My name is Javonne Anthony, I’m a student at Old Dominion University. I’m currently studying music education with a choral/ voice concentration. I chose to pursue music because of the beauty and freedom that can be found within it. It gives people human creativity in their ability to express themselves best in ways that words can’t. Basically giving ones the outlook they need to get through this thing we all call life; personally it’s helped me in such ways. Therefore, I’ve made it a long goal of mine to be able to reproduce that same effect on to students of mine in the near future. Before choosing a music career, I once was a medical assistant at a nearby hospital in the city. I started working there while I was in high school and shortly after I graduated, but after just a few months of working hands on in the field, then I realized it wasn’t the right path for me. I had been in choir my 4 years of high school and had little to no proper understanding of music as a whole really, so deciding to come to ODU with no prior knowledge or any kind of musical background was scary. I was also in my school’s marching

band but I was only involved with color guard. I had no clue as to how I’d ever get myself up to working with an actual instrument as many others did. But through these early semesters in school, I feel as confident as ever that I will be successful in a career as a music educator. So far, I’ve had excellent mentors wh

o are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about this particular field. To make music educators not sound so broad but broken down into what specifically is being taught, I mean in aspects of sight reading sheet music, music theory, diction for various languages, music history, conducting courses, and so on. What makes these courses enjoyable most and gives the class ease when trying to succeed is how hands on and auditory it is. As a student personally, I find that being hands on when learning a particular subject is most helpful. As well as listening; a keen ear is always helpful when building up muscle memory or just having the ability to familiarize yourself with things. In regards to music though, educators model themselves in order to gain results from their students. That could be by repeating back words, phrases, or reproducing the same sounds by voice or instrumentation, or even the way we use our hands. Whether conducting, showing different hand techniques for handling certain instruments, or just something along those lines.

Of course though, this work is no easy “walk in the park”, it’s very tedious. Even though I am enrolled in school full-time, I still have a part time job. At times it can be a struggle to keep the two balanced but I do best to keep my instructors and employer aware of my current situation and make the best of it. With the free time I have from both, I make opportunities to expand my musical experience. I haven’t had any teaching experience quite yet, but it’s in the future to come. I try now to attend different musical performances throughout the year and get exposed to as many different areas of it as possible. Going from early chamber music to jazz, classical, opera, r&b, and so forth. These help in broadening my viewpoint of music, seeing where the roots/origins of many of them are from, how they began and the developments they’ve had over time, and how they’ve helped shape societies into the structures they are now. So taking these elements into consideration and binding them altogether, I find that they all make up me as a person. Music has always and will continue to always be a major force in my life. It’s helped me to endeavor some pretty challenging things. In the same way, the way that it’s been most helpful and expressive, I want to give my students the same feeling and desire to make music and carry it with them anywhere they go.