About
Dr. J. Paul Louth is Professor of Music Education at Youngstown State University where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education foundations, methods, and research; supervises student teachers; and advises music education students. Dr. Louth earned two bachelor’s degrees, one in music performance and one in education, both from the University of Toronto. After a brief period working as a freelance trombonist and then teaching high school for several years, he went on to earn M.Mus. and Ph.D. degrees in music education from Western University. Specializing in jazz, brass, and wind band pedagogy, Louth has previously worked as an adjudicator for Music USA Festivals and Musicfest Canada. He is also an active composer and arranger, having written commissioned works for various school ensembles, some of which have been performed at the prestigious Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago. Since coming to YSU in 2011, he has composed and premiered three major works for YSU jazz and concert bands.
Dr. Louth’s research interests focus on critical music pedagogy, philosophical issues in music education, music education technology, and the intersection of formal and informal music learning. His 2023 book, Unfreezing Music Education (Routledge) argues for musical meanings to be addressed more prominently in North American music education settings. He has presented his research at various national and international conferences, and he has published articles in: Philosophy of Music Education Review; Music Education Research; Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education; the International Journal of Community Music; the British Journal of Music Education, Contributions to Music Education, and Visions of Music Education, as well as having contributed chapters to the Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education (Oxford); Personhood and Music Learning, (Canadian Music Educators’ Association), Revolutions in Music Education (Lexington), and the upcoming Handbook of Music Education and Neoliberalism (Oxford). He has served on the editorial board of Contributions to Music Education and has been an invited reviewer for Philosophy of Music Education Review, the Canadian Association of Music Libraries, and the International Journal of Music Education. Dr. Louth is currently Associate Editor for Philosophy of Music Education Review, and he also serves on the Research Committee of the Ohio Music Education Association, where his primary responsibility is organizing the annual graduate research poster session, which takes place during the professional development conference each winter.
