Dārta Ošeniece

Q: What are the most fulfilling and most challenging aspects of your job?

We encourage young people to pursue an idea or goal they have long thought of, but there hasn’t been a motivation to do so. They create their challenges by themselves and overcome all obstacles.

It is inspiring to see the personal growth of young people and interesting to see how creative they are.

Q: Please describe some examples (things you have personally witnessed) that show how music can contribute to civic engagement among young people. For instance, how through music do young people become more involved in improving their community, or more socially engaged and politically active, or concerned about global challenges?

In the organisation that I work for, young people use music as one of the challenges to be more creative and succeed in life, for example, go to music school and learn to play piano or violin and therefore become better at things. There is a saying that if you are good at musical instruments like piano and others then you're good at mathematics and other things.

Q: Please describe examples from conversations among young people (things you have personally observed) that show some of the different ways they discuss music.

I have seen that young people discuss music in the sense of style, they dance to different musical styles but at the same time they know what the music is about, and they want to use music as a powerful tool to tell a story.

Q: Based on what you have seen, how do such conversations change as young people mature (for instance, ages 15-17; 18-20; 21-25)?

Younger people talk more about the music they like, the sound, the rhythm or just listen.

Conversations are changing with the experiences and with their age. It is interesting to see how relevant topics are to their daily lives for 15 years old and 25-year-olds.

Q: Based on your experience, have discussions of music and society among young people generally changed across years due to different historical conditions? If so, how and why?

I have witnessed different periods of time therefore I have seen how music involves. The music reflects the current issues of its time. Like in the pandemic it's more about either being together or talking about the pandemic and staying at home. There is more and more talk about suicide and how to prevent it.

Q: Do you sense that a shared knowledge of traditional (folk) songs and dances is changing among young people, and if so, how and why?

In Latvia we still have quite strong folk-dance and song traditions. Many schools have dance classes for pupils, or they can attend folk-dance groups, singing in a choir is mandatory. But a lot depends on the parents who pass on tradition. If they have sung or danced during school, then their children will do the same. It goes without saying to take part in a Youth song and dance festival.

I am really looking forward to seeing what is going to happen after the pandemic because we were locked in our homes for a long time, the collective activities were cancelled, there was an empty period.

Q: What is the most interesting story you can share about how music impacts young people?

I have seen how people are more creative and find their way into life. For example, some people who didn't know what to do after high school started dancing or singing popular songs and it inspired them to do something with their lives that probably wouldn't have happened without music.

Q: In what ways do you see social media impacting how young people use and communicate about music?

Social media plays an important role in what young people listen to. Millennial children are more about singing and dancing to popular songs, creating new stories and sharing it with the world than keeping it to themselves. But social media is also a way to talk and a place to find out information about serious and important topics like social issues, racism, suicide or political views and how we can contribute. Social media is helping to spread the word.

Q: What kinds of discussions have you witnessed stimulated through instrumental music? Can you imagine some new ways this could be achieved?

I know that instrumental music is stimulating. I have seen that some young people are using instrumental music for studies as background music. They say it helps to focus better.

At the same time I haven't seen discussions about instrumental music in everyday life.

Q: What kind of new methods in work with young people would be helpful in your work? What should be the purpose of these methods?

I really like art and music therapies because it combines psychology and creative thinking and expression. Brain function studies have been performed that reveal a link to human emotions and reactions. Using creative thinking and action we can better understand our pain, anxiety or what we like, find a solution to current issues. In music therapy, the result is achieved using musical techniques and means of expression like sound, rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, instrumental and vocal improvisations, movements, because music affects the human mind, feelings, will and imagination in many ways.

Therefore, I think that such an approach, which combines psychology and creative methods, should be used more and more in work with young people.

July 2021