“I love music more than anything. It is a wonderful way to relieve stress and inspire others to create and express themselves in a way that words cannot. It is one of my greatest joys to see other people experience that and, as a teacher in general, you get to see someone’s love for a subject inspired first-hand. As a music educator, you get to witness how people get their love for music. I feel like that’s more rewarding than performing,” said Colin J. Rhoads ’27, an aspiring music educator.
Emma C. Floyd ’26, shared a similar sentiment; “[Music education] is where we all started as musicians,” said Floyd. “Those are my fondest memories.” Music is inspirational and I believe it is needed in schools, so learning to be a person… that can provide excitement for someone else really excites me.”
How do aspiring music educators like Rhoads and Floyd, whose passion for music is rivaled only by theirs for education, choose between majoring in Music and Education? At Stetson University, they do not have to. The School of Music has composed a flawless fusion between both fields of study in the form of a major: Music Education. To tune into what makes it so note-worthy, I interviewed two Music Education Majors, junior Emma C. Floyd and sophomore Colin J. Rhoads, about the Music Education program. Floyd is a vocal student and Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter president, with hopes to teach elementary, middle and high school music while continuing her musical education in graduate school. Rhoads’s is a piano student, and he plans to pursue a doctoral degree and teach Music Education courses at the elementary and university level, as well as music direct for a church.
The Bachelor of Music Education program’s curriculum at Stetson contains courses in the arts, sciences, music, professional education and music education, ensuring that students are well-versed in the musical disciplines of theory, history and performance, as well as professional pedagogy— the study of the methods and practices of teaching, especially regarding the endeavors of education— in both the historic and modern classroom. “It is basically two majors in one,” said Emma C. Floyd. Through the School of Music, Music Education students enrich their musicianship in either the applied instrumental or vocal arts through private lessons, studio classes and workshops with renowned artist-educators, as well as through music ensembles: orchestra, band, jazz band and various choirs, to name a few. Courses, such as Elementary School Music Methods, provide pre-student teaching field experiences through classroom observations, where students conceptualize how to integrate music in elementary and secondary classes. The School of Music also collaborates closely with Stetson’s Department of Education, where students take classes that prepare them to teach from a pedagogically and psychologically informed perspective, create curriculum for the K-12 classroom, and meet the developmental and social needs of diverse learners.
Unique to Stetson University, all graduates of the Bachelor of Music Education degree program, upon receiving the recommendations of both the Director of Music Education and the Director of Student Teaching, are certified by the State of Florida Department of Education to teach instrumental, vocal and general music to grades K-12 in the public schools of Florida, setting Stetson students apart when applying for graduate studies, internships and jobs as music educators. “The Bachelor of Music Education program is challenging,” Rhoads said. “But equally, if not more so, it is rewarding. You get to take a lot of classes that will both equip you for your professional career and enrich your learning experience.”
In addition to graduating with the Florida Professional Certificate for teaching, Music Education students join Stetson University’s National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Collegiate chapter. NAfME Collegiate is a branch of the National Association for Music Education, one of the world’s largest arts organizations and national professional affiliation for music educators. Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter prepares its members for careers as music educators by providing them with access to music journals, newsletters, workshops and professional development conferences that encourage them to stay up to date on the latest news, research, teaching methods and progress in music education. “It’s giving the future generation of this career a voice now,” said Floyd, Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter president.
In January of 2025, members of Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter attended FMEA, the Florida Music Education Association conference. “It was an indelible experience,” Rhoads said. “Oftentimes, being a music educator can be an isolating job, especially in the elementary world; a lot of schools have more than one English teacher, more than one History teacher and more than one Science teacher. FMEA is a great way to connect with other people in the profession.”
As president of Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter, Floyd “got to go to the Presidents’ Forum for all the collegiate chapter presidents” at FMEA. “We all went around and shared the great things our chapters have been doing for music education, which was really eye-opening because Stetson is considered one of the smaller schools that attends FMEA, but I would say we are one of the more advanced in terms of NAfME,” said Floyd.
Members of Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter also serve in local community outreach – such as through the Community School of Music, where Music Education students may tutor children, ages 8-18, or adults in applied instrumental or vocal arts, and assist in Orff programs, Young Singers and Youth Strings. Floyd helps orchestrate the Honor Chamber Festival in the fall semester. “We offer middle schoolers the chance to learn from us for a day. We have brass, wind, percussion, chorus and string ensembles, and we teach them one or two pieces which, at the end of the day, they perform in a concert. No Stetson professors help us – we run and plan it all. It really opens your eyes to what being a teacher is; providing food for the kids, making sure they are safe and get where they need to go. It prepares you for the real world,” said Floyd.
Perhaps the most illustrious fusion between music and education in the Music Education program comes to fruition throughout the students’ final year. During the first semester, students collaborate with the School of Music faculty, Music Education Faculty and applied instrumental or vocal arts private lesson and studio class professor to produce and promote their Senior Recital, which showcases selections from the musical repertoire Music Education students have studied and performed throughout their education at Stetson, proving their prowess not only as well-rounded educators but as musicians and performers. They are adjudicated for their craftsmanship, showmanship and unflappable dedication to the mastery of music. Second semester, students begin their professional work in music education with an internship. Working as apprentices to practiced music educators, seniors are granted full-day teaching experience— for a minimum of twelve weeks— in elementary, middle, or secondary schools, often in Volusia County. The internship challenges students to apply everything they have studied as not Stetson University School of Music Bachelor of Music Education program majors, not just Stetson’s NAfME Collegiate chapter members, not just musicians, not just future educators, but a finishing fusion of them all: full-fledged music educators.