Assistant Professor of Music Education

3146 Bliss Hall
330/941-1829 (studio)
330/941-1490 (fax)
jplouth AT ysu DOT edu

Dr. J. Paul Louth specializes in instrumental music education and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education methods and research, as well as teaching brass methods, mentoring and supervising student teachers, and assisting with the co-ordination of the music education program. He is a music educator, conductor, and former professional trombonist who completed graduate studies at the University of Western Ontario in 2008, where he earned Ph.D. and Masters degrees in Music Education. He also holds undergraduate degrees in education and music performance from the University of Toronto, and a Diploma in Applied Music from Mohawk College. After working as a freelance jazz and commercial musician in the Toronto area for several years, he began a second career teaching instrumental music in the high schools. As a secondary school teacher, he has coached numerous award-winning large and small ensembles, and has also worked as an adjudicator and clinician for Musicfest Canada, Musicfest USA, and Festivals of Music, Inc. Additionally, Dr. Louth is an active composer and arranger, having been commissioned by several schools to write jazz and concert band works, one of which was premiered at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago.

Dr. Louth is particularly interested in philosophical and sociological issues in music education and his areas of research include the intersection of formal and informal music learning and applications of critical pedagogy to music education. He has published in the Philosophy of Music Education Review and the International Journal of Community Music, and he has contributed a chapter to the book, Personhood and Music Learning: Multidisciplinary Perspectives and Narrative Voices, published by the Canadian Music Educators Association.