NATIONAL NEWS
Dr. Jeffrey A. Murdock Earns Grammy Music Educator Award PRESENTED BY THE RECORDING ACADEMY AND GRAMMY MUSEUM
By Dr. Samuel Odom
D r. Jeffrey Allen Murdock, Jr., is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas. He was nominated and named the winner of the 2021 Grammy Music Educator Award at the 63 rd Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. The prestigious Grammy Music Educa- tor Award, presented by the Record- ing Academy and Grammy Museum, recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribu- tion to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. “We are so thrilled for Dr. Murdock! He is the epitome of an outstanding music educator and is beyond deserving of this award and type of recognition,” said Todd Shields, Dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, which is home to the University of Arkansas’s Department of Music. In addition to being recognized for his remarkable impact on students’ lives and being featured on CBS This Morning, Murdock will receive a $10,000 hono- rarium and matching grant for the Uni- versity of Arkansas’s music department. The nine additional finalists will also each receive a $1,000 honorarium and matching grants for their institutions. Brother Murdock is a Fall 2003 initiate of the University of Southern Missis- sippi Chapter, the Kappa Iota of Kappa Alpha Psi. Journal: Please share your vision on your role Associate Professor of Music education at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Dr. Jeffrey A. Murdock, Jr.
Murdock: My vision as an associate professor of music education is indica- tive of my passion for leveling the field in music education such that every stu- dent, regardless of age, ability, gender, race, or socioeconomic status has access to high quality music education each day. As a professor of music education, I am privileged to be in spaces which allow me to shape the music educators of to- morrow. As such, I am able to instill the values I hold dear into these budding teachers through practicum experiences, lectures, supervised field experiences, and pedagogy courses. While many things can be taught, such as conducting and rehearsal technique, how to sing or play an instrument, etc., certain values, such as empathy, altruism, compassion, and the like, must be modeled, and I strive to model these values at all times.”
into all of my teaching. In doing so, every student is seen and respected, bridges are built, and high standards and expectations of learning are main- tained…teaching in this way creates community in the classroom and music ensemble alike, while creating space and opportunity for students to ask ques- tions, to be stretched academically, and to become more aware of educational content through the lens of histori- cal context. Studies have shown that students who are well educated in the fine arts, specifically music, are more likely to perform well in other areas of academia. Music and the other fine arts open the student to the aesthetic experience and allow the student to think outside the tangible parameters of knowledge and to become more creative, yet analytical, in their knowledge seek- ing. As such, it has remained my mission from my very first days as a public- school educator until now, to bring a
“As a forward-thinking music educator, I integrate culturally relevant pedagogy
16 | SUMMER 2022 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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