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Joanna Pepple
Joanna Pepple
Visiting Assistant Professor of Music
Office: Hill Hall 120
Contact Information: Birmingham-Southern College
Box 549033
900 Arkadelphia Rd
Birmingham, AL 35254
Office Phone: (205) 226-4962
E-mail: [email protected]
Biography:
Joanna Pepple is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in Music at Birmingham-Southern College and has been with the faculty since the fall of 2023. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology from Florida State University, a Master of Music in Music Theory/Composition from East Carolina University, a Master of Music in Violin Performance from Appalachian State University, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Mercer University. She has taught at Florida State University, East Carolina University, Cedarville University, and Southern New Hampshire University.
Dr. Pepple has spent time researching in various archives in Leipzig, Germany; Boston, Massachusetts; and Oberlin, Ohio studying the transcontinental connections between Germany and the United States regarding musical pedagogy in higher education in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her research has revealed the early histories of America’s first musical conservatories and which pedagogies were brought from the European continent and which ones were distinctly American. She has presented her work in this area at national and international conferences and has published work in the Yearbook of German-American Studies (2020). A forthcoming international publication is expected later this year in the Proceedings from Transatlantic Perspectives on Hidden late 19th-Century Music Cultures. Additionally, Dr. Pepple has engaged in research on the hymnodist William Bradbury and has a chapter published in Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theological Introductions (2019).
In addition to her work as a musicologist, Dr. Pepple continues to perform as an active violinist and violist in various orchestral and chamber opportunities. She holds Suzuki Violin Pedagogy Certification in Books 1-10, and she has taught students ages 3 through adult in both traditional and Suzuki violin pedagogy. She is the co-founder and former director of the Tallahassee Homeschool String Orchestra (THSO), a youth orchestra program of string musicians with over six ensembles and programs for students ages 3 through 12th grade. Dr. Pepple enjoys incorporating creative pedagogies in the college classroom in helping students further connect with the material, through hands-on musicking activities and presentation and exploration activities that engage students to think critically.
Educational Background:
- Ph.D., Florida State University (2019) Musicology
- M.M., East Carolina University (2012) Music Theory/Composition
- M.M., Appalachian State University (2010) Violin Performance
- B.M., Mercer University (2008) Violin Performance
Areas of Academic Interest:
- Music History/Musicology
- American Music
- Creative Music Pedagogies
- German-American Music History
- Ethnomusicology
- Chamber Music
Courses Taught:
MU 151 Music Theory 1
MU 121 Introduction to Music
MU 126 Music of the World’s People
GEN 299 Music’s Role in the Black Freedom Struggle in the United States from 1865 to 1965
HON 125 America’s Music