I am a Ph.D. candidate in Musicology at Brandeis University in Boston. I earned my Master's in Music from the University of Arizona in 2006 in Choral Conducting, and my Bachelor's in Music from Wichita State University in 2003 in Vocal Performance, with a minor in Instrumental Performance.
My primary interest lies in manifestations of literary or social philosophy in musical dramaturgy; to this point, my work in this interdisciplinary vein has engaged subjects related to literary theory, Classical studies, aesthetic theory, religious studies, and gender studies. My dissertation, for example, is a study on the impact of the academic philosophy of the Accademia degli Invaghiti on Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo. This study focuses on three topics, namely the use of symmetry as an expression of beauty, as well as moral and social order, illustrative of the Renaissance inclination to base artistic design on the principles of Classical architecture; the performance of Classical oratory (e.g. "Possente spirto") as a means of revealing the orator's moral character; as well as examples of misogyny and gendering, reflective of the moralistic writings by members of the Invaghiti. My presentation on the first topic, "Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607): Pulchritude through proportion, and why it mattered to the Accademia degli Invaghiti," received the Hollace Anne Schafer Memorial Award for the top graduate student paper given at the meetings of the AMS-New England Chapter, AY 2011-12. Additionally, my paper on the topic of oratory in Orfeo was given at the 2013 meeting of the Society for Seventeenth Century Music.
I am also interested in music from the French Baroque, in particular the sacred dramas of Marc-Antoine Charpentier. My article on Charpentier's integration and balance of French and Italian styles was published in the August 2008 issue of the Choral Journal, and my edition of and commentary on the composer's In nativitatem Domini canticum, H. 416, is now available from Baerentreiter (available for purchase here; full commentary available here). I also served as resident musicologist for Helios Early Opera's performance of David et Jonathas, H. 490, which was given in Cambridge (Massachusetts) in January of 2012.
On this page, you'll find information on my professional activities, including conference presentation, publications, and teaching; additionally, links to performance recordings are available below.
Feel free to contact me via email.
Teaching
Teaching evaluations
Philosophy of Education
Sample syllabi
Sample curriculum map
Sample lesson plans
