1. It is with utmost pleasure that I write this letter of reference in support of Caroline
Pacheco’s application to the PhD-Education program at the University of Western Ontario. I
first met Ms Pacheco in 2007 when she was a student in the newly-established Masters in Music
Education program at the Universidade Federale do Paraná, (UFPR) Curitiba, Brasil. As a
visiting researcher/scholar, my mandate was to introduce current ideas in music education
research, contribute to the development of a research culture in music education, and music
teacher education (there was a dearth of arts education in Brasilian schools after the military
coup in the 1980s slashed the arts from the curriculum), with emphasis on socio-cultural issues
in the field. During three months at UFPR, my lecture topics included examining how music
reflects and expresses a peoples’ mythologies (e.g. Inuit), interpreting global cultural
experiences (drawing on my experiences in Fiji, Cuba, Nunavut), describing the adapted
Wengerian concept of communities of musical practice, leading discussions of critical social
learning theory (Bourdieu), theory vs belief in scholarship (e,g, Gee), and the use of a “cultural
grammar” (Heath) as an interpretive frame. These were some of the topics that the cohort of
some 16 graduate students responded to, and which fed into the research projects that each
was expected to produce by the end of the second year of the program. I met with each student
in turn, listened to their project ideas which were at various stages of development, and I
offered suggestions regarding focus, methodology and relevant reading materials..
Ms. Pacheco’s clarity of purpose was evident in our personal and group conversations. In
our discussion of her proposal to examine “ethical and methodological issues in classroom-
based research” it was clear to me that she was a serious graduate student with a well-
developed understanding of the rationale and goals of research. I attribute much of this
commitment to scholarship to the influence of Dr. Beatriz Ilari, who was her supervisor.
Ms. Pacheco stood out in this first Masters cohort in a number of ways: clarity of purpose; thirst
for learning; motivation to pursue a research agenda; grasp of English (which was above the
general level of the class – my lectures were translated simultaneously); intuitive
understanding of the interdependence of theory, research and practice; obvious, and natural
ability to take charge of large groups of children (e.g. NGO project with the so-called “invisible”
children (this unique program was reported at ISME 2008, Ilari & Russell), and lead them in
games and dances. In all these endeavors Carole Pacheco was outstanding.
She came to classes prepared to discuss the lecture topics, which were circulated in advance,
along with recommended readings, thus she contributed to lively class discussions, which I like
to think were, on the whole, well-received by this motivated, eager group of musicians-
educators. My encounters with graduate students in music education in two other large
Brasilian universities confirmed my observation that Ms. Pacheco belonged among the top
students.
To speak about cultural practices in Brasil is to be immersed in the incredible richness of
Brasilian society/ies, its history, its ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity, its background
trajectories of miscegenation and syncretism. Ms. Pacheco co-directed a project known as
Mundareu. This was a community-based initiative, entirely separate from the university and
schools. This group of practitioners of traditional folkloric cultural practices researched,
documented, and re-created celebratory traditions of Brasilian peoples who combined singing,
dancing, feasts, costumes, artifacts and decorative arts. Through these activities, Ms. Pacheco
and her collaborators revived and perpetuated traditions and syncretist religious practices of
Afro-Brazilian - Indigenous, - Roman Catholic / Portuguese groups. They taught songs and
dances to others, and produced and performed them in public spaces. These traditions were
described to me as a form of resistance to oppression through joyful expression. I do not know
if Ms. Pacheco has highlighted this aspect of her research and teaching activities, but I think it is
2. an aspect of education worth mentioning. I found the work of Mundareu inspiring during my
three months in Brasil, and I presented aspects of their work – rationale, practices - at a 2008
symposium in Switzerland, for members of ISME-PRIME (international Society for Music
Education) who were interested in communities of practice beyond mainstream institutions of
education. Since our encounters in the fall of 2007, Ms. Pacheco has been employed in the
university in Joao Pessoa where she has been not only developing her expertise in teacher
education, and working with children, but has also been involved in the production of musical-
cultural activities in the community. I have followed her on Facebook and in email exchanges
since 2007. Joao Pessoa has undoubtedly presented her further opportunities to participate in
the incredibly rich cultural traditions of that northeast region.
The programs and outstanding faculty at the University of Western Ontario seem to me
to be an excellent “fit” with Ms. Carole Pacheco’s background and aspirations. I believe that she
has the potential not only to benefit from her studies at UWO, but also to contribute her
Brasilian experience to your scholarly community. Her commitment to scholarship is
unassailable; the diversity of her background experience and accomplishments, steeped in
Brasilian culture and informed by different ways of viewing the world, is indisputable. I urge
you to give every consideration to Ms. Pacheco’s application to the PhD program.
If you would like to talk further, I would welcome your call at 778-265-3553. I will be available
at that number after February 6, 2017.
Yours truly,
Joan Russell, PhD’
Associate Professor (Emerita)
McGill University
