peer review corner Edited by Lee Willingham Is Murray Schafer’s Creative Music Education Relevant in the 21st Century? Sherrill Rutherford Abstract: This paper investigates Murray Schafer’s music education concepts through a 21 st century lens. Canadian music composer Murray Schafer began teaching music in the 1960’s and developed his own teaching style that he called Creative Music Education. At that time Schafer’s teaching methods were considered innovative and inspirational by some, experimental and avante-garde by others, and altogether radical by many conventional educators. In this paper Schafer’s Creative Music Education concepts, includ- ing his underlying beliefs, motivations and aims, are explored; contemporary music education research is reviewed; and similarities between Schafer’s methods and current pedagogical philosophies and methods are identified to reveal whether or not Schafer’s Cre- ative Music Education is still relevant today. “A consideration of the present-day school of music points at every turn to a need for a more creative approach to music in all areas and all sub- ject matters within the art” (Benson, 1967, p. 4). Murray Schafer is well recognized as a contempo- rary Canadian composer; however his accomplishments in music education are less well-known. Schafer began teaching music in the 1960’s at the primary, secondary and university levels, and developed his own teaching style which he named Creative Music Education. At that time Schafer’s teaching methods were considered inno- vative and inspirational by some, experimental and avante-garde by others, and altogether radical by many conventional educators (Adams, 1983; Paynter, 1987; Southcott & Burke, 2012; Ward, 2009). Ian Bradley’s 1977 discussion of Canadian composers describes Schafer the teacher as a “catalyst, provoking, inspiring, and expanding students’ sensory awareness of the mu- sical environment” (p. 191). In Stephen Adams’ 1983 biography of Schafer, Adams describes Schafer’s deep concern for public music education and his “innovative classroom techniques” (p. 22). It therefore appears that Schafer’s music education methods were progressive in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, but are they still relevant in 2013? A closer look at the beliefs, motivations and aims that shape Schafer’s approach to music education, in essence his underlying philosophy, is required to assess their current relevance. Although Schafer does not specifically delineate his educational philosophy in his writings, he reveals a profound respect for individual expression, and a commitment to self-determination and inclusion, all of which guide his teaching methods, and could be considered a philosophical basis. Schafer’s Cre- ative Music Education concepts and the underlying teaching philosophies that they imply are presented here to further inform this discussion. Contemporary music Peer Review Corner features articles that have been submitted for review by a panel of music educators. The jury completes a “blind” review of manuscripts, offers suggestions for revision, and the revised article is either accepted or rejected based upon con- sultation with the journal editor and others on the editorial board. If you wish to submit an article for review, please send it to Dr. Lee Willingham (lwillingham@wlu.ca). 16 | SPRING 2014