The Middle School Outreach Ensembles (MSOE) program is an internationally recognized, community-based music outreach program sponsored by CSU that provides music instruction to local middle school students. More than 70 music educators – including advanced high school students, college music majors, collegiate faculty, practicing teachers, and retired sages – instruct more than 150 young musicians. All local middle school band, orchestra, and choir students are invited to participate and develop musical artistry over seven weeks through small and large group work.
The program embodies CSU’s land-grant mission, providing equal opportunity and access to its music programming through expert music lessons at an extremely low cost.
The program’s approach to “mutual community” helps to inspire middle school students to love music and expose talented and bright high school students to the idea of serving the future through a career in music education, and to cultivate teaching excellence in our college students who have chosen to serve their community by becoming a K-12 teacher.
“MSOE is about several things: teacher training, access, musicianship, community, and inspired instruction. However, the most important aspect of MSOE is that we all strive to forge lasting connections with young people to better their lives through music,” shares Erik Johnson, assistant professor of music education and instrumental music education at CSU.
As the program continues to grow, private support is vital to ensure participation costs remain low, allowing students to access these services long into the future. The MSOE program was recently featured in a video at CSU’s 1870 Dinner, a gathering of the University’s greatest supporters, which explored how MSOE is forging new paths for music students and instructors in the Fort Collins community.
Gifts to the MSOE program will help keep this meaningful community resource active and provide opportunities to grow and expand. You can support MSOE by donating to the Youth Programs in Arts and Education Endowment here.
Contact
Middle School Outreach Ensembles
MSOE: An Inspiring Music Learning Experience for Developing Middle School Musicians
Try on Teaching with MSOE
Cultivating and Developing the Next Generation of Excellent Secondary Music Teachers
Purpose
- Foster excellence in music education.
- Identify and recruit outstanding high school students interested in music education.
- Provide CSU preservice music education students with an authentic teacher preparation context.
- Provide a low-cost musical experience for local middle school band, orchestra, and choir students.
- Provide a safe and supported space where individuals with varying levels of music teaching experience can practice and hone the art of pedagogy.
- Foster mentoring relationships between undergraduate students, graduate students, and secondary public school music teachers to strengthen teacher identity, commitment to teaching, and teaching effectiveness.
- Provide a vehicle for organizing community outreach to local public school music students and teachers.
Participants
- 150 local middle school band, orchestra, and choir students
- 25 high school students (novice teachers)
- Graduate music education majors (developing teachers)
- 40 undergraduate music education majors (apprentice teachers)
- Practicing public school teachers (master teachers)
- Retired teachers and local middle school teachers
- CSU Music Education and Composition faculty