Professor
A Philosophy of Playing Drum Kit: Magical Nexus is a multi-media element published by Cambridge University Press, also available as PDF and paperback.
Upcoming Keynote presentation
DIY Drum Kit Performance in the Space Between
Keep It Simple, Make It Fast! (KISMIF) 2024 – DIY Cultures, Democracy and Creative Participation,
Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, Portugal
July 10-13, 2024
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I am a musician, researcher, teacher, writer and editor. My primary research interest is drum kit studies, with an emphasis on experiential, aesthetic and spiritual aspects of playing and learning drum kit. My methodological emphases are autoethnographic and sociological. From drum kit studies, my interests extend to sociology of music and music education, and from there to philosophical and cultural-psychological inquiry in popular music education. Recurring themes across my research and teaching include identity, authenticity, meaning, ideology, punk pedagogy and eudaimonism, in particular as these relate to the lives and work of current and future music makers and learners.
I am an Assistant Professor of Music, Music Education at Boston University, where I teach undergraduate and graduate courses and supervise DMA dissertations. I am a founding editor of the Journal of Popular Music Education and an editor of the Intellect Books series, Contemporary Music Making and Learning. past president of the Association for Popular Music Education, a former board member of the International Society for Music Education, and I serve on the steering committee of the International Society for the Sociology of Music Education.
I can help you if:
- You want an engaging, compelling keynote speaker who brings relevance, depth and humour,
- You’re looking for a dedicated performer, scholar and educator;
- You need an out-of-the-box thinker, teacher and scholar;
- You’re seeking a leader in qualitative research at the intersections of music learning, punk aesthetics, sociology, improvisation, drumming and popular music.
My credentials include:
- Leading scholar in popular music education, drum kit studies and sociology of music education;
- Keynote and invited presenter on music, education and drumming;
- >80 peer-reviewed articles in journals, books and encyclopedias;
- Founding editor of the Journal of Popular Music Education;
- Board member of ISME and past President of APME.
