Global Music Fellows Program

Integrating Global Music Across the Curriculum with the Music of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei

Meet the Musicians

Abigail Washburn, daughter of idealistic, hardworking Midwestern parents from Evanston, IL wasn’t particularly musical as a child – that would come later. As a young girl in Beijing, Wu Fei was a musical prodigy, fast-tracked to be one of the very best musicians in a country of over a billion people. Abigail expected to become a lawyer with the goal of bettering US-China relations. Fei was to become a professional musician performing state-sanctioned works in austere settings. But both women chose a fork in the road. Abigail has improved US-China relations with a banjo, not with a briefcase, touring the world and releasing a number of records that mingle Appalachian and Chinese folk music. She is one of the few foreign artists  touring China independently and regularly and her journeys included a month-long tour (Nov-Dec 2011) of China’s Silk Road supported by grants from the US Embassy, Beijing. Abigail, along with 24 other innovative and creative thinkers worldwide, was named a TED Fellow and gave a talk at the 2012 TED Convention in Long Beach about building US-China relations through music. Wu Fei became a guzheng master and multilingual composer of her own works assimilating avant-garde classical and folk music from around the world while retaining her own voice. Her commissions range from a composition for the Percussions Claviers de Lyon (France) that premiered in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, to live performances in Paris and Tokyo for Hermès. Wu Fei has composed for Balinese gamelan, symphony orchestra, choir, string quartet, chamber ensemble, film and modern dance. During this period, Fei toured the world extensively performing at some of the most respected museums, festivals and events. Her time in the States studying free improvisation led her to Boulder, CO where she would discover bluegrass music and meet Abigail.

Specific Program Objectives

1. To enhance educator’s global competency skills and knowledge of global music, especially global folk music traditions.
2. To build the learning capacity of K-12 and community college educators in developing teaching tools and materials to integrate music across the curriculum
3. To provide an opportunity for K-12 and community college educators to develop lesson plans, learning activities and educator resources that integrate global music across the curriculum.
4. To pilot and publish these materials online, in conjunction with the release of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei’s album in the spring of 2020, as a tool to inspire and model integrating global music across the K-12 and community college curriculum.

 World View Fellows Program Benefits

• Fellows will have the opportunity to create a teacher toolkit to accompany the Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei spring 2020 album release.
• Fellows who successfully complete all program requirements will be eligible for up to 5 CEU or 50 PDCH.
• Fellows who successfully complete all program requirements will earn a stipend of $500.
• Fellows will receive program-related digital and print resources.
• Fellows will receive admission to a select Carolina Performing Arts global music performance and accompanying World View mini-workshop.
• The following program costs are covered for participating fellows:
  • Registration fees for the July workshop
  • Dinner and lodging in Chapel Hill for one night during the July workshop
  • Admission to a select Carolina Performing Arts global music performance

World View Fellows Program Conditions of Participation

• Each participant is required to attend a two day workshop in Chapel Hill, July 25-26, 2019. Participants will engage in intensive, interactive, collaborative professional learning focused on global music and integrating music across the curriculum.
• Each participant must agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding the access and use of unreleased album material in conjunction with the Fellows program.
• Each participant is required to attend a select Carolina Performing Arts global music performance, as well as a pre-performance World View mini-workshop.
• Each participant must read or view all required program materials (print and digital) provided by World View and complete any scheduled assignments in connection with the World View Fellows Program.
• Each participant is required to pilot at least one component of their lesson plan in their classroom.
• Each participant is required to submit final program deliverables by the published deadline (and complete any necessary revisions) in order to earn the stipend and CEU/PDCH. Final deliverables will be published and made available on the World View website.
• Each participant is required to deliver a presentation on their professional learning experience in the Fellows program and their deliverable at least one time (for example, an in-district professional development day, World View program or statewide conference).