Music Education at Lawrence

The Music Education department at Lawrence University provides an extraordinary opportunity for students interested in careers as professional educators. The Music Education major, within the Bachelor of Music degree, offers four possible areas of emphasis: General, Choral/General, Instrumental/General, and Instrumental, all of which result in certification to teach kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The philosophy of the program is to provide exceptional training for music educators within all areas of their development. Students within the program work closely with members of the music education faculty and pursue a curriculum that is underpinned with music education theory and practical experience in the classroom. Students participate in coursework on campus and have the opportunity to work in the community during their time at Lawrence. All students within the Conservatory have extensive performance opportunities and often declare a double major between Performance and Music Education. The Conservatory program not only offers a phenomenal musical experience, but also integrates the Liberal Arts curriculum of the College into the educational experience of the music majors. Many Conservatory students choose to pursue the double degree program, which leads to two diplomas (BM/BA) in five years.

Lawrence students have won significant awards in music education, including accolades from the WMEA, WCDA, and Pi Kappa Lambda. Students and graduates have published papers in national journals and provided lectures at state and regional conferences.

A very active National Association for Music Education chapter provides further enrichment for music education majors at Lawrence University.

Degree Information

Faculty

  • Brigetta Miller

    Associate Professor of Music

    Brigetta Miller is an Associate Professor of Music at Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music. As an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee (Mohican) tribe, her research interests include Native American women’s music, multicultural education, and interdisciplinary learning. Understanding music in relationship to history and culture continues to be an important component of her work as a teacher educator. She recently served as faculty advisor for the Collegiate Music Educators National Conference, a student organization dedicated to the advancement of music education, and is working toward a Ph.D. degree at the University of Washington.

    Recent conference invitations include American Educational Research Association in San Diego, CA; International Colloquium for Vernacular. Hispanic, Historical, American and Folklore Studies in Puebla, Mexico; 6th Annual Symposium on Native Scholarship – Indigenous Environments Weaving Together Native Perspectives in Research; NW Division Music Educators National Conference in Portland, OR; and Ninth International Conference of Cultural Diversity in Music Education in Seattle, WA.  World Music Press has accepted her book about indigenous lullabies for publication. 

    In addition to supervising undergraduate student teachers in area schools she also teaches experienced-based courses which develop pedagogical competencies necessary for teaching music to children from a global perspective. Dedicated to service and community engagement, she currently serves as an ArtsBridge America mentor – a program offering interdisciplinary arts instruction to students from low-income backgrounds.  Her work with Mapping the Beat, a program funded by National Geographic, is designed to bring an innovative geography-through-music integrative curriculum to elementary schools.

    Ms. Miller received Lawrence’s 2000 Young Teacher Award, “given annually to an untenured member of the faculty who has demonstrated excellence in the classroom and the promise of continued growth.” She was also featured in the 2005 Lawrence Today President's Report.

    Contact by e-mail: brigetta.f.miller@lawrence.edu

  • Kirk Moss

    Associate Professor of Music

    Kirk D. Moss is an Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Education Department at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI. He serves as the elected national president of the 10,000-member American String Teachers Association. Dr. Moss has appeared as a guest conductor, clinician, or adjudicator in more than thirty states. In 2008, the University of Florida (Gainesville) School of Music awarded him an Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award. He has received four ASTA National Citation for Leadership & Merit awards. One of his former high schools honors him by annually awarding a college string scholarship in his name. He coauthored Sound Development for Intermediate String Orchestra by Alfred Music Publishing (2012).

    Moss has written articles for Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra––Volumes 2 and 3, Journal of String Research, American String Teacher, Music Educators Journal, and The Instrumentalist. He also completed a four-year term on the Music Educators Journal Editorial Committee for MENC.

    He has twelve years experience teaching elementary, middle, and high school orchestras. School orchestras under his direction performed for The Midwest Clinic (Chicago), Jubilee 2000 (Italy), earned the Gold Award at The San Francisco International Music Festival, the Grand Champion Award at The Orlando Festival of Music, and played three times for the Georgia MEA Conference (including a performance/clinic by the school’s thirty member viola choir).

    Prior to his Lawrence appointment, he led orchestral activities and string education at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Under his baton, the MSU-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra tripled in size, and it performed for the 2009 Minnesota Music Educators Association Conference and 2007 North Dakota MEA Conference. He previously worked as Area Chair in Music Education at Valdosta State University and led the South Georgia String Project. He has conducted on the summer faculties of the Lamar Stringfield Music Camp (NC) and Interlochen Arts Camp (MI).

    Moss holds a PhD in Music Education, conducting emphasis, from the University of Florida (Gainesville). He received a Master of Music degree, with a cognate in string pedagogy, from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a graduate teaching assistant for Gerald Doan and a Bachelor of Music degree, with high distinction, from the University of Michigan under the guidance of Robert Culver. Kirk and his wife, Deb, celebrate twenty-five years of marriage. They have three children: Bethany, Luke, and Lydia.

    Contact by e-mail: kirk.d.moss@lawrence.edu

  • Phillip A. Swan

    Associate Professor of Music

    Phillip A. Swan is the Co-Director of Choral Studies at Lawrence University and Musical Director for LU Musicals. Swan directs Cantala (LU Women’s Choir) and the LU Hybrid Ensemble (jazz, early, contemporary, and world music), teaches courses in conducting, musical theater, music education, supervises student teachers and coaches student organized a cappella groups. He is also active in the Appleton community, serving as choir director at Appleton Alliance Church and conductor for the community choir, the White Heron Chorale. Swan received his BA in music education from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, MM in Choral Conducting from UT El Paso, and has completed all coursework for the DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami (Florida). His doctoral essay is focused on the choral works of Eric Whitacre.

    Swan served as a church music and youth director, performed in El Paso Pro Musica, and taught elementary general music in El Paso, Texas, before moving to Watertown, South Dakota in 1989, where he taught high school vocal music for ten years and was an active clinician and adjudicator. His duties at Watertown High School included: Fine Arts Department Chair, Bel Canto Singers (non-auditioned freshman chorus), Concert Choir (non-auditioned grade 10-12 chorus), Meistersingers (auditioned grade 11-12 chorus, who performed twice at the South Dakota Teacher Inservice), private voice lessons, two auditioned show choirs and director for the spring musicals (Hello Dolly, 1940's Radio Hour, The Wizard of Oz, Singin' In The Rain, and Into The Woods). Swan was also actively involved in the Watertown community as musical director of an auditioned community choir (Kampeska Chorale), Town Players (musical theater productions of Fiddler On The Roof and Camelot), and for nine years served as music director for Ninth Avenue United Methodist Church, directing both the sanctuary choir and praise team. Mr. Swan was also very involved in the South Dakota chapter of the American Choral Directors Association with involvements as the Vocal Jazz Repertory and Standards Chair, South Dakota ACDA Newsletter Editor, Co-chair for the 1999 SD Summer Conference, Registration Co-chair for the 1994 ACDA North Central Division Convention, tenor section leader for the 1993 and 1995 SD Honors Choir and Interim Senior High School Repertory and Standards Chairman. While pursuing his D.M.A. degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami, Swan served as senior Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Choral Studies Program, was director of the University Women's Chorale, sang in numerous ensembles (including the prestigious Jazz Vocal 1 and University Chorale) and served as Assistant Director of Music Ministries at Coral Gables Congregational Church.

    In May 2008, Swan was honored to be selected by the LU student body as the recipient of the Mrs. H. K. Babcock Award. (The award is given to an individual from the Lawrence community, who through involvement and interaction with students has made a positive impact on the campus community.) Other awards include the South Dakota ACDA Encore Award (outstanding young choral director), Outstanding Young Men of America, Who?s Who Among American Teachers, the 1997 Northwestern University Summer Fellows Program, Alpha Epsilon Lambda (graduate honor society) and Pi Kappa Lambda (collegiate national music honor society). In March 2001, Swan was selected as one of four national finalists for the graduate choral conducting competition at the ACDA National Convention in San Antonio. Swan is an active clinician and recently returned from conducting the seventh annual Festival of Choirs (a regional choir festival involving approximately 200 high school students and teachers) in Muscat, Oman. Swan is a member of the American Choral Directors Association (serving as the Wisconsin Women?s Choirs R & S Chair), the College Music Society, and the Music Educators National Conference.

    Contact by e-mail: phillip.a.swan@lawrence.edu

  • Steven Jordheim

    Professor of Music

    Steven Jordheim was a winner of two major international performance competitions: the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva, Switzerland in 1983 and the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York in 1984. He presented his New York debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1985 and has performed as a recitalist and soloist with orchestras in Italy, China, Switzerland, France, Canada, Taiwan, and the United States. Jordheim holds degrees in music performance from Northwestern University and the University of North Dakota and has studied with Frederick Hemke and Jean-Marie Londeix.

    Since joining the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University in 1981, Jordheim has taught courses in saxophone, chamber music, music education, and instrumental pedagogy. In 2001, Jordheim received the Lawrence University Award for Excellence in Teaching.  He has been an artist-teacher of saxophone at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in China, the International Saxophone Chamber Music Festival in Faenza, Italy, the Hsing Tien Kong Festival in Taiwan, and the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan.  He has served as adjudicator for the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Saxophone Performance Competition, and the Hsing Tien Kong Competition in Taiwan.  Steven Jordheim's recording of David Maslanka's Song Book for alto saxophone and marimba, and Sonata for alto saxophone and piano is available on compact disc on the Albany Records label.  His performance as conductor of Rodney Rogers’ Two Views for saxophone ensemble, percussion, piano, and double bass with the Lawrence University Saxophone Ensemble is available on the Albany Records label, and his performance of James Chaudoir’s Pentragrams was released on the Capstone label.

    Works composed for Steven Jordheim include:

    • The Valley of Fire for saxophone quartet and organ -- William Albright
    • We Fall . . . We Rise for saxophone ensemble -- Javier Arau
    • Duo Concertante for saxophone and piano -- Leslie Bassett
    • Consilience for saxophone quartet -- Philippe Bodin 
    • Ballade for saxophone and chamber orchestra -- Michael Halstenson
    • Trio for flute, saxophone, and piano -- Michael Halstenson
    • Songbook for alto saxophone and marimba -- David Maslanka
    • Light (con una luce superna) -- Joanne Metcalf
    • Dialogue Symphonique for saxophone and chamber orchestra -- Lucie Robert
    • The Nature of this Whirling Wheel for saxophone and piano -- Rodney Rogers
    • Two Views for Saxophone Ensemble, Percussion, Piano, and Double Bass -- Rodney Rogers
    • Hydra for saxophone quartet -- Kenneth Schaphorst

    Jordheim's latest recordings can be found here.

    Jordheim’s research interests include endoscopic study of the vocal tract in standard and extended saxophone techniques.

    Contact by e-mail: steven.jordheim@lawrence.edu

Apply for Major

Music Education Application Procedure for current LU students - Please read these instructions carefully before you begin!

Teacher Certification Handbook

Advising Checklists and Resources

  • General Music Emphasis: MUE1
  • Choral/General Music Emphasis: MUE2
  • Instrumental Music Emphasis: MUE3
  • Inst/General Music Emphasis: MUE4
  • Requirements: What to Do
  • E-portfolios: Help

Student Teaching

Music Education Student Teaching Handbook (PDF version)

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