The Bulletin Page 5November 10, 2011

BY MARIIANNE MAYS WIEBEThe Bulletin

“Music is an investment with returns that can’t be calculated,” says Mary Hawn, director of preparatory studies in the Faculty of Music.

When she speaks, Hawn is animated and sparkling, and her passion for music is clear.

She comes from a background in music education and composition, and has played almost every role possible in music. She has performed, composed and taught instrumental and vocal music privately and in the public school system, and musicianship and composition theory through the Royal Conservatory; she has been immersed in church music programs; she’s directed choirs and ensembles; she has composed original music for a variety of different groups; and she has specialized in music work with both children and seniors.

What drew her to music as a vocation? Hawn at one point considered other options, such as law and the ministry.

“Joy brought me here,” she responds after a pause. “At some point I knew that if I did not pursue music, I would end up with regret at the end of my life.”

She says that her mother said to her before her early passing, “I always knew where you were, because you were always singing.” The statement helped her to recognize her predilection for music as something that deeply informed her person and identity. “Which doesn’t necessarily translate to giftedness,” she laughs, “just to a heart [for music].”

A pretty powerful answer, and a sentiment that informs Hawn’s overall understanding of music and music education as closely associated to the heart and to joy.

Her own approach in working with others, then, is closely linked to that understanding. She explains that her own personal aim is to “facilitate others’ best, so that they experience joy in what they do.

“When one experiences joy,” she says, “one wants to return, because it is a well without limit.”

The opportunity provided by music, she says, “is both within and without. To ascertain one’s own gifts and possibilities, and to help

others with their own growth and to contribute to the growth of others around them.”

In this way, she maintains, the pursuit of excellence and communal values are not mutually exclusive. “The future is in each and every hand,” as she puts it.

The key, she says, is finding a place in the community for each one, no matter where they are in their individual journey. She points to a sense of “safety and welcome” as a necessary foundation for participation. For Hawn it is all about “working with others in terms of their tendencies, their dreams and their hopes and helping to manifest those through pragmatic steps.” And, she says, “No step is too small.”

Asked to name two integral elements of music education, Hawn names “honesty” or “integrity,” and “belief.” As she sees it, teachers embrace the responsibility of helping another human being’s development and sense of possibility.

And there must also be a

groundwork of support and nurture for teachers, as often they are “forgotten souls,” she says.

The evident breadth and depth of Hawn’s experience and background is ideal for her current role as director.

The prep studies division, as it is known, is home to a vast array of music outreach programs that operate alongside the Faculty of Music’s curricula and other events. From private lessons to movement-through-music classes to a seniors’ choir, from music composition classes to music theory, and from world music for children to group fiddling, the array of offerings is vast, and open to the public.

Hawn’s job is to organize and oversee it all. “Bringing the esoteric vision down to the pragmatic details and back again” is how she describes her role—and it includes everything from writing music for small groups to planning music teachers’ conferences to setting up the stage for student recitals. And because

she’s someone for whom the details matter, she doesn’t sleep much.

The U of M alumna (music and English) does read a lot, especially during those bouts of insomnia. Her melodic speech is peppered with analogy and unexpected words, so it’s not surprising that she is an avid reader. She reads widely, sometimes for cultural or pedagogical insight, sometimes for pleasure — a huge variety of books, from the classics, to pedagogy and social theory.

Education in the broadest sense is much the same as music education in her view. It is a credit to “those who have already contributed” and those who are invested, from taxpayers to — in the case of the Faculty of Music — “the dean who set up the [preparatory studies] division as an outreach that would nourish the faculty’s future.”

Music education, according to Hawn, is, in the profoundest sense, “that which defers a good outcome for as long as necessary.”

NOTES ON THE DIVISION OF MUSIC PREP STUDIES

Did you know?

• You can take private lessons in piano, organ, harp, acoustic and electric guitar, voice, and a variety of string and wind instruments

• You can take a Piano Pedagogy Certificate Program, Faculty of Music Theory Entrance Exam Preparation Courses or Music Theory at prep studies

• You can enrol in offerings such as: Musical Theatre, Group Fiddling (!), Flute Ensembles, Awareness Through Movement®, T.I.W. or Tuesdays in Winnipeg, a vocal club for young men ages 15+; or the Joie de Vivre Choir (55+)

• You can enrol your child in private lessons or other courses such as: Baby and Toddler, Music for Children (Orff), World Music, Children’s Chorus, Child & Parent Guitar

Find out more at: http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/music/prep/index.html

GET THE FACTS

‘JOY BROUGHT ME HERE‘Director of prep studies in the Faculty of Music, Mary Hawn

Mary Hawn, director, preparatory studies, Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music.

Hawn: ‘Music is an investment with returns that can't be calculated’

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Have you ever longed to play the piano, or wished your secret singing in the shower could transform into partipation in a choir? If so, you will want to look into these opportunities. If not for yourself, do it your children; they’ll thank you later.

The preparatory studies division at the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music provides music education to the general public through a wide array of private and group programming. Students of “all ages and stages” are welcome.

All teachers are highly qualified with performance and pedagogical experience, and lessons are available on the U of M campus as well as throughout the city. Private music lessons are available in piano, organ, harp, acoustic and electric guitar, voice, violin, viola, cello, bass, trumpet, flute, piccolo, clarinet, French horn, saxophone and oboe.

Group and individual instruction are available in all theoretical subjects, pedagogy, and composition. The division also offers instruction in Jazz, East Indian and Brazilian music.

Mary Hawn, program director, and Jenn Shaw,

program assistant, can speak to you in person or via phone or email about your musical interests and goals, and assist in placing you with a teacher who will turn those goals into reality.

Prep Studies student recitals are held monthly, and sometimes bi-monthly, on Sunday afternoons from October to June. Recitals take place in Eva Clare Hall. Family and friends are welcome to attend recitals, and all participants are encouraged to stay for the duration of the recital.

“Student recitals are a wonderful way to celebrate our students’ musical development, and for students to hear and learn from their peers,” says Hawn. “They are a great performance opportunity in themselves, and can also serve as preparation for a student’s own upcoming music festival class, exam or competition.”

There are a wealth of other musical opportunities as well. Prep studies offers many courses and programs, including free master classes which bring in renowned musicians and guest clinicians for personal performance instruction and feedback.

This musical interlude could be yours!