Music Education | SUNY Potsdam

B.M. in Music Education

The Crane School of Music boasts one of the world's oldest and largest music teacher preparation programs. In fact, music education is Crane's proudest legacy. For many years, Crane students and faculty have held leadership positions in local school districts and in state and national organizations that shape our nation's musical future. We actively seek those who wish to perpetuate our rich heritage and participate in the community of ideas regarding music and music teaching.

At The Crane School of Music, you will encounter a faculty and staff who care deeply about our students. Your teachers will possess years of classroom teaching experience, advanced degrees from America's most prestigious universities, active research interests, and a commitment to your success. Your activities here will include opportunities to teach school-aged students under the supervision of our faculty. You will be taught to reflect on each teaching experience and to apply these discoveries to future teaching assignments. Success in our degree program will prepare you to begin your career as a professional music educator.

A primary mission of education is to create a need to be aware of and navigate through a constantly and rapidly changing world. Current cultural and social forces such as technology, globalization and shifting sensibilities require music teachers to examine long-held values and practices. At times, how music teachers and teacher educators should forge ahead in pedagogically responsive ways seems bewildering. What roles should music teachers play in educating individuals for the future? What roles should teacher education programs play in preparing these music teachers? Of special concern in these questions are issues of responsiveness to change and responsibility to society as well as attention to quality of educational experience and personal engagement.

Department Page Faculty Audition Info

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

notate a newly encountered melody accurately and efficiently.
demonstrate competency in musical performance.
demonstrate knowledge of pivotal historical events, societal attitudes, aesthetic and artistic trends, and to identify their interrelationship with music.
demonstrate pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Career Outlook

Inquire today:

“Crane was an excellent fit. I think it’s a really great school, not only for the cost, but for the education that you get—it’s unparalleled, especially for music education.”
Mary Catherine Sawyer ’19 Music Education Alumna

Finding Her Way Home

Crane alumna Emily Wiggett ’14 brings skill and passion to the Danville School music program, earning a solid place in the hearts of students and the community.

A Universe of Sound

Raquel Acevedo Klein ’16, graduate of The Crane School of Music, taps creative wells ranging from the cosmic to the familial to constantly push her creative frontiers, bringing the five senses together in new and compelling works that are catching widespread attention.

A Musical Feast

After getting his degree in music education from Crane, Kyle Peters ’15 has continued to excel as a composer, educator and professional percussionist. He now holds the position of percussion instructor at the Eastman Community Music School where he leads a studio of 45 students, while staying sharp in his free time as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Every summer he returns to SUNY Potsdam as a leader and instructor at Crane Youth Music.

Mary Catherine Sawyer ’19

SUNY Potsdam alumna Mary Catherine Sawyer ’19 landed her first job just months after graduating from SUNY Potsdam this year. With degrees in music education and theatre education—and extensive student teaching experiences as an undergraduate—she’s well prepared for her new career as a music teacher in the Bronx, N.Y.

Erica Ylitalo ’19

Like all music education students at The Crane School of Music, Erica Ylitalo spent her last semester at SUNY Potsdam as a student teacher in both a middle school and high school in Central New York—leading everything from band rehearsals and band lessons, to music theory classes.