School of Music professor speaks at International Society of Music Education conference in Finland

Dr. Cassandra Hibbard, Liberty University School of Music associate professor of clarinet, had the honor of sharing Liberty’s focus on connecting with and caring for students to the International Society of Music Education’s biennial conference in Helsinki, Finland.

Hibbard’s presentation, “The Role of Spiritualism in Collegiate Private Lessons,” focused on spiritualism, not in the religious or ethereal sense, but in the sense of joining in spirit, connecting relationally between a professor and student.

By investing into students on a personal level, she said they are likely to experience more growth and share with others how their professor (or school) has contributed to their success. The School of Music excels at this approach as private lessons are offered in the curriculum.

“Everything I talked about at this presentation is just basically what our School of Music does and wants to do with every student already, which is connect with them and help them grow … to get away from a sense of fundamentalism with our curriculum and get more into an individualized approach,” she said.

Hibbard explained that professors can implement this type of spirituality into private lessons by setting three types of goals for the student: academic, personal, and professional. By discussing these areas, the professor can make the lessons more individualized, meeting the student where they are in their development to achieve better growth.

Hibbard implements this approach in her own private lessons, and she has seen her students graduate and succeed in their music careers, including a recent student who is now studying for his master’s at the Boston Conservatory. In 2022, Hibbard’s clarinet ensemble was selected by the International Clarinet Association to perform in Reno, Nev., at their annual ClarinetFest.

“When I talk to parents, I say I want to see students develop in three areas here at Liberty University. I want to see them develop with playing the clarinet, and I want to see them develop professionally, which is separate,” Hibbard said. “I also want to see them develop as men and women of God, and I need to take time out for all three of those things in my teaching.”

Hibbard said she strives to keep the learning environment uplifting and free of fear, which allows her to share her faith from a biblical viewpoint.

“Anybody who is connecting with me is going to be connecting with the Lord because that’s what my identity is,” she said. “We always want to bring a perspective that’s positive, which is biblical. We’re supposed to be thinking on good things, and that’s the opposite of fear teaching.”

Hibbard said Liberty excels at this approach, a main difference from many other schools that follow rigid curriculums and do not personalize the education based on individual needs. At the conference, she made a case for schools across the world to adopt this approach.

Hibbard said she sees growth in all her students, and she has developed professional relationships with them in a way where they can be mutually proud of each other in their accomplishments. She encourages her students as they reach milestones, and they encourage her as she accomplishes her own goals. Many students congratulated Hibbard on speaking in Finland and were eager to hear about her trip. She believes that schools utilizing this goal-orientated approach will see an increase in enrollment.

“The final thought that I was trying to make to the conference is if (Liberty) is offering this (spiritualism) and students are happy about being connected, and they’re growing and seeing results in their life and in their careers, then why wouldn’t other students transfer here?”

Hibbard said she loved being able to professionally represent both the university and Christ to the audience.

“This is a topic that needs to be talked about a lot in the secular world,” she said. “I believe personally that God’s plan is to cause a conversation about this, even if it starts as a commercial conversation, to get people to think about how they treat other people. I’m grateful to be able to be that person who gets to do it.”