Major in Music Education
K-12 Education • Hands-on training • Intern in top schools
John Brown University
2000 W. University St.,
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
479-524-9500
jbuinfo@jbu.edu
What are you looking for?
K-12 Education • Hands-on training • Intern in top schools
This degree equips students to become professional music educators in the K-12 classroom through training, mentorship, and hands-on experience, including internships with top-rated school districts and teacher certification.
Start your applicationLearn from teachers with decades of experience in elementary and secondary music education.
From the first semester, students get hands-on experience in the classroom and in front of ensembles, culminating in a year-long internship in top-rated school districts.
JBU alumni are successful elementary and secondary music educators in public and private schools across the world.
Music education students will have the chance to practice their craft while also learning how to better communicate and train musical skills and abilities for future students.
Become an excellent musician as well as an excellent teacher. You’ll attain proficiency in music theory, music history, aural skills, arranging, conducting, and multiple instruments, as well as specialized music teaching methods, theories, and practices
JBU students graduate with almost double the amount of teaching time compared to other university education programs. This creates great confidence, trust, and respect in mentor teachers as well as future employers.
JBU music education graduates enjoy a 100% job placement rate. Our alumni consistently start their first teaching job within 6 months of graduation.
This degree equips students to teach general music and vocal/choral music in the K-12 classroom.
Lead choral programs in middle schools, high schools, and beyond.
Nourish young lives through music, giving them the lifelong benefits of confidence, creativity, discipline, critical thinking skills, and better mental and emotional health.
Expand your career options and earning potential by completing your MAT in just 5 years through JBU’s 4+1 program. Music education graduates are also well-prepared to pursue a graduate degrees in music education or related fields.
Lisa Auten is an active pianist, teacher, and music director who has performed with the University of Arkansas Music Department, the UArk Schola Cantorum; TheatreSquared; Arkansas Public Theatre; Bentonville High School Choral Department; Fayetteville High School Choral Department; the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA), and the SoNA Singers. Throughout her career, she has performed in Los Angeles, Orlando, New York (Carnegie Hall: 2007 and 2023), Belgium, Russia, and Thailand. She has accompanied numerous performances at All-Region, All-State, Southwestern Division of American Choral Directors Association (SWACDA), and national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) concerts. Additionally, she served as Collaborative Pianist Chairperson for the SWACDA Regional Convention in 2020, and again at the SWACDA conference in Denver in 2024.
She is an active member of both ACDA and the National Association for Music Education. Peer-reviewed academic journal Choral Journal June/July 2023 (Vol. 62, No. 9) writes, “Pianist Lisa Auten expertly handles this idiom, finding just the right weight and touch to make the keyboard seem windswept in accordance with the lyrics” in its review of Wander-Thirst: The Choral Music of Florence Price (Hill Records 2023:25:40) As a musical theatre director/conductor, she has led close to 60 musical productions, in high school, college, community, and Equity theatres.
Auten joined the faculty of John Brown University in 2022 as an Assistant Professor of Music. She brings her passion for music education, piano performance, and musical theatre to her students. She enjoys teaching Applied Piano, Orchestration, and the Keyboard Musicianship cycle, as well as music directing and conducting JBUMT’s Musical Theatre productions. Auten holds both a Master of Music in collaborative piano and a Bachelor of Science in music education from the University of Arkansas
Assistant Professor of Music (piano), Music Education Program Coordinator
Equip yourself to inspire others and excel at what you love.
JBU does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, military status, or age in the administration of its educational policies, admissions, financial aid, employment, educational programs, or activities.
John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas’ top-ranked university (The Wall Street Journal) and top-ranked regional university (U.S. News), JBU enrolls more than 2,200 students from 37 states and 42 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online and concurrent education programs. JBU offers more than 50 undergraduate majors, with top programs including nursing, psychology, construction management, graphic design, family and human services, and engineering. Eighteen graduate degrees are available in business, counseling, cybersecurity, and education.