Understanding the Classical Music Profession: The Past, the Present and Strategies for the Future - Hardcover

Bennett, Dawn Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754659593 ISBN 13: 9780754659594

Publisher: Routledge, 2008

Synopsis

Understanding the Classical Music Profession is an essential resource for educators, practitioners and researchers who seek to understand the careers of classically-trained musicians, and the extent to which professional practice is reflected within existing classical performance-based music education and training. Taking Australia as a case-study, Dawn Bennett outlines how Australia is now a service economy, and an important component of service provision is in the culture and recreation industries. Despite this, employment in culture and recreation is poorly understood and a lack of cultural intelligence contributes to a less than satisfactory environment that inhibits the creative potential of cultural practitioners. Musicians in the twenty-first century require a broad and evolving base of skills and knowledge to sustain their careers as cultural practitioners. Bennett maintains that a musician cannot be simply defined as a performer, but that a musician is someone who works within the profession of music in one or more specialist fields. The perception of a musician as a multi-skilled professional working within a portfolio career has significant implications for policy, funding, education and training, and for practitioners and students seeking to achieve sustainable careers. This indispensable book provides a comprehensive analysis of life as a musician, from education and training to professional practice as well as revealing the structure of the Australian cultural industries. Although Australia is the focus of the book, the basis of the research originates from many different places and most of the issues discussed relate directly to other countries throughout the world.

About this title

Review:

... music tertiary institutions will find that the clear messages of Understanding the Classical Music Profession can no longer be ignored, for they are drawn from data collected from musicians who were trained as performers. But Dawn Bennett goes further than describing the evolution and threatened extinction of the classical musician; she offers practical, yet thoroughly researched suggestions for the transformation of music conservatories into more relevant institutions for the training of musicians. I therefore recommend that this book be essential reading for all musicians in the hope that their survival can be secured. Helen Stowasser, from the Foreword '... a book worth investigating for young would-be musicians, their parents, mentors and teachers ... a constructive and timely book in many pertinent ways.' Music Teacher Magazine 'Showing clear foresight, Dawn Bennett has written a book which provides the substance on which tertiary music institutions might well mould a way forward in offering students training which better addresses the profession to which they aspire.' MCA Music Forum 'In this book, Dawn Bennett makes it very clear that performance-based education and training that support the proposed career path for professional musicians needs to change to provide students with lifelong learning opportunities. She provides researched practical suggestions about the content of training that needs to be provided and documents attributes that practising musicians need to develop and demonstrate to sustain a satisfying career in the cultural industries.' Australian Journal of Music Education 'Understanding the Classical Music Profession is bound to become one of the key reference points that researchers working in this area will keep returning to. It represents a highly original and well-considered endeavour...' British Journal of Music Education '... an elucidating insight to an unresolved aspect of the culture and recreation industries. ... I commend this volume to all engaged in the classical music industry as practitioners and educators. It provides essential information which will assist those educating our future generations of musicians to accept the reality of career paths in music, and to be better prepared for them.' Music in Action

About the Author:

Dr Dawn Elizabeth Bennett is a Research Fellow with Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0754659593
• ISBN 13: 9780754659594
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 186