Sten Höstfält
Music Educator
AFM Local 802, NAfME, MEANYC, SMT., AES,. GFA, UFT, NYSUT, AFT, AFL-CIO, JFA, BMI
|
Sten Hostfalt is a veteran music educator, with nearly five decades of experience teaching all grades from pre-school to college, in Europe and the U.S. Including being enlisted as an instructor, and lecturer at premier academic institutions for music and music education since 2000. A Swedish-born American, and long-time New Yorker musically initiated via music in his childhood home, as well as, in a group guitar course via the educational section of the Swedish labour movement (ABF), and classical guitar studies at the local community school. Mr. Hostfalt was introduced to the teaching profession via a 1977 jr. high school vocational apprenticeship. And in representing an ancestral lineage and tradition of rural farmers come urban laborers, and a legacy of working class artistry. He is as a first-generation academic earning BM, GD, MM, and EdM degrees, and a post-graduate advanced certificate, in professional music, jazz guitar, composition and music education respectively. And as a recipient of scholarships, outstanding musicianship awards, and honors from leading institutions in modern music and education Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Columbia University, and the City University of New York CUNY.Carrying a pedagogic legacy as a facilitator of individually translated pragmatic creative applications of knowledge with a 21st-century view on music education. Reflective of an internationally documented four-decade active contribution to creative music and education alongside some of the most prolific musicians and artists of our time, on recordings, and at leading venues. As a composer, guitarist, band-leader, producer, and label proprietor featured in, or associated with leading press featured contributions to the music scene since 1994. Mr. Hostfalt's work may be considered groundbreaking (Don Williamson, Jazz Review, 2005), takes you on a journey to a place where anything is possible (John Kelman, All About Jazz, 2004), and is one of the most riveting explorations of the microtonal world ever recorded (Larry Cosentino, Signal to Noise, 2005). Currently a music instructor at Columbia University's Teachers College, where he since 2000 teaches applied lessons to both pre-service, and experienced music teachers. Mr. Hostfalt is also a K-12 certified music teacher, contributing to the NYC Department of Education since 2006. Prior European teaching experience include positions as an instrumental music educator in the Swedish school system 1996-2005. In part facilitated by a 1985 appointment as an instructor at Skurup's FHSK, a leading Scandinavian alternative community high school music program. And substantiated by a string of late 1990s artist awards from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and The Cultural Council for the Arts. For the past 35 years, through his private studio teaching music professionals, and students enrolled at, or accepted to the Juilliard School, NYU, The New School, Berklee College of Music, Western Illinois University, SUNY Purchase, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, and LaGuardia High School for the Arts. Mr. Hostfalt's innovative contribution to New York's creative music community since 1994, to the U.S. East Coast scene ever since 1989, and internationally since 1981. Represents both informal and formal education, and multiple cultural traditions in a wide range of formats. From the DIY progressive arts culture of the late 70s, to some of the world's most famous concert halls and venues, and some of the most prestigious academic institutions for music, education and the arts. His research interests are explorations of the parameter of pitch, expansion of the contemporary improvised music repertoire, pathways to equity in collaborative education, musical experiences in childhood education, and issues of socio-cultural marginalization, appropriation and exploitation of the working class in musical, and academic contexts. Documentation, features, or mentions in academic and popular publications: * Harmonios: The Forgotten Ones" by Jon Damian [YO, 2025] * The microtonal guitar: Türkiye’s Segovia moment. Rast Musicology Journal, 11(4), 589-602. by Emre Ünlenen (2023) https://doi.org/10.12975/rastmd.20231146 * Fresh Music: Explorations with the Creative Workshop Ensemble, for Musicians, Artists, and Teachers, by Jon Damian [YO, 2015], * Dictionnaire des musiques microtonales" (1892-2013) by Franck Jedrzejewski, L'Harmattan, France, 2014 * Guitar Player Magazine: Rants and Raves, Spinning in the Editors Head, Barry Cleveland, February 2005 * DISCLAIMER: Neither Sten Hostfalt's label Sonus Rex, nor Sten's NYC Guitar Studio are affiliated with Queensborough Community College or the City University of New York. EDUCATOR STATEMENT "I am from a simple background of Northern European working class remote small to medium industrial towns. Neither elitist, nor competitive, but rather a deep interest, a spiritual connection, and commitment to music as an art form have guided me all along. That, and the great fortune of meeting many illuminated creative minds along the way, is what I attribute to any so called 'success' (which after all is all relative, and temporary) I may have had. As the East Coast U.S. creatively welcomed me by the end of the 1980s, and then in turn, New York City as well, this graciously connected me to like minds from all over the world, magnified my creative scope, as it became, my artistic home. Whether I receive praise or critique for, what may be referred to as my work (but thruthfully is the sum of anyone, and everyone I ever encountered). The path remains the same-all about expression and interaction, and in the end, music itself always tells the story. As music is a natural ocurrance, and force, it is simultaneously both greater than, and synonymous with us all. Therefore music education, just like music, is an aural tradition in which experience is key. What we as music teachers communicate and share is, neither a curriculum, program, or idea. But rather the lived experience of, not just our own lives, but that of our all of our mentors, teachers, collaborators, peers, and every single individual who happens to be part of the musical journey over time as well, including everyone participating by attending concerts, lectures, lessons, listening to recordings, or otherwise sharing, and thus in effect creating the musical experience, and the music as such. Music is not just something we do, music is what we are." - Sten Hostfalt |