Nazareth senior Morgan Beaton receives national award for music education
Published May 11, 2021
An opportunity to meet students with a shared passion for music during her first year on campus has turned to a place in the national spotlight for Nazareth senior music education major Morgan Beaton. She received the 2021 National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Collegiate Professional Achievement Award. This award recognizes outstanding commitment and dedication to the association and music education. NAfME is the largest national organization for the music education community with approximately 75,000 members. She will be recognized at a virtual event in the fall 2021 semester.
“After attending that first NAfME meeting in September of my first year, I’ve been an active member of the Nazareth chapter as well as the state and national organizations,” said Beaton, who also served as the Nazareth chapter president and on the NYSSMA state collegiate executive board for three years. “This is such an incredible honor and a definite highlight of the four years I’ve been involved in NAfME. I hope to carry this momentum and dedication into my graduate school experience and beyond.”
She had the privilege of presenting at two conference sessions at the biennial meeting of the Eastern regional conference of NAfME in mid April. One presentation was on chapter engagement, something she learned took perseverance and patience.
“When I first started as president, our chapter would offer events where only a few people attended. Instead of being discouraged, we continued to offer events,” said Beaton. “More and more members began to attend but it still took the better part of the year to accomplish this. We balance professional development with fun by offering events that served both purposes and helped our members gain meaningful experiences.
In 2019, Beaton was a member of NAfMe when Nazareth’s collegiate chapter received a National Collegiate Chapter of Excellence Award by the association. Only six colleges/universities received that commendation.
Morgan Beaton (center with award), with other Nazareth music students and music education program director Keith Koster (back row center, wearing glasses), accepted the national Chapter of Excellence Award for Recruitment on behalf of the Nazareth NAfME Chapter, awarded under her leadership (2019) in Washington, D.C.
Beaton, who studies voice at Nazareth with Kimberly Upcraft, will attend Syracuse University in fall 2021 for a master's of music in choral conducting on a full teaching assistantship.
"Morgan's work and commitment at the local and state levels has been outstanding," said Keith Koster, director of Nazareth's music education program in the School of Music. "This is the first time a Nazareth music education student has received this national recognition and it speaks about the caliber of our music education community and degree programs that we offer here."
It was Morgan's love for music and her public school music teachers who inspired her to follow in their footsteps as a music educator and she was happy she landed at Nazareth's School of Music.
"My Nazareth professors are amazing educators that have served as an inspiration from day one. They are extremely knowledgeable and supportive of the students. I would not be the musician I am today without them," said Beaton.
She says Nazareth has been monumental in preparing her as a musician, educator, and well-rounded individual, and she thanks music education faculty Keith Koster and Mary Carlson for providing opportunities to attend professional development conferences to hone her skills.
Beaton performs as Gretel in Nazareth College's opera Production of Hansel and Gretel (2020)
“My favorite memory was traveling to Poland for a choral tour with the Nazareth Chamber Singers in 2019. Under the direction of Prof. Brian Stevens, we were able to perform several concerts, win an international choral award at the Stanisław Moniuszko Choral Competition, and explore the beautiful country of Poland. Another favorite memory is performing in the Nazareth College Opera as Gretel in our production of Hansel and Gretel.”
She had some advice for other music educators when she presented “Passing the Torch: Fostering the Next Generation of Music Educators” at the NAfME regional conference: “Especially during a global pandemic, musicians and students need compassion now more than ever,” said Beaton. “This goes beyond just making music. It involves creating and appreciating connections, sharing our most authentic selves with others, and welcoming change.”