About

Megan Lyons (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Furman University. She received her PhD in music theory and history from the University of Connecticut. Her research areas include music theory pedagogy, music encoding and its analysis, Joni Mitchell’s alternate guitar tunings, and the art songs of Amy Beach. She is co-author with Dr. Philip Ewell of “Don’t You Cry for Me: A Critical-Race Analysis of Undergraduate Music Theory Instruction,” a chapter in the forthcoming edited volume Teaching and Learning Difficult Topics in the Music Classroom.

Matthew Ferrandino (2024–2026; Seasons 4–5) is a lecturer of music theory at Eastern Illinois University.

Anna Rose Nelson (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is a lecturer of music theory at the University of Maryland-College Park with research interests in modernist music, sketch study, and critical theory. She holds a BM in Theory/Composition from St. Olaf College (2012), MA in Music Theory from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (2015), and a PhD in music theory from the University of Michigan (2023). She has presented her work on Theodor Adorno, Brian Ferneyhough, and Anton Webern at multiple national and international conferences.

Favorite Podcasts: The Dollop, KCRW's Lost Notes, My Favorite Murder.

Jennifer Weaver (2021–2026; Seasons 1–5) is Chair of the Music Department and Professor of Music at Dallas Baptist University. She earned her Ph.D. in Music Theory at the University of North Texas. She received a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Cedarville University and a Master's degree in Music Theory from the University of North Texas. A recipient of the Priddy Fellowship in Arts Leadership (2006–2007), Jennifer has worked within the leadership of several arts organizations, including Shakespeare Dallas and the Murchison Center for the Performing Arts. At Dallas Baptist University, she has been a recipient of both the Outstanding Adjunct Professor and Outstanding Full-time Faculty member in the Department of Music. Her major research areas include twentieth-century music, history of music theory, opera, and music theory pedagogy. Alongside Dr. Benjamin Graf and Dr. Paul Thomas, Jennifer is the co-host of the successful Music Theory Pedagogy podcast Note Doctors. Jennifer sings alto in the Dallas Symphony Chorus and is married to Jonathan Bakdash.

Leah Frederick (2024–2026; Seasons 4–5) is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Colorado Boulder with research interests in mathematical approaches to music theory, instrumental spaces, and music theory pedagogy. Her current projects use transformational and geometric techniques to study relationships between patterns in instrumental spaces (i.e., the layout of notes on a physical instrument) and the corresponding pitch relationships that they produce. Her writing appears in the Journal of Music Theory, Music Theory Online, Music Theory Spectrum, and the Journal of the American Viola Society. She completed her Ph.D. in music theory at Indiana University and earned a B.S. in mathematics and a B.M.A. in viola performance from Penn State University.

Joseph Straus (2024–2026; Seasons 4–5) is a music theorist specializing in music since 1900. He has written technical music-theoretical articles, analytical studies of music by a variety of modernist composers, and, most recently, a series of article and books that engage disability as a cultural practice. Many of his books and articles have received publication awards from the Society for Music Theory (SMT), of which he was President from 1997–99.

Shersten Johnson (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is Professor of Music at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, where she teaches music theory and composition. Her interests include contemporary opera, disability and aging studies, and music theory pedagogy. Her publications appear in journals such as Music & Letters and Music Theory Online. She is also author of several book chapters including “Understanding is Seeing: Music Analysis and Blindness” and "Embodied Rhythm and Musical Impact of Ritualized Violence in 20th-century Opera," both in Oxford Handbooks. She is currently working on a monograph with the working title “Aging and Creativity in Britten’s ‘Death in Venice.’”

Caitlin Martinkus (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) holds a PhD in music theory from the University of Toronto and teaches theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her research interests include musical form in the nineteenth century, historical and contemporaneous theories of musical form, and the music of Franz Schubert. Caitlin has presented at the Society for Music Theory's annual meeting as well as EuroMAC and NewMAC, and has published in Music Theory and Analysis and Music Theory Online, with work forthcoming in Theory and Practice and The Oxford Handbook of Musical Variation and Thematic Techniques. She is an affiliate of the Centre for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Music at the University of Toronto.

Evan Ware (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is an Associate Professor of Music – Theory and Composition at California State Polytechnic University Pomona. He received his PhD in Composition and Music Theory from the University of Michigan. His research interests include cover songs, musical reinterpretation, music in multimedia, music theory pedagogy, and George Walker’s song cycle Lilacs. Ware is the co-editor of Music in Star Trek: Sound, Utopia, and the Future (Routledge 2023). His album, The Quietest of Whispers: Symphonies No. 1 and 2 was released on Neuma Records in 2023.

Favorite Podcasts: Hidden Brain, Throughline, White Lies.

John Heilig (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is a lecturer of music theory at the University of Maryland.

Chair: Katrina Roush (2021–2025; Seasons 1–4) is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley. She earned a PhD in music theory from Indiana University, an MM in music theory from Michigan State University, and a BA in piano from Indiana Wesleyan University. Katrina’s current research interests include analysis of individual listening experiences, applications of information literacy to music theory pedagogy, collaboration with librarians, and issues of diversity and equity among students in the music theory classroom. She and her husband Charley co-created the Keys to Success for Music Majors video podcast. In her free time, Katrina enjoys eating sushi, petting dogs, playing video games, and taking walks in the Texas sunshine.

Personal Podcast: Keys to Success for Music Majors

Favorite Podcasts: Handsome, Dear Therapists with Lori Gottlieb and Guy Winch, The Mortified Podcast

Zachary Lloyd (2023–2026; Seasons 3–5) is a Ph.D. Candidate in Music Theory at Florida State University. He holds a Masters degree in Music Theory from Michigan State University and a Bachelors in Music from Appalachian State University. As a music theorist, Zachary is interested in the ways that meaning is expressed through music. His research has explored various musical styles ranging from 20th century piano repertoire by Florence Price to musical theater scores as recent as 2022.

José Garza (2023–2026; Seasons 3–5) is a Senior Lecturer of Music Theory and Aural Skills at Texas State University. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Studies and Master’s degree in Music Theory from Texas State University, then attended Florida State University, where he received his Ph.D. in Music Theory. His scholarship deals primarily with rhythm, meter, and musical meaning in popular music, particularly metal and punk rock. His other research interests include video game music, percussion repertoire, and twentieth- and twenty-first-century art music repertoire.

Jason Jedlička (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Belmont University.

Amy Hatch (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Chair: Thomas Yee (2021–2025; Seasons 1–4): Some composers found their love of music hearing Brahms or Beethoven — Thomas (b. 1992) discovered his from the beeps and boops of the Super Nintendo. Thomas composes transformative Holocaust Remembrance opera (Eva and the Angel of Death) and concert pieces remixing live performance with the chiptune aesthetics of retro video game soundworlds. Thomas' research analyzes the representation of gender, race, and religion in video game music and the compositional innovations of Japanese 8-bit era video game composers. Thomas is Assistant Professor of Instruction in Theory & Composition at the University of Texas at San Antonio School of Music. Learn more at https://www.thomasbyee.com.

Favorite Podcasts: Code Switch, Chasing Life, The Stubborn Heroes, Unlocking Us with Brené Brown, Unbelievable?

Frank Nawrot (2024–2027; Seasons 4–6) is a composer, guitarist, and scholar. His original music is inspired by Danny Brown, Julia Wolfe, Meshuggah, Julius Eastman, and Prince. Frank's music has been performed around the world—in Chicago, New York City, Kansas City, Hong Kong, Croatia, and Canada. He has earned a reputation for writing music that is accessible, while being challenging enough to provide audiences with a fresh and exciting experience. Frank is regularly commissioned to compose music for saxophone, voice, piano, concert band, and more. He also records and produces music in a variety of styles. Armed with a doctoral degree in music composition and fifteen years performing rock, pop, and hip hop, Frank brings a unique sound to the stage, the radio, and the screen. Two of Frank’s recent major creative projects include the recording of his first opera, Don Henry, about a Kansas student who fought and died in the Spanish Civil War, and his electronic-rock album, Nostalgia Trap—both are available on Spotify and Apple Music. Frank is also sound designer and composer for the short story podcast, Tiny Tales.

Frank’s research interests include popular music, minimalism, and composition pedagogy. He has presented his research for the Society of Music Theory, the Society of Minimalist Music, and the Society of Composers, Inc., among others. Frank is Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Music Technology at Southeast Missouri State University.

Favorite Podcasts:Tiny Tales, Steal the Stars, Limetown, This Land, Parallax Views

Shannon McAlister (2022–2025; Seasons 2–4) is a PhD student in music theory and history and a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Connecticut. She is also currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies in Public Health at UConn. Shannon earned her MA in Music Theory and a Graduate Certificate in College Instruction from the University of Connecticut and a BM in Music Education from the University of Delaware. Her research areas include music and disability studies, as well as music theory pedagogy.

Chair: Stefanie Acevedo (2021–2025; Seasons 1–4) is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on the analysis and cognition of musical expectation & style and music theory pedagogy. She received her PhD in theory from Yale University, and holds master’s degrees in psychology (University at Buffalo) and theory (Bowling Green State University) and a bachelor's in music composition (University of Florida). Prior to UConn, she taught at the University of Dayton. Stefanie is committed to diversifying the field of music theory by modifying curricula and expanding opportunities for underprivileged and minority groups.

Favorite Podcasts: The So Strangely Podcast, Science Friday, Piano Puzzler

Sylvie Tran (2024–2026; Seasons 4–6) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Aural Skills at Oberlin Conservatory. She is completing her PhD in music theory at the University of Michigan, and she also holds a bachelor's degree in flute performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sylvie's current research examines portrayals of the American West through lenses of race, gender, and landscape and the environment, primarily in American classical music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Her secondary research, drawing from her experience as a flutist, deals with performance and analysis, particularly the intersubjective aspects of chamber music performance as well as the politics of reorchestration and arrangements/transcriptions.