As an associate professor of music education whose duties are primarily in the preparation of preservice music educators in the IB/M program, my work is focused on contributing to the theory and practice of music education. Within this, my identity and agenda as a scholar is focused on promoting equity in music education. This includes work in gender, sexuality, disabilities, race, and, increasingly, social class. It also includes creating a diversity of curricular and instructional practices in theory in k-12 education as well as teacher preparation. Teaching My educational philosophy may succinctly be described as constructivist. This means I believe in what is commonly referred to as experiential learning. Experiential learning is more than the mere experience of things; it also includes the careful reflection on those experiences. This type of reflection is not accomplished in isolation. Instead, education is conceived of as a democratic act among a community. This aim towards “doing” and social aspects of reflection in teacher preparation are reflected, perhaps best, in my combined methods and clinical seminar courses EDCI 4210W and EGEN 4100. As a final for these courses, we conduct an “informance,” a concert where the students display what they have learned over the semester. Students perform pieces that they have rehearsed throughout the semester. Students demonstrate their abilities on secondary instruments, instruments other than their major instrument. The students also described the core practices that they practiced throughout the semester and played videos of their personal reflections on what they learned. Our annual popular music concert at the end of the year, attached to EDCI 5040 is a similar public display of student learning. In addition to the focus on these courses, in EDCI 5041, Theoretical foundations of music education, we address issues of equity through readings and class discussions. In EDCI 5040, Popular music and informal pedagogy, we look at similar issues through the lens of popular music and culture. EDCI 4210W and EGEN 4100 as well addresses the issues of cultural relevant pedagogy in music teaching. Dr. Cara Bernard and I have been working on the establishment of a Music Education program in Puerto Rico over spring break. In this program students will learn about the music and culture of Puerto Rico as well as its relationship and history with the U.S. and colonialism. This will run for the first time in spring 2025. Scholarship A review of my publications will show work within three interrelated areas: issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in music education, philosophical work to expand and diversify curriculum and instruction, music teacher education to prepare preservice teachers to work towards equity. I have published on issues of race, gender, sexuality, disability, and class. In total, I have published one peer-reviewed book, 29 peer-reviewed journal articles and 9 peer-reviewed chapters. Service Like my research and teaching, my service is devoted primarily to music education and to equity within education. I have worked to serve the department, school, university, state of Connecticut Education Department, and music education community through my service. I have also aimed to establish a presence within the music education community. I currently serve on the editorial boards and committees of seven journals in music education. I served as the Equity Co-chair of The Connecticut Music Educators Association. In that role, I created the following initiatives: Started a student composition showcase, and drawing in participation for districts typically underserved into the Ensemble Showcase program. I also continue work as part of the Equity committee of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Currently I am the Chair of the International Society for the Philosophy of Music Education “preconference”—a series of presentations and workshops for doctoral students and early-career scholars to help them write and publish. The most significant service has been my editorships. In this time, I moved from Senior Editor of Visions of Research in Music Education to Co-editor of The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education along with Dr. Patrick Schmidt, Professor of Music, Teacher College, Columbia University. The Bulletin is one music education’s most respected and longstanding research journals, established in 1963. Its focus is primarily on empirical research. Historically, the Bulletin was the first in music education to largely embrace qualitative research designs, becoming a leader. Our vision for the Bulletin is to continue this history of innovation by moving into more contemporary practices by revising peer-review processes to be more collaborative and constructive, establishing special issues on innovative topics, and embrace new forms of methodologies and presentation. * * * Taken together, these areas might constitute evidence of excellence in teaching informed by philosophical frameworks and consistent SETs; strong scholarship through development of an international reputation through research on equity; and service to the department, school, university, state, and international music education community. Goals for the coming year 1. Service: Continue editorship of The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. 2. Teaching: Implement the Music Education Puerto Rico experience. 3. Scholarship: Explore possibility of publishing a book on the student teaching experience.

My educational philosophy may succinctly be described as constructivist. This means I believe in what is commonly referred to as experiential learning. Experiential learning is more than the mere experience of things; it also includes the careful reflection on those experiences. This type of reflection is not accomplished in isolation. Instead, education is conceived of as a democratic act among a community.
This aim towards “doing” and social aspects of reflection in teacher preparation are reflected, perhaps best, in my combined methods and clinical seminar courses EDCI 4210W and EGEN 4100. As a final for these courses, we conduct an “informance,” a concert where the students display what they have learned over the semester. Students perform pieces that they have rehearsed throughout the semester. Students demonstrate their abilities on secondary instruments, instruments other than their major instrument. The students also described the core practices that they practiced throughout the semester and played videos of their personal reflections on what they learned.
In addition to the focus on these courses, in EDCI 5041, Theoretical foundations of music education, we address issues of social justice through readings and class discussions. In EDCI 5040, Popular music and informal pedagogy, we look at similar issues through the lens of popular music and culture. EDCI 4210W and EGEN 4100 as well addresses the issues of cultural relevant pedagogy in music teaching. Music (Subareas: music theory, performance, sociology of), Education (Subareas: sociology of, secondary, philosophy of).

My primary area of work—which also serves as the umbrella and theoretical and philosophical framework of all my research—is in diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have published on popular music and gender and sexuality; race in band repertoire as well as in the music education workforce and teacher preparation; and on diversity in learners, including a study of music learning in a residential school for the blind as well as a trio of articles in Music Educators Journal on disabilities, twice-exceptional learners, and conceptions of gifted and talented education. Increasingly, I have moved to issues of class within music education, including a publication in Philosophy of Music Education Research.
In a related area, I have written philosophical work as well as book chapters and empirical studies that have looked at ways to expand notions of curriculum and instruction within music. For example, although the recent published book that I co-authored, published by Oxford University Press, focuses on teacher evaluation, it aims to help practicing teachers diversify their teaching, particularly around the areas of questioning strategies, differentiation, literacy, and assessment. Often, these ideas also overlap with issues of diversity and inclusion. For example, many book chapters use issues of gender and race as frames for conceptualizing a broader notion of pedagogy, including informal pedagogy and media literacy.
Finally, I have a third related area of research that focuses on how music teacher educators might prepare pre-service teachers for this work towards social justice and diversifying curriculum and instruction. I have published on aspects of teacher preparation including developing philosophical frameworks for teacher education, curricular concerns in instrumental methods courses, diversifying the preservice community, and creating stronger student teaching experiences.
It is along these lines that I hope to continue my research. All of these areas have potential for expansion, elaboration, and application to different studies, including philosophical, empirical, theoretical and practioner oriented. For example, I have several peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in press and in progress on issues such as making the music teaching workforce racially diverse, social justice and music in social media, and making gifted and talented education in music equitable. I am currently preparing manuscripts for publication on diversifying the student teaching experience and mentorship, and on addressing issues of social class in music education. All these current and future projects continue my aim at diversifying the practice of music education. My goal for the coming years is to continue contributing to the theory and practice of music education and music teacher education. Specifically, I aim to promote diversity and inclusivity and by generating a diversity of teaching practices, approaches, and philosophies.
Much of my work focuses on issues of diversity within music education around the traditional areas of race, class, gender, sexual identity, and disability. I have published on creating pedagogies that are more inclusive of disabilities, including blindness and students who are twice exceptional. I have also looked at the incorporation of popular music-making in formal education and how it may favor boys. Also in popular music pedagogy, I have also looked at constructions of student participation around issues of sexual identity and its influences on student behaviors and decisions. Finally, I have also examined conceptions of race embedded within traditional band repertoire. These studies aim to make sure music education is inclusive of the general population and a diversity of identities within society.
I have also worked to create a diversity of teacher practices that expand traditional notions of music education. I have published philosophical and theoretical articles that work to expand conceptions of curriculum and question common practices. I have also published peer-reviewed book chapters that have put forth frameworks with practical applicability for educators to employ diverse pedagogies and curricula. The aim of these studies is to conceptualize teaching practices that are intended to increase diversity of content and pedagogies.
I have also written on how music teacher educators might help pre- and in- service teachers in engaging in these issues of diversity. I have written on field placements for preservice teachers in “high-needs” schools. I have written on how in-service teachers might struggle with new conceptions of pedagogy, and how teacher educators might aid them. I have written on how teacher educators might foster creative teachers who can imagine and execute new pedagogies and conducted qualitative research on how practicing teachers enact those creative practices in their teaching. I have written on how teacher educators might select and professionally develop cooperating teachers so they may help foster preservice teachers to envision and enact new practices. I have conducted qualitative research on these ideas’ application to practice for cooperating teachers and teacher educators.
It is along these lines—diversity of practice, inclusion, and helping music teachers and music teacher educators prepare and enact practices aimed at diversity—that I aim to continue my scholarship. All of these areas have potential for expansion, elaboration, and application to different studies, including philosophical, empirical, theoretical and practioner oriented. These can de disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and book chapters—all of which I am currently working on, have submitted, or are in press—and perhaps, in a monograph. Finally, although funded research is scarce in music education, I have secured the Neag’s DRIA seed grant and have also secured a grant from the National Association for Music Education for a project that looks at ways of racially diversifying applicants to music education programs and the music education workforce. The work for this grant will take place over the next two years.