Music Colloquium (02/27): Ben Helton

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Please join us on Friday, February 27th, at 4:00 PM EST for this week's installment in the CWRU Department of Music Colloquium Series. Ben Helton (CWRU) will be presenting a talk entitled “The Perceived State of Secondary Music Programs Amid Uncertainty and Enrollment Shifts.” This talk will take place on campus, in the Harkness classroom. We highly encourage attending colloquium in person to support the CWRU music community. If you are unable to attend in person, there will also be a livestream of this talk, available here: https://youtube.com/live/WeLwE4PPJbY?feature=share.

For more about the series, please visit: https://case.edu/artsci/music/news-events/music-colloquium-series. 

Yours in music,

Anna Somerville and Carlos Gámez

ABOUT THE TALK:

This presentation explores the challenges and opportunities facing secondary music education programs amidst declining enrollment trends and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing three years of data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Music Educator Satisfaction Survey from 2022 - 2024, I examine secondary music teachers’ perceptions of their program's general enrollment trends, their optimism for the future, and factors influencing their satisfaction. Findings indicate that while many programs experienced enrollment declines since 2022, a substantial number of music teachers remain optimistic about the future of music education. This resilience is evident across various demographics and policy contexts, highlighting the importance of local factors and community support in addressing challenges. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Dr. Benjamin C. Helton is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Case Western Reserve University and director of the Spartan Marching Band. Dr. Helton’s primary research interests include arts education policy, music assessment, and music cognition. His research has been published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education, International Journal of Music Education, Contributions to Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, The Instrumentalist, and the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band book series. Dr. Helton has presented clinics for the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education, Ohio Music Educators Association, Illinois Music Educators Conference, and the NAfME Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference. Dr. Helton is a staunch supporter of public education and arts education whose writings have been published in local and national media.