Ph.D. in Musicology;
M.A. in Music History and Literature;
Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance
MUS 1: Introduction to Music
MUS 2A: Beginning Harmony and Musicianship I
MUS 2B: Beginning Harmony and Musicianship II
MUS 3A: Intermediate Harmony and Musicianship I
MUS 3B: Intermediate Harmony and Musicianship II
MUS 10: Music in History
MUS 12: American Popular Music
MUS 24A: Beginning Classical Piano I
MUS 24B: Beginning Classical Piano II
MUS 25A: Intermediate Classical Piano I
MUS 25B: Intermediate Classical Piano II
Popular music scholar, author of Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture (Oxford University Press, 1997), Endless Enigma: A Musical Biography of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Open Court, 2006), and half a dozen chapters in books published by Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Open Court, and University of Lodz Press. Founding member and composer of Hermetic Science, which released four studio albums between 1996-2008, a compilation, and a live album. Vibraphonist, marimbist, pianist, keyboardist-at-large.
My music-in-culture courses emphasize that when we address music, by necessity we must also address politics, religion, economics, the other arts, and ethnic, regional, and class identities, since music making is at the heart of human experience, and intertwines with a multitude of human endeavors. In short, they follow the liberal arts approach of holistic, cross-disciplinary thinking.
When I teach music theory and class piano, I emphasize that feeling strong emotion or holding genuine insight into the human condition does not automatically enable a person to convey that emotion or insight through music: this can only be done by mastering the crafts associated with playing and writing music.
Ultimately, if I have done my job in both my practical music and my music-in-culture courses correctly, students will understand that while mastery of musical craft is important, it is but a means to an end, which is to communicate as immediately and effectively as possible with one's audience.