World of Music / Cultural Diversity in Music Education

CDIME 2005, Brisbane: report and publication

The musical landscape – and our perception of it – has changed drastically over the past few decades. Local musics have become global, and many types of music that have spread globally have taken on significance in local settings. This has challenged traditional perceptions of coherence between ethnicity and musical aptitude and preferences. The effects of this can be felt in music teaching and learning as well: from professional training in specific traditions to community music and music in schools.

The conference engaged with the ways in which these issues are being played out in a diversity of musical settings. Speakers included John Drummond, Peter Dunbar-Hall, Keith Howard, Huib Schippers and Trevor Wiggins (keynote speakers).

Click here for the conference report.

Perhaps the most important outcome of CDIME 2005 was the publication Cultural Diversity in Music Education: Directions and challenges for the 21st century. The 206-page book gives a contemporary and diverse overview of the state of cultural diversity in four continents: essential reading for all music educators with an eye on the global picture. It can be ordered online (AUD 45) from Australian Academic Press, click here.