Edward Deci, left, and Richard Grunow, right
Edward Deci, professor of psychology and Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences at the University of Rochester, will present the inaugural Richard F. Grunow Colloquium for Music Teaching, Learning, and Performance honoring an internationally renowned Eastman School of Music faculty member.
Sponsored by the Department of Music Teaching and Learning, Deci’s lecture will be presented at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 10, in Eastman’s Hatch Recital Hall, and will be followed by a question-and-answer period and a reception.
Deci has been engaged in research on human motivation for 40 years, examining a variety of issues, isolating basic processes, and testing their application to education, health care, parenting, mental health, and work organizations. Using laboratory and field methods, his work focuses primarily on the nature and development of self-determination, and he is a frequently interviewed expert on the topic. Deci has published 10 books, has lectured and consulted for corporations, public school systems, mental health agencies, universities and government bureaus throughout the world, and has a private practice in psychotherapy.
“Deci’s teaching and research on motivation are important and relevant to music teaching and learning and several of our students are interested in his research,” said Professor of Music Education Christopher Azzara, who chairs the Department of Music Teaching and Learning. “Students and faculty in our department cite Deci’s research, and our doctoral students have taken classes with him. His insights regarding motivation are applicable to the entire Eastman community.”
Upon the retirement of Eastman Professor Richard F. Grunow in May 2016, the Department of Music Teaching and Learning at Eastman established the Richard F. Grunow Colloquium for Music Teaching, Learning and Performance. The colloquium is a cross-disciplinary series featuring presentations and performances by distinguished teachers, researchers, and performers. The series, an intersection of scholarship, musicianship, and music teaching and learning, provides the community opportunities to engage and interact meaningfully and musically.
Grunow, professor emeritus of music education, is a leading innovator in beginning instrumental music instruction who has presented extensively on his research throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. He is the author of numerous articles and publications and the principal author of Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series, a comprehensive beginning instrumental method for recorder, woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion that features more than 350 recordings comprising a variety of tonalities and meters from a broad range of cultures. Grunow also is the co-author of the MLR Instrumental Score Reading Program, MLR Instrumental Score Reading Test, Choral Score Reading Program, and Developing Musicianship through Improvisation.
“Richard Grunow is a terrific colleague who has built relationships within the department, across the school, and at local, regional, national, and international levels,” said Azzara. “His insights regarding music teaching and learning are important and his contributions to the Eastman School of Music have been invaluable.”
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