M. Jerome Bell is a third-year Ph.D. student and Provost’s Fellow in music theory at the Eastman School of Music. He holds a B.M. in composition and an M.M. with a double concentration in composition and conducting from Houghton University. Jerome’s research interests include theory pedagogy, linear analysis, schema theory, and modal fluidity within Millennial gospel. He has presented his research at national and regional conferences. One of his papers, “Analyzing Gospel: Modal Fluidity in the Works of Tye Tribbett and Richard Smallwood,” won the Music Theory Midwest’s Arthur J. Komar Award. In Spring 2022, he was also awarded Eastman’s TA Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Jerome enjoys discussing the Myers-Briggs Personality Type theory in his free time, playing at least three chess games daily, and cheering for the Buffalo Bills! He lives with his partner, Hannah, and their two cats, Tim-Tam and Panini.