159. Teaching Beyond the Notes: Creativity, Assessment & Musicality with Abby Alwin

Episode 159: Teaching Beyond the Notes: Creativity, Assessment & Musicality with Abby Alwin

How can we make assessment more meaningful, encourage students to take musical risks, and keep creativity at the center of our orchestra classrooms?

In this episode, Dr. Charles Laux talks with Abigail Alwin, Director of Orchestras at Clague Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A Michigan String Teacher of the Year and Yale Distinguished Music Educator, Abby has spent more than two decades teaching young musicians while continually exploring new ways to help students become independent, confident musicians.

Abby shares practical strategies for peer assessment, assessment literacy, efficient playing tests, classroom routines, practice expectations, and teaching technique without overwhelming students. She explains how isolating individual skills—rather than trying to assess everything at once—can make assessment more useful for both students and teachers.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn into Abby's life as a performing musician, including her work with Balkan music, the Bulgarian gadulka, improvisation, and her efforts to maintain a meaningful musical life outside of school.

Charles and Abby also explore improvisation and composition with middle school students, including creative projects inspired by The Lorax, and discuss how giving students opportunities to create can uncover musical strengths that traditional assessments may overlook.

It's a wide-ranging conversation about teaching, creativity, musicianship, professional growth, and the importance of continually putting ourselves in the position of being learners.

Topics: assessment • peer learning • classroom routines • practice • improvisation • composition • creativity • Balkan music • teacher musicianship • professional development • healthy risk-taking

bout Abigail Alwin

Abigail Alwin is a multi-faceted musician and educator who has taught in the Ann Arbor Public Schools for more than 20 years. She holds a bachelor's degree in cello performance and a master's degree in music education from the University of Michigan. Her orchestras at Clague Middle School have been selected three times to perform at the Michigan Music Conference, and her ensembles consistently earn Division I ratings at MSBOA Festival.

As a performer, Abby explores Western classical traditions, Balkan music, free improvisation, and the ways music expresses culture and connection. She regularly performs with the Balkan-inspired ensemble Ajde Aman.

She is deeply committed to providing all students with meaningful access to music education and has presented nationally on teacher wellness, string pedagogy, assessment, mentoring, composition, and other topics.

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