In this interview, Nermin Ploskić, Senior Assistant at the University of Sarajevo – Academy of Music, shares his perspective on music education, his professional journey, and the role of meaningful musical experiences in children’s development. He also reflects on his work as a teacher, mentor, and textbook author, as well as the diversity and strengths of music education in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Can you introduce yourself and describe one defining characteristic of music education in your country today?
I am Nermin Ploskić, Senior Assistant at the University of Sarajevo – Academy of Music, Department of Music Theory and Pedagogy, where I teach Methodology of Music Teaching to students who are preparing to become future music teachers. A particularly important part of my work is mentoring students during their first teaching experiences in schools. I guide them through their first lessons, follow their progress, and support the development of their professional identity as future music educators. Before joining the Academy, I worked as a music teacher in primary schools, and throughout my career I have had the opportunity to work with very different age groups — from the first grades of primary school to university students. I am also the author of music textbooks for the first three grades of primary school in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for which I created numerous children’s songs, counting rhymes, and musical activities. This experience has strongly shaped my view of music education: I see it not only as the transmission of musical knowledge, but as a creative space in which children sing, play, imagine, move, listen, and create. One defining characteristic of music education in Bosnia and Herzegovina today is its diversity. This diversity is visible in different educational systems, curricula, school contexts, and musical traditions across the country. At the same time, music education is strongly connected to singing, children’s musical expression, cultural heritage, and the work of dedicated teachers who create meaningful musical experiences in their classrooms. For me, this combination of tradition, diversity, and teacher commitment is one of the important strengths of music education in Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
Which artist, composer, or musical tradition has most shaped your musical thinking, and why?
My musical thinking has been shaped above all by music educators who guided me at different stages of my life and career. From my instrumental teacher and my music teacher in primary school to my university professors, I was fortunate to learn from people who showed me that music education is not only about knowledge and skill but also about encouragement, sensitivity, patience, and trust in the student’s potential. This is why I understand music primarily through its educational and human dimension. As a music pedagogue, I have always been interested in how music can open space for expression, imagination, cooperation, and personal growth. My experience of working with different age groups has strongly shaped the way I think about music, teaching, and learning. My work as an author of music textbooks for young learners has also deepened this perspective. Creating musical content for children reminded me that even simple musical ideas can have great value when they are close to children’s voices, imagination, language, movement, and everyday experience. |
"I see music education not only as the transmission of musical knowledge, but as a creative space in which children sing, play, imagine, move, listen, and create."
If you could bring five musical works to a desert island, what would they be, and what does this choice reveal about you as a music educator?
If I could bring five musical works to a desert island, my choice would certainly include something from the world of art music, as well as something from the rich traditional musical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both are important parts of my musical background: art music because of its depth, structure, and expressive possibilities, and traditional music because of its close connection to language, memory, emotion, and cultural identity. Still, I believe that children’s songs would probably take the central place in my selection. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the wider region, has a rich heritage of children’s songs and children’s music. Through my previous research, I have had the opportunity to engage more deeply with children’s music in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which brought me even closer to this repertoire and made me more aware of its musical, pedagogical, and cultural value. This repertoire is also at the centre of my everyday professional life: I analyse children’s songs, teach them, create them, and use them as a basis for musical activities in different educational contexts. For me, children’s songs are not “small” musical forms. When thoughtfully created, they can open space for singing, movement, play, imagination, improvisation, and first experiences of musical creativity. My desert island selection would therefore reveal that I see music education through the world of the child — through simplicity that is not superficial, through play that has pedagogical depth, and through musical experiences that can stay with a person for life. |
What aspect of teaching music continues to motivate you most, even after challenging days?
What continues to motivate me most is the moment when music becomes a living experience — when children are not only listening or reproducing, but actively creating, imagining, improvising, and expressing something of their own. Whether it is a rhythm they invent, a sound story they create together, a melody they complete, or a song they perform with genuine involvement, these moments show the real power of music education. A particularly meaningful part of my work is also guiding future music teachers through their first teaching experiences in schools. For many of them, these first lessons are the moment when theory, methodology, music, and responsibility meet for the first time in a real classroom. Being part of that process — mentoring them, following their progress, and helping them build their professional identity — is one of the most valuable aspects of my work. As the years pass, this experience makes me even more aware of the importance, breadth, and value of music education in schools. It is deeply meaningful to see students gradually adopt the understanding that teaching music is not only about delivering content but about creating musical experiences that can shape children’s sensitivity, imagination, cooperation, confidence, and sense of belonging. Even after challenging days, these moments confirm the purpose of my work. Through children, I see the immediate joy and meaning of musical discovery; through future teachers, I see how that meaning can continue further — into classrooms, schools, and the musical lives of new generations. |