Like many international school music educators, Louisa Danmeri's "one or two year adventure" as an international school music teacher quickly turned into 10 years! It's incredible how many times I've heard this same story from the community! Louisa is the Director of Music at the British School in Tokyo and has some brilliant insights to share with us.

In this episode, we explore:

Please enjoy this wide-ranging episode with Louisa and, as always, please do get in touch if you have some ideas/thoughts/initiatives to add to this conversation: [email protected]

Kristel Tretter is Music Teacher at Kinabalu International School in Sabah, Borneo.

In this episode we go on a veritable curricular journey! Kristel is a Canadian national who has worked in international schools in Singapore, Thailand, Mozambique & Japan. I was especially interested in her perspective on delivering the internationalised English National curriculum in the form of IGCSE and A Levels (Cambridge), as a Canadian.

In this episode we discuss:

Kristel was such a fun guest to have on the show with unique insights that will speak to many in our community! As always, lots of food for thought and challenges for everyone.

Clare Lambert is the Head Of Music at Nexus International School, Singapore.

I first met Clare back when she was teaching in Hong Kong at Discovery Bay International School. She hosted a conference and it was fantastic! Prior to HK, Clare worked in Bangkok, Thailand. She has also hosted a number of student festivals over the years. Clare knows her stuff!

Clare has a fascinating story about how teaching internationally has transformed her approach to music education. In this episode, we discuss:

Please enjoy this wide-ranging and inspiring conversation.

Get in touch with Clare:

Email: [email protected] 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-lambert-299518141/

Links from this episode:

TES website: https://www.tes.com/jobs/browse/international

IPC curriculum: https://internationalcurriculum.com/international-curriculum/primary

Musical Futures resources: https://www.musicalfuturesinternational.org

This was such a fun series to record. 

11 international school music teachers, across 3 episodes, with plenty inspiring ideas for us all. 

The third, and final, community insights episode features 3 international school musical teachers:

As with the previous two episodes, we explore 3 main questions:

Of course, each conversation explores various tangents as appropriate to the context of each individual.

Learn more about this community at https://mtiis.co

Demosthenes (Demo) Dimitrakoulakos is the Academic Leader of the Arts and Upper School Music Teacher at the International School of Luxembourg (ISL). Demo has lived and worked in Luxembourg for 18 years! During his years at ISL, Demo has worked with his team to methodically transform the approach to music education at ISL. Demo is the National Coordinator of Music Education for Luxembourg as part of the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS-m). He is now also chair of the board of EAS-m.

In this episode, Demo and I explore:

I really enjoyed getting to know Demo throughout this conversation. A relaxed and wise individual with so much to offer to the community! Enjoy.

Get in touch with Demo:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demosthenes-dimitrakoulakos-phd-3961ab4/

Links to resources and ideas explored in this episode:

Richard Lane's published pieces: https://www.editions-bim.com/composers/richard-lane
Samuel Wright's MYP by Concept Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Music-IB-MYP-Concept/dp/1510474668
Annual EAS-m Conference in Dublin: https://eas-music.org/2024-dublin/
EPME Publications: https://eas-music.org/publications/epme/
Arturia Microfreak: https://www.arturia.com/products/hardware-synths/microfreak/overview
Korg Vocal Sampler: https://www.korg.com/au/products/dj/volca_sample/index.php

When we put the call out to the MTIIS community for guests for a 'special start of year episode', we never imagined this response! 

Fourteen interviews later and we have an incredible wealth of insight from our community. Not one episode, but three!

In this first edition of MTIIS 'Community Insights', I speak with:

Each conversation explore the following three questions:

The responses are wide-ranging, nuanced, and filled with inspiring ideas and messages. Enjoy!

Get in touch with our guests:

If you'd like to reach out to any of the guests from this episode, please email [email protected]

Links to various things referenced in this episode:

Megan:
- Gloria Ladson-Billings: "Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Asking a Different Question"
- David Pollock: "Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds: The original, classic book on TCKs"

Beren:
MTIIS World Music Pedagogy course
Andy Gleadhill's global music workshops
The Yamaha Advantage Books
A Tune A Day Books
Charanga International - YUMU
Musical Futures Resources

This episode was brought to you by Naxos Musicbox: https://www.naxosmusicbox.com

Naxos Musicbox is a new online learning platform from Naxos, the world’s leading classical music brand. I’ve been playing around with Naxos Musicbox for the last little while and I was impressed by a couple of things 1) the simple, easy-to-navigate interface for students and teachers, and 2) the quality of the content. This is an excellent solution for teaching Western music theory and classical music to students from 4 up to 14 and in some cases, beyond into GCSE level. There is also a super nice section dedicated to culturally diverse music with fantastic listening examples. Naxos Musicbox has student quizzes that integrate with Google Classroom. For the MTIIS community, Naxos Musicbox has an introductory offer where you’ll get 20% off your license. Simply email [email protected] and mention MTIIS for your discount.

Learn more about MTIIS: https://mtiis.co

w/ Anna Gower, Steve Jackman & Ken Owen

Brian White is the current Director of Bands at the American School of Milan, Italy.

Brian is originally from the USA. After a fortuitous encounter with an international school teaching couple when on holidays in Austria, Brian and his wife knew this was the path for them. 20+ years lates and Brian has completed long stints at international schools in Singapore & the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Having recently moved to Milan, and after eating his own body weight in gelato, pizza and pasta, Brian joins the podcast with some incredible stories to share. 

In this episode we explore:

There's so much in this episode! For those of us that are a little less familiar with how an 'American-style' music program works, this one is gold. Brian is a fantastic conversationalist and a reflective and measured professional. Enjoy!

Get in touch with Brian:
Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/band-director-brian/

Links to other content referenced in this episode:

SmartMusic (by MakeMusic): https://www.makemusic.com

Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools: https://www.aramco.com/en/careers/non-saudi-applicants/expatriate-schools

This episode was brought to you by Naxos Musicbox: https://www.naxosmusicbox.com

Naxos Musicbox is a new online learning platform from Naxos, the world’s leading classical music brand. I’ve been playing around with Naxos Musicbox for the last little while and I was impressed by a couple of things 1) the simple, easy-to-navigate interface for students and teachers, and 2) the quality of the content. This is an excellent solution for teaching Western music theory and classical music to students from 4 up to 14 and in some cases, beyond into GCSE level. There is also a super nice section dedicated to culturally diverse music with fantastic listening examples. Naxos Musicbox has student quizzes that integrate with Google Classroom. For the MTIIS community, Naxos Musicbox has an introductory offer where you’ll get 20% off your license. Simply email [email protected] and mention MTIIS for your discount.

Find out more about MTIIS: https://mtiis.co

I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to interview good friend and inspiring educator Yann Zhe Yau.

Yann and I worked together for a number of years in Malaysia. His story is inspiring. His attitude is exemplary.

Yann is a joyful, positive and thoughtful music educator that represents a new wave of international school music teachers who have transitioned from their role as instrumental tutor. Yann worked with me as a trumpet tutor and then did an online PGCEi through Warwick University, before securing a full time classroom music teaching role in an international school. As a Malaysian working in a Malaysian International school, it is fascinating to see how the historical and political influences on international schools come through in hiring practices and biases for host country national staff.

In this episode, Yann and I discuss:

Yann and I touch on some challenging topics and I'm so thankful to Yann for taking us on this journey. This episode has to be one of my favourites so far as it represents an exciting shift 'international' schooling. The question: what does it mean to be 'international', once again, comes to the fore. Keep an eye out for an upcoming episode with Dr. Denry Machin - where we are going to try and explore the question: "what is an international school?" - going to be a good one!

In the meantime, get in touch with Yann with any questions and please see the contact information and links below.

Get in touch with Yann:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yz.yau

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yann-zhe-yau-100a46127/

Links to other content referenced in this episode:

Warwick PGCEi (Postgraduate Certificate in Education International): https://warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/courses/pgcei/

Organisations/individuals supporting reform to international school hiring practices:

Learn more about MTIIS: https://mtiis.co