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Music Education faculty to host visiting scholar

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's Music Education area will welcome Carlos Abril from the University of Miami (Fla.) to the University Park campus Nov. 4 and 5. His residency is the latest in the area's visiting scholar program, a function of the Center for the Study of Music Learning and Teaching. The center is designed to provide a focus for research and scholarly activity, and to engage graduate students with nationally recognized scholars.

During his residency, Abril will present four sessions which are free and open to the public.

3:30 p.m. Nov. 4, 102A Music Building I

-- "Constructs of Patriotism in School Music: The Anthem as Case in Point." Constructs of patriotism and alternative approaches can encourage divergent thinking, interpretations and understandings.

8 p.m. Nov. 4, 100 Music Building I

-- "Songs of Cuba: Experience and Meaning." Ideas for teaching for experience and meaning will be discussed by engaging in singing, playing and dancing to folk and popular music of Cuba.

8 a.m. Nov. 5, 117 Music Building I

-- "Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Music Learning." This session will discuss applications of Eurhythmics in a variety of music education settings with a brief overview and engagement in musical experiences.

1 p.m. Nov. 5, 102A Music Building I

-- "A Research Path Driven By Wonderments." Curiosities can help drive research agendas. The challenge is in determining the series of steps that will start to mark your path.

Carlos Abril is associate professor and director of undergraduate music education at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where he teaches courses in cultural diversity in music, music in childhood and philosophy of music education. Prior to this appointment, he served as an associate professor and the coordinator of music education at Northwestern University.

Abril’s research focuses on sociocultural issues in music education, music education policy, curriculum and music perception. His work can be found in books, journals and his newly created blog. His recently completed work includes a phenomenological study of hardcore band members for the Oxford Handbook of Children’s Musical Cultures and a chapter on movement and music learning in the MENC Handbook of Research on Music Learning (Oxford). He co-edited the book "Musical Experience in Our Lives" (Rowman & Littlefield) and is currently working on a book critically examining music teaching approaches and methods (Oxford).

He serves on various editorial boards in the U.S., Spain and South America, including the Journal of Research in Music Education and Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. As a public school teacher in Miami, Abril was honored as the Miami-Dade Region Teacher of the Year and with the Cervantes Outstanding Teacher Award. Most recently, he was the recipient of the Provost’s Research Award at the University of Miami.

For more information regarding the work of Carlos Abril, please visit his blog.

Carlos Abril, of University of Miami (Fla.), will visit University Park from Nov. 4 and 5. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated January 9, 2015