Music educators: their artistry and self-confidence

How does artistic identity influence the self-confidence of music educators? What is the interconnection between the artistic and the teacher identity? What is actually meant by artistic identity in music education? What is a fruitful environment for the development of artistic self-confidence of music educators and how can institutions contribute to that? This article reflects on these questions from various angles. Brigitte Lion goes into aspects of self-confidence based on her research and experiences in coaching young teachers. In her address, Christine Stöger establishes a link between gaining self-confidence and positive experiences in the artistic area, making the case for a ‘third space’ where interconnections can occur on the cutting edge of artistic performance and pedagogy. Rineke Smilde finally, discusses the question what gaining self-confidence and displaying one’s artistry as a music educator requires of the learning environment in the institutions that train future music educators.