Autoethnographic narrative as a lens on life-long musician-teacher identity

Musician-teacher identity is a “work-in-progress” spanning a career lifetime, yet little research appears to explore how this culminative development occurs, particularly from an individualized musician-teacher viewpoint. Using a qualitative epistemology, the author examines autoethnographic vignettes of life experience to highlight how changes of aging, work environments, and personal circumstances guide such a musician-teacher’s journey. A “rivers of experience” approach, combined with several frames of reference, uncovers epiphanic moments showing how local and international contexts shape musician-teacher identity. Given the enormous changes in education over the past 40 years, and the changing, challenging world of Covid-19, this article is a timely and needed catalyst for others to reflect on their own experiences as they look to their futures.