Creating and Connecting:
The Latin American Ensemble at New Jersey City University's Caroline L. Guarini Department of Music Dr. Carol Rena Shansky Assistant Professor/Coordinator of Music Education Caroline L. Guarini Department of Music, Dance and Theater New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ New Jersey City University’s Caroline L. Guarini Defocused on preparing the students to teach this music once in partment of Music, Dance and Theatre Department boasts the field. Too often, Latin American music is lumped togetha student demographic that is approximately 73% Hispanic er as a monolithic style, which does not respect the varied and African-American and the University has for many years approaches to music making in the countries that make up been proud to note that it is a Hispanic-serving institution. Latin America. To counter this, Prof. Morales-Matos focuses The department doesn’t pay only lip-service to these statison the variety of musics in these countries, providing stutics but they are embedded in our academic programming. dents with a keen awareness of the importance of inclusion The Jazz Studies program has a particular focus and expertise and belonging in music education. This extends to considin Latin Jazz and students in the Music Education program eration of the music of their own cultures, and he challenges have the advantage to study the mozaic of Latin American students to bring in music that they may have grown up musics through participation in the NJCU Latin American with, that their family engaged in or is otherwise meaningEnsemble. This group is led by master percussionist and ful for them. By doing this, he reinforces to these pre-service Broadway artist Prof. Rolando Morales-Matos. teachers that many students today are not aware of the muThe Latin American Ensemble was started in 2016 at the sic of their heritage, an important lesson as there is often an request of the department chair, Dr. Min Kim, as a means of assumption by educators that students automatically know capturing the unique performance and teaching experience what these songs and dances are. For example, if a student’s of Prof. Morales-Matos and impart it to the students in the family origins are in Italy, he encourages them to research school. Open to all students in all majors, Prof. Morales- and discover (if they don’t already know) the vernacular muMatos developed an approach that allows for different in- sic from there and bring it to the ensemble for study. There struments (he even had a singer once!) and different levels may have to be some adjustment to the music to fit the parof student readiness each semester. The result mirrors what ticular instrumentation of the Latin American ensemble, but music educators find in the field, adjusting for new students that in itself is a lesson in style and adaptation. In addition, it and changes in section balance in ensembles, thus creating illustrates to the music education majors in the ensemble of a real-life experience for students while they are still in the a valuable lesson in the Core Standard area of Connecting. degree program. At first offered to Music Education students Students are encouraged to play their secondary instruoutside of their required classes. Participants reported that it ments in the ensemble. While this enables them to have extra was one of the most impactful experiences of their time in time to improve their skills, it also highlights to them what school. It then became an option to the chamber ensemble it will be like for their future students who are just develrequirement for Music Education majors in Spring 2021. oping skills and playing in a school ensemble. Further, stuThe work done in the Latin American ensemble repre- dents playing instruments that are not typically found in a sents a hands-on learning approach to understanding and Latin music-based ensemble such as this can participate, but applying the Core Standards for Music. While Performing the students must write arrangements (with Prof. Moralesand Responding is understood through their applied lessons Matos’ guidance) to incorporate that instrument. Questions and performance ensembles, the two Artistic Processes that about idiomatic tendencies and the roles held by bass or they may not be as aware of, Creating and Connecting, can treble instruments are addressed as part of this process. This offer a challenge to new teachers and are confronted here in is another invaluable aspect to their training as many of the a hands-on paradigm. students in the music education program are likely to start TEMPO 46 OCTOBER The curricular approach to the ensemble is very much their careers at schools that have incomplete ensemble2021 instru-
