ROCHESTER, NY — The Eastman School of Music is welcoming back one of its accomplished alumni, Christopher D. Azzara, as a faculty member in the music education department, effective July 2002.
Dr. Azzara — M.M., 1988, Ph.D., 1992 — has spent the last decade as associate professor of music education at The Hartt School of Music, Dance and Theatre of the University of Hartford. During that time, Azzara balanced freelance performing as a pianist and arranger, while making important contributions to the subject of improvisation in the music learning process. His research and publications have investigated the meaningful relationships among listening, creating, improvising, reading, composing and analyzing music in a variety of general, vocal, and instrumental settings. At the Eastman School, his unique combination of abilities will be utilized in teaching both music education and instrumental pedagogy.
"We are delighted to have Chris Azzara joining our faculty," said Dr. Richard Grunow, chair of the music education department. "With his scholarship, musicianship, and expertise in improvisation, Dr. Azzara will contribute significantly to our department and to the entire Eastman community."
Frequently invited as a guest presenter in this country and abroad, Dr. Azzara is the author of numerous articles and books, including Creativity in Improvisation, Concert Selections for Winds and Percussion, and Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series (GIA). His work also has appeared in publications such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Kodaly Envoy, Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning, Early Childhood Connections, and The Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning, Volume II (Oxford University Press).
Using his skills as an educator and performer, Azzara has performed on and produced many studio and educational recordings including the compact discs for Creativity in Improvisation, Jump Right In, and Simple Gifts, Don Gato, and You Are My Sunshine (GIA).
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