-prepped performances through the student lens—and sharing that with the world. Think of it as doing the same concert with the same repertoire you’ve already worked on for months, but presenting everything through the student-centered (and student showcased) lens. Of course, if you have time, you can go beyond that in your time leading up to the concert. Either way, it’s all moving the needle when it comes to advocacy.
Making your general music concerts more student-centered for the audience doesn’t mean sacrificing musical rigor or tradition—it means highlighting student voices, stories, and creativity in ways that draw the audience into the “why” and the “how” behind the performance. Here are five ways to make that happen:
Before each piece, invite a student to share a brief introduction. This could be:
This humanizes the experience and gives families a glimpse into the process—not just the product.
Student creativity doesn’t have to stop at interpretation. If you have time leading up to the performance, consider featuring a student-composed piece (it doesn’t have to be long or fancy!) or even an improvisational segment. When students have a hand in creating the music, they’re more invested—and the audience feels that energy.
Bonus: Program notes written by the student composer add another layer of connection.
Every piece performed in a general music concert doesn’t have to be the full grade level or entire class, all the time. Carve out space in the program for smaller groups. These smaller moments give individual students a spotlight and show the audience the depth of musical talent while showcasing additional non-musical gains experienced by students.
Let students form their own groups (they can even name their group), pick their own pieces, and even introduce them on stage. In one school where I was teaching 6th-grade general music, a small group of students asked me if they could come in during recess and just “rock out” while I was eating lunch, grading, and answering emails. Seeing as it wouldn’t do any harm, I agreed to it. Within weeks, they quickly became a group of eight students who brought their own music, created their own songs on xylophones, and even wrote storylines behind some of their pieces. They ran everything themselves. Later in the year, at our spring spotlight concert, they showcased some of their work (they even shared the story of how they got their group together and how they ran their rehearsals). It was pretty great to see. And the audience loved it.
A concert is the finale, but the audience rarely sees the process that led up to it. Use projected visuals, a short video, or a printed program insert to share. Possible things to add could be:
When audiences understand the journey, they connect more deeply with the performance. They also see that there is so much more to music class than the music itself.
Let students help shape the overall theme or narrative of the concert. Whether it’s “Music Minecraft,” “Heroic Journeys,” or “Traditions Reimagined,” giving students a say in the overarching concept brings cohesion and meaning—and you’ll be amazed at the ideas they generate.
They can even help design posters, write the program, or emcee the event
Making your concerts more student-centered isn’t about losing control as a music educator—it’s about empowering students to take ownership of their musical and non-musical development and inviting the audience to have a front seat to see all of it. When students lead, audiences see the other benefits of music education that are beyond the music. When these benefits are showcased enough, community members will remember them more when the time comes for decisions to be made regarding music programs in schools. Let’s keep making these strides to showcase the wonderful benefits of music that we see everyday!
Noteworthy Contributor
Dr. Erin Zaffini is the Director of Teacher Education for Longy School of Music’s online and on-campus Master of Music Education degrees, online Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies, and Teacher Continuing Education. She is also a faculty member for…
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