Sibelius Helps Write The Future Of Music Education At Queensborough Community College

Queensborough Community College, part of The City University of New York (C.U.N.Y.), prides itself on reflecting the cultural diversity of the borough of Queens and the surrounding New York City area.

That diversity is reflected musically, as well, with hip-hop, electronica and other modern styles sharing the stage with traditional classical and jazz. Queensborough has the only Music Electronics Technology program in the C.U.N.Y. system, and the curriculum is supported by computer labs that feature Power Mac computers running Mac OS X and Sibelius.

According to Music Department Chair Dr. Joseph Nagler, the move to Sibelius is a reflection of the college striving to meet the needs of an ever-changing industry and a diverse student body.

“We chose Sibelius because of the flexibility and intuitive nature of the program,” explains Nagler. “A lot of faculty members started using it for personal projects, and gradually, we introduced it into the curriculum. We began with Version 2, and now have 3, plus various software programs from the Education Suite. Namely, Musition and Auralia. It’s been a smooth transition for both faculty and students. Our favorite feature is the immediate gratification the students get. They can conceptualize an idea, put it down on the screen, and be able to hear it back via the Kontakt player orchestration within a relatively short period of time. And, since most of our students are computer literate, the learning curve is small.”

The QCC Music Electronics program began in the mid-1990s with one lab, and today includes more than 90 seats in several rooms. In addition to Sibelius, other gear includes Macintosh G4, Macintosh G5, Power Mac 7100, G5 iMac, X-serves and PowerBook computers, M-Audio controllers, Pro Tools, Digital Performer, Reason, LOGIC, BIAS Peak, Garageband, and a host of other plug-ins and ancillary software.

“Instead of using blackboards and paper,” says instructor Assistant Professor, Dr. Geoffrey Burleson. “Sibelius is now our virtual blackboard, and that’s especially helpful when teaching the basics of theory and composition. The students can hear notation examples, have back-and-forth dialogue with the teacher, and best of all, save time. When writing directly into the program, you can see and hear intervals, voice leading and harmony. Students can learn to use it from scratch, and in about a half hour, have a finished product.”

Students are also able to arrange and print out parts to have their compositions performed and recorded by various ensembles.

“We began as a traditional conservatory more than 40 years ago, and now have the tools needed to create and produce music digitally,” says Nagler. “Our students come to us with a vast array of backgrounds, but they all share one thing—the love of music. As educators, technology such as Sibleius has helped to make our efforts to reach all levels of students a little bit easier so that they can succeed in this changing musical landscape.”

For more information, visit http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/Music/