Faculty Research at ESM
Faculty in the Eastman School of Music’s academic departments are internationally known for their research and scholarship. They currently are pursuing research projects that involve traditional as well as new analytical investigations of music, historical musicology and ethnomusicology, explorations of sound and many new dimensions of its organization, and music learning theories. Their work also crosses into other fields, such and brain and cognitive sciences, linguistics, gender studies, and ecotheory. This breadth of research exposes our graduate students to a wide spectrum of research options.
Eastman’s graduate programs in composition, musicology, music education, and music theory rank consistently in the top tier in national surveys. Our faculty members have served in prominent leadership positions within the national organizations of their respective disciplines, and they have won major publication awards, including the Philip Brett, Alfred Einstein, and Noah Greenberg Awards from the AMS and Emerging Scholar Awards from the SMT, among many others. In addition to their creative work as scholars and composers, Eastman faculty are committed pedagogues, educating and mentoring talented students who develop into musical leaders of the future. A selective list of our PhD alumni who are currently serving in musical institutions throughout North America can be seen here.
COMPOSITION. For composers, research involves the composition of new music for performance in academic and professional circles and venues. The Eastman Audio Research Studio [EARS] is a platform for research, experimentation, and realization of new music and sound art. The department invites prominent composers and performers of new music to visit Eastman each year.
Department Website
MUSICOLOGY. With eight full-time musicologists and two full-time ethnomusicologists, the musicology faculty features expertise in a broad range of musical traditions and methodologies, from opera, jazz, and Renaissance sacred music to gender studies, ecomusicology, and intersections between music and politics.
Department Website
MUSIC TEACHING AND LEARNING. The faculty’s research is based on the premise that all individuals have musical potential, and each person deserves access to a comprehensive music education. Areas of research activity include improvisation, early childhood music education, teacher musicianship and professional development, and music education for students with special needs.
Department Website
THEORY. Research interests of the Eastman theory faculty include Schenkerian theory, studies in the theory and analysis of 20th-century music, history of music theory, musical perception and cognition, the relationship between analysis and performance, computing and music, and jazz and other popular and ethnic musics.
Department Website