Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians

This chapter draws on complexity theory to probe the theoretical and practical perspectives of leadership development and musician identities. It does so within the context of an internship programme designed to offer student musicians authentic workplace experiences. Complexity theory suggests that...

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Main Authors: Reid, Anna, Bennett, Dawn, Rowley, Jennifer
Format: Book Chapter
Published: Routledge 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81453
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author Reid, Anna
Bennett, Dawn
Rowley, Jennifer
author2 Bennett, Dawn
author_facet Bennett, Dawn
Reid, Anna
Bennett, Dawn
Rowley, Jennifer
author_sort Reid, Anna
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This chapter draws on complexity theory to probe the theoretical and practical perspectives of leadership development and musician identities. It does so within the context of an internship programme designed to offer student musicians authentic workplace experiences. Complexity theory suggests that across multiple domains there are often three elements that enable the diverse situations to cohere. In this case, student musicians’ movement through multiple domains exposed three connective elements: namely, bridging the gap between theory and practice; flexibility; and reorienting learning as career relevance is realised. The inclusion of experiential learning in the education of professional musicians enabled the student musicians to develop essential, transferable skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork, workplace negotiation and problem-solving. Moreover, students learned to reimagine what their musical world might mean and how their own capabilities and creativity might come to the fore as leaders. This learning was evidenced in students’ reflections on this important professional experience. The skills identified by students are the same skills identified by recruiters and employers as vital to graduate transition, and the same skills identified by practising musicians as vital to leading complex careers within and beyond the music industry. The chapter reveals how students experience the liminal space between formal music study and internship work experiences and how, in turn, they transform their thinking from situation to situation.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-814532021-05-19T05:54:16Z Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians Reid, Anna Bennett, Dawn Rowley, Jennifer Bennett, Dawn Rowley, Jennifer Schmidt, Patrick Music This chapter draws on complexity theory to probe the theoretical and practical perspectives of leadership development and musician identities. It does so within the context of an internship programme designed to offer student musicians authentic workplace experiences. Complexity theory suggests that across multiple domains there are often three elements that enable the diverse situations to cohere. In this case, student musicians’ movement through multiple domains exposed three connective elements: namely, bridging the gap between theory and practice; flexibility; and reorienting learning as career relevance is realised. The inclusion of experiential learning in the education of professional musicians enabled the student musicians to develop essential, transferable skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork, workplace negotiation and problem-solving. Moreover, students learned to reimagine what their musical world might mean and how their own capabilities and creativity might come to the fore as leaders. This learning was evidenced in students’ reflections on this important professional experience. The skills identified by students are the same skills identified by recruiters and employers as vital to graduate transition, and the same skills identified by practising musicians as vital to leading complex careers within and beyond the music industry. The chapter reveals how students experience the liminal space between formal music study and internship work experiences and how, in turn, they transform their thinking from situation to situation. 2019 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81453 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Music
Reid, Anna
Bennett, Dawn
Rowley, Jennifer
Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians
title Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians
title_full Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians
title_fullStr Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians
title_full_unstemmed Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians
title_short Leadership as an Essential Graduate Attribute for Musicians
title_sort leadership as an essential graduate attribute for musicians
topic Music
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81453