Brent Talbot

Visiting Instructor in Music Education

B.M.E. (choral/general, instrumental, piano performance), Indiana University-Bloomington; Orff Level 1, 2, 3 certification, Eastman School of Music; M.A. (music education), Eastman School of Music; Diploma in Ethnomusicology, Eastman School of Music

Prior to his appointment at the University of Illinois, Brent taught courses and supervised student teachers at Eastman. He was the director of the Young Children's Chorus and New Horizons Choir at the Eastman Community Music School in Rochester, NY. Brent has taught general, choral, and instrumental music in the Rochester City and Webster school districts in New York State and was the former music department chair at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, NY.

Brent's current research involves using critical discourse analysis and other ethnographic and qualitative approaches to examine varied settings of music learning in the United States and abroad. A frequent clinician and presenter at regional, state, and national conferences, Brent's areas of expertise include: teaching music through movement, race and identity in the classroom, multi-generational teaching and learning, discourses in urban choral settings in and out of school, discourses in university methods courses, popular media and technology in music education, teaching and learning in non-score based ensembles, and the performance of electronic dance music at night clubs by DJs and dancers.

Brent is a founding member of Talbot & Piazza, a music education resource and media corporation based in New York State and a former ballroom dance instructor with Arthur Murray. He is a member of the MayDay Group, AOSA, ATMI, ACDA, MENC, and AERA, and a co-author of the e-text book "Empower: Transforming Music Learning Through Innovative Technology" found at http://www.empowermusictech.com

Teaching Philosophy
I teach music because it is an aesthetic, democratic, universal, and personal experience that allows us to explore and express in an intense and indirect way the very depths of what makes us human. I see learning as a continuous experience that occurs in and out of school, a way to help share, connect, transfer, and synthesize the knowledge we all bring on the journey. I see curricula as co-created, situated, flexible, reflexive, generative, and relevant to all stakeholders. I see teachers as ones who mentor, collaborate, inspire, encourage, and empower students; helping to foster and coordinate fun, creative, democratic, critical, and dynamic learning environments that cater to all participant's needs and support their identities. I strive as a music teacher to help each student uncover their own critical expressive and musical voices; to see themselves as comfortable, confident, and critical creators, performers, teachers and lifelong learners of music.