My scholarly work centers marginalized composers, especially female-identifying and BIPOC composers, and almost always involves vocal music.
I am currently working on my dissertation in Historical Musicology (Dr. phil / PhD) at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (Germany) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Natasha Loges. My working dissertation title is: Performing Gender in Euro-American Contemporary Music of Second-Wave Feminism.
As Managing Director of the Hampsong Foundation, my scholarly endeavors since 2009 have ranged from researching and writing radio scripts in collaboration with the WFMT Radio Network, to creating public musicology content for Song of America, to various projects with the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and other cultural and educational institutions.
I am a co-author of the book Black Song: A Manifesto for Music and Justice from University of Michigan Press. The book will be released in the fall of 2026.
Please see detailed information below regarding my scholarly and teaching endeavors:
- University & Conservatory Teaching
- Additional Teaching & Faculty Appointments
- Presentations & Lectures at Conferences, Symposia, etc.
- Miscellaneous: Podium Discussions, Master Classes, Juries, etc.
University & Conservatory Teaching
| Course Title | Location | Date | Notes |
| Komponistinnen nach 1950 (Female Composers after 1950) | Hochschule für Musik Freiburg | Winter 2025/26 | Lectureship/Lehrauftrag Funded through the Mathilde-Planck-Lehrauftragsprogramm |
| Song of America: Erkundung der klassischen US-amerikanischen Musik durch Poesie und Gesang | Hochschule für Musik Freiburg | Winter 2025/26 | Lectureship/Lehrauftrag Funded through the Mathilde-Planck-Lehrauftragsprogramm |
| The Savvy Singer: Expanding Curiosity, Developing Your Career | University of Michigan (USA) | Fall 2021 & Fall 2022 | Lectureship/Lehrauftrag |
| The Art of Listening (Western Classical Music History Overview) | Southern Methodist University (Dallas, USA) | Fall 2008 & Spring 2009 | Lectureship/Lehrauftrag |
Additional Teaching & Faculty Appointments
| Endeavor | Location | Date | Position |
| Singing Down the Barriers Institute | University of Michigan (USA) | Every June since 2021 | Core Faculty Member |
| Song of America Fellowship Program | University of Michigan (USA) | 2020-2024 | Director & Advisor |
| Tage für Interpretation und Aufführungspraxis | Hochschule für Musik Saar (Saarbrücken, DE) | Fall 2018 | Guest Lecturer |
| Music Entrepreneurship Seminar | Manhattan School of Music (New York, USA) | 2010 | Teaching Assistant |
| Contemporary Performance Program | Manhattan School of Music (New York, USA) | 2009-2011 | Assistant to the Director |
| English Diction for Singers | Southern Methodist University (Dallas, USA) | 2007 | Teaching Assistant |
Presentations & Lectures at Conferences, Symposia, etc.
| Conference/Symposium | Location | Date | Paper/Presentation |
| Berio: Labyrinths in Music (Symposium) | Milan (IT) | November 2025 | “sequenza iii and the Gendering of Extended Vocal Technique” |
| Chant féminin: Weibliche Stimmen Tagung (Symposium) | Frankfurt (DE) | June 2025 | “Judith Weir and the Irreverent Female Voice” |
| Society for American Music Annual Conference | Tacoma (USA) | March 2025 | “Embodying Black Space through Musical Performance” |
| The Theatrical Voice: Performing Class, Gender, Race and Identity (Symposium) | Surrey (UK) | May 2024 | “Gendering the Theatrical Voice Through Extended Technique” |
| Theatre and Performance Research Association Annual Conference | Leeds (UK) | August 2023 | “Dorothy Rudd Moore’s 1976 Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds and Death: An Intersectional Encounter with the Black Feminine” |
| American Musicological Society Annual Meeting | Chicago (USA) & Online | November 2022 | “Meeting My Own Eyes:” Analyzing the Sound of Thought in Zesses Seglias’s Opera To the Lighthouse“ |
Miscellaneous: Podium Discussions, Master Classes, Juries, etc.
| Feminale HSM Basel | Basel (CH) | April 2025 | Podium discussion participant |
| George Shirley Vocal Competition | Ann Arbor (USA) | Annually since 2022 | Judge (International Division) |
| 14th International Art Song Competition Stuttgart: Beyond Lied | Stuttgart (DE) | September 2024 | Dozentin, Master Class on American composers Florence Price & Margaret Bonds |
| Singing Justice: Decentering Whiteness in Vocal Music | Stuttgart (DE) | November 2022 | Co-Organizer |
I was a lecturer at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance and team-taught the course “The Savvy Singer” in Fall 2022 & Fall 2021 with baritone Thomas Hampson as part of EXCEL. I also developed and ran the Song of America Fellowship program at U-M SMTD in the 2023-2024 academic year.
I also have been part of the faculty of the Singing Down the Barriers Institute (University of Michigan) since 2021.
Additionally, Thomas and I are also consultants for the Singing Justice Humanities Collaboratory team. Our book will be released in November 2026.
I am a member of the American Musicological Society, the Society for American Music, the Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) and the International Alliance for Women in Music.
Select publications:
Review: The 21st-Century Voice: Contemporary and Traditional Extra-Normal Voice (2nd Edition)
by Michael Edward Edgerton
Publication: Tempo (Cambridge University Press) / Volume 70 / Issue 275 / January 2016