Lectorate Music, Education and Society
The lectorate Music, Education and Society focuses on the changing role and meaning of musical expertise in contemporary culture and society, and on the consequences of these changes for the curriculum of higher music education.
Our relation with music is constantly changing under the influence of developments in media, technology, society and changing cultural values. Traditional concert formats are struggling and support for the Western musical canon has diminished considerably. At the same time, new insights are growing into the potential of music and sound experience in various social contexts, in education and in the public space. In the arts, we see an increasing mobility between genres, disciplines and knowledge domains. Successful musicians often follow unique, self-made career paths. The professional perspective of young musicians in training is therefore both more uncertain and broader. The playing field has expanded from the concert hall to the city, the public and the virtual space. These new environments and motivations require higher music education to rethink notions of professional expertise, artistic quality, and the possible role and responsibility of musicians in society.
The lectorate investigates contemporary musicianship via artistic and practice-based research. Relevant results and insights are implemented in curriculum development at the Royal Conservatoire and shared internationally through symposia, conferences and publications.
