Richard Desinord
Assistant Professor of Music Theory | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Richard Desinord's research interests include harmony and genre in contemporary black church music and neo-soul.
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Biography
Richard Desinord is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the Michigan State University College of Music. His research interests include harmony and genre in contemporary black church music and neo-soul, the music of Robert Glasper, theory pedagogy, and the visualization of music theory. Desinord has presented research on composers of jazz, R&B and Neo-soul, and his work appears in the the Cambridge Stravinsky Encyclopedia. Having some his personal and professional goals rooted in making music theory more accessible to, and inclusive of, people of color, Desinord is a member of Black Classical Music Educators and the International Society of Black Musicians, and a fervent supporter of the Classically Black Podcast. Prior to his appointment at Michigan State, he lectured in music theory in the Department of Music at Howard University. He earned a PhD in music theory at the Eastman School of Music, an MA in music theory from Penn State University, and a BM in music education from Howard University (magna cum laude).
Industry Expertise (2)
Music
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (5)
Theory Pedagogy
Contemporary Black Church Music
Music Theory
Neo-Soul
Jazz
Accomplishments (1)
Data Visualization Award (professional)
2016 University Libraries’ Data Learning Center
Education (3)
Howard University: B.M., Music Education
magna cum laude
Penn State University: M.A., Music Theory
Eastman School of Music: Ph.D., Music Theory
Affiliations (2)
- Black Classical Music Educators : Member
- International Society of Black Musician : Member
Links (2)
News (1)
The Hidden Bias of “Meeting Students Where They Are”
Engaged Music Theory online
2023-08-14
This fall will mark my 13th year of teaching. Some may say I’ve accomplished much through my experiences in different education settings, from building a band program at my first job in a public school system to landing a tenure-track job at my current institution. And while I can look back and celebrate those successes in earnest, I’ve always considered how I responded to the needs of my students during my first year of teaching to be my greatest shame and failure as an educator.
Journal Articles (1)
Repetition and the Façade of Discontinuity in Stravinsky's Histoire du soldat
Electronic Theses and Dissertations for Graduate School2016 Igor Stravinsky’s (1882-1971) early works are often depicted as repetitive and regressive with regard to its thematic development and formal structure. His penchant for mosaic-like constructs that rely on the recurrence of unchanged blocks of sound and their subsequent juxtapositions defined his practice and enabled Stravinsky to seek out new ways of composing. In the music of other composers repetition was largely reliant upon differences in successive appearances that provided a sense of growth and direction from beginning to end.
