The purpose of this study was to examine the strong connections between school of music communities of learning, the multidisciplinary nature of university teacher education, and identity construction of future music educators (Author, 2018). A breadth of literature was examined to provide a sociological framework as a foundation for identity construction in the music teacher education program. Communities of learning enable students to interact with professors, peers, and significant others in profession-related activities in which they incur real problems and solutions resulting in personal growth as a future professional (Author, 2018). Lave and Wenger (1991) define a community of practice "as a set of relations among persons, activity, and world" (p. 98). Identity becomes constructed when an individual interprets their actions and gives them meaning (Virkkula, 2016, p. 30). Researchers maintain that preservice teachers benefit from constructive and supportive dialogue and reflection with their peers and professors about tensions between their beliefs about teaching and learning and their experiences as students (Author, 2011; 2014, 2017; Draves, 2019, p. 52). As students gain experience and knowledge through coursework, their beliefs about what constitutes effective teaching may change (Sinclair, Szabo, Redmond-Sanogo, & Sennette, 2013). Student interaction and collaboration with professors empower students to organize concrete images of professional work, and gain implicit knowledge as a professional through work in school of music communities of learning (Author, 2018). Coursework and clinical experiences which cultivates enthusiasm about being a music teacher, social identity while interacting with school children, and active involvement in supervised observation and teaching impact undergraduate self-concept as a music educator (Author, 2014; 2018). Authentic contextual learning experiences help preservice music teachers improve their teaching skills and develop their music teacher identity, in part, by drawing on their established identity and prior experiences as musicians (Author, 2018; Pellegrino, 2019).This presentation will describe aspects of the teacher education communities of learning in which participants shift among the roles of learner, designer, and active contributor (Rogoff, Matsuov, & White, 1998). The sociological significance of the interactions among teachers and students in the university school of music has importance in order to understand and enhance factors that influence preservice music teachers as they move through the music teacher education program (Paul & Ballentine, 2002, p. 577). Gaining a more complete understanding of preservice teacher identity from the literature could impact the ways in which teacher education programs are designed (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009).