The more time I spend learning about a broad range of projects that involve creative professionals and young musicians working together (Nathalie Joachim’s work with the Kaufman Music Center, and Elizabeth A. Baker and Thanya Iyer’s projects with the Price Hill Creative Community Festival, and my time teaching at Little Opera come immediately to mind), and actively engaging with critical pedagogy (bell hooks, Paolo Freire), the more I am able to find language for ideas that, to me, point towards a more thoughtful way of working with young artists in the classroom.