CONTACT: Ellen Schantz at eschantz@northwestern.edu

FOR RELEASE: June 2, 2009

PDF Version of this Statement

Peter Webster Receives $102,282 Grant from
the National Association of Music Merchants
Foundation/Sounds of Learning

EVANSTON—Peter Webster, John W. Beattie Professor of Music Education and Technology and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, has received a $102,282 research grant from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) Sounds of Learning initiative.  His study will investigate the formal and informal musical experiences during elementary, secondary, and undergraduate college years for three cohorts of professions (architects, chemical engineers, and music educators) to see if these experiences might be associated with creative achievement in their respective fields.  Webster, who received one of the largest awards in the scientific research category, was one of 31 recipients who collectively received $848,807 from the Foundation.

Peter Webster is a music education and music technology specialist. He is the author of Measures of Creative Thinking in Music, an exploratory tool for assessing music thinking using quasi-improvisational tasks.   He is also coauthor of the book and DVD Experiencing Music Technology (Cengage/Schirmer, 2006) and over 70 book chapters and articles on technology, music cognition, and children's creative thinking in music and its assessment. He has presented at many state, national, and international meetings and is a frequent keynote speaker.   Webster directs the PhD Program in Music Education and is a leading member of the Center for the Study of Education and the Music Experience (CSEME) which will participate actively in the research funded by the NAMM award. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, Journal for Technology in Music Learning, International Journal of Education in the Arts, Research Studies in Music Education, and the Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education.

NAMM supports community music-making programs, scientific research on the effects of making music, and music programs for seniors, college students and school-aged children. The purpose of the research grants is to enable worthy organizations to operate programs designed to increase interest and participation in making music, as well as helping leading universities better understand the outcomes of making music for people of all ages.

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