The field of music mediation, in English often referred to as Education and Outreach or Learning and Participation, is deeply rooted in classical music traditions. Its typical formats include concerts designed for specific target groups, collaborations between cultural and educational or social institutions, and community projects. Around the turn of the millennium, the focus was largely on democratizing culture and fostering audience development to make existing offers accessible to the broader public. However, in recent years, this focus has shifted not least in response to global crises and challenges. Today, the emphasis lies increasingly on Cultural Democracy, prioritizing inclusion, social cohesion, and the empowerment of marginalized groups with and through music.
In this context, a discrimination-aware and power-critical perspective is essential for practitioners of music mediation, who are often multiply privileged individuals with significant cultural, economic, social, and symbolic capital. Higher music education, in particular, plays a key role in fostering such a reflective and socially responsible attitude among students.
Our workshop builds on Donald Schön’s (1983) insights into the reflection of professional practice and presents methods to help practitioners critically examine their approaches to music mediation. These methods focus specifically on power dynamics and inclusion / exclusion mechanisms, and were developed alongside the newly published Handbuch Musikvermittlung – Studium, Lehre, Berufspraxis (Petri-Preis & Voit 2023). The methods and accompanying materials are freely available as open-access resources (https://doi.org/10.21939/32tf-pj89).
During the workshop, participants will engage with selected exercises facilitated by the workshop leaders, reflecting on their own privileges and disadvantages with regard to cultural participation and comparing their own situations with situations experienced by other individuals in different life circumstances. After this, they will discuss the applicability of the presented methods and materials in higher education and professional training. The workshop is designed to benefit students, teachers, and researchers alike.
Workshop together with Prof. Axel Petri-Preis, PhD, at the Music and Mediation Conference at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, Adelaide (Australia)