The contemporary instrumental music classroom is becoming increasingly pluralistic and interconnected in a world that punctuates the influence of factors related to race, ethnicity, and culture on student learning. Today's instrumental music teacher must be cognizant of such factors, yet new instrumental music teachers find themselves functioning in a role in which it is often assumed they have mastered a key concept in preservice training: education as cultural transmission. Because cultural awareness is not a major focus in the preservice training of new teachers, they may not fully comprehend the significance of balancing the musical enculturation of the community with American music literature. Problems arise when a preconceived identity pits philosophies developed in preservice training against the obligations of the profession. Attempts to address the limitations of conservatory training in university-level instrumental music teacher preparation were developed by a national Commission on Teacher Education formed by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). The committee recognized an ongoing shift in society and the need to work with students from diverse populations and identify the teacher's role in within society and made recommendations. The Tanglewood Symposium emphasized the integrity of a quality arts curriculum, awareness of styles from all eras and cultures, and the inclusion of arts instruction in a secondary setting. However strong some of these recommendations were, they came without mechanisms for mandating standards. As a result, most universities continued to operate as they had for decades, with curricula designed to develop performance skills and philosophies based on the Western European model. A major drawback of this type of training left preservice teachers unprepared for entering a profession where contemporary and culturally influenced music was the experience of their students and communities. Inservice teachers, too, were hampered by this limited scope of preparation for the classroom, and often relied on repeating teaching styles or lessons taught by their mentors. Over time, they developed their own strategies and tactics for classroom pedagogy and management, but few experienced robust exposure to cultural musical training they could then pass on to their students. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to research the degree of awareness instrumental music teachers reported as to: a) the cultural significance they carry in the instrumental music classroom; b) their perception of the need to balance the community's musical culture and the Western European musical canon; c) the impact of their conservatory-like training on the cultural messages they convey in the classroom; and d) the extent of influence the current educational system passes in community views, traditions, and ideals of music from one generation to the next. Twenty-four subjects were recruited from various universities and secondary instrumental music programs in the southern California area representing two stages of education: 12 each from preservice and inservice teaching. This study used a mixed methods approach to elicit and interpret responses of these two groups through a combination of interview questions and Likert-scale responses for each research question. Research questions were: (1) What reasons do new music teachers report for their level of awareness or lack of awareness of the cultural significance they carry in the secondary instrumental music classroom? (2) What is the degree of awareness that pre-service teachers report that includes balancing the musical enculturation of the community's values and traditions and the acculturation of Western European musical conventions in the classroom setting? (3) What is the extent to which new music teachers are aware of the acculturation tendencies they bring into the classroom as a result of their conservatory-like training? and (4) What do educators report as the degree to which the current secondary educational system passes down community views, ideals, and traditions of music from one generation to the next? Responses to these questions were transcribed and processed through two coding cycles to organize and arrange themes, patterns and categories in a systematic order. Major categories were compared with one another and consolidated to progress towards a Grounded Theory. The findings ultimately showed that, for the new teacher, there was not just an absence of a cultural role, but a lack of awareness one could be a docent of cultural traditions and values. The study concluded with a foundation for a theory of the new instrumental music teacher as cultural docent. This posits the more a new teacher had forged an identity rooted in sound philosophies, the more apt the teacher was to move beyond a reliance on teaching pedagogical and fundamental practices. With preparation and experience grounded in cultural competence, the culturally aware music teacher will strive to create a meaningful balance of the community's values and traditions along with Western European conventions in the classroom. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. 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