I was born, raised, and educated in Toronto, Canada. I attended the Faculty of Music at the University Toronto, where I graduated with degrees in music education (Mus.B., Mus.M.) and education (B.Ed.). I began teaching at the University of Toronto shortly after I graduated and taught in Toronto secondary schools.
Influential performers, teachers, and composers I studied with at the U of Toronto: Ralph Sauer (former principal trombone of the Toronto Symphony and LA Phil); Chuck Dallenbach of the Canadian Brass; philosopher Francis Sparshott; and composers R. Murray Schafer and Gordon Delamont.
I joined NYU in 2002, after twenty-eight years as Professor of Music Education at the University of Toronto. While I was teaching at Toronto, I was granted several leaves to accept visiting professorships at Northwestern University, the University of North Texas, Indiana University, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Limerick. My publications include many journal articles and book chapters, as well as Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education (Oxford, 1995) and Praxial Music Education: Reflections and Dialogues (Oxford, 2005/2009). I’ve given more than 200 invited lectures at university music schools around the world including: Queens University (Belfast), University of Stockholm, University of Porto, Hong Kong Chinese University, Guangzhou University, University of Sydney, University of Durban-Natal, University of Auckland, Sibelius Academy of Music, UCLA, Eastman School of Music, Michigan State, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Illinois-Urbana, Temple, Penn State, University of South Florida, University of Southern California, University of Oklahoma, Boston University, University of Texas (Austin), University of Maryland-College Park, the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, the Hartt School of Music, Ithaca College, and the University of Minnesota.
In addition, I’ve had the privilege of presenting many keynote addresses and research papers at international, national, and local conferences, including world conferences of the International Society for Music Education, the MENC National Conference, and national conferences in China, Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Ireland, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the UK, New Zealand, Estonia, South Africa, and Canada. Also, several of my compositions and arrangements are published by Boosey and Hawkes (New York).
See some of my publications at Google Scholar.
