This summer we have been fortunate to have incredible press coverage from the Lancaster newspaper on our first-in-the-world Master of Music Education focusing on an Anabaptist heritage of peacebuilding. The first article (click HERE) profiled World Music Drumming participants as they attended a workshop and interviewed Master's program instructors Kevin Shorner-Johnson, Michael Checco and Lisa Sempsey. Kevin Shorner-Johnson spoke about the Anabaptist heritage of peacebuilding, where individuals commit to be fully present with one another and to embrace an Anabaptist ethic of humility where small acts of kindness and compassion matter. In joining our Master's program with World Music Drumming, we seek to build upon an incredible pedagogy that strengthens and develops students' skills of listening and musicianship. Checco stated, [World Music Drumming is] "not just about listening to music; it’s about listening to people. … It’s very literally teaching us to be better listeners.” Finally, Lisa Sempsey related the importance of empowering students' voices as acts of peacebuilding. She states, "I think the peacebuilding aspect for me is about empowering student voices, because when you’re heard, you often are a more relaxed individual.”
A week after this article came out, we were fortunate enough to be featured by the Lancaster Paper's editorial staff in advocating for the innovative nature of our new program. We could not be more humbled and awed by their support. The staff reflected that "The new master’s program looks like a promising, creative fit with that foundational tenet [of the College's Anabaptist heritage of peacebuilding]." What an exciting summer of awesome press coverage!
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