UW-Madison Music Education

10/15/2026

Proposal submissions for the 5th Biennial Disability Studies and Music Education Symposium are open until December 15th. Please consider submitting:

Theme: Disability as Embodying Creativity

Dates: April 8 - April 10, 2027

Read the call: https://tinyurl.com/DSandME-27-Call

Submit a proposal: https://tinyurl.com/DSandME-27-Submit

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

10/14/2026

We are excited to share that doctoral student Evan Metcalf will be giving a research presentation, entitled 'From Evaluated to Evaluator: Perceptions on Music Teacher Evaluation of Music Teachers Who Became Administrators,' at the Big Ten Academic Alliance conference in Rosemont, IL, next week. Congrats, Evan!

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

09/29/2026

Dr. Amy Lewis and Dr. Jesse Rathgeber will be presenting and leading numerous sessions at this year's Biennial National Association for Music Education Music Research and Teacher Education Conference in Long Beach, California. Session include:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st

Accessible Music Education Special Research Interest Group (SRIG)
- Jesse Rathgeber (SRIG Chair, Presider)
----------------------

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2nd

Addressing Access Barriers in Music Education
- Amy Lewis & Jesse Rathgeber

Perspective on Accommodation in Music Teacher Licensure Programs
- Lorelei Batisla-ong (UW-Milwaukee), Mike Ruybalid (South Peninsula Hebrew Day School), Nerissa Rebagay (University of Colorado Boulder),
& Jesse Rathgeber
----------------------

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3rd

Social Justice Special Research Interest Group (SRIG)
- Amy Lewis (SRIG Chair, Presider)

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

09/29/2026

Preservice music educators Arden Calhoun, Rebekah Stine, and Alex Ruing planned and led a ukulele jam session as part of the Beta Sigma Phi Convention 2026 in Madison, WI. They built on their experiences designing and leading similar events as part of our PlayOn community engagement project (which is woven into the undergraduate coursework). Congrats and thanks, Adren, Rebekah, and Alex!

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

09/28/2026

Hearty congratulations to Dr. Jesse Rathgeber, who earned tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor at the beginning of this year. Here he is, posed under a sign reading "Mead Witter School of Music" in front of the Hamel Music Center, taken shortly after he attended the Chancellor's Recently Promoted Faculty Reception on Thursday, September 17th.

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

09/24/2026

Students enrolled in Dr. Amy Lewis' class, MUSIC/CURRIC 304: Composition, Arrangement, and Orchestration for the Music Teacher, shared their first peer teaching. Students created original greeting songs and then taught them to each other. Lots of laughs, learning, and movement.

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

09/22/2026

Join us for our first PlayOn event of the semester. PlayOn is a community engagement project largely planned and facilitated by preservice music educators through ukulele jam sessions and improvisational play events. Now, with the leadership of Emilie Bertram, PlayOn offers a reading band experience open to anyone over the age of 18.

September 26th - 2:00-4:00 PM
UW-Madison - Humanities Building 1341

Reading Band is a low-stakes space for adults to
sight-read and/or conduct band music.

This is a great opportunity to make music, hear new pieces,
practice sight reading, try out conducting, or work on a
secondary instrument!

Interested in conducting? RSVP by 9/22 to receive score.
If you are unsure but interested, reach out to the email below.

Register via the QR code or here https://tinyurl.com/y6wzxua

Questions? Email Emilie at [email protected]

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music

09/16/2026

Congrats to Dr. Amy Lewis whose article, "Family, Culture and the Creative-Curious Mind," co-authored with her sister, Dr. Tiffany Borgeois (of the Ohio State University), was published in the newest edition of the Wisconsin School Musician Magazine. From the introduction: "This article provides an autoethnographic account of family, creative culture and musical lived experiences of two academics from within a musical family. The authors detail how these musical and creative experiences fostered a sense of curiosity and exploration in a way that greatly impacted their lives and careers."

Read the full article here: https://content.yudu.com/web/18ag3/0A18ag4/WSM.9-26/html/index.html?page=34&origin=reader

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music
The Ohio State University

09/09/2026

This past week, the Music Education @ UW-Madison community gathered for the 4th annual Music Education Rally. The event included music-making, professional goal-setting and sharing, advising for licensure, information about our preprofessional student organization, a keynote from local teacher Ian Melrose, a shared meal, and community. Enjoy the following pictures:
* Students in the B.M., M.M., and Ph.D. (in C&I) programs with faculty and Mr. Ian Melrose
* Graduate students with faculty and Mr. Ian Melrose
* The four faculty members (including our newest colleague, Dr. Burton Hable).

University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison College of Letters & Science
UW-Madison / Dept of Curriculum & Instruction
University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music
Sun Prairie Schools

09/04/2026