Leila Ramagopal Pertl is an Instructor of Music Education at Lawrence University and the Music Education Curator of the Mile of Music Festival. She created the innovative Music curricula at Next Generation School in Champaign, IL and at Appleton Public Montessori, where music is treated as a core subject; each student being immersed in drumming, dancing, singing, improvisation, composition, and music theory. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Lawrence University, a Master of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois, and is a recipient of Pi Kappa Lambda Honors, Excellence in Music Education. She is an active presenter and has recently given presentations and teacher workshops for the Smithsonian Year of Music panel on the Future of Music Education, Appleton Area School District, the International Deep Listening Conference, and WMEA State Conferences. She co-presented a paper, with education colleague Dr. Stephanie Burdick-Shepard, at the Northeastern Philosophy of Education Society at Tufts University: “Hearing the Lines: The Birth of Childhood and Philosophy through Music. Leila was the 2018 recipient of the Mentor Award from the Wisconsin Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (WACTE). She is the WMEA State Chair for Composition and Improvisation, the Chair of the Committee on Cultural Inclusion for the College Music Society, and serves on the Smithsonian Folkways Music Education Committee. She believes that music is a birthright, and loves being with people in collaborative, creative spaces!
