Abstract
I started this editorial prior to leaving for the 2018 Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference in Atlanta, but after attending I wanted to use this as an opportunity to address some of the questions and conversations that started to develop there.
This was the first conference that I attended as editor for General Music Today, and while my experiences at the conference were the same as when I first participated as a graduate student (great discussions, introductions to new topics, opportunities to collaborate), my conversations and interactions were certainly deeper and richer than in previous years.
In our editorial committee meeting, prior to the start of the conference, my colleagues and I shared ideas of how we envision moving the journal going forward. I like to think that General Music Today has an accessible tone and narrative (as it is a practitioner journal), but does that mean it is less valued or relevant? We wondered how we can continue to elevate the standard of writing while providing innovative ideas and practical strategies for readers. We also grappled with how to bring greater visibility to the journal in a world of social media (I tweet—do you)?
After my presentation on children’s experiences performing on Broadway, I shared an anecdote of my own trials with navigating the world of writing and publishing in an academic journal. A previous editor for one of the other NAfME journals (the year, journal, and person shall remain unnamed) told me over the course of several attempts to publish that music educators have no interest in musical theater and therefore to stop sending in submissions on that topic. As someone who has published on musical theater in numerous other journals (as well as authoring several books on the topic), it was a jarring moment. I recall that story only because we are continuing to discuss diversity and inclusion in our field, and I want to ask, what exactly does that mean, and whom are we including?
General Music Today is, I believe, an amazing space for supporting diverse topics and inviting writers from all backgrounds and disciplines. I am excited every time I see a new author’s name in my editorial in box, and my colleagues who dedicate their time to provide detailed feedback and reviews echo these sentiments. We want to the journal to represent diversity and inclusion across our classrooms, grades, and topics. I launched the “Musical Ideas Series” with that in mind.
As we continue to define general music for ourselves and across the broader scope of music education, I look forward to supporting your ideas, building discussions, and creating a platform for diversity and inclusion through General Music Today.