Training of future specialists-musicians on the principles of inter disciplinary models of free arts

Therefore, the content of professional training requires some reconstruction on the basis of the formation and development of subjective features of a future musician. That is, in addition to defining the professional competencies that make up the essence and specificity of the profession and determining the expected results of the educational process, which an art training graduate must possess, the inclusion of an individual orientation of each student's abilities, opportunities, needs, preferences in the range of directions of the chosen specialty must be compulsory in the content of his or her professional training, to our mind. We believe that such a combination will provide effective training of modern specialist- musician of a wide profile and may become the basis of his or her inner spiritual and creative self-development and self-expression, selfrealization, free choice of individual trajectory of professional and creative development.

One of the quite effective educational systems, based on the principles of free selfdetermination of a personality and successfully implemented in many American and European Universities, is the model of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the essence of which is the introduction of balanced and built on the best international experience of bachelor's - master's - and doctor's programs; an organic combination of the teaching and research work; focusing on basic international standard training courses that give a broad background in the profession, nurture a culture of thinking and allow the specialist to respond flexibly to the needs of the labor market; selection of gifted youth to study; formation of spiritual environment; creatively adapted use of international achievements in the field of organization of educational process, modern educational technologies.

Since higher education around the world, and in Ukrainian, in particular, is facing new challenges today, from the cost of education and the emergence of new technologies to the problems of the relationship between university education and employment prospects [2], many scholars and higher education professionals are turning to experiments with the aforementioned model of study. Over the past decades, in some universities in Ukraine the scientists and educators have made attempts to adopt the components of the Liberal Arts model to their own educational environment. And the flagship of full-scale implementation of the system of professional training of future specialists on the basis of Liberal Arts Education has been and remains the Kyivo-Mogylianska Academy, which is always at the forefront of reforms. But at the same time, this practice also takes place at the department of vocal and choral disciplines and methods of musical education of the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University.

As active supporters of the rapid expansion and combination of scientific and professional components in the system of professional art education, we support D. Becker's view on modern higher education, that the combination some models of liberal arts, and in particular, the Liberal Arts and Liberal Arts and Sciences is especially significant. Therefore, the Liberal Arts and Sciences model of education, with its inherently flexible student-centered curriculum, combines the breadth of disciplinary coverage with the depth of study of professional disciplines, encourages the multitude of interspecialty connections, and provides students with the greatest possible freedom of choice. In our view it can become an effective means of reconstructing the professional training of a future specialist-musician.

It should be noted that in modern international practice there is a large number of state universities, where the training of future specialists is based on the classical system, but they also offer quite successful educational programs that implement the model of Liberal Arts and Sciences. According to D. Becker, this approach works particularly well in countries where education reforms are underway, since it «enables reformers to organize modern educational structures that implement the model in already existing educational institutions» [2].

An example of reconstruction of professional development of a future music specialist in the context of the required reform processes may be the coexistence and even the productive interaction of the «Liberal Arts and Sciences» model with the traditional system of education in some institutions of higher education in the United States. Such interaction is aimed at the development of creative, critical and independent thinking of future musicians, intensification of their research activity, enabling them to test themselves as specialist, already participating in the educational process, due to introduction of the latest forms and methods of teaching and due to elaborate network for their practical activities.

The American scholars research on the professional and personal characteristics of a modern specialist-musician [8], focuses on such essential features as student's musical and intellectual development, leadership skills, professional responsibility, efficiency and excellence of teaching, mastering the innovative methods of studying, developed skills of effective use of academic time, the outline of strategies for work in classroom and at home, forming of interpersonal relations, managing one's own behavior and the activities of the learners. These characteristics correspond to the basic principles and objectives of the «Liberal Arts and Sciences» model and have a significant effect on the content of professional training of future specialists-musicians.

This is reflected in the streamlining of the content and structure of subject and methodological courses on an interdisciplinary basis, the use of innovation and feedback in classroom and extra-curricular work, the application of modeling techniques, computer and multimedia technologies and more. Along with the courses that traditionally take place in training of a future specialist-musician, there are integrated courses aimed at advanced study of professional disciplines; various scientific studies of the major (instrumental, vocal-choral, etc.) field are compulsory; emphasis is placed on students' research activities, the interdisciplinary studies are conducted, on the interconnection and interaction of different arts and cultures, current issues of development of philosophy of education and art are studied.

Regarding the improvement of professional training programs, the process of acquiring professional competencies for students in a specially organized artistic environment could serve as an example. For instance, in the training program of future music teachers on vocal specialty (Voice major) [7], the compulsory courses are individual and choral vocal, choral conducting, participation in opera scenes, etc. It is also mandatory to acquire the skills of singing songs in original language, so students can opt to take any language course to study Italian, French, Spanish or Russian.

Each Faculty of Music Education has its own opera where students are prepared for two semesters for staging and performing in the opera, which is evaluated as an exam. All students are required to participate in choirs, marching bands, where they play the instrument that matters to them and take part in chamber ensembles of 3-5 persons (chamber music).

The performing activity of students who study in the field of music education is of great importance for their future professional career. One hour a week of the curriculum time is set aside for the students of any professor class (studio-class) to do a solo performance (as in a concert) and its subsequent public discussion, where the teacher and each one of the students provide their comments, suggestions, and recommendations.

It is compulsory for students to have departmental performances as well as out-ofuniversity performances. That is why most students organize their own lectures, concerts and speeches on the radio, in churches, children's and charity homes, etc. It is in this way that a future specialist demonstrates their professional and pedagogical competences, which is a prerequisite for future employment.

Interesting is the experience of organizing a piano program for non-pianists, conducted twice a week in specialized laboratories, equipped with computers and 16-20 electronic instruments with the main instrument for the teacher. All the instruments are connected to a teacher's control panel, and the teacher, with headphones and a microphone, works with each student individually or unites them into small groups, listens and evaluates the work of each. This course is compulsory for undergraduate music students and is taught over four semesters with an exam after each. If a student has not passed the exam in any semester, he or she is obliged to take this course again from that semester.

In a specially equipped computer lab, students take music theory and music composition courses, which are now very prestigious and in demand. A music composition course, which can only be taught by a professor with a qualification in two fields: composition and music technology is compulsory, for example, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The mastering of such a course gives a future specialist not only the skills of composition, but also the ability to organize and record the concert performance of any performer or collective without recourse to specialists in music technologies.

All students, without exception, have their own websites and e-mail addresses in the university network. The portal of each of them contains information on the chosen specialty or specialization, name of the courses a student is enrolled in and in which semester; course work program, class schedules, classroom numbers, teachers' names, etc. are provided.

Most teachers take on-line assignments, coursework, and other online work and place high demands on the dynamics of such presentations, though some remain supportive of evaluating students for print versions. This approach to the organization of the educational process saves personal time of both, a teacher and a student. Perhaps that is why, with the wide range of courses and disciplines that a future musician should master, students have time to attend concerts, exhibitions, festivals, as well as ample opportunities for leisure activities.