Assistant Professor of Music Education Dr Francis Ward Visits University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University
Dr. Francis Ward, Assistant Professor of Music Education in the School of Arts Education and Movement, DCU IoE, visited two east coast US colleges to share his expertise in Irish traditional music and dance and music education with the faculty and students of The Hartt School (University of Hartford) and Central Connecticut State University Department of Music.
Francis was invited to teach at The Hartt School by Dr. Juliana Cantarelli Vita, Assistant Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Music Education. Francis received a Fulbright Scholar award in 2019-20 and was based at the University of Washington, where he met Juliana, who was then a PhD candidate in Music Education.
On the evening of Monday 26th November 2022, Francis arrived in Hartford to an enthusiastic group of students and faculty attending the workshop entitled ‘Irish Trad Music and Movement’, sponsored by the Hartt School’s chapter of NAfME (National Association for Music Education). Students used their voices and bodies, and a broad selection of percussion, string, and woodwind and brass instruments, to learn and perform a selection of Irish song, music and dance. They also explored pedagogical approaches to teaching Irish music and dance in the elementary classroom. Faculty and students decorated the workshop venue with traditional green and orange bunting, and even baked some Irish soda bread for the occasion!
Day two saw Francis visit Central Connecticut State University Department of Music to connect with music education faculty member and montessori teacher Colleen Casey-Nelson and her students. These students learnt about the changing transmission and teaching and learning practices in Irish traditional music over the course of the 20th century, as well as learning some Irish songs in the English and Irish languages, and the possibilities of using these in the classroom.
In the evening, Francis gave a keynote paper on his research on Participatory Cultures in Music Education at a seminar of University of Hartford music education doctoral students. Following this, students presented on their research, and rich discussion ensued around a diverse range of topics, with feedback facilitated by Francis and Dr. Cantarelli Vita to help them progress to the next stage of their doctoral journey.
On the final morning, Francis got to observe the Hartt School music education students in their lab classes, as they workshopped their music lessons before teaching them to children in the on-campus elementary school. These students displayed a rich range of musical ideas, and finely tuned music pedagogy, and even included some of the ideas learnt in their workshop with Dr. Ward. The session finished with learning a game song from Francis in English and Irish, followed by learning it in several other languages from the students in the class.
It is exciting to think that these students are now using some of their newly acquired Irish repertoire - song, language, instrumental music, and dance - in the teaching of music and movement in schools in the United States!