zane zalis

family man
educator, composer / lyricist / conductor / artistic director/  founder / co-founder / researcher / producer




VIEW ZANE’S M.ED THESIS

A retrospective/prospective arts-based educational research study of I Believe: a modern oratorio for empathic learning

Abstract:
This study examines knowing and knowledge at the intersection of feeling and reason. As an instance of arts based educational research (ABER) through the composition of words and music, a modern oratorio—I Believe—was created about the Holocaust and the attendant issues of human rights and social justice. Data gathered through field work, interviews, and extensive reading was transformed into an artistic representation that placed music performers and percipients at the confluence of objective and subjective meaning while addressing oppositional themes that pervasively inhabit humanness, for example, faith/disbelief, emotion/reason, freedom/slavery, or dignity/disdain. The researcher draws upon transformative education, critical pedagogy, and systems theory as the core frameworks and foundations for empathic learning and ABER. Synthesizing creative inquiry with knowledge building and situating ABER as the central approaches to research are the constituent processes of I Believe. A growing body of literature is reviewed that re-examines the relationship of conscious/unconscious and feeling/reasoning concerning knowledge, knowing, and decision making. As a result, the primacy of conscious thought is rightfully disputed, as is the reductionism of scientific knowing. The researcher concludes that developing sustainable peace among 21st century communities confronted with challenges of identity, moral development, respect, violence, and/or radicalization requires school experiences that result in empathic knowledge building, in addition to the acquisition of objective information for students. Education, ABER, and creative works such as I Believe can make compelling contributions in this regard.


I Believe; a Holocaust oratorio for today

I Believe is about the power of faith during the Holocaust, at which time cruelty
and hatred reached
unimaginable proportions. The words and music you will hear tell a story that must never be forgotten.
First performed at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2009, I Believe has …. read more

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musical works

“A creative process may begin with a flash of a new idea or with a hunch. It may just start as noodling around with a problem, getting some fresh ideas along the way. It’s a process not a single event, and genuine creative processes involve critical thinking as well as imaginative insights and fresh ideas”
Sir Ken Robinson 
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I Believe

I Believe, an oratorio for today, is about the power
of faith during the Holocaust, at which time cruelty
and hatred reached…

read on

murau international music festival 

The history of the Murau International Music Festival
began in 2006 when Zane Zalis, through a series
of coincidences, first came to Murau to…

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music

Zane has had over 200 recording studio
appearances as a session musician, arranger,
producer and composer. He is a composer…

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education

method of teaching

The music production course content
is ideally broad and precise in nature.
Students are taught theory in a novel…

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learning / teaching

Traditionally it has been the practice
for students to undertake theory lessons
to understand the inner workings of…

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miles macdonell collegiate

In 1980 I was offered the position
of music director at MMC – it was a
half-time posting with the promise of…

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