Aesthetic education as a subversive activity: A phenomenological case study of Robert Kapilow

Conductors of music ensembles in educational settings are being urged by leaders in the music education profession to enrich their students\u27 learning by approaching the performance experience as an opportunity to cultivate greater musical understanding and promote positive attitudes towards music, in addition to mastering performance skills. Several movements, including Music Education as Aesthetic Education (MEAE), have offered conductors such a perspective; however, most have not utilized such an approach in practice. Conductors who are sympathetic to the idea of engaging students in educational interactions with performance repertoire do not lack access to theoretical and philosophical background; what they need are sufficiently detailed portraits of this type of effective teaching. New York city native Robert Kapilow has enjoyed wide popularity for his enthusiastic and insightful manner of introducing classical music to new listeners. The purpose of this study was to explore how Kapilow educates diverse audiences about music. Phenomenological and case study methods were used to explore (a) what music education meant to him, and (b) how this view influenced his practice of teaching and conducting. By exploring these questions, I gained a greater understanding of how the roles of conductor and music educator met in his professional life, and how his example of effective music teaching could inform the classroom practice of conductors. Analysis of in-depth interviews and fieldnotes from participant/observations revealed Kapilow\u27s experience of teaching music is characterized by the play of metaphors. His use of metaphors serves both as a route in to music from people\u27s everyday lives, and also as way to bring the gift of a larger life back into their lives. This statement, People will always need what I call an aliveness to the world around them, expresses not only a personal value; but it also reveals how Kapilow has brought meaning to his career as a musician and teacher. Inspired by the book Teaching: as a Subversive Activity, his goals for music education parallel those of MEAE