Simon Center, M145H
Education
- Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy, Indiana University, 2007
- M.M., Master of Music, Indiana University, 2004
- B.M., Bachelor of Music, The College of New Jersey, 1998
Biography
Peter Miksza is professor of music in music education and chair of the Music Education Department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is also an affiliate member of the IU Cognitive Science Program.
Peter’s primary research interest lie in the investigation of social- and cognitive-psychological dimensions of musical skill acquisition (e.g., practicing, expertise, musical expression, musical memory). He also conducts research on music teacher preparation and does work with national data sets to address policy issues relevant to music education. He’s presented papers at regional, national, and international research conferences and has articles published or in press in several prominent peer-reviewed publications, such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, Musicae Scientiae, Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, Contributions to Music Education, Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, Music Education Research International, The Journal of Band Research, Music Educators Journal, and the Journal of Music Teacher Education. He has also published a book titled Design and Analysis for Quantitative Research in Music Education, with co-author Dr. Ken Elpus, as well as several book chapters in edited volumes. He is also a co-founder and, currently, co-director of the IU JSOM Music and Mind Lab.
Peter’s teaching duties include undergraduate and graduate courses with emphases on music teacher preparation, foundations of music pedagogy, psychological and social-psychological dimensions of music teaching and learning, measurement and evaluation, and quantitative research methods. He is currently the faculty coordinator of the Indiana University pre-college program, Young Winds – an outreach program designed for middle school band students. He also works with graduate students to develop and carry out original research projects as theses and dissertations. Peter is now serving as the faculty advisor for the IU collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education.
Peter is currently serving as the Associate Editor/Editor-Elect of the Journal of Research in Music Education and on the Advisory Committee of the Council for Research in Music Education. He also works as a reviewer for other journals, conferences, and symposia.
Prior to his appointment at IU, Peter served as band director at Pequannock Valley Middle School, assistant marching band director at Pequannock Township High School in New Jersey, and assistant professor of music education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from The College of New Jersey, and Master of Music Education and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from IU.