Lectorate Lifelong Learning in Music
 Biography Rineke Smilde graduated at the Prins Claus Conservatoire in Groningen with main principal study Flute, and gained a Masters in Musicology at the Amsterdam University. After a career as a performing musician and professorships at the Alkmaar Conservatoir and the Royal Conservatoire at The Hague, she was appointed director of the Department of Classical Music at the Prins Claus (then: North Netherlands) Conservatoire in 1994, and as of 1998 as principal of the PCC. Since this time Rineke Smilde was active as a council member (from 2002 till 2005 as vice- president) of the Association of European Conservatoires (AEC). As such she has lead various international working groups carrying out research projects into Lifelong Learning. As of January 2004 Rineke Smilde was appointed professor of ‘Lifelong Learning in Music’ at the Hanze University for Professional Education (Prins Claus Conservatoire) in Groningen and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Design, Music and Dance (Royal Conservatoire) in The Hague. Together with a Research group she carries out research into concepts of Lifelong Learning that can be developed in order to make changes in the learning environments of the conservatoire. This with the aim to make students more adaptive and responsive to change in the labour market. | Welcome to my homepage! The lectorate “Lifelong Learning in Music” examines the concept of Lifelong Learning and its consequences for musicians, with the intention of adapting the learning environment of the North Netherlands Conservatoire (NNC) and the Royal Conservatoire (RC). Today's musicians face major changes in their work-place, changes that are taking place at an ever-increasing pace. This results amongst other things in a career consisting of several successive, brief and/or part-time periods of employment(portfolio career), which can include cross-arts, cross-cultural and cross-sector work. More than ever before, the future professional musician is confronted with questions of how to function in new contexts and how to exploit opportunities. The purpose of the lectorate is to create adaptive learning environments in which conservatoire students can be trained to function effectively in a continuously changing professional practice. Improved adaptable (life) skills should lead to increased employability of professional musicians in the future. To this end, the Lifelong Learning concept and its implementation are being investigated on the level of organisation, curriculum, teachers, students and graduates. This is set out in four phases: Phase I: Theory-generating phase. The lector and the team of knowledge experts will collect, process and generate knowledge concerning the following subjects: the concept of Lifelong Learning; the question: How do musicians learn?; context related assessment methods; metacognitive and generic skills; formal and informal learning and examples of good practice in this field. A mapping exercise will take place into the needs of graduates and the changing professional field. Theory generating case studies also supply information. In addition to this, research will be done into the current state of affairs in the context of Lifelong Learning at the NNC and RC in the domains of organisation, curriculum, teachers, students and graduates. The gained knowledge in this phase is the base for phase II. Phase II: Pilot phase. Concepts of Lifelong Learning are being identified and made operational and measurable. Then these concepts will be tested by means of pilot projects at the NNC and RC, in collaboration with external partners, followed by evaluation and adaptation. Pilots can take place in the field of education, of ‘art-as-research’, of cross sectoral collaboration (e.g. hospitals and prisons) and in the context of e.g. cross-arts (music, theatre, dance): participatory projects with improvisation and composition. Phase III: “From Now to the Future”. This phase consists of the determination of the nature of the desired changes and the start of the implementation process. The results of the pilot phase are made concrete and implemented in teaching programmes or modules. The results mark the beginning of a process of change in the organisation and generate the adequate development of teacher competence. Phase IV: Consolidation and follow up. The investigation should culminate in the development of a system of permanent educational innovation, continuing professional development and a model for the professional integration of students and graduates in the work place. NNC and RC are thus developing into institutions of knowledge where an enquiring and reflective attitude becomes more natural for teachers and students; also into institutions that are pro-actively adapting to and anticipating changes in the work-place, exploring new possibilities in the profession and preparing student-groups for Lifelong Learning. ContactPrins Claus Conservatoire Veemarktstraat 76 Email: c.a.smilde@pl.hanze.nl Telephone: +31 50 5951304
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