David J. Elliott

David Elliott is Professor of Music and Music Education at New York University.

Dr. Elliott was educated at the University of Toronto (B.Mus, M. Mus., and B.Ed) and Case Western University (Ph.D., 1983). During his high school years, he studied jazz trombone with Steve Richards; during his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Toronto, he studied classical trombone with Ralph Sauer (principal trombone of the Toronto Symphony and, subsequently, principal trombone of the LA Philharmonic). For many years, he played professionally as a jazz trombonist in Toronto. He also studied composition/arranging privately with classical and jazz composers, including R. Murray Schafer and Gordon Delamont. His first major composition for large jazz ensemble won first prize in the 1976 composition competition of the US National Association of Jazz Educators (subsequently, the IAJE). Since then, he has composed and arranged many choral and instrumental works, especially many commissioned pieces for children’s choirs (published by Hal Leonard).

As a secondary school music teacher in Toronto in the early 1970s, he taught band, jazz band, and general music courses that centered on teaching students to compose in a variety of styles, including pop and rock songwriting.

Later, he was appointed as a lecturer in the music education department of the University of Toronto. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of assistant, associate, and full professor of music education at U of T. At several points during his career at Toronto, he also served as a Visiting Professor of Music Education at other university music schools, including Northwestern University, Indiana University, the University of North Texas, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music (Beijing).

In 2002, he was appointed Professor of Music and Music Education in the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University. In addition to his duties as Director of Doctoral Studies in Music Education, he currently teaches MA and PhD courses in music education philosophy, the psychology of music education, community music, music composition in/for junior high and secondary schools, music education in cultural contexts, and music curriculum development.

He is co-author (with Marissa Silverman) of Music Matters: A Philosophy of Music Education, 2nd edition (2015), editor of Praxial Music Education (2005/2009), co-editor of Community Music Today (2013), and co-editor of Artistic Citizenship: Artistry, Social Responsibility, and Ethical Praxis (in press). He has also authored numerous journal articles and invited book chapters in in many books, including The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy in Music Education; The Oxford Handbook of Music Education; Music, Health, and Wellbeing; The Oxford Handbook of Musical Identities; and The Child Musician, 2nd edition.

He has presented over 300 conference keynote papers and invited lectures at universities in 46 countries, including: Queens University (Belfast), Trinity College-Dublin, and the Universities of Limerick and Cork, Ireland; the Universities of Cape Town, Durban-Natal, Johannesburg, and Pretoria, and Stellenbosch and North-West University, South Africa; the Universities of Auckland, Otago, Christchurch, and Wellington, New Zealand; the Sibelius Academy of Music, and the Universities of Oulu and Jyväskylä, Finland; Stockholm University and Orebro University, Sweden; the University of Porto (Portugal); Hong Kong Chinese University; the Universities of Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia; and, in the USA, the University of Southern California, UCLA, University of Texas-Austin, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of South Florida, University of Oklahoma, Michigan State U, Temple, Penn State,  Boston University, the Hartt School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, James Madison University, and the University of Minnesota. He has also given invited presentations in Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, the UK, Germany, Italy,  Estonia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan. 
   

Elliott serves on the editorial boards of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education; the International Journal of Community Music; and Somaesthetics.

Books

Music Matters: A Philosophy of Music Education, 2nd Ed. 2015. New York: Oxford University Press.

Community Music Today." 2013. New York: Rowman & LIttlefield.

Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education." 1995. New York: Oxford University Press.

Praxial Music Education: Reflections and Dialogues." 2005/2009. New York: Oxford University Press.

Selected Journal Articles and Invited Book Chapters

2014. Elliott, D. J., & Silverman, M. Music, Personhood, and Eudaimonia. The Journal of Transdisciplinary Research in South Africa: Special Edition on Music and Well-Being, 10(2), 59-74.

2014. Silverman, M., Davis, S., & Elliott, D. J. Praxial Music Education: A Critical Analysis of Critical Commentaries. International Journal of Music Education, 32(1), 53-69.

2012. Music Education Philosophy. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Education (ed. Gary McPherson & Graham Welch). pp. 63-86. New York: Oxford University Press.

2012. Elliott, David J. & Silverman, Marissa. Why Music Matters: Philosophical and Cultural Foundations. In The Oxford Handbook of Music, Health, and Wellbeing (ed. Raymond MacDonald), pp. 25-39. Clarendon: Oxford University Press.

2012. Elliott, David J. & Silverman, Marissa. Re-Thinking Philosophy, Re-Viewing Musical Affective Experience. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Education Philosophy (ed. Wayne Bowman & Ana Lucia Frega). pp. 37-62. New York: Oxford University Press.

2008. Music for Citizenship: A Commentary on Paul Woodford’s Democracy and Music Education: Liberalism, Ethics, and the Politics of Practice. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, Vol 7, 1: 45-73. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Elliott7_1.pdf

2007. “Socializing” Music Education. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 6/4: 60-95. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Elliott6_4.pdf

2007. Puerto Rico: A Site of Critical Performative Pedagogy. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 6 (1): 2-24. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Elliott6_1.pdf

2005. Musical Understanding, Musical Works, and Emotional Expression: Implications for Education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37(1): 93-103.

2004. 50 Years of ISME: Four Honorary Presidents. International Journal of Music Education: Research, 22: 93-101.

2001. Modernity, Postmodernity, and Music Education Philosophy. Research Studies in Music Education, 17: 17-41.

2000. Music and Affect: The Praxial View. Philosophy of Music Education Review 8(2): 79-88.

2000. Integration: For or Against? General Music Today 14(1): 4-8.

External links

• davidelliottmusic.com

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/faculty_bios/view/David_J._Elliott