Higher Music Education and Employability in a Neoliberal World

In recent years, a growing body of research has been reassessing the role of higher music education institutions in light of the challenges posed by the dominant neoliberal economic system and the growing sensitivity to the reproduction of social inequalities in access to higher education and the labour market. This open access book offers international and interdisciplinary insights into these processes and practices and by examining the learning cultures, curricula designs and emancipatory initiatives within higher music education institutions. Drawing together empirical case studies from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK and the USA, the authors explore the multifaceted ways to transition from study to work and the world of uncertainty and job insecurity currently experienced by a younger generation of musicians. Contributions shed light on the reactions of higher music education institutions to the neoliberal restructuring of the educational field and take a fresh look at the master-apprentice model of teaching and learning. They look at the discourses surrounding employability and artistic standards that form the traditional founda