While the Peabody Institute is mostly known for its performance students, its music education students are also worth noting.
Image caption: Peabody's Nicole Papadatos conducts the band at Reservoir High School in Howard County.
Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
Each year, there are between 35 and 40 music education students enrolled in the program, according to a recent issue of the Peabody Post notes](http://peabodyinstitute.wordpress.com/top-performers/). The degree itself is almost a double major, as it requires students to work on both their performance major and their education coursework at the same time.
Peabody's music education department also offers a three-semester certificate program to degree-holding musicians seeking teaching credentials. a Masters of Music in Music Education, and a Saturday in-service program for music educators looking to advance their knowledge and skills.
Many Peabody students are excellent musicians, but as the Post notes, high-level musicianship isn't the only necessary component of successful teaching.
They also need to know how to teach effectively—how to reach children so the youngsters will be able to take advantage of the musicianship. "The musician-teacher is what's best for our children in our schools," says Audrey Cardany, Peabody's vocal/general music specialist and Saturday Series coordinator, who joined the three-member faculty in 2010.
Student-teaching is not only good for Peabody students' education skills, but also for their musicianship.
Read more from The Peabody PostThere is something about learning how to teach others that often provides a bump in a Peabody student's own performance skills. Every year, Harlan D. Parker, who is also the Peabody Wind Ensemble conductor and music director/conductor of the Peabody Youth Orchestra in the Preparatory division, notices improvement in several students' own practice as they begin to teach. "They're starting to learn how everything fits together," he says.
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