Dr. Gordon Root

Gordon Root is currently an Associate Professor of Music Theory at the State University of New York in Fredonia, where he has taught since 2006. In 2016, Dr. Root edited a critical edition of Schoenberg’s Models for Beginners in Composition with commentary through Oxford University Press. His essays have been featured in Indiana Theory Review and Current Musicology. Dr. Root has presented many papers on a range of topics including text and music, Schoenberg’s pedagogy and harmonic theories, and programmatic aspects of Schoenberg’s Twelve-Tone works, and popular music. In 2009 he was awarded an Avenir Grant through the Arnold Schönberg Center and The Avenir Foundation of Wheat Ridge Colorado.

Teaching Interests

Music theory, analysis, model composition, popular music

Research Interests

The music of Arnold Schoenberg, the interaction of text and music, music and metaphor, late nineteenth and early twentieth century music, popular music

Awards and Honors

• Poummit Faculty Recognition Award, The Fredonia School of Music (2018).