Conversation With Carinna -About Me Video

1. You mentioned in your video that music education is overlooked. Can you tell me more about this topic and how someone can make a change for this issue?

In general, our society tends to lean towards subjects that 'pay' like science or maths. But music is just as important if not more so important than business or law. Without music we have no culture, and minimal opportunities for self growth. If I do become a teacher I plan to not only teach how to play an instrument, but to try and demonstrate to students that music goes far beyond singing or playing. It creates deep emotional connections that allow us to explore ourselves as individuals.

​2. In your life, have you ever thought of learning an orchestral instrument? If yes, what would it be and why?

In highschool I played the saxophone and it would be the only instrument I would choose to learn, because it has a very distinctive attitude and sound. We all know when we hear a saxophone, and it sounds very jazzy. They have a lot of character, and I really enjoy that.

3. Do you think competing in vocal competitions is beneficial in becoming a musician and possibly pursuing a career in music?

The idea of it being a competition doesn't necessarily benefit an individual in their music career, but the feed back does. I never entered the competitions with a competitive mindset, but I rather enjoyed hearing feedback from individuals who 1) were not my teacher, and 2) had a professional background in the field. Learning who you are as an individual I think does benefit one when beginning the path of teaching, because we need to know our strengths and weaknesses in order to best benefit our students.

4. You talked about everyone having a new perspective when conducting a piece, but have you ever had a bad experience with a conductor not having that creative vision of how they want the piece to sound? If yes, tell me more about this bad experience?

Actually, One year Amabile had Ivars Tourins, the conductor of Tafelmusik (he also was a guest speaker in our history class last semester) come in to conduct one of our annual festivals. He was incredibly mean and it honestly took the joy out of the whole production. I think kindness and respect are key in bringing joy to any situation and he was doing the exact opposite of that.

5. In music education, we don’t really talk about the biology involved. Do you think it would be beneficial to include it more into the music curriculum, to inform students about their instrument corresponding to the brain and body?

 I don't think necessarily that the neuroscience behind music would benefit young musicians, however I do think understanding the anatomy of our bodies specifically in vocal or air production would be helpful in preventing injuries. It would also benefit students in having a better understanding of their bodies, and developing safe ways to project either their voice or air that would flow through their instruments.