By Jeffrey Powers

Unique Challenges as an Art Instructor

Several years ago, I attended a week long faculty retreat on the integration of faith and scholarship, organized by the Baylor University Institute of Faith and Learning. As an applied music teacher and the only instructor in the applied arts at the retreat, I became aware of some significant differences in my situation from that of the other professors in attendance, and the challenges and opportunities those differences present.

Basic Assumptions of a Christian Calling

Starting with the assumption that as a believing and unashamedly confessing Christian it is imperative and desirable that I strive to integrate my faith into my teaching as a university professor. In addition, I believe that it is an essential part of my calling as a professor at an institution of higher learning which is striving for a distinctively Christian profile to do my utmost to contribute to the formation of a Christian character in those students I teach and with whom I have contact.

Furthermore, it is my assumption that implicit in my understanding of calling is the concept that work is good and should be done for the good of others. It follows then, that the applied arts and performance in the arts should be other-directed as well as for one’s own enjoyment.

A Golden Opportunity

Unique to being an applied music teacher in a university setting is the amount of time that I have in a close relationship with my charges. This typically includes a weekly individual hour-long lesson in addition to weekly small group sessions over a period of four or five years. Having identified and recruited these individuals to study with me, I have a deep commitment to these students’ success in their chosen field as their “major” teacher. Obviously, these circumstances provide a “golden” opportunity to have a very direct impact on their lives.

The question becomes how does one with such a unique relationship best cultivate that opportunity to aid in the formation of the Christian character of the student?

Modeling

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

If your students do not know that you are a Christian then it is impossible for you to model Christian behavior for them. It is imperative that it is made very clear to your students, through your words and deeds, that you are a follower of Christ. To be unashamedly Christ, one must dare to say what must be said and do what must be done.

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory” (Luke 9:26).

“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:8).

Trust is Fundamental

Fundamental to establishing a meaningful relationship with your students and to being able to participate in their Christian formation is the establishment of a relationship of trust. One must let them know that you care about them as students, as people, and as fellow artists. How we treat our students, how we talk about others – students and teachers alike, and how we deal with others is a very strong witness. We must model Christ for our students, striving to be considerate, honest, consistent and fair in our dealings with them and others.

As a professor at a Christian university there is a trust, a responsibility committed to you. There is an unspoken expectation that one will not break or undermine the trust put in you by both the student and their parents. A certain distance must be maintained between the teacher and the student to be an effective teacher and an effective mentor. The teacher must let the student know that he cares, and yet maintain enough distance to command respect and to be able to teach the student. That distance also provides the student with a “comfort zone” in the relationship.

Knowing one’s Boundaries

An obvious example, which is far too often overlooked, is to avoid any indication of sexual or romantic interest in the student, be it through flirtation, innuendo, touching, or inappropriate questions about his or her personal life. To get too close to the student is to invite the possibility of emotional blackmail on his or her part.

Keeping a minimum distance will facilitate the teacher’s ability to be honest, especially with the tough decisions and issues, for example, when it might be best for the student to change major, or when he or she must be held accountable for substandard work or unacceptable behavior. Some decisions may even lead to the student leaving the university and/or the profession.

The teacher must be able to keep the best interests of the student foremost, and make the hard decisions without fear of the student’s rejection or criticism. In time, the student may very well come to understand that what you did was best for him in the long-term. That realization on their part will be a powerful witness on your part. To model Christ truth must be fearlessly spoken, but it must be spoken with love and compassion.

Again, trust must be established and maintained. A teacher must be a reliable confidant. The student must know that they can tell him something in confidence and that it will remain so. The teacher must refuse to gossip about his students with other faculty and other students. He must refuse to gossip about other faculty with his students. (We need to be wise about to whom we “cc” those e-mails.) To be trustworthy the teacher must be able to admit fault. He must avoid the all too common mistake of venting his frustrations, angers, pains, etc. on the students. The professor must be open to share with the students, without relinquishing the distance necessary to be an effective teacher.

It is necessary to be sensitive to the signs that indicate that the student is in need of help, and to be willing and flexible enough to forego the planned lesson in order to allow the student the chance to talk. In addition, the teacher needs to be available to the student – making time should someone “happen by” for a chat.

Once trust and a stable relationship are established with the student, the professor can be on guard for those “teachable” moments, those times when he can speak directly to the student as a Christian and pray with the student for guidance from God. Of course, it is the duty of the teacher to constantly bring his students and their needs before the Lord in prayer.

Professional Decorum

Besides the opportunity to model Christ through personal behavior the teacher of applied arts also has the unique opportunity to model professional behavior and a Christian form of professional decorum for those apprenticed to him. Applied arts students are “professionals in training” and need to have that mentality imparted to them. Of tantamount importance is modeling a Christian attitude towards the profession – just what it is we are doing and why we are doing it.

The concept that the talent that one has is a gift from God must be inculcated in the student. It follows that we need be thankful to God for the talent we have and for the wonder of art itself. Putting talent into this perspective will help to keep the musician humble and engender a healthy sense of stewardship and service about the performing arts. Stewardship recognizes that our talent is a gift from God which we are expected to make the most of and use wisely in service to God and others.

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) illustrates this concept. It follows that the pursuit of excellence in performance is essential and must be evident in the teacher’s own practice and performance. To make the most of our God-given talent requires disciplined, diligent practice of one’s performance technique. The teacher can model this work ethic in his own practice and teach it directly in the studio.

Joy in Performance

Putting art into the service of the God who created it and gifted the artist with the ability to create/recreate it, can take several paths. Quite apparent is performance in worship and for other Christian services. Doing this and the attitude with which one does so are important examples for the student. To do so joyfully and without remuneration makes a clear statement to the student.

Perhaps less apparent, but of equal importance, is the attitude towards performance that the instructor models for the student in secular venues. If the instructor demonstrates a sincere desire to share the joy and fulfillment of performing with the audience this will be invaluable to the student. Rather than the disdain for, or condescension towards, the audience often cultivated among elitist-minded professionals, it behooves the Christian performer to see it as his or her duty to communicate with the public, to enrich the life of the audience member, and to be a good steward of the talent he has been given, sharing it with others.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Ensemble is Community

The modeling of professionalism from a Christian perspective need also include interpersonal relationships – professional standards of conduct and etiquette. The professor is often given the opportunity to model such behavior when his students are performing alongside him, when teaching a studio class, and in dealing with relationships between students.

The ensemble is a community, a microcosm of the world. To learn to function effectively as a Christian in the section is excellent training for doing so in the ensemble, in the studio, and in the world at large.

To function effectively as an ensemble performing at maximum potential we need to recognize that every member of the group is essential to the success of the ensemble, that all have both strengths and weaknesses, and that we must work together to build one another up in order to produce a beautiful work of art. Again, this can be modeled through one’s behavior in the ensemble and taught directly in the studio.

To freely apply the lessons of Ephesians 4:11 to musicians:

“It was He who gave some to [play high, some to play low, some to play fluently, others to play well in tune, others to play rhythmically precisely, and others to play extremely accurately.]”

As professionals who are Christians we need to seek the edification of all involved in the performance process to create a product that is truly uplifting for the audience. We must refuse to participate in the “zero-sum game” approach to professional community that is far too common in the business. The performer must think beyond the individual to the section to the entire ensemble. The professor can teach this concept to his students by clearly stating his vision for the studio and how its member should relate to one another.

“Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thess. 5:11).

Chamber music is ideal for the respectful exchange of ideas among equals. In the larger ensemble, due to the numbers involved and the time restraints, we must of necessity submit to a conductor/director and work together to create a unified concept of the work being performed, perhaps even using our break time to work out details of ensemble.

As with personal behavior, a professional Christian performer needs to let his colleagues know that he cares about them, that he is to be trusted, and that he is fair and honest in his dealings with others. Again, as with dealings with students, one’s relationships with other professionals must be interwoven with prayer, bringing them regularly before the lord of our lives. In the studio the professor is able to demonstrate this to the students by praying with the group, for the group.

More than a Player

Music students need to become musicians who play their particular instrument, not just a player of that instrument. By example and by placing certain demands on our students in lessons and in group sessions we can impress upon them the importance of being well-rounded musicians. They need to be held accountable not just for the practice needed to refine their instrumental technique, but also for the acquisition of the knowledge needed to develop a mature musical understanding. That knowledge is to be learned from the study of music theory, analysis, and history, and then applied thoughtfully in the practice room to recreate a meaningful performance. The final result will be music making derived from an intuitive sense based on knowledge and experience rather than uninformed feeling.

In a like manner, our students need to become Christians who make music and not just musicians who are Christians. Through recruitment, modeling and encouragement the professor has the opportunity to direct students to acquire as broad a perspective on life as possible. Through the study of the humanities in a liberal arts curriculum the student will gain a greater understanding of the world around him and be able to put his faith and work into a broader perspective. This will help the young musician to avoid the “journeyman” mentality common among those trained solely in conservatory. The goal to set before the student is to seek excellence in performance without compromising their Christian faith and ideals.

The Question of Repertoire

One aspect of teaching the applied arts that is rather problematic is the choice of repertoire. There is certain standard repertoire that every student must know to be successful. Many works, such as those by Mozart or Strauss, are fairly abstract works lacking in extra-musical connotations. However, other works have a program, story line or very real extra-musical meanings attached to them which need to be taken into account and which can make them questionable repertoire for a Christian to play and promote. On the other hand, it is possible that certain of these works have had the impact of their earliest performances and the nature of their meaning altered through repeated performance and a change of context.

Knowing the Background Story

The extra-musical connotations of a piece of music while perhaps unfortunate are none-the-less real, and need to be taken into consideration before programming and preparing a particular piece of music. The teacher needs to make sure the student is aware of the implications of a piece of music. The works of Wagner have long had an association with anti-Semitism and German nationalism in its extreme form of Nazism. Stravinsky’s “Rite of String” is the glorification of a pagan ritual which includes human sacrifices. The film “Star Wars”, for which John Williams wrote the soundtrack, promotes a concept of God as an impersonal force containing both evil and good – both concepts contrary to traditional Christian theology.

Ultimately, the musician, both teacher and student, must decide if a piece will glorify God or not. Unfortunately, many times, the performer may not have a choice, e.g. as a contract member of an ensemble. However, in the choice of repertoire for solo or recital the Christian performer should exercise thoughtful discretion.

The role of the professor of applied arts in forming the Christian character of his students lies in modeling as well as in teaching a Christian lifestyle, and pointing the student towards an informed approach to performance that consistent with a Christian way of life.

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Jeffrey Powers is an Associate Professor of Horn, Baylor University (Bachelor of Arts – Austin College; Master of Music – The Cleveland Institute of Music). Mr. Powers played in The Hong Kong Philharmonic, the New Jersey Symphony, the Philharmonic of Caracas, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic of Flanders.