The Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting
Virtual
February 19–21, 2026
Keynote Speakers and Workshop Leaders: Dr. Kimberly Goddard Loeffert and Dr. John Peterson
Changing Landscapes in Music Theory Pedagogy.
Over the past decade, music theory pedagogy has significantly changed, sometimes in response to circumstances external to the field, and sometimes in response to work from within the field. Questions of equity, academic freedom, and generative AI are no longer peripheral to faculty work; they now shape everyday decisions about teaching, assessment, and professional risk. This combination presentation/workshop offers participants the opportunity to reflect on the past and present, consider the future of music theory pedagogy, and to hear about one direction the facilitators are moving. We begin with two facilitated breakout discussions. The first examines inflection points that have shifted the way music theory is taught, shaping curricular choices; evaluation practices; and representation in the classroom. The second explores AI as a present inflection point, considering the opportunities and challenges created by heightened attention to academic freedom and evolving expectations around AI. Finally, we reflect on our own collaborative book project as a case study, using it to surface questions about equity and responsibility in contemporary academic production. Rather than offering prescriptions, the session foregrounds tensions, tradeoffs, and unresolved questions, with the aim of helping participants think more clearly and defensibly about their pedagogical and scholarly choices in a shifting higher-ed landscape.
Dr. Kimberly Goddard Loeffert is a music theorist and saxophonist who serves as Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. She is Immediate Past President of the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) and a founding member of the NASA Committee for Gender Equity. Her recent scholarship has centered representation of composers, musicians, and authors in music theory and saxophone pedagogy and scholarship, as well as AI and creative rights, and AI-informed accessible pedagogy. She is co-editor (with John Peterson) of Modeling Musical Analysis (Oxford University Press 2025), a collection of essays modeling analytical writing for undergraduate students using a variety of music theories and genres
Dr. John Peterson is Associate Director for the School of Music and Associate Professor of Music Theory at James Madison University. He studies form and musical meaning in classical music, musical theater, and popular music as well as music theory pedagogy and inclusivity in higher education. A proponent of collaborative research, John has published co-authored articles (with Brian Jarvis) in Music Theory Spectrum, the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, and SMT-V. As part of a team of scholars, he worked to revise and expand Open Music Theory, and he co-edited (with Kimberly Goddard Loeffert) Modeling Musical Analysis, a collection of 28 short essays written by minoritized scholars to model analytical writing for undergraduate students.
Program Committee
- Eugene Montague, chair (George Washington University)
- Jennifer Campbell (University of Kentucky)
- Mark Micchelli (West Virginia University)
- Judith Ofcarcik (James Madison University)
- Michael Puri (University of Virginia)
- Kristen Wallentinsen (Rutgers University)