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Much research into the pedagogy of music composition has focused on the study of the creative thought, activity, and products of neophyte composers, working in school-based classroom settings on individual and group composition tasks. The research reported in this presentation focuses instead on the teaching and learning practices of eminent composers working with non-neophyte students in tertiary or post-tertiary semi-professional composition education settings. These settings included the one-on-one learning and teaching practices of an eminent composer working in a tertiary composition studio, the learning and teaching practices of a composers’ workshop with a professional vocal ensemble, and the learning and teaching practices of a composers’ workshop with a professional symphony orchestra. A longitudinal case study approach was employed in each setting with data generation occurring through: individual and group interviews with teachers, students, and professional performers in situ and in reflection; observations; participant reflective journals; and, researcher field notes. Analysis of data generated in these settings indicate that the pedagogy of composition in these settings is marked by a series of tensions between tradition and innovation, collaborative and directive working practices, global and context-dependent shaping factors, and, in what might be turn a signature pedagogy marked by attention to promisingness and the ethical and moral dimensions of life as a musician.

Biography

Margaret S. Barrett is Professor and Founding Director of the Creative Collaboratorium in the School of Music at the University of Queensland where she served as Head of School from 2008 - 2018. Her research investigates issues in the pedagogies of creativity and expertise, early musical development, the meaning and value of engagement in music and arts activity, career pathways in and through music, and arts and music program evaluation. She has pioneered the use of cultural psychology in music education and of narrative methods as a research approach. Her research has been funded by grants from the Australian Research Council, the Australia Council for the Arts, the British Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and a number of commissioning bodies. She has published in excess of 120 articles, book chapters, and conference papers. Recent publications include Collaborative creativity in musical thought and practice (Ashgate, 2014), Narrative soundings: An anthology of narrative inquiry in music education (with Sandra Stauffer, Springer Publications, 2012), and, A cultural psychology of music education (OUP, 2011). Forthcoming publications include the Oxford Handbook of Early Learning and Development in Music (with Graham F. Welch, UCL). Her work has been recognised through a number of awards including: Fellowship of the Australian Society for Music Education (2011); The University of Queensland Award for Excellence in HDR Supervision (2016); the HASS Faculty at UQ Award for Excellence in Research Engagement (2016); a Fulbirght Senior Researcher Fellowship (2018-2019); a Beaufort Visiting Scholar Award to St Johns College at The University of Cambridge (2019); and a Senior Research Fellow Award, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, IRCAM, Paris, (November, 2019).