I completed a BMus degree in composition at the University of Manitoba and hold MA and PhD degrees in music theory from University of British Columbia. 

I have presented papers at national and international conferences and published on music aesthetics, modes of musical listening and analysis of modern music.

From 1990 to 2010, I served as dean of Laurier’s Faculty of Music, and currently, I am the coordinator of Music Theory.

My current research involves an aesthetic-perceptual study of Keith Jarrett’s solo improvisations and a project on the construction of the musical-temporal present. I am also researching relationships between analysis and recorded performances of Classical repertoire. A third strand of research interest involves theories of teaching and learning, distinctions between information and knowledge, and broader issues related to post-secondary education.

I am available for directed studies supervision for students majoring in music theory and, depending on my schedule and the proposed project, will also consider supervision of directed studies projects for non-music-theory majors.

• “The Realization(s) of Functional Qualities in Bartók’s Second String Quartet.”  In Daniel Biro and Harald Krebs, eds., 185-199. The String Quartets of Béla Bartók: Tradition and Legacy in Analytical Perspective.  Oxford University Press, 2014. 
• “From ‘Sage on the Stage’ to ‘Guide on the Side’: A Good Start.” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Vol. 8, No. 1, Article 4 (January 2014): http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol8/iss1/4.
• “Reconsidering Boyer: Fostering Students’ Scholarly Habits of Mind and Models of Practice.”  International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Vol. 6, No. 1, Article 16 (January 2012): http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol6/iss1/16. 
• “Music Listening as Music Making.”  Journal of Aesthetic Education 43.1 (Spring, 2009): 77-91.
• “Music Listening and the Fine Art of Engagement.”  British Journal of Aesthetics Vol.47, No. 4 (October, 2007): 401-415.

I have taught at Laurier for 25 years and value the strong connections between academic and performance aspects of the program. As one who teaches theory, I am aware of the difficulties many students have with that topic; as such, I try wherever possible to bridge theoretical and analytical dimensions in an effort to show the relevance and importance of academic study. My teaching in aesthetics is largely about trying to assist students in developing keen skills in reading, writing and critical thinking.