Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement

PACE Integrative Concentration

Studies in Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement are available as an integrative concentration to students in both the Conservatory of Music and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Conservatory musicians perform with and teach young students in a classroom.
During their tour of New York, the Oberlin Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble visited community schools, and had the opportunity to teach this young student how to scat sing.
Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko

Echoing the mission of the PACE division itself, this integrative concentration fosters the development of student musicians as artist-citizens who embrace their responsibility to connect with local and global communities through music.

Objectives of the PACE concentration include:

  • Experiencing music-making and music engagement that already exists in community organizations and educational settings locally and globally
  • Engaging with diverse music learners and audiences
  • Networking with community musicians, music teachers, and music advocates
  • Demonstrating musical, pedagogical, and academic excellence
  • Considering graduate school options
  • Preparing for careers

Overview

To complete the PACE concentration, students must:

  1. Successfully complete a minimum of 16 credits in the areas listed below, a combination of foundational courses and electives.
  2. Complete two experiential components like the examples listed below (in addition to field work that may accompany courses)
  3. Maintain a digital portfolio in order to complete the PACE concentration

Foundational Courses

Select 8 credits from this list.

  • PACE 102: Community Engagement for Musicians (4 credits)
  • PACE 103: Community Music Engagement in the Schools (4 credits)
  • PROF 200: Professional Development for Musicians (4 credits)
  • PACE 107: Advocacy Seminar (2 credits)
  • PACE 101: Foundational Music Pedagogy (4 credits)

Elective Courses

Select 8 credits from this list.

  • Any piano pedagogy course
  • PACE 104: String Pedagogy I
  • PACE 105: String Pedagogy II
  • PACE 314: Flute Pedagogy I or II
  • PACE (APST) 230: The Teaching of Singing 
  • PACE (APST) 231: Voice Pedagogy (Supervised Teaching)
  • Any conducting course
  • PACE 220: Arts Behind Bars
  • PACE 300: Principles of Education
  • PACE 316: Creativity of Music
  • PACE 317: Psychology of Musical Behaviors
  • PACE 318: Community Building Through Creative Placemaking
  • ETHN 222: Building Community Through Music
  • TECH 103: Sonic Arts in Society
  • THEA 240: Arts Management I
  • HIST 214: Oberlin Oral History: Community-Based Learning & Research Practicum
  • FYSP: Know your place

Students may petition for other community-engagement courses to count for concentration.

Experiences

One local and one elsewhere. Examples include:

  • Winter Term music engagement project
  • Summer engagement project or music teaching/internship
  • Teaching online lessons
  • Teaching “secondary” music lessons
  • Prison music assistant/teacher
  • Oberlin Center for the Arts program assistant/teacher
  • Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra assistant/teacher
  • Oberlin Choristers assistant/teacher
  • Mercy Health/hospice musician
  • Teaching Oberlin College secondary lessons
  • Teaching lessons for community members
  • Local public schools music tutor/teacher/assistant
  • Leading/conducting a start-up ensemble
  • Music advocacy projects
  • Music policy projects
  • Community Music School assistant/teacher
  • GEAR (Girls Electronic Arts Retreat)
  • Other TIMARA community engagement work/workshops
  • LEAD 373: Music Professions Career Community
  • LEAD 375: Music Leadership Career Community
  • Community organization administrative assistant/researcher

Students may petition for other engagement projects to fulfill experiential requirement.