Elizabethtown College Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Music, Kevin Shorner-Johnson recently attended the International Summit on Music and Peacebuilding at the Min-On Music Research Institute (MOMRI) in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 18 through 20. The theme of the conference was “Relational Changes for Peacebuilding Through Musicking.”
“This summit was the first time that a group of international leaders and scholars have come together to talk about music in peacebuilding and to think strategically about how we might advance the work of peacebuilding internationally,” Shorner-Johnson said. “Because our Etown Master of Music Education in Peacebuilding degree is seen as one of the leading degree programs internationally in this field, it was important for us to be at the table, to contribute to and learn from international dialogues.”
Shorner-Johnson and other peacebuilding scholars at the International Summit on Music and Peacebuilding in Tokyo, Japan.
Shorner-Johnson was one of 11 international scholars invited to the summit to develop visions and action plans for cohesive ideas about how music can be used for peace around the world. The group developed research goals and ways of promoting research and scholarship use by peacebuilding scholars.
Elizabethtown College’s School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) Master of Music Education (MME) program has gained international recognition as one of the leading international curriculums in peacebuilding since launching in 2020.
“There are various reasons why Etown’s program provides an influential model in the U.S., but also internationally, all related to the compelling mission statement: ‘reclaiming space for connection and care,’” Summit Director Oliver Urbain said.
Elizabethtown College’s innovative MME program is the only one of its kind in the country to combine a focus on social-emotional learning, world music drumming, trauma-informed practice, and peacebuilding. It is a low-residency program with over 90% of coursework delivered online with one in-person week each summer. The program is intended for music teachers who have already begun their careers, so the entire cohort benefits from the experiences of fellow students in the program.
The program’s flexibility lends itself to a diverse group of students and alumni who reside in states across the country and internationally.
“I am constantly awed by our 22 Master of Music Education students and our Master of Music Education alumni because of how they take their studies in peacebuilding and apply them within their classrooms across 13 states and territories,” Shorner-Johnson said. “These students walk the walk of Educate for Service every day, choosing to build practices of peace that are so desperately needed in our classrooms.”
