Case Western Reserve University Fall Update

Dr. Ryan Scherber has been appointed as Area Head of Music Education and as Coordinator of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies in Music Education.

Professor Matthew L. Garrett continued his praxial research on LGBTQ+ Studies and Music Education with "Queering Music Teacher Education," a chapter in the new 2026 Oxford Handbook of Queer and Gender Studies in Music Education. The handbook offers philosophical, theoretical, and practical perspectives on Gender and Queer Research Studies in Music Education. Garrett argued that music teacher educators who incorporate topics representing gender and sexually diverse (GSD) persons in music teacher education programs create opportunities to engage a broad spectrum of individuals. "When music teacher educators increase the visibility of GSD topics in music teacher education curricula, we prevent the silencing of GSD persons, and we reinforce equitable music education opportunities for all students." Garrett is in-demand as an LGBTQ+ scholar in music education, having authored the first peer-reviewed scholarship (UPDATE, 2010) on LGBTQ+ Studies in a mainstream U.S. music education research journal. This year, he was invited to speak about his work by the German Federal Association for Music Education, and he presented at the International Society for Music Education World Conference in Montreal, Canada.

Professor Lisa Huisman Koops presented her research "Parent perceptions of stress, joy, and self-efficacy based on participation in Storytime Music Project" at the Early Childhood Music Commission Pre-Conference Seminar, International Society for Music Education, Drummondville, Québec, Canada. Koops also produced season 8 of her podcast, Parenting Musically, with interviews by musicians and music educators from six continents.