WVU Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy Course

04/06/2025

WVU's gamelan, steel drum, and Ghanaian drum and dance ensembles performance this weekend was terrific.

03/12/2025

Save the date for our 10th anniversary Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Course in World Music Pedagogy. Join us in Morgantown for a four-day course, June 16-19, 2025. Registration open soon! https://creativeartsandmedia.wvu.edu/school-of-music/world-music-pedagogy

10/04/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100043464086624/posts/879108440214617/?mibextid=cr9u03

The question comes up in World Music Pedagogy practice: Who-should-teach-what-to-whom? It veers over to considerations of cultural appropriation, which then gives pause to teaching music from outside our own experience and training. But philosopher-author Kwame A. Appiah, born in London and raised in Ghana, offers this perspective: "Whatever the source of your ideas, if you are using them reverently, nothing could be more respectful than that." (2021) Worries about appropriation and authenticity have blocked many-a-teacher from sharing more of the world's music with students. Our stance in World Music Pedagogy is to select carefully the music to be taught, use sources that have been vetted (for example, much of the Folkways collection), and develop pedagogical experiences that repeatedly refer to the source recordings--and to the people and their cultural heritage and values. We stand with Mr. Appiah on striving for reverence and respect!

08/01/2023

Congrats, Katelyn Best! Reminds us of your wonderful presention during this summer’s course. https://www.facebook.com/100057641440365/posts/755848053013236/?mibextid=5eVWNK

Dip hop artists move across the stage, hands flying through the air, as audiences pulse to the rhythm of a blasting bass beat.

07/12/2023

Join us as we meet the students in the African music and dance ensemble at WVU. Mike Vercelli, director of the world music program, speaks on the importance ...

07/07/2023

What a wonderful group of teachers gathering last week to listen, sing, play, dance, teach, and reflect in sessions led by WVU music faculty and guest artists. Thank you! Another Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Course in World Music Pedagogy in the books!

05/30/2023

Four more weeks until we gather for our 7th Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy Course. Looking forward to sessions by Patricia Shehan Campbell and Will Coppola featuring World Music Pedagogy dimensions and pathways. It doesn't get any better! Register by June 12 to secure your spot in the course, June 26-30!

05/26/2023

Ethnomusicologist Zane Cupec will join us this summer for two sessions on African Cuban Santería song and drumming. He is currently working on a book project “Sound and Spirituality of Cubanidad: Santería Repertoire in the Lives of Four Cuban Musicians.” Zane has led several artist residencies advocating for diversity, inclusion, and equity through the performing arts. As a WVU alum, it will be wonderful to have Zane return as a guest artist this summer. Join us in June and register soon while there's still time!

05/20/2023

Recently acknowledged by WVU as one of its outstanding teachers of 2023, Katelyn Best will join our faculty this summer presenting “Access and Inclusion in Music Education.” Katelyn’s scholarship on Deaf Culture brings an important perspective to the conversation about teaching music, teaching culture...one you won’t want to miss! Have a look at her chapter, “Ethnocentrism 2.0: The Impact of Hearing-Centrism on Musical Expression in Deaf Culture,” that was recently published in At the Crossroads of Music and Social Justice. https://iupress.org/9780253064776/at-the-crossroads-of-music-and-social-justice/

05/17/2023

Reserve your spot today!

05/13/2023

Juliana Cantarelli Vita will return this summer for sessions on Northeast Brazil, World Music Pedagogy, Podcasting as an Educational Tool and more. She’s been with the WVU course since it began in 2015 and she will be with us for the entire week this June! Register soon while there’s still time!

05/10/2023

Reserve your spot today!

05/06/2023

West Virginia University (June 26-30th). Sign up today! https://www.music.wvu.edu/workshops-and-camps/world-music-pedagogy-course

05/01/2023

As we move into May, I am reminded that WVU's seventh Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Course in World Music Pedagogy is just around the corner! Check out our fabulous line-up of presenters and register soon to secure your place for 2023!

04/27/2023

Join us June 26-30!

Calling all music educators! The 2023 Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Courses in World Music Pedagogy are open for registration.

These intensive courses have trained thousands of musicians and teachers of various levels and contexts, including K-12 teachers and tertiary-level professors, to know more about the world's musical traditions and how to teach them. This year's offerings include online courses on “Teaching Music/Teaching Culture” and one for music teachers in international schools, as well as in-person courses at West Virginia University, University of St. Thomas, and Université Laval (in French).

Enroll by the Early Bird Deadline of May 15th to receive discounted registration for select courses. Learn more here: s.si.edu/3HfOLPv

Graphic by Janet Robbins. Pictured: Senegalese musician Thione Diop and WMP course participants on Wolof drumming at the University of Washington course in 2018.

04/21/2023

It was wonderful to have Sulley Imoro return to WVU last week and join the African Drum and Dance Ensemble classes and concert. Thanks to Mike Vercelli for creating bridges to Ghana over the years and to grad students Joe Boulos and Katie Schramm for their wonderful teaching. The entire hall came alive with singing, playing, and dancing. Another treat was to see Chanler Bailey leading the steel bands' dynamic performance. If you missed the concert, don't miss the Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy Course in June for a reprise of music culture from Trinidad and Ghana.

04/12/2023

We’re looking forward to another summer course celebrating local and global music culture. Join us and collaborate with a terrific line up of WVU faculty and guest teaching artists!

This summer West Virginia University’s School of Music will offer its seventh annual Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Course in World Music Pedagogy, June 26-30. Designed for K-12, university, and community educators, this weeklong professional development course will feature Appalachian, Mexilachian, West African, Northeast Brazilian, Cuban, and Trinidadian traditions. Principles promoting culturally sensitive, diverse, and inclusive practices will be at the center of demonstrations and discussion as we celebrate the vibrant cultures in our classrooms, communities, and beyond. For more details about course content, faculty, and professional development options visit: www.music.wvu.edu/worldmusicped.

04/11/2023

Looking forward to having ethnomusicologist and music educator Sophia Enriquez return to Morgantown again this summer. Register soon and get ready to sing, dance, and play during her session on Mexican and Appalachian music. https://www.sophiaenriquez.com/