The Daily Bulletin Archive

Buffalo State’s Music Department has received national and local recognition for its music education partnership with Campus West School.

Music Department faculty members received an award for their commitment to education from the Buffalo Alliance for Education on October 22. In September, the Music Department was invited to present the program as a “best practice in music education” at a national conference of music educators. Lisa Hunter, assistant professor and coordinator of music education; Bradley Fuster, associate professor and department chair; Lindsay Whelan, a music education student; and Nora Trincanati, principal of Campus West, presented at the conference.

The program is a collaboration between the college and Campus West, a Buffalo Public School located on the campus, to develop general and instrumental music curricula for elementary school children while providing an opportunity for Buffalo State College preservice music teachers to develop their teaching skills. Hands-on learning is emphasized in three integrated components that include curriculum-based concerts, classroom teaching, and instrumental lessons after school at Buffalo State.

“The results are proof of the value of application in music teacher education,” said Hunter, who cultivated and coordinated the program. “Our students are able to immediately apply knowledge of curriculum and teaching pedagogy learned in their music classes, while the students at Campus West receive enriched music education and opportunity through this hands-on, integrated approach.”

As part of the program, after-school music lessons are also held at the college. Trincanati provides the bus for Campus West students.

“If it were not for the after-school program, many students from this urban school would not have the opportunity for extra musical instruction,” said Hunter. “This is truly a great collaboration driven by a shared belief in the value of arts in education and the power of hands-on learning.”

The Buffalo Alliance for Education awards luncheon was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and attended by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent James Williams.