Freedman Research Focuses on Future Music Educators
Three Hartwick College music education majors are studying how recruitment events may influence high school students’ interest in pursuing careers in music education through a Freedman Prize for Student-Faculty Research project.
Under the guidance of Meghan Sheehy, associate professor of music education and department co-chair, Benjamin Pauli ’26, Sebastian Quarella ’27 and Madison Tobon ’27 examined the impact of Hartwick music recruitment events on students considering the field. Their project, “The Pathway to Becoming a Pre-Service Music Educator: Exploring the Efficacy of Recruitment Efforts,” comes at a time when New York state faces a growing shortage of music educators.
Sebastian Quarella ’27, Benjamin Pauli ’26 and Madison Tobon ’27
The students surveyed participants before and after two Hartwick music recruitment events during the 2025-26 academic year — Honor Band and Flute Day — to better understand whether those experiences influenced interest in becoming music teachers.
Pauli noted the project was inspired by the need for more music educators across the state. “This project impacts the future of music education in public schools,” Pauli said. “We need teachers to fill all of the positions, so all students get the opportunity to study music.”
Quarella explained that the project also addressed misconceptions surrounding careers in music education. “Not all high school students are told by their teachers that a career in music education is worth it,” Quarella said. “We are trying to counter that.”
Quarella added that opportunities like this are uncommon for undergraduate music education students. “Music education majors rarely get a chance to conduct research, even in master’s programs,” Quarella said. “This project gave us that valuable opportunity.”
For Tobon, the project offered a chance to build practical research and analytical skills outside the traditional music education curriculum. “This opportunity will give me a chance to learn statistics and build my data gathering and analysis skills,” Tobon said. Tobon noted the group plans to work with Sheehy over the summer to continue analyzing the survey data.
Sheehy said the project reflects the broader value of expanding undergraduate research opportunities into disciplines such as music education. She also noted that the Freedman Prize offers students a unique opportunity to engage in professional-level research.
“When the Freedmans expanded the parameters of the research prize to programs outside of applied geoscience, it motivated me to find music education students to apply for a Freedman Prize. It is an incredible way to create the expectations of independent, professional research within the scope of an undergraduate setting.”
Meghan Sheehy
Associate Professor of Music Education & Department Co-chair
