Dr. Amy Spears

Amy Spears’s Curriculum Vitae  

Amy Spears is Assistant Professor of Music Education at SUNY Fredonia where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education. She completed her Ph.D. in Instrumental Music Education from Arizona State University in 2014. She holds a Master of Music in Flute Performance from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Music Education from Auburn University in Alabama.  

Prior to her appointment at Fredonia, Dr. Spears was Associate Professor of Music at Nebraska Wesleyan University where she taught music education courses, world music drumming, and rock band courses. She has also led study abroad programs with undergraduate students and practicing music teachers to Rwanda and Ghana. To read more about her academic travels, please visit her Academic Travel Website.  

Before teaching at the university level, Dr. Spears taught for five years in public school music programs in Arizona and Alabama. That experience included instruction with beginning, middle, and high school concert bands, chamber ensembles, marching bands, jazz bands, middle school orchestra, middle school percussion ensemble, secondary general music, STOMP percussion classes, and guitar classes.  

Courses typically taught: 

Undergraduate courses: 

MUED 304 Instrumental Music in Elementary/Middle School 

MUED 393 Elementary/Middle School Instrumental Rehearsal Techniques 

MUED 302: General Music in Secondary Schools  

Graduate courses: 

MUED 522: Psychological Research Methods in Music 

MUED 618: Graduate Seminar: Equity and Access in Music Education 

Dr. Spears’s research interests include popular music pedagogy, internationalizing music curricula, and diversifying music education to include marginalized individuals. She has published research in peer-reviewed journals, including Music Educators Journal, International Journal of Music Education, Journal of Research in Music Education, Journal of Popular Music Education and Visions of Research in Music Education. She has published chapters in Marginalized Voices in Music Education (Routledge) and Women's Bands in America (Scarecrow Press).  

Dr. Spears is a regular presenter at national and international conferences throughout the United States. These include the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), Instrumental Music Teacher Educators’ Colloquium (IMTE), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Suncoast Music Education Research Symposium, New Directions in Music Education, College Music Society Conference, International Society for Music Education, Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education (PASMAE), and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. She has presented research and best practice sessions for practicing K-12 music educators at state music conferences nationwide, including the New York State School Music Association Conference (NYSSMA), Nebraska Music Education Association, Wyoming Music Education Association, and Colorado Music Education Association. She maintains an active professional involvement with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), its sub-organizations, and its state affiliates.