Teaching
Teaching has been a constant throughout my scholarly and artistic careers: at Double Edge Theatre, I helped develop an embodied training method that introduced musical concepts and techniques to the entire cast, regardless of prior musical experience. At the university level, I have taught small seminars and large lecture courses covering a variety of world music traditions and historical periods. Working with individuals from a range of backgrounds has consistently broadened my perspective on what is needed and what is possible at different stages of life and education. In all my teaching, I strive to create environments of inclusion and creativity, in which students are empowered to think critically and listen generously.
Below are a selection of classes I have taught. I have also designed courses on the American music documentary, Soviet film music, and the history of sound-recording technology.
Nationalism: Echoes of the Eastern Front
This undergraduate lecture course offers a new perspective on the First World War and the growth of nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Throughout the war, composers, folklorists, soldiers, and the general public all turned to music as a means of defining and expressing national identity. Building on my own original research on the use of the phonograph in POW camps in Germany and Austria, discussions and assignments focus on the way nations are created and consolidated through new media technologies and the intersection of popular and elite performance practices. I have offered this course several times in the History Department at the University of Pittsburgh. Regardless of prior musical training, all students received instruction in audio editing and produced a piece of sound art as their final project. This class has been cross-listed with a variety of departments, including Music, History, Slavic Studies, or Political Science.
Pictured: Carl Stumpf and Georg Schünemann recording Russian-army POWs in a camp in Germany
Experiencing Music History in Pittsburgh
In this class, students survey the rich and varied musical legacies of Pittsburgh, focusing primarily on the period shortly before European settlement to the mid-twentieth century. Throughout, they will experiment with different methods of historical research, with special emphasis on primary sources, including concert programs, published music, personal letters, and oral histories. The course incorporates field trips to libraries and archives in Oakland, including the Carnegie Library and the Stephen Foster Memorial. Significant topics include the complicated legacy of Stephen Foster, the pioneering story of the National Negro Opera Company, and the musical traditions that accompanied immigrants from Eastern Europe who came to work in Pittsburgh’s iconic industries.
Pictured: Workers removing a statue of Pittsburgh-born songwriter Stephen Foster in 2018.
Music of New York
Original syllabus designed and taught for New York University, Summer 2022. In this six-week intensive course, students explored a wide range of musical genres from the past two centuries of New York’s history, while also venturing out into the city to visit archives, museums, and attend live musical events. Special attention was paid to the intersection of music with other embodied practices like dance, theatre, street festivals, and immigrant traditions. Assignments included concert reviews, photo essays, ethnographic sketches, and audiovisual presentations. View syllabus
Pictured: Eubie Blake’s orchestra for the musical Shuffle Along (1921)