Dr. Erin Zaffini (DMA, Boston University) is an adjunct music and music education professor at Keene State College, where she supervises student teachers, and teaches undergraduate music courses in general music education, music curriculum and assessment, and adaptive music. She is also a faculty member for the University of New Hampshire’s Professional Development Department, where she teaches in-service teachers how to integrate music and movement into their classroom, as well as teaches Early Childhood Music and Movement. In addition, she currently teaches K-5 general, vocal and instrumental music at Stoddard and Washington Elementary Schools in New Hampshire. She has taught preK-8 general music, choral music, instrumental music, hand bell ensemble, and musical theatre. She is an active clinician around the country, serves as the Eastern Division Representative for NAfME’s General Music Council, is the Collegiate Coordinator, General Music Chair and Mentor Program Coordinator for the New Hampshire Music Educators Association, and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Music Educators Journal. Dr. Zaffini is the project leader for instituting music educator mentor training within the Society for Music Teacher Education and the National Association for Music Education. She is the recipient of the Keene State College Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Performance Awards. She has recently published articles in General Music Today, Music Educators Journal and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.

Teaching is much more than a profession; it is a calling. Many music educators enter the field hoping to instill a love of music in others. Some wish to give students the opportunities they wish they had themselves growing up, to ensure that all students have access to a quality music education, regardless of where students come from. Still others want to feel content in their professional lives, hoping to do more with the gifts they have been given.

Regardless of your “why,” consider Longy as a path to get you there. The one-year, research-based, on-campus Master of Music in Music Education program is designed with teaching artists and musicians in mind. With a focus on social justice, access, equity and inclusion in pre-K-12 music education, the program prepares all students to successfully enter the field of music education as practicing educators ready to make their mark in public and private schools, as well as community organizations around the world.

With an eye towards the future of schooling, our progressive faculty prepare students to successfully meet the needs of both national education mandates and pre-K-12 students, including over 400 hours in the classroom during the program. Upon graduation, students are poised to become pre-K-12 certified experts and leaders in the field of music education, where they serve as models of culturally responsive and relevant teaching in today’s schools. There is no time better than the present to turn your “why” into “why not?” Let us give you the tools to help you get there! We look forward to welcoming you into our community! 

• Bachelor’s degree, post-secondary conservatory diploma, or demonstrated equivalent credential required
• Academic and performance record demonstrating the capacity to excel in full-time studies
• Applicants in performance must present an audition

Audition
Video recording required.
Please prepare 10 minutes of music that best represent your artistic interests, focus, and profile. There are no repertoire limitations. The MM/ME program welcomes musicians of all backgrounds (classical, jazz, folk, world, etc.). Your audition portfolio should be focused on your primary instrument or concentration but may include examples of your teaching background to supplement your application (optional). Video recordings can be uploaded individually by piece or as a single file.

SUMMER
Historical Foundations in Music Education
Initial Licensure
Conducting I
Creating Music in the Music Classroom
Learning by Design: Music Curriculum and Assessment

FALL
Choral Methods and Repertoire
Conducting II
Ensemble Arranging
Brass and Woodwinds Methods
Keyboarding Skills
Pre-Practicum (with local pre-K-12 school internship placements)

WINTER
Technology in Music Education
Culturally Responsive Music Education: Teaching for Social Justice
Strings Methods
Percussion Methods

SPRING
Creative Approaches to Music Education
Adaptive Music Methods
Student Teaching Seminar
Student Teaching (full-semester pre-K internships) 

2021–2022

2022–2023