Hybridized Folklore through Restoration: Examining Modern Band Pedagogy in Ecuador's American & International Schools

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, music educators in Ecuador have been transitioning their music programs to incorporate more Ecuadorian music in the efforts to distinguish their music education from the Western classical tradition. Music teachers approach this task as a means to expose their students to more Ecuadorian music hybridity and employ more culturally responsive teaching practices. In doing so, these music programs seek to reaffirm their national music identity. Although curriculum design has evolved to include a wider scope of repertoires and pedagogy, scholars have yet to discuss the extent to which this twenty-year identitarian process has become a prominent source of agency for Ecuadorian music teachers and students.This ethnographic research project examines the use and application of modern band pedagogy in five of Ecuador’s American and international K-12 schools. This master’s thesis seeks to learn how modern band pedagogy is used as a tool to expose students to Ecuador’s nationalist music identity through teaching and performing pasillos, pasacalles, sanjuanitos, and other Ecuadorian hybrid music genres. A culmination of semi-structured interviews with instrumental music teachers, classroom observations, and ethnographic fieldnotes reveals how these music educators are rebuilding their programs to better represent the music of their Indigenous culture and current student demographics. With an instrumental focus, the data collection aims to encourage music educators to continue to critically approach music education curriculum design. Teaching approaches discussed in this work also highlight pedagogical techniques that can work to decenter future music education curriculum in both the participated schools in Ecuador, and the United States.