College of Music

Benjamin Teitelbaum is New Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 22:28:04 +0000

Benjamin Teitelbaum is New Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 09/17/2025 - 16:28

Gretchen Minekime

The Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Benjamin Teitelbaum will serve as the new faculty director for strategic events and public discourse.

Teitelbaum’s role will first focus primarily on planning the Conference on World Affairs (CWA) alongside members of Strategic Relations and Communications (SRC) and committees of volunteers responsible for developing the conference’s programs.

Read on to learn more about Teitelbaum, what we can expect from CWA 2026 and how you can be involved.

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What are the responsibilities of the Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse?

My job is to provide a voice for faculty and to contribute to the intellectual profile of a series of public-facing events on campus, first and foremost the (CWA).

How is this role an extension of your scholarship?

I am an ethnographer of culture and politics, which is to say that I study political ideas and expressions through face-to-face observations and conversations. During my career this brought me into contact both with a range of politicians and strategists, as well as writers, artists, and musicians who play (I came to think) a much larger role in shaping our political life than they are often given credit for.

Because the work I do ended up not fitting neatly into any academic discipline, and because much of it commented on current events, a lot of my writing appears in public rather than academic forums. CWA embodies much about the way I’ve gone about my work, in other words: it seeks to understand our world by bringing a diverse range of voices into dialogue with each other and the public.

What can our campus community look forward to for CWA 2026?

Though our planning is still in progress, I think you should expect two broad changes: the first is that I want the conference to be built to a greater extent by input from �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty. We have an exceptional concentration of expertise and insight in our midst, and I think we can do a better job of mobilizing it for the conference. That’s my priority.

Second, I want us to increase the diversity of our speakers. And I mean “diversity” in all ways: politically, socially, disciplinarily, etc. Part of the story of politics and culture during the past 10 years or so has been the exploding or transformation of establishments. To me, this means that any effort to understand how we got here, and where we might be going, needs to pay more attention to voices at the margins—people who we might have dismissed as irrelevant yesterday, but who could find themselves in positions of exceptional power or insight today.

How can faculty members, staff members and students be involved in CWA?

The best way to get involved is to join one of our six programming subcommittees (Arts, Business, Politics and Media, International Affairs, Human Condition, and Science and Technology). Joining will give you a direct role with identifying topics and speakers to feature at the conference.

Students can also volunteer during the conference itself, such as by being an on-campus guide for visitors.

But I especially want to add that even faculty who can’t volunteer can still submit recommendations for guest speakers.

Volunteer at CWA | Nominate a speaker for CWA

Why is it important for our campus community members to participate in public and community-engaged scholarship?

Part of the motivation could be purely selfish—you will learn more about the things you are studying and care about if you open yourself up to the ideas, experiences and wisdom of more people. Some scholars or professionals are used to doing that within their professional networks, but there is more to be gained by expanding. Another motivation comes from responsibility: the public, in various ways, supports our work and research, and one hopes that our aspirations in some way align with those of our wider community. For that reason, I think we ought to consider enhanced communication, and even collaboration and coordination, with the public impacted by our work.

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Consider getting involved with CWA in the planning stages or during conference week. You can submit ideas for topics and speakers, request a classroom visit, volunteer on a program committee and more.

Learn more about the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship and how it supports the work of �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder faculty, staff and students.

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Notes of Growth: �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Students Lead Middle School Musicians to Success

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:41:05 +0000

Notes of Growth: �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Students Lead Middle School Musicians to Success Arielle Wiedenbeck Mon, 04/29/2024 - 11:41

Jane Appel

On April 26, the participants of the Middle School Ensemble (MSE) program fine-tuned their pieces one last time. There was a nervous, yet exciting, energy running through the middle school, high school and college students as they prepared for their audience to arrive. When the doors opened and the lights dimmed, the middle schoolers giddily looked around for their families and waited for their turn to shine on stage.

The MSE program at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder meets the desire young musicians have for more advanced ensemble experience, as well as the need for classroom experience among future music teachers.

The program brings together middle school music students interested in a free after-school music activity, high school students interested in teaching music and �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder students pursuing a Bachelor of Music Education degree.

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder student volunteer Becky Donoho described the MSE program as a “no-pressure environment” where she can experiment with ideas and ways of teaching. She, and many others, plan on teaching middle school music in the future. By participating in this program, she can observe and practice what works.

A grant recipient of the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship, the MSE program meets weekly for two hours from January through April. �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder students and high school students prepare the middle schoolers for the end-of-session concert. Middle schoolers learn and grow immensely during the program. That growth is among the �鶹��Ѱ��students’ favorite parts of volunteering. At the start, especially with the sixth graders, the middle schoolers do not have a lot of music experience. By the end of the program, they improve so significantly that their teachers hear it in rehearsals and their parents hear it in concert.

Sixth grader Stella Vissers said, “My favorite part is that I can be challenged a lot more here than in school. Since this is an after-school program everyone wants to be here.”

There are three different roles that �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder students can take within the program. The first is called a section coach. The students who assume this role are normally first- or second-year students who come to college knowing one instrument best. During the first hour of rehearsal, the section coach oversees a mixed group of instrumentalists to learn how to teach instruments they might not be completely comfortable with yet. In the second hour, section coaches are assigned a group of middle schoolers who play the same instrument as them.

More advanced �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder music education majors can also serve as conductors.

Associate Professor of Music Education David Rickels has run the Middle School Ensembles (MSE) program for the last 12 years.

“The roles are what we call downward inclusive,” he said. “Every conductor is also assigned one of the sections, but during full ensemble rehearsal the section coaches sit next to the kids while the conductor is up on the podium leading a class like a teacher in public school would.”

The final role is the area director. Rickels describes it as “the conductor-plus,” meaning they have the same responsibilities as the conductors, but they also take on logistical and administrative responsibilities. Area directors get a feel for a teacher’s broader scope of responsibilities such as taking attendance, communicating with parents, passing out music and setting up chairs in the correct formations.

Rickels has observed his students growing in real-time—from experiencing their first time in a position of authority and their first time being called Mr., Ms. or Mx. to having fun with the middle schoolers while gaining valuable teaching experience.

Logan Indge, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder student and area director said, “You can learn all the theory. You can learn all the practice. But what’s really important is being in the classroom with the kiddos.”

High school students get involved in the College of Music’s Trying on Teaching program. These students are normally juniors recommended by their teachers and interested in music-education careers. They are given roles like those of the first-year �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder students, but only in their primary instrument.

With the help of the high school and college volunteers, the middle schoolers receive individual attention, and their music skills develop quickly.

Middle schooler KJ Tyler said, “At first, I was a little skeptical, because at my school we have after-school clubs, and one of them is basketball, which is one of my favorite sports. But eventually my mom convinced me to do this [MSE program], and it’s awesome. I am extremely glad that she did.”

Tyler went on to say that his biggest struggle while playing percussion was timing, and that the MSE program has advanced his skills greatly.

For some, like �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder student Sofia Eyl, involvement in MSE continues over the years.

“I was involved in this program when I was in middle school, and meeting some of the people who are in my position now really got me excited about music,” said Eyl.

The quality of MES and the resulting longevity of participation is what stuck out on April 26 to �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder staff member Arielle Wiedenbeck.

“There were stories of students who stuck with the program from middle school through college, which really speaks to the lasting quality of a program that’s been around for so many years,” said Wiedenbeck.

For more information, visit the Middle School Ensemble program’s webpage.

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