Abby Petersen

Abby Petersen

Give a brief bio about yourself/your background/your history.

I grew up in a small town in Central Alberta called Rocky Mountain House. My town had a fantastic band program, and I joined band as an oboe player in grade 6. I was a member of the concert band, as well as the jazz band in high school, and enjoyed many opportunities to travel to destinations such as Seattle and Cuba on band trips. My time in band inspired me to pursue a post-secondary degree in Music Education, and I followed in the footsteps of my middle school and high school band teachers who are both Brandon University alumni! I am grateful for the support of my family members, who always encourage me in my musical endeavours, and push me to reach my goals.

What education have you taken?

I graduated from West Central High School in 2019, and I am now in my fourth year of the 5-year concurrent Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education Program at BU in the instrumental stream.

How did you become interested in your field/area of study?

I really fell in love with band as a kid, and music in general gave me a place to figure out who I was in high school. Experiencing honour bands where I spent entire days in rehearsals solidified my love for band, and I thought “hey, I could keep doing this after I graduate!” I’ve also enjoyed school for as long as I can remember, so becoming a teacher in a subject that I am so passionate about just made sense! During my time at BU, I have learned so much about what it really means to be an impactful band teacher, and thanks to the great faculty at the School of Music, my love for the field has only grown! I am excited to see where this career path will take me, and I am motivated to keep learning in order to become a better teacher.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

One of my favourite experiences has been participating in the CBDNA Intercollegiate Band in my first year of university. I was so grateful to be nominated for that ensemble, and getting accepted was a huge shock, but such a great learning experience where I made some lifelong friends! Thanks to generous scholarship donors at BU, I have been able to pursue my education over the past four years and embrace these great musical experiences.

I am also grateful that my hard work throughout my degree has placed me on the Dean’s Honour List, and the President’s Honour Society.

My participation on the BUSMEA Executive Council for the past three years has helped me develop my professional skills, and allowed me to work with some amazing future-music-educators. I am so proud of our council this year who worked so hard to bring BUSMEA back to the School of Music after two virtual years. You all are the best!!

Where do you see yourself in the future? What do you hope to undertake or accomplish once you leave BU?

I am looking forward to teaching either middle school or high school band after I graduate from Brandon University. After some experience teaching in the band room, I could see myself returning to school for a Master’s degree in music education…but I’ll just have to wait and see what happens!

What is your philosophy in life?

The harder you work, the luckier you get!

In one sentence, how will you #EmbraceEquity?

I will #EmbraceEquity by working hard to achieve my goals, and encouraging others to reach their full potential.

First Nominator’s Comments:

Members of the 2022-2023 Brandon University Student Music Educators Association (BUSMEA) council are five intelligent, industrious, and engaged women who are committed to music education and who demonstrate leadership in the field. BUSMEA is a student-run association that organizes, plans, and fundraises for clinics and professional development opportunities, including Da Capo, an annual one-day conference held in the School of Music with professional development opportunities for pre-service and current music educators. Attendees at this year’s highly successful in-person conference came from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and South Dakota.

This exceptional group of women have addressed the unique challenges faced by music educators in a post-pandemic world, all while navigating their own education that was interrupted by the pandemic. It is rare at such an early stage in a young person’s education to see them balance their diverse responsibilities. Yet these women already realize the crucial role their contributions will make in the rebirth of music education, and they recognize the value of working with their peers and future colleagues in their ongoing education to continue adapting to a post-pandemic world. Their commitment to leadership within the School of Music has provided opportunities to share their experiences and educational resources with their peers, fostered avenues of collaboration among their peers and with future colleagues, and created meaningful professional engagement opportunities to prepare students for careers in music education.

Second Nominator’s Comments:

While I realize that it is customary to nominate outstanding women as individuals, I feel that it is necessary to nominate this stellar team as one unit.  They work together to advance their pre-professional community while excelling as individual students on campus at Brandon University.

Responsible for organizing professional development opportunities for BUSMEA members, Abby, Faith, Leeanne, Kendra, and Janina serve Brandon University, the School of Music, and the Music Education Community with unique and thoughtful initiatives. Following on the successful programs of past BUSMEA Councils, they are successfully negotiating change following the challenges of the 2020-2022 academic years. They are working to reunite a professional community and reinvigorate a discipline and a community of learners that has experienced unique obstacles because of shutdowns and strict guidelines.

Other significant issues are also at the forefront of Council discussions. They have sought to contribute meaningfully to BUSMEA programming through discussions of accessibility, equity, and social justice in music. Despite these students’ diverse interests, backgrounds, and goals, they collaborate to advance the development and engagement of their colleagues in music and education. The 2022-2023 BUSMEA Council is a model of strength through cooperation.