PUBLICATIONS
Jordan, R. C. (in press). A director, a conductor, and a teacher walk into a band room. In M. Scarlato & S. Kivijärvi (Eds.), Remixing the classroom in practice: Stories from the field (pp. ). Indiana University Press.
Abstract
This chapter describes how one veteran music teacher embodied various teacher roles, self-described as “director,” “conductor,” and “teacher,” as he worked toward opening a traditionally closed form of music education. The author’s goal was not to prescribe what these roles should mean to others. Rather, readers are invited to think deeply about how these roles may describe nuances between different approaches to teaching musical ensembles and how these roles may define a spectrum of ensemble approaches from closed to open.
Tucker, O. G., Jordan, R. C., & Hathaway, C. (2023). Two music educators’ resistance of competition. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 235, 30–45.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the retrospective accounts of two high school band directors’ agency during a period of their active resistance to competition. The researchers sought to verify and supplement band directors' recollections with the lasting memories of multiple stakeholders involved in their programs. Research questions were: (a) What led two band directors to minimize competition and create a noncompetitive concert festival for their students? and (b) What ecological elements were salient in their agency? Themes included paradigm shift, disillusionment with the status quo, and nurturing, trusting relationships. A prescribed repertoire list, dissatisfaction with state adjudicators, and personality traits of nonconformity and open mindedness fueled the two educators’ disillusionment. The researchers provide implications for music educators, music teacher educators, and professional organizations.
Jordan, R. C., & Walker, C. A. (in press). Strategies for rehearsal planning and facilitation in the related contexts of musical theatre and choral music education. Teaching Music.
Abstract
This article is a postlude to the two-part interview series published in the Choral Journal (citation and abstract below) with Catherine A. Walker, Associate Professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Musical Theatre. In this interview, Catherine reflects on her cyclical approach to the rehearsal process. These interviews connect university and high school musical theatre educators in meaningful and practical ways. Because MT music directors and choral music educators are often the same person at the secondary level, this interview series will be of interest to both.
Jordan, R. C., & Walker, C. A. (2022). Vocal pedagogy in the overlapping rehearsal contexts of musical theatre and choral music. Choral Journal 63(4), 50–60.
Abstract
This article contains a two-part interview series with Catherine A. Walker, Associate Professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Musical Theatre. These interviews address themes associated with university musical theatre (MT) education. Specifically, Catherine shares her strategies for applying voice pedagogy to the university MT ensemble rehearsal as well as the significant changes she and her colleagues made to their department’s MT voice curriculum to prepare their graduates for an evolving professional industry. These interviews connect university and high school musical theatre educators in meaningful and practical ways. Because MT music directors and choral music educators are often the same person at the secondary level, this interview series will be of interest to both.
Jordan, R. C. (2022). A student-led, small-group approach to a cappella music arranging. Music Educators Journal, 108(3), 47–55.
Abstract
This article presents one field-tested approach for integrating music arranging into middle and high school music ensembles. This project-based unit of study builds upon scholarship in informal music learning and social constructivism, and reflections from former high school students who participated in this project help illuminate these connections. The author introduces the project, provides planning and assessment documents, recognizes students’ successes, proposes solutions to challenges encountered, and reports outcomes. Combined, this article and supplemental documents demonstrate how student-led, small-group music arranging can infuse middle and high school ensembles with student creativity and choice while providing opportunities for group collaboration.
Jordan, R. C. (2022). Democratic approaches for the choral ensemble: Repertoire choice and rehearsal design. ChorTeach, 14(2), 11–18.
Abstract
In this article, I share two concrete and practical strategies for the choral ensemble—informed by research, philosophy, and seventeen years of classroom practice—that can help develop the ensemble director’s approach to cultural responsivity while providing students and teachers with an opportunity to engage with critical pedagogy and democratic practice. First, I describe how my students and I chose repertoire together using co-created criterion-based selection procedures and dialogic considerations of culture, social justice, and community music making. Second, I share how my students co-designed their own rehearsal processes to accomplish their interpretive goals. These field-tested strategies represent one teacher’s approach toward encouraging the development of musically independent students who engage collaboratively through dialogue, cooperation, democratic practice, critical thinking, and problem solving.
Jordan, R. C. (2021). A teacher educator and social justice advocate: Observing a master teacher. Tempo, 75(3), 32–35.
Abstract
I became acquainted with Dr. Lisa DeLorenzo when reading Sketches in Democracy: Notes from an Urban Classroom (2012). This book presents a riveting account of her choice to teach general music in a newly formed, urban high school during a year-long sabbatical from Montclair State University. Her compelling story encouraged me to arrange a semester-long teaching observation of her secondary general music course with periodic semi-structured interviews. During the semester, DeLorenzo’s students and I reflected on three exemplar music lessons integrated with social justice themes. In doing so, DeLorenzo prepared her preservice teachers for the challenges of public-school teaching including how to apply issues of social justice to the music classroom and how to meet difficulties with compassion and creativity. This article portrays my experiences with Dr. DeLorenzo and her preservice teachers focusing on how her teaching invited us to challenge and transform our pedagogies.