Professor and Conductor Jeffrey Murdock Explores Importance of Music Education in New 'Short Talks'

University Relations

Jeffrey Murdock

The June episode of Short Talks From the Hill, a research podcast of the University of Arkansas, features Jeffrey Murdock, associate professor of music education at the U of A and the conductor of the Inspirational Chorale and Razorback Chorus.

Murdock was recently named the recipient of the 2021 Grammy Music Educator Award from the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum. The prestigious award recognizes current educators across the country who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in schools.

Along with winning the award, Murdock will receive a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for the U of A's music department. He was also featured on CBS This Morning and was recognized during the Grammys national telecast.

Much of Murdock's career has been dedicated to providing access to music and music education for students of all ages, similar to the same exposure he received growing up in Biloxi, Mississippi. Murdock says his philosophy is "meeting students where they are…and unlocking a way of thinking that may be inaccessible in the traditional educational sense."

"A lot of people think about culturally responsive pedagogy being specific to diversity, equity and inclusion," Murdock says in the podcast. "But culturally responsive pedagogy, for me as a Black man, looks different. I have to find the common spaces between me and maybe an affluent white student who grew up very different from me. Culturally responsive pedagogy means meeting every student — the affluent, the less half, the rich, the poor, the white, the non-white — and so forth."

To listen to Murdock discuss more about the importance of music education in schools, as well as his feelings on winning a Grammy, go to Arkansas Research, the home of research news at the University of Arkansas, or visit the "On Air" and "Programs" link at KUAF.com.

Short Talks From the Hill highlights research and scholarly work at the University of Arkansas. Each segment features a university researcher discussing his or her work. Previous podcasts can be found under the 'Short Talks From the Hill' link at arkansasresearch.uark.edu, the home of science and research news at the University of Arkansas.

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