1. Recent Presentations:

•  “Hot Fusion: Searching for the Jazz/Rock Unicorn” at the 29th Annual International Association of Schools of Jazz Conference (Zagreb, Croatia; 2019)

•  “Ghosts in the Machine, Part II: Jazz Musicians and Popular Music” at the 29th Annual International Association of Schools of Jazz Conference (Zagreb, Croatia; 2019)

•  “Jazz Migrations: Jazz in Other Genres”

Presentation with Wouter Turkenburg (Royal Conservatory of Music, The Hague) for the 6th Annual Rhythm Changes Conference (Kunstuniversität Graz, Austria; 2019).

•  “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Psychoacoustics of Music” at the  International Big History Association Conference (Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA; 2018)

•  “A Jazz Journal for IASJ?”  at the International Association of Schools of Jazz Conference (Viljandi, Estonia, 2018)

•  “Ghosts in the Machine, Part I: Jazz Musicians and Popular Music” at the 26th Annual International Association of Schools of Jazz Conference (Boston, MA; 2016)

And some media…clip from interview about Prince on WWJ-AM Detroit about Prince.

•  "Jazz Across the Atlantic” at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa; 2015).

•  "Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement” for the Detroit Grand Lecture Series (Detroit,  Michigan) as part of the opening of the Detroit Jazz Festival

•  “Jazz Across the Atlantic” at the 25th Annual International Association of Schools of Jazz Conference (Lisbon, Portugal; 2015)-Presented my Fulbright scholarship which compares the Jazz Education systems in higher education in the United States and Europe.

•  “The Future of (High) Culture in America” sponsored by The Center for American Culture and Ideas (Tucson, Arizona; 2014)

-Presentation with Terry Teachout (Arts Critic, Wall Street Journal) in a discussion on Jazz and Culture.

“How Jazz Became Art and Attack(ed). A Transatlantic Dialogue." Heidelberg University’s Center for American Studies (Heidelberg, Germany; 2013)

-Presenter on Plenary Panel

•  “52nd Street and the Second Viennese” Jazz Education Network Conference (Atlanta, Georgia; 2013)

-Presented paper with Kaja Lill on 12-Tone music in Jazz

•  “Engaging Students With and Without Technology"

Panel presentation with Amy Schelling and John Kilbourne.

2. Workshops and Presentations:

1. “How Does Music Work?” (60 min.)

A presentation on how music actually creates emotional responses in listeners, from an acoustical perspective. This is done in layman’s terms, using a minimum of scientific jargon.

2. “Fearless Improvisation for the Classical Pianist”  (60 min.)

An easy method to help classical piano teachers and their students begin improvising using familiar materials.

3. “Can You Help Me With My Jazz Band Music?” (60 min.)

Classical piano teachers are often asked to assist with a student’s jazz band music. This presentation explains jazz chord symbols (and how to learn them quickly) and also gives some stylistic guidance on how professional pianists function in a big band setting. (Article is available here.

4. "Across the Atlantic: Music Education in Europe and the United States"

This presentation looks at the differences in pedagogy, curriculum, and funding between the European and American university systems. (This scholarship was sponsored by a Fulbright Scholar Award received in 2013.)

Past Workshops and/or Masterclasses:

    Interlochen Center for the Arts

    Pasadena Conservatory of Music

    Southwestern Community College (Creston, Iowa)

    Aquinas College

    Augusta State University

    Ann Arbor Piano Teachers’ Guild

    Capital City Music Teachers’ Association (Lansing, MI)

    University of Windsor

    Northwest Missouri State University

    Oklahoma City University

    Kalamazoo Piano Teachers’ Forum

    Hope College (Holland, MI)

    Muskegon Community College

    Greater Muskegon Music Teachers’ Association

    VIVACE Music Club (Detroit Chapter)

NOTE: All workshops are interactive, and require a well-tuned grand piano.