The traditional canon (classical and contemporary music) • The vernacular (The Beatles, musical theater, jazz, and rock) • courses for majors and non-majors

My Philosophy on teaching music in context – history 

Music history is exactly that: music history. My goal is to teach music history as a holistic hybrid – history based upon the creative work of composers.  Delving into the actual music supplies concrete experience for students and allows for context.  Aesthetic, historical, artistic, political, technological, and social trends illuminate the artists and their work, while the people and pieces act as specific examples of the history. This approach is important whether it’s a graduate seminar for majors who are fluent in musical notation, or a general survey course for beginners who cannot read music. I pride myself in making what may seem to be complex and unfamiliar, comprehensible and fun.

Familiar work can often serve as portals of entry for students. As with music analysis, drawing upon examples from both the traditional and vernacular historical canons, with their varied nomenclature, adds resonance and depth.

For more detail see:  Curriculum Vitae